Claus Helmut Drese

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Claus Helmut Drese (25 December 1922, in Aachen – 10 February 2011,[1] in Horgen, Switzerland) was a German opera and theatre administrator, and author.

Early career

Drese began his career as a dramaturg at the Marburger Schauspielhaus in 1946. From 1952 to 1959, he was chief dramaturg and director at the Mannheim National Theatre. He was a theatre director in

Zurich Opera House, where his achievements included productions of Monteverdi's operas conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and staged by Ponnelle.[3]

Vienna State Opera

In 1984, Austrian culture minister

Mozart
-operas.

Drese also engaged conductors who had never conducted at the State Opera before, such as Harnoncourt (

).

Criticism, dismissal and aftermath

Though Drese's term was internationally acknowledged as a very successful one, he received criticism for aspects of his work, such as excessive expenditure on 'star' opera singers.

Eberhard Wächter and Ioan Holender. Drese contemplated about resigning immediately, but finally chose to fulfill his contract. His final premiere in June 1991 was Der ferne Klang by Franz Schreker, conducted by Gerd Albrecht and staged by Jürgen Flimm
. Ultimately, Drese's ideas to secure the State Opera's independence from the other state theatres were realized years later by his successor Holender, in addition to his idea of establishing longer running series of performances.

References

  1. ^ "Claus Helmut Drese gestorben", Susanna dal Monte, OE1.ORF.at, 17. Februar 2011
  2. ^ "Claus Helmut Drese 1922-2011". Der Standard. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2014-11-27.
  3. ^ Marianne Zelger-Vogt (2011-02-18). "Bewahrer und Entdecker: Claus Helmut Drese, ein Theatermann von eigenem Format, ist gestorben". Neue Zurcher Zeitung. Retrieved 2014-11-27.
  4. ^ "Nachruf: Claus Helmut Drese ist tot". Die Presse. 2011-02-17. Retrieved 2014-11-27.

Bibliography