Christoph Marthaler

Christoph Marthaler (17 October 1951) is a Swiss director and musician.

Biography Born in Zurich, Marthaler initially studied music (recorder and oboe). At the end of the 1960s, he attended Jacques Lecoq's theatre school in Paris. Back in Switzerland, he worked as a theatre musician and composer at Zurich's Theater am Neumarkt. This was followed by compositions for numerous productions at German-speaking theatres. In the following years, Marthaler established himself in the off-theatre scene with various projects. From 1988 to 1993, he worked continuously at the Theater Basel, where he developed several staged song recitals.

In 1993 he moved to the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg with theatre director Frank Baumbauer. In 2000 Marthaler took over as artistic director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich, leaving in 2004. In the following years, he directed plays and operas for some of the most prestigious venues in Switzerland and Europe, including the Paris Opera, the Bayreuth Festival and Madrid's Teatro Real.

In 2015, Marthaler was honored with the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, and in 2018 he received the International Ibsen Award.

Awards 1992: Culture Prize of the Canton of Basel-Country 1996: Konrad Wolf Prize of Academy of Arts, Berlin 1998: Europe Theatre Prize 1999: Ubu Award to the Best Foreign Show performed in Italy for Stunde Null oder die Kunst des Servierens 2004: recognition medal of the City of Zurich for special cultural achievements 2005: Nestroy Theatre Prize to the Best director for Protection from the Future 2006: Ubu Award to the Best Foreign Show performed in Italy for Winch Only from L'incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi 2009: Cultural Prize of the Canton of Zurich 2011: Hans Reinhart Ring 2014: Ubu Award for Best Foreign Show performed in Italy for Glaube, Liebe, Hoffnung by Ödön von Horváth 2015: Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale (Biennale Teatro) 2015: Ubu Award for Best Foreign Show performed in Italy for Das Weisse vom Ei/Une île flottante from Eugène Labiche 2018: International Ibsen Award

Performances

1980: Zurich Theatre Spectacle, Rote Fabrik: Christoph Marthaler – Indeed. An interior 1983: Zurich: Christoph Marthaler after Erik Satie – Blanc et immobile 1985: Minimal Festival Zurich: Christoph Marthaler after Erik Satie – Vexations 1985: Zurich: Christoph Marthaler – Big words anthem. An Impromptu for choir, orchestra, six important men and a stowaway. 1988: Zurich Playhouse: Kurt Schwitters – Ribble Bobble Pimlico 1988: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler / Barbara Mundel – arrival Badischer Bahnhof 1989: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler – When the Alpine Mind Reddens, Kill, Free Swiss, Kill 1990: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler – 1991: Theater Basel: Eugène Labiche – The affair Rue de Lourcine 1992 Schlotterbeck Garage Basel: – Amora 1992: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler after Fernando Pessoa – Faust. A subjective tragedy 1992: Theater Basel: Samuel Beckett – A piece of monologue / Still no longer 1993: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler – Murx the Europeans! Murx him! Murx him! Murx him! Murx it off! (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1993: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler – ProHelvetia 1993: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Christoph Marthaler by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – Goethe's Faust Root 1 + 2 (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1994: Oper Frankfurt: Claude Debussy – Pelléas et Mélisande 1994 Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler by William Shakespeare – storm before Shakespeare – le petit Rien 1994: Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg: Christoph Marthaler – Addiction / pleasure 1994 Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler by Karl Valentin and Maurice Maeterlinck – The intruder – an anniversary concert in two acts 1995: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Christoph Marthaler / Stefanie Carp – Zero Hour or the Art of serving (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1995: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Elias Canetti – wedding 1996: Salzburg Festival: Arnold Schoenberg / Messiaen – Pierrot Lunaire / Quatuor pour la fin du temps 1996: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Ödön von Horváth – Kasimir and Karoline (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1996: World in Basel and Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler – Lina Böglis travel (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1996: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler – Street of the Best. A tour 1996: Oper Frankfurt: Giuseppe Verdi – Luisa Miller 1996: Opéra La Monnaie, Brussels: Klaas de Vries by Virginia Woolf and Fernando Pessoa – A King, Riding 1996: International Music Festival in Lucerne: Michael Jarrell for Christa Wolf – Cassandra director Christoph Marthaler and Anne Bennent 1997: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler / Jürg Henneberger – The Unanswered Question (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 1997: Volksbühne Berlin: Anton Chekhov – Three Sisters 1997: Oper Frankfurt: Ludwig van Beethoven – Fidelio 1998: German Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Joseph Kesselring – Arsenic and Old Lace 1998: Volksbühne Berlin: Jacques Offenbach – La Vie Parisienne 1998: Salzburg Festival: Leoš Janáček – Katya Kabanova 1999: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Christoph Marthaler – Specialists. A survival tea dance 1999: Salzburg Festival: Ödön von Horváth – Beautiful View 2000: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler / Anna Viebrock / Jürg Henneberger – 20th Century Blues 2000: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Christoph Marthaler – Hotel anxiety 2001: Schauspielhaus Zurich: William Shakespeare – Twelfth (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2001: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Christoph Marthaler by Franz Schubert – The Beautiful Miller (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2001: Salzburg Festival: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Le nozze di Figaro 2001: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler after Raffaele Viviani – The Ten Commandments 2002: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Thomas Hürlimann – synchro 2002: Münchner Kammerspiele: Elfriede Jelinek – In the Alps 2003: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Christoph Marthaler – Groundings (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2003: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Georg Büchner – Danton's Death (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2003: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler after Herman Melville – Better not. A thinning 2003: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Christoph Marthaler after Ovid – The Golden Age , with Stefan Pucher and Meg Stuart 2003: Opera Zurich / Zurich Schauspielhaus: Beat Furrer – Invocation 2004: Schauspielhaus Zurich: Christoph Marthaler – T.D.C. A replacement Passion (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2004: Nederlands Toneel (NT) Gent: Christoph Marthaler after Herman Heijermans – shanties 2005: Vienna Festival: Christoph Marthaler / Stefanie Carp – Protection from the Future (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen, Nestroy Theatre Prize for Best Director) 2005: Donaueschingen Festival: Beat Furrer – FAMA. Sound theater for large ensemble, eight voices, actress and sound building 2005: Bayreuth Festival: Richard Wagner – Tristan und Isolde 2005: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler – The fruit fly 2006: KunstenfestivaldesArts Brussels: Christoph Marthaler – Winch only (Premio Ubu, Italy) 2006: Volksbühne Berlin: Ödön von Horváth – Tales from the Vienna Woods 2007: Nederlands Theatre (NT) Gent / Toneelgroep Amsterdam: Christoph Marthaler – Maeterlinck 2007: Opéra national de Paris: Giuseppe Verdi – La traviata 2007: Salzburg Festival / Ruhr Triennale: Christoph Marthaler – Sauser from Italy. A Urheberei 2007: Rote Fabrik Zurich: Christoph Marthaler – lack of space (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2008: Opéra national de Paris: Alban Berg – Wozzeck 2008: Hotel Waldhaus Sils-Maria: Christoph Marthaler – The theater with the Waldhaus (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2008: Centre culturel suisse de Paris: Christoph Marthaler – Lorem Ipsum Dolor: carte blanche à Christoph Marthaler 2009: Vienna Festival: Christoph Marthaler and Anna Viebrock – Riesenbutzbach. A permanent colony. (Invitation to the Berliner Theatertreffen) 2009: Theater Basel: Jacques Offenbach – La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein 2010: Theater Basel: Beat Furrer – Wüstenbuch 2010: Festival d'Avignon: Christoph Marthaler and Anna Viebrock – Nonsense 2010: Theater Basel: My fair lady – a language laboratory 2011: Katuaq Nuuk / Vienna Festival. + – 0 A subpolar basecamp , musical Greenland project; UA 12 May 2011 2011: Salzburg Festival: Leoš Janáček – The Makropulos 2011: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler, Malte Ubenauf, Bendix Dethleffsen – Lo stimolatore cardiaco 2012: Volksbühne Berlin / Vienna Festival: Ödön von Horváth – GlaubeLiebeHoffnung 2012: Zurich Opera House: Christoph Marthaler, Anna Viebrock, Laurence Cummings, Malte Ubenauf – Sale 2013: Acting Cologne: Sasha Rau – Oh it's like home 2013: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler, Malte Ubenauf, Bendix Dethleffsen – king. An enharmonic 2013: Vienna Festival: Christoph Marthaler, Uli Fussenegger – Last Days. An eve 2013: Theater Basel: Christoph Marthaler / Eugene Labuche – Das Weisse from egg (Une ile flottante) 2014: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Christoph Marthaler, Anna Viebrock, Malte Ubenauf – homesickness & Crime 2014: Teatro Real Madrid: Jacques Offenbach – Les contes d'Hoffmann 2014: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler, Anna Viebrock, Malte Ubenauf – Tessa Blomstedt does not give up 2015: Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg: John Osborne – The Entertainer 2015: Theater Basel / Hamburg State Opera: Christoph Marthaler – Isolde 'supper' 2015: Zurich Opera House: G. Rossini – Il Viaggio A Reims 2016: Volksbühne Berlin: Christoph Marthaler – Hallelujah (A Reserve)