Erich Geiger

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Erich Geiger (born January 12, 1924 in Karlsruhe , † September 24, 2008 in Dresden ) was a German director , playwright and author .

Life

Geiger was born as the son of the dermatologist Alois Geiger (1893–1965) in Karlsruhe. From 1942 he studied piano at the Karlsruhe Music Academy and gained his first experience as a répétiteur at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe . In 1945 he went to Heidelberg, where he worked as an assistant director for Gustav Hartung .

From August 1946 to July 1949 Geiger worked at the Berlin " Theater am Schiffbauerdamm ". There he staged the German premiere of the play "Die Rassen" by Ferdinand Bruckner . In October 1949 he founded the "Experimentiertheater" in West Berlin, which he took over as director.

From January 1950 Geiger took over the management of the " Metropoltheater " Berlin. In 1950 his operetta "Stars, Money and Vagabonds" with music by Herbert Kawan (1903–1969) had its world premiere at the Dresden State Operetta .

In 1951 he became chief dramaturge and director of the Komische Oper Berlin under Walter Felsenstein . This was followed by productions at various theaters, including a. at the Leipzig Opera and the Halle Opera House . In 1955 he took over the management of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden , which he held until 1965. There he staged numerous operas. In 1962 he premiered his musical "Bei Mirandolina" with music by Herbert Kawan in Dresden.

His productions were characterized by political inadequacy, which led to Geiger being banned from GDR television. After a trip to the funeral of his parents living in West Germany, who had died in an accident, he was refused entry.

In 1967 he staged the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's " Gloriana " at the Städtische Bühnen Münster with Martha Mödl in the leading role. In addition to his work at the theater, he staged several operas for television, a. a. Carmen and La Bohème.

He wrote several plays and submitted numerous German translations and arrangements of Italian operas. In the 1980s he ran a boarding house and published several guides.

In 1995 he moved back to Dresden, where he became chairman of the Dresden Seniors' Academy, of which he directed from 1998 to 2002. In 1998 he became President of the Dresden Seniors Academy for Science and Art.

Awards

In 1999 he received the Medal of Honor from the TU Dresden . In 2000 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Free State of Saxony by Kurt Biedenkopf .

Works (selection)

  • Stars, money and vagabonds , music using Italian folk melodies. Operetta in 2 acts (music by H.Kawan), Dresden 1957
  • At Mirandolina . A musical in three acts based on Goldoni's comedy (music by H. Kawan), Dresden 1962
  • The Terrorist - A Play, 1976
  • This is horrible. With horses , zodiac as if they were people , Glöss-Verlag, 1981, ISBN 3872610341
  • Special offer dream home. Cheery about the pitfalls of the object when buying a house , Glöss-Verlag, 1982, ISBN 3872610368
  • Does your dog need a psychiatrist? Guide for dog lovers , Verlag Rasch und Röhring, ISBN 3891364717

Filmography

  • 1955: La Bohème
  • 1956: Gianni Schicci
  • 1957: Carmen

Theater (direction)

literature

  • Heidrun Hannusch: Dear Papa, it's like a miracle ... About the checkered life of the former Dresden opera director Erich Geiger . Dresden Latest News, January 9, 1999
  • Romy Petrick: "Was I good?" - The Dresden post-war director Erich Geiger . Marburg 2015
  • Romy Petrick: The Dresden post-war director Erich Geiger. in: Sächsische Heimatblätter 62 (2016) 1, pp. 30–36

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short biography of Erich Geiger ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Order bearer of the Saxon Order of Merit, sachsen.de, accessed on December 17, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.geschichte.sachsen.de
personal data
SURNAME Geiger, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German director, playwright and author
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 2008
Place of death Dresden