He was born in Twistringen (lower Saxony), Germany, 1942. He studied acting at the University of Music and Theatre, Hamburg (Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg). He first appeared as an actor in Verden (lower Saxony). Directorial collaborations followed in Wilhelmshaven, Celle, Braunschweig and directorial positions in Heidelberg, Augsburg,Darmstadt. He was general artistic manager in Krefeld und Mönchengladbach (1985/91) and artistic manager and director at the Bern Municipal Theatre (1991-2007).He directed operas at European lyric theatres, such as: the Berlin State Opera (Madama Butterfly), English National Opera, London (Lear by Aribert Reimann), Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf and Duisburg (Arabella, Vipern by Christian Jost, world premiere), Semperoper Dresden (Don Carlo), Leipzig Opera (Tannhäuser), Bern Municipal Theatre (Tosca, Die Zauberflöte, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Bernarda Albas Haus by Reimann, Hannover State Opera (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Teatro di Firenze Maggio Musicale (Der Rosenkavalier), Bavarian State Opera of Munich (Macbeth, Falstaff, Schlachthof V, by Hans-Jürgen von Bose in world premiere). He collaborated with famous conductors such as: Angelo Cavallaro, Julius Rudel, Fabio Luisi, Myung Young Chung, Zubin Mehta. He directed theatrical works of authors from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Brecht to Botho Strauss. He teaches at the Mozarteum (Salzburg). He collaborated with the Athens Concert Hall in the first presentations of the works Lulu (2005/06), Erwartung and the Der Zwerg by Zemlinski (2007/08) in front of a Greek audience. For the Greek National Opera, he directed the operas Don Giovanni (Acropol Theatre, season 2006/07), Macbeth (2002/03) and Le Grand Macabre by Ligeti (2004, first time in Greece based on an idea of his own). // Last update of the biography: September 2020 - The list of the productions below is continually updated.