Carmen C. Kruse is an Austrian German opera stage director, working on repertoire and new opera. Her works are shaped by an in-depth, psychological exploration of broad societal themes and their effects on individuals. Fed by first-hand accounts and community input, she creates immersive experiences, changes the relationship between orchestra and dramatic action, and presents worlds that inspire, empower, and connect.

 

In 2020, Carmen C. Kruse co-founded the opera start-up and creative producer, Civic Opera Creations (COCREATIONS), for which she serves as Artistic Director. Kruse recently directed the world premieres of Amy Crankshaw's Bruissements du Cosmos at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Victoria Bond's Clara at the Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden and Thierry Tidrow's micro-opera A Safe and Special Place at Ensemble Modern, Frankfurt. In 2022, she makes her Italian, Swiss and Argentinian debut, directing the VR world premiere of Manuel Zwerger's VR-BANIA at CROSS Festival and Festival MAIA. 

 

Carmen C. Kruse won the CROSS Award in Italy (5t edition, October 2019), as well as the directing competition of the Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden, the Berliner Philharmoniker, Theater Baden-Baden, and the Deutsche Bank Stiftung (April 2018), and was a finalist of the new music theater competition OPER.A 20.21 of the Fondazione Haydn Stiftung (2019) and the NOperas! Competition (2021). She is an Alumna a.o. of the Akademie Musiktheater heute (Directing-Scholarship, 2017-19), the Lincoln Center Theaters Directors Lab (2018), the BMP: Producer Academy in New York (2020), and the Women Opera Makers Workshop with Katie Mitchell at L`Académie du Festival d'Aix (2020).

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Date of publication: September 2021