Carmen C. Kruse
OPERA DIRECTOR & NEW WORKS COLLABORATOR
ABOUT
I believe in the power of music theater as an art form and institution to create and promote understanding and its ability to decisively contribute to society by being a place for encounters.
Carmen C. Kruse is an Austrian German freelance 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. They are fed by first-hand accounts and community input and explores traditional constellations by creating immersive experiences, changing the relationship between orchestra and dramatic action, and presenting archaic worlds that inspire the audience's imagination.
Carmen C. Kruse recently directed the world premieres of 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 2020/21, she makes her Italian and French debut, directing the world premiere of Manuel Zwerger's Tutte le ricette (t.i.p.) at Lago Maggiore, as well as a world premiere in Aix-en-Provence.
Carmen C. Kruse won the CROSS Award in Italy (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). She is an Alumna of the Akademie Musiktheater heute (Directing-Scholarship, 2017-19), the Lincoln Center Theaters Directors Lab (2018), and the 2020 Académie du Festival d'Aix.
After studying Music and Media Management with a focus on opera and innovation in Munich and San Diego, Kruse worked a.o. at San Diego Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, and the Osterfestpiele Salzburg. She gave her directing debut with Cavalli's L'Egisto at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival in 2017. Her work has since been seen at Staatstheater Mainz, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden, and Ensemble Modern Frankfurt. Carmen C. Kruse speaks english, german and italian.
Date of publication: June 2020
V. Bond: CLARA
Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden
“Staging and set design fit the lyrical, poetic work in an ideal way. The scene is not naturalistic but leaves space for the symbolic unfolding of the protagonists' inner actions in a romantic space of nature. Nobody plays the piano here, this is mediated by music alone. Robert also does not fight with sheet music when he complains about writing inhibition - Kruse chooses to let time as sand trickle through his hands. (…) A world premiere that convinced in all its parts.”
— Christoph Wurzel, OMM, 15.04.2019
© Jochen Klenk
SCHEDULE
15. & 16.06.2020
OPERA DE-CI DE-LÁ
SEMINAR
Under the Mentorship of ANTHONY HEIDWEILLER
The Opera-de-ci de-là residency which was initially scheduled to take place from the 25th to the 27th March and then from the 15th to the 20th June has been deferred to 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. Nevertheless, on the 15th and 16th June, the selected artists have been invited to participate remotely in an online seminar where they will be able to reflect on the role of art in our society and on creating during times of crisis.
ACADÉMIE FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE
29.06. - 03.07.2020
WOMEN OPERA MAKERS WORKSHOP
Under the Mentorship of KATIE MITCHELL
For the fifth year in a row, the Académie du Festival d’Aix is running an empowerment programme for female opera creators – composers, authors, stage directors and conductors – in the middle of their careers. This 5-day programme is led by the stage director Katie Mitchell and aims to offer tools, support and advice for women working in the opera industry, in order to help them grow stronger in their art, improve their ability to communicate this art, and develop the skills needed to navigate a male-dominated profession.
ACADÉMIE FESTIVAL D’AIX-EN-PROVENCE
31.10.2020
M. ZWERGER
TUTTE LE RICETTE
Winner of the CROSS Award
WORLD PREMIERE
Composer: Manuel Zwerger
Director & Text: Carmen C. Kruse
Set & Video Design: Judith Selenko
TEATRO IL MAGGIORE, VERBANIA
CASA CERETTI, VERBANIA
GET IN ToUCH!
contact
CARMEN C. KRUSE
1090 Vienna
contact(at)cckruse.com
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