Klaus Schultz © Cevriye Lucan / Lizenz: GFDL
Klaus Schultz © Cevriye Lucan / Lizenz: GFDL

Klaus Schultz

Klaus Schultz began his career initially as an independent dramaturgical associate on various opera productions in Munich, Frankfurt am Main and Augsburg, before being engaged by Christoph von Dohnányi as a dramaturge at the Frankfurt Opera. From 1977 to 1982, he was Chief Dramaturge and press spokesperson for the Bayerische Staatsoper and at the same time Music Dramaturge for the Berlin Philharmonic.

From 1984, Klaus Schultz was General Director of the theatres of the city of Aachen before moving to the National Theatre Mannheim in the same function in 1992. From 1996 to 2007, he was General Manager and Chief Dramaturge of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich. Working with the team of the Gärtnerplatztheater, he developed a broad opera, ballet, concert, musical and operetta repertoire, with a particular focus on the music of the 20th century. Under his management, works by composers such as Aribert Reimann, Igor Stravinsky, Werner Egk and Hans Werner Henze were performed, along with first performances and premieres of Wilfried Hiller, Vladimir Tarnopolski, Avet Terterian, Johannes Maria Staud, Dieter Schnebel and Luigi Nono. With his Ballet Director Philip Taylor, he developed a multi-faceted dance repertoire with national and international guest performances.

After the death of August Everding in 1999, Klaus Schultz was appointed Managing President of the August Everding Bavarian Theatre Academy and from 2002 to 2008 supported the management of the Bayreuth Festival in an honorary capacity.

In addition, Klaus Schultz was also an active publisher and author and gave lectures on music and the theatre. In 2000, he was appointed a Professor of Bremen University and also taught in locations such as Frankfurt, Munich, Heidelberg and, from 2006, also at the August Everding Bavarian Theatre Academy and the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In addition, guest professorships took him to Indiana University in Bloomington (USA), amongst others.

In February 2014, Klaus Schultz was given Honorary Membership of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. He died in Munich on 26 April 2014.