Hainer Hill

Hainer Hill (born Heinrich Hill; 28 July 191320 August 2001) was a German scenic designer, costume designer, painter, graphic artist and theatre photographer who was based in Berlin and worked internationally. After studying painting in Frankfurt, he worked at the Oper Frankfurt, assisting Caspar Neher. Together they moved to Brecht's Berliner Ensemble where Hill created an iconic stage for Mutter Courage and took hundreds of scene photographs now archived at the Akademie der Künste. When the Berlin Wall was erected, Hill, who lived in the West and had worked in the East, began to work freelance, including at the Royal Opera House. In 1966 he became director of scenery (Ausstattunggsleiter) at Opernhaus Dortmund, and there he created the stage for the world premiere of Eli by Walter Steffens, which was followed by 45 other productions. Hill is best remembered for his focus on light projection.

Life and work

1913–1945 Born in Eberstadt (now part of Darmstadt), he was called Hainer at an early age. His mother was a tailor and his father a decoration painter. Beginning in 1927, following elementary school, Hill was trained as a house painter. Simultaneously, he took a course in decoration painting at the Städtischen Gewerbeschule in Darmstadt.