Jürgen Flimm – theatre director with paternal instincts
… and who loves his family of artists
Jürgen Flimm is the epitome of a theatre director with paternal instincts. He is well acquainted with all the children, grandchildren and other relations in his large family, observes them with loving care and interest, is sometimes a little bit anxious but always maintains his sense of humour and playfulness. He fosters and treasures them, gives them ideas and encouragement and, if necessary, admonishes them. Fully aware of the fact that “theatre has a large appetite” he ensures that it is not spoilt too often. Completely besotted with the Muse Thalia, Jürgen Flimm has had a successful career both as a resident theatre director as well as being a versatile stage director; he has also fought to achieve much for the “family”.
As drama director of the Salzburg Festival he has managed to realise two of his favourite projects thanks to his leisurely persistence. The scenic renovation of Jedermann (Everyman) proved to be a major task and now, with the staging of Purcell’s King Arthur, a long cherished artistic dream will be realised. Flimm recently celebrated a triumphant success with his staging of Salome at the Met in New York and now with King Arthur – a work that moves between opera and theatre – he can fully exploit his abilities as a director used to working in both genres, and continue his successful cooperation with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. “I’m looking forward immensely to it”, he says. “It’s also the first time in the history of the Salzburg Festival that theatre and opera come together in the Felsenreitschule. We have marvellous actors and singers in the cast and so it will really be a wonderful challenge for our artistic imagination.”
Così fan tutte
A few years ago Flimm had some bold ideas about Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann. He wanted to stage it as a “Mediaeval pilgrimage drama, in which the audience wander with the actors from one stage to the next. Peter Stein thought it an extraordinarily good idea”, relates Flimm. However, when Flimm then himself took over as drama director at the Salzburg Festival, he handed over responsibility to Christian Stückl. The venture of presenting Jedermann in a new staging was successful – and some performances now also take place in the late evening using torch flares and artificial lighting.
Flimm tries to be “as liberal as possible” as regards various different forms of theatre nowadays. When he was appointed drama director he said, “I intend to present a very broad range. It is a wonderful challenge to try and balance everything.” In the coming season in Salzburg, his last as drama director, it is no longer a question of confronting young berserkers with the older generation but merely a matter of understanding the very different theatre languages of young stars and youthful newcomers.
Karin Kathrein