Helmut Juergens

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Helmut Juergens, 1948

Helmut Jürgens (born June 19, 1902 in Höxter , Westphalia , † August 29, 1963 in Munich ) was a German set and costume designer .

life and work

After attending grammar school in Höxter and Warburg, Jürgens completed an apprenticeship as a church and decorative painter from 1920 to 1923. From 1923 to 1924 he studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Kassel and from 1924 to 1926 at the Art Academy Düsseldorf in the stage class of Walter von Wecus . The first independent equipment was made in 1926–1930 for the Krefeld , Mönchen-Gladbach and Aachen theaters . From 1930 to 1938 Helmut Jürgens was head of equipment at the Städtische Bühnen Düsseldorf . From 1938 until the end of the war he was head of equipment at the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main , with guest appearances in Barcelona , Budapest , Mülheim an der Ruhr and Prague . In 1948 Jürgens became chief set designer at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich , where he worked until his death in 1963. During this time there were also various guest performances in Athens , Düsseldorf, Hamburg , London , Naples , Rome , Salzburg and Schwetzingen . In total, Jürgens has furnished more than 200 opera, ballet and drama productions on more than 20 stages. Operas by contemporary composers were a focal point. He had a particularly close collaboration with Carl Orff .

In 1953, Jürgens was appointed to a professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich , where he took over the stage design class as the successor to Emil Preetorius .

Between 1952 and 1963, Jürgens designed more than 60 posters for the “Musica Viva” concert series.

Helmut Jürgens was married to the doctor Cläre Jürgens (1910–2009). The marriage resulted in 2 sons: the neurobiologist Uwe Jürgens (* 1942) and Mathis Jürgens (1947–1996). The grave of Helmut Jürgens is at the forest cemetery in Munich ; the tombstone was designed by the sculptor Josef Henselmann , a long-time colleague of Jürgens and president of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

Awards

On December 15, 1959, Jürgens was awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit . In 1962 he received the Prize for the Promotion of Interpretive Art from the City of Munich. His “Musica Viva” posters have received several awards from the Association of German Commercial Graphics .

estate

Most of Helmut Jürgens' artistic estate is in the Deutsches Theatermuseum in Munich . Stage designs can also be found in the Theater Museum in Düsseldorf , in the Institute for Theater Studies at the University of Cologne, in the music and theater department of the University Library in Frankfurt am Main and in family ownership.

World premieres

The following world premieres were designed by Helmut Jürgens:

  • Werner Egk : Columbus (Frankfurt am Main, 1942)
  • Werner Egk: The Chinese Nightingale (Munich, 1953)
  • Werner Egk: Danza (Munich, 1960)
  • Hans Werner Henze : Elegy for Young Lovers (Schwetzingen, 1961)
  • Paul Hindemith : Harmony of the World (Munich, 1957)
  • Wilhelm Killmayer : La Buffonata (Munich, 1961)
  • Frank Martin : Mystery of the Birth of the Lord (Salzburg Festival, 1961)
  • Carl Orff : Die Kluge (Frankfurt am Main, 1943)
  • Carl Orff: Astutuli (Munich, 1953)
  • Carl Orff: Entrata (Munich, 1963)
  • Hermann Reutter : Odysseus (Frankfurt am Main, 1942)
  • Henri Tomasi : Don Juan de Manara (Munich, 1956)

literature

  • Opera. Essays by contemporary composers. Stage design by Helmut Juergens . Academy for the Graphic Industry, Munich 1962.
  • AR Mohr: The Frankfurt Opera 1924–1944 . Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1971, ISBN 3-7829-0053-7 .
  • Rolf Badenhausen :  Jürgens, Helmut. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 647 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • H. Zehetmair, J. Schläder (Ed.): Nationaltheater. The Bavarian State Opera . Bruckmann, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-7654-2551-6 .
  • J. Schläder, R. Braunmüller: Tradition with a future. 100 years of the Prinzregententheater Munich . Ricordi, Feldkirchen near Munich 1996, ISBN 3-931788-00-8 .
  • A. Batta (Ed.): Opera. Composers, works, performers . Könemann, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2840-7 .
  • U. Hessler, J. Schläder, R. Braunmüller, W. Hösl: Power of feelings. 350 years of opera in Munich . Henschel, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89487-455-4 .

Web links

Commons : Helmut Jürgens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Juergens, Helmut
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German set designer and costume designer
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Höxter
DATE OF DEATH August 29, 1963
Place of death Munich