Tilmann Köhler
Tilmann Köhler is a German theatre stage director who has worked with the ensembles of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar and the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. His broad repertoire includes classical plays and world premiered. Several of his productions have been invited to international festivals. Köhler turned to also staging operas in 2013, beginning with Handel's Teseo at the Oper Frankfurt, where he returned to direct Martin's Le Vin herbé, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge.
Life and career
Köhler was born in Weimar. He was a theatre actor and director at the Theaterfabrik of the. He then studied theatre directing from 2001 to 2005 at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts.Drama
Köhler worked from 2005 as stage director for the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. He then moved to the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, where he also led the studio. His production of Ferdinand Bruckner's was invited to the 2007 Berliner Theatertreffen. He staged Goethe's Faust I in Weimar in 2008, 200 years after the first performance. His staging of Brecht's Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe was awarded the in 2009. He also worked for the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, Schauspiel Stuttgart, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Theater Basel and the Oper Frankfurt. Internationally, he directed in São Paulo, Taipeh, at the Moskauer Künstlertheater, in Gwangju in Korea and at the National Theatre Bratislava.Opera
In 2013 Köhler directed opera for the first time, Handel's Teseo at the Oper Frankfurt, invited by Bernd Loebe who had seen his work. Teseo was played at the Bockenheimer Depot, the company's smaller venue. He returned to direct two more Handel operas at the same place, Radamisto in 2016 and Xerxes in 2017. He was invited to direct Zemlinsky's Der Traumgörge in 2020 but it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His next project there was Martin's Le Vin herbé, now for the opera house and adjusting to social distancing. It was prepared including the dress rehearsal but the performances were cancelled due to another lockdown. It was finally played in 2022.Köhler was invited to direct the opening of the 2023/24 season, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro in the first performance with the new music director Thomas Guggeis. A reviewer from the FAZ noted that Köhler staged playful "serious games", in which the women win by "wit, cleverness and presence of mind". Der Traumgörge was finally presented in 2024, conducted by Markus Poschner, with AJ Glueckert in the title role, Zuzana Marková as Gertraud, Magdalena Hinterdobler as Grete and Liviu Holender as Hans. He staged Görge as an outsider in a village, as a bookworm, dreamer and intellectual, and identified the princess of his dreams with the outcast Gertraud.