Gerd Heinz

Gerd Heinz (born 21 September 1940)[1] is a German stage, film and television actor and a stage director. He was also active as an academic teacher and theatre manager (Intendant). From 1989, he turned more towards opera. He staged a drama by Thomas Bernhard at the Salzburg Festival in 2016, and Der Ring in Minden, Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen from 2015 to 2018.

Gerd Heinz
Born (1940-09-21) 21 September 1940
Aachen, Germany
EducationCologne University
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Stage director
  • Intendant
  • Academic teacher
Organization
Awards
  • E. T. A.-Hoffmann-Kreisler-Preis
Websitewww.gerd-heinz.de

Career

Born in Aachen, Heinz attended the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium and founded a theatre group there, Die Stufe. He studied German, philosophy and art history at the University of Cologne.[1] At the same time, he pursued training as an actor and stage director at the Schauspielschule der Keller in Cologne.[1]

Heinz began work at the Theater Aachen in 1962, where he played roles such as Tasso and Cyrano de Bergerac.[1] He worked at several theatres, both as an actor and a stage director. He was a professor at the Musikhochschule Hamburg from 1968 to 1978, at times directing the opera class. He became director of drama at the Staatstheater Darmstadt in 1970.[1] From 1973, he regularly directed at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg.[1] He has also worked as an actor in film and television.[2]

From 1982, Heinz was Intendant at the Schauspielhaus Zürich for seven years.[2] In 1997, he was appointed a professor at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Since 2008, he has worked as a freelance director.[2] At the Salzburg Festival in 2016, he staged Thomas Bernhard's drama Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige with Sven-Eric Bechtolf in the leading role.[3] At the Stadttheater Minden, he staged Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen in four consecutive years from 2015 to 2018, concluded by two complete cycles in 2019.[2] A reviewer noted how he achieved great effect by using props sparingly and making efficient use of the limited space, focusing on the psychological aspects of the characters and their relationships.[4]

In 2008, Heinz received the E. T. A.-Hoffmann-Kreisler-Preis.[5]

Literature
  • Andreas Kotte, ed. (2005). "Gerd Heinz". Theaterlexikon der Schweiz (TLS) / Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse (DTS) / Dizionario Teatrale Svizzero / Lexicon da teater svizzer [Theater Dictionary of Switzerland]. 2. Zürich: Chronos. pp. 817–818. ISBN 978-3-0340-0715-3. LCCN 2007423414. OCLC 62309181.

References
  1. "Gerd Heinz / Deutscher Theaterregisseur; Prof. em" (in German). Munzinger. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  2. "Gerd Heinz, Regie" (in German). Stadttheater Minden. 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  3. "Gerd Heinz, Regisseur / Im Gespräch mit Karsten Umlauf". SWR2 Zeitgenossen (in German). SWF. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  4. Schulte, Christoph (12 September 2016). "Da reichen eine Handvoll Requisiten – Wagners "Walküre" in Minden" (in German). Neue Musikzeitung. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  5. "E.T.A.-Hofmann-Kreisler-Preis an Gerd Heinz" (PDF). eta-hoffmann-stiftung.de (in German). Retrieved 29 April 2019.
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