Klaus Bertisch
Dramatist
© Ariadni Kalemis
Biography
Klaus Bertisch studied English and German literature, education theory and artistic training in Frankfurt. Between 1979 and 1987, he was a dramaturg at the Frankfurt Opera and he subsequently assumed the same role at various operas in Germany and Belgium. From 1987, he began working as a dramaturg and independent writer for the Siemens Cultural Programme in Munich and for a number of theatres and festivals in Europe.
From 1990 to 2018 he was a dramaturg at the Dutch National Opera and worked with Pierre Audi for various productions such as Die Zauberflöte, the creations of Wolfgang Rihm's Dionysos at the Salzburg festival, Henze's Gisela! at the Ruhrtriennale and Fin de partie at La Scala in Milan (revived last season at the Paris Opera), La Conquête du Mexique and Bomarzo at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and Parsifal at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich.
He has collaborated with Willy Decker on several projects, including the Ring Cycle at the Dresden Semperoper, Die Tote Stadt and La Traviata at the Salzburg Festival, as well as Death in Venice at the Liceu in Barcelona. He was also the dramaturg for the Dale Duesing production of Chabrier’s L’Étoile at the Berlin Staatsoper, and for the Floris Visser production of Così fan tutte at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
With Christof Loy, he has worked on Ariodante (Salzburg festival), La Forza del destino and Tannhäuser (Amsterdam), Euryanthe et Zazà (Theater an der Wien). In 2022, he was the dramaturg for the Andrea Breth production of Salomé at the Aix-en-Provence festival.
Klaus Bertisch has also staged recitals on texts by Rilke, Heine, Goethe and Morike. He has been a lecturer in theatre studies at the Amsterdam university, and has taught at the International Opera Studio Nederland, Stuttgart's Academy of Fine Arts and the Aix-en-Provence festival's Academy. He now teaches at the Dutch National Opera Academy (Amsterdam).
He has published the Schwanenmärchen collection, as well as a work on the director Ruth Berghaus and a biography of Dutch composer Leo Smit.
