Piece-Info

For the first time, the »Aktenzeichen« series will focus on just one person, namely the stage director Joachim Herz, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on 15 June 2024. He is a legendary figure in the history of music theatre in the GDR and – in addition to his international successes – is celebrated for his pioneering work above all in Leipzig, Berlin and Dresden. As a student of Heinz Arnold and Walter Felsenstein, Herz developed his staging concepts from the complex musical interrelationships presented by the score or from the context in which the opera was created. Always viewing himself as the »work’s advocate« to the audience, many of his productions became classics of the so-called »realistic« style of music theatre. From 1981, Joachim Herz worked on a large number of productions as head stage director at Dresden State Opera, also creating new productions of »Der Freischütz« and »Der Rosenkavalier« to celebrate the opening of the newly rebuilt Semperoper in 1985.

At this event, archive staff member Katrin Rönnebeck will recall the Dresden legacy of Joachim Herz using selected documents from the Historical Archive of the Saxon State Theatres. This will be an affair of the heart for you and for us!