A Touch of Broadway in Baden

Theater or musical theater as a career – was that always a clear goal for you, or more of a happy coincidence?
The desire to tell stories that touch people has always been there. But I never planned for musical theater to become my profession and the center of my life. It was more a series of happy coincidences. My parents ran a bakery, where I had to help out when I was a child. Nevertheless, they gave me the opportunity to take piano lessons and sing in various choirs. At school, I was involved in the theater club. As soon as I got my driver's license, there was no stopping me, and I drove to the state theater to gain my first professional theater experience in the extra choir, ballet, small roles, and even as an assistant director. This led to me studying musical theater in Berlin in 1995, which I completed with honors four years later.

After my first roles, including in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, I began directing my own productions, which also brought me to Austria. In 2002, I staged the musical The Little Shop of Horrors at the Metropol in Vienna. The productions eventually became larger, and I expanded my repertoire to include opera, operetta, and drama. I can now look back on more than 100 productions. I realized very early on that theater is a space where I can express myself –  emotionally, politically, artistically. And musical theater offers me the greatest variety of expression: it combines acting with singing and dancing – and, at its best, can create worlds that get under your skin.

Do you remember the first musical you saw?
Yes, it was The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg in 1993. I was sitting at the very back in the last row, so I couldn't fully enjoy the performance – but something still grabbed me. The next day, I spontaneously bought a ticket for Cats at the Operettenhaus – and it was a revelation. The intensity, the immersive concept, the fact that the cats also perform in the auditorium – it really electrified me. It was the first time I experienced how powerful musical theater can be when it breaks down the distance between the performers and the audience.

You can look back on numerous productions at various theaters, but now you have decided to take on the artistic direction of a theater...
I had already worked as opera director at Salzburger Landestheater from 2011 to 2017. I also managed the Schlossparktheater in Berlin as artistic director and managing director. So I was aware that the work of an artistic director differs fundamentally from that of a director. As a director, you think in terms of projects – as the head of a theatre, you think in terms of annual cycles, ensemble development, audience expectations and long-term visions. One surprise in the best sense of the word is the great commitment of the team in Baden. I came with lots of ideas – and met people who are open to going down this path. That's not something you can take for granted.

As the new artistic director, you have made some changes to the ensembles. For example, instead of a ballet company, there is now a dance ensemble, and the Young Artists have been added. Why did you make these decisions?
It‘s important to me to adapt the artistic structures of the Baden stage to the requirements of today's musical theater. A dance ensemble that masters not only its main discipline of “dance” but also “singing” and “acting” enables a greater stylistic range – both for the ‘musical’ genre and for “operetta.” The Young Artists, on the other hand, are truly close to my heart: I see them not only as young talent, but also as a source of inspiration. Young voices, new perspectives, fresh energy – that's what we need if we want to create truly contemporary musical theater.

What is it that fascinates you most about musicals? And why did you decide to develop Bühne Baden more in this direction?
For me, musicals are the most vibrant format in musical theater. They are not afraid of big emotions; they are fast-paced, political, poetic – depending on the material. In Baden, I see an opportunity to give musicals a new home: with high quality, artistic standards, but also a passion for storytelling. My goal is a musical theater that both entertains and moves – and that is not afraid to take a stand. It can reach a wide audience without losing any of its depth. The Baden stage has the potential to become a strong player in this field in Austria – with its own profile and national appeal. I don't just want to perform musicals here, I want to take them seriously: as an art form with aesthetic standards and social relevance.

The proximity to Vienna: Do you see this as competition or potential?
Definitely as potential. We are close enough to be attractive to the Viennese audience, but also independent enough to create a deliberately different offering with a strong artistic signature. We can consciously set a new and individual tone – offer something more personal, perhaps even more daring. We don't want to be a small copy of Vienna, but rather an independent venue for innovative musical theater with character.

Baden has a long tradition as a city of operetta. How do you intend to approach this topic and cultivate this genre? Do you already have any ideas for the upcoming seasons that you can reveal?
Operetta is part of this house's DNA – I don't want to change that, and I won't. But I want to keep the works alive, free them from the constraints of pure nostalgia, and find new perspectives – with respect for the genre, but also relevance for today's audience. And yes: there are already some exciting operetta ideas for the coming seasons – from an operetta premiere to popular classics and lesser-known works in surprising performance concepts.

Operetta and musical – these are often presented as opposites. Do you see it that way too? Is it possible to get  the audience of one genre excited about the other? And how are you planning to achieve that?
I don't see any contradictions, but rather two sides of the same coin. Both genres work with music, emotions, and exciting stories – they tell stories about life, just using different means. I believe you can build bridges if you deliver quality and find stories that connect people. I am sure that our operetta audience will also enjoy musicals – and vice versa. It's about arousing curiosity – and taking the audience on a journey where they discover something new again and again.

Which pieces are still missing from your personal wish list? And are there perhaps even stories that you think should definitely be told in musical theater but have not yet been written?
Of course, I have a wish list – a whole treasure chest of topics, visions, and projects close to my heart. But I don't want to reveal anything at this point. Not because I want to be mysterious, but because I am convinced that every piece needs its own moment – and that art sometimes has the strongest impact when it comes across not as an announcement, but as a discovery.

But what I can say with certainty is that it is particularly important to me to make the Bühne Baden a place where German-language and Austrian premieres are a natural part of the program. I want to develop this house into a creative hotspot where not only the living memory culture of operetta is lovingly cultivated, but also a new concept of the present emerges. As the premier address for musical theater that asks questions, that is courageous, that breaks new ground in Austria and Europe.

That is why we are also planning major new productions as world premieres – productions that will be seen on stage here for the first time. And I promise: it will be surprising, emotional, thought-provoking – and never arbitrary. The Baden stage is set to become a place where stories are not only told, but experienced. A theater that does not exhaust itself in its repertoire, but constantly asks itself: What do we want to tell today? And why?