Uwe Eric Laufenberg (born 11 December 1960) is a German actor, stage director for play and opera, and theatre manager who has directed at international opera houses and festivals, such as '' Elektra'' at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

and ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

'' at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

. He was ''

Intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

'' of the Hans Otto Theater in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, the

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...

, and has been Intendant of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from 2014, where he staged Wagner's ''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compo ...

'', presented at the Internationale Maifestspiele 2017.

Career

Born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, he studied from 1981 to 1983 at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen. He was an assistant of Ruth Berghaus, Rudolf Noelte, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and Peter Stein, among others. He worked first in 1983 at the

Staatstheater Darmstadt The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the German states, state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its hi ...

. From 1985, he was an actor and ''Regieassistent'' (assistant of the stage director) at the Schauspiel Frankfurt. He directed from 1988 's ''Pfingstläuten'', '' Die Gerechten'' by

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

, Rainald Goetz' ''Krieg'', Ferdinand Bruckner's ' and ''Rückkehr in die Wüste'' by Bernard Marie Koltès. In 1990, Laufenberg moved to the Theater Köln, where he directed Tankred Dorst's ', Dürrenmatt's '' Der Besuch der alten Dame'' and Goethe's '' Clavigo'', among others. From 1992, he directed operas at international locations, such as ''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...

'' by Richard Strauss at La Monnaie, Smetana's '' Die verkaufte Braut'' at the Volksoper Wien, and Puccini's ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' at the

Grand Théâtre de Genève Grand Théâtre de Genève is an opera house in Geneva, Switzerland. As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officia ...

. He directed Ernst Krenek's '' Karl V.'' for the

Bregenzer Festspiele Bregenzer Festspiele (; Bregenz Festival) is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz in Vorarlberg (Austria). It features a large floating stage which is situated on Lake Constance. History The Festival becam ...

2008, and Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Peking. From 2004 to 2009, Laufenberg was ''Intendant'' (General Manager) of the Hans Otto Theater in

. He designed the concept ''Potsdam unterwegs'' (Potsdam on the road), presenting a production at various locations of the town. From the 2009/10 season, he managed the

. He staged a Mozart cycle of ''Don Giovanni'', ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'' and ''

La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...

''. The house earned the title '' Opernhaus des Jahres'' (Opera house of the year) in 2012.Zeit online, dpa Newsticker 1 October 2012. He canceled his contract the same year. He wrote a novel about his experiences, titled ''Palermo'' and published in 2013. Elektra 4123-Michelides

From 2013 to 2015, Laufenberg directed for the Linz Opera Wagner's ''

'', conducted by

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist. He is chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic and of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at ...

. He has been ''Intendant'' of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden from the 2014/15 season. His first production there was ''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the V ...

'' by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

. In 2015 he staged '' Elektra'' by Strauss at the

, conducted by Mikko Franck. He directed at the

of 2016 a new production of ''

''. His focus in Wiesbaden in the 2016/17 season has been again Wagner's ''Ring des Nibelungen'', staged by him based on his Linz version, and conducted by Alexander Joel. It was presented twice during the

Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden The Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden (International May Festival, IMF) is a theater festival in Wiesbaden, Germany. Established in the late 19th century after the Bayreuth Festival, the festival is one of the most distinguished internationa ...

2017, conducted by Alexander Joel. Among the soloists were the Bayreuth singers Evelyn Herlitzius as Brünnhilde and

Andreas Schager Andreas Schager is an Austrian operatic tenor. He began his career as a tenor for operettas, but has developed into singing Heldentenor parts by Richard Wagner including Tristan, Siegmund, Siegfried and Parsifal. A member of the Staatsoper Berlin, ...

as both Siegmund and Siegfried. Sabina Cvilak appeared as Sieglinde, and Egils Silins as Wotan.. Laufenberg left the position on 22 January 2024.

References

Literature

* Uwe Eric Laufenberg: ''Palermo''. Strauss Medien, Potsdam 2013, .

External links

*
Alle Artikel kategorisiert unter Uwe Eric Laufenberg
(in German) '' neue musikzeitung''
Uwe Eric Laufenberg
Operabase
Uwe Eric Laufenberg
onlystage.co.uk

''Der Opernfreund'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Laufenberg, Uwe Eric 20th-century German male actors German theatre directors German opera directors German opera managers 1960 births Living people Male actors from Cologne