Ulrich Rasche

Ulrich Rasche is a German director and stage designer.

Career

Rasche was born in Bochum. He studied art history and comparative literature. He obtained a scholarship at The Watermill Center, founded and directed by Robert Wilson.
He began his career in 2002 with Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the Sophiensæle in Berlin. In 2004, he presented the choral project Singing! Immateriell Arbeiten at the Palace of the Republic in Berlin. At the Staatstheater Stuttgart, he has directed The Waves, based on Virginia Woolf, Wilde's Salome, and other works. In 2010, he presented a monologue after Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Sophiensæle.
In 2017, he directed Friedrich Schiller's drama Die Räuber at Residenztheater in Munich, considered his break-through and receiving several awards. A particular focus of his work there-after is on tragedies from ancient Greece, for example:

2017 Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus, Antigone by Sophocles at the Schauspiel Frankfurt
2018 The Persians by Aeschylus, Salzburg Festival
2018 The Bacchae by Euripides, Burgtheater Vienna
2021 Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Deutsches Theater Berlin
2022 Agamemnon by Aeschylus, Epidaurus Festival Athens and Residenztheater Munich
2024 Iphigenie auf Tauris by Goethe, Burgtheater Vienna
2025 Antigone by Sophocles, opening of the Athens Epidaurus Festival

In 2024, he directed Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Schauspiel Bochum. He uses perpetual movement and intense lighting "to create visceral experiences for his audiences", so the Salzburg Festival. His experience in Greek tragedy as well as his understanding of the ancient chorus as music and rhythm has led him step by step to the field of opera. His scenic trademark are mighty treadmills, rollers and turntables. The Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote, ″Ulrich Rasche's stage designs push many theaters 'to their limits and beyond', as the director himself says – and laments. Rasche is the formal drill master of German theater.″
In 2022, he debuted as an opera director with Elektra at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. In 2023, he directed Bach's St John Passion at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. In 2025, he presented his version of Maria Stuarda at the Salzburg Festival. Conductor was Antonello Manacorda, the rival queens were sung by Kate Lindsey and Lisette Oropesa. It was a stunning success with public and press.

Awards

2013 Berliner Kunstpreis, Academy of Arts, Berlin
2017 Theater heute, Best Set Designer
2017 Nestroy Theatre Prize for Best Production in German language
2018 Nestroy Theatre Prize for Best Production in German language
2023 Oper! Award for best design
2023 Hein Heckroth Award for Set Design
Berliner Theatertreffen

Every year, the Berliner Theatertreffen presents the ten most notable productions in German language. The jury consists of seven well-known drama critics. Five of his works have been selected, but not all could be transferred to Berlin and shown there − due to the technical complexity of his scenographies. The selected productions were:

2017 Die Räuber
2018 Woyzeck
2019 Die Perser
2019 Das große Heft
2024 ''Nathan the Wise''