The 56-year-old playwright and director will be the new director of Berlin's Volksbühne, Culture Senator Klaus Lederer confirmed on Wednesday. It's hoped that Pollesch will end years of turbulence at the theater.
Image: picture-alliance /dpa/M. Gambarini
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The appointment of René Pollesch as director of one of Berlin's most revered theater institutions is to take effect for the 2021-22 season, Berlin Culture Senator Klaus Lederer confirmed on Wednesday, following much speculation.
The appointment will likely mark the end of a tempestuous time at Berlin's renowned Volksbühne theater after the Belgian curator and former head of London's Tate Modern Chris Dercon was picked in 2015 to replace longtime Volksbühne director Frank Castorf.
René Pollesch, here receiving the Theaterpreis Berlin in 2012, has the chance to return the Volksbühne to its roots Image: Imago Images/Drama-Berlin
Intensive protests against the decision to install Dercon included a sit-in at the theater lasting six days, with supporters of Berlin's iconic "people's" theater believing that the new director would corporatize the institution — and gentrify the city. Personal abuse was also leveled at Dercon, who resigned less than a year into his tenure in April 2018.
After Castorf revolutionized the theater in his own radical image across 25 years, Dercon's offerings were also considered bland and failed to enthuse the public.
"Both parties have agreed that Chris Dercon's appointment has not worked out as hoped, and the Volksbühne promptly needs a fresh start," stated Berlin public radio station, RBB, last April.
Hard act to follow: The shadow of Volksbühne legend Frank Castorf loomed large over Chris Dercon's short reign Image: picture alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
New beginnings?
But the appointment of René Pollesch to the directorship is not quite a new start. A highly experienced dramaturge who served part of his apprenticeship at London's Royal Court Theatre in the 1990s, Pollesch worked extensively at the Volksbühne under Castorf as director of the theater's side venue, Prater, from 2001 to 2007.
Pollesch was born in Friedberg in the state of Hesse in 1962, and has worked in major theater houses in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Vienna and Frankfurt, in addition to Berlin, where he recently staged Cry Baby and Black Maria at the Deutsches Theater. Among his many awards, Pollesch received Germany's top theater award, the Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis, in 2002 for his work at Prater.
The Volksbühne remains one of the most important theaters in Berlin. But its cult status diminished under Dercon's controversial reign, with costly in-house productions, declining viewer numbers and lack of sponsorship funds putting the institution at risk.
Volksbühne's former managing director, Klaus Dörr, will remain the temporary director until 2021, when Pollesch will assume his new role.
The world's most famous theaters and opera houses
On World Theater Day we look at some of the world's outstanding theater and opera houses. From ancient Greece's amphitheaters to Sydney Opera House's nesting arches, theaters have defined our landscapes for millennia.
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The Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus in Athens
The beginnings of theater in Ancient Greece were dominated by performances of ritual songs, dances and sacrifices in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy. Greek tragedy then evolved out of these. According to Aristotle's (384-322 B.C.) theories of drama, the art form should cause the viewers to shudder and feel compassion, resulting in a cleansing effect.
Image: Imago/Andreas Neumeier
The Comedie-Francaise in Paris
17th-century French Classicism, defined by order, clarity and restraint, included authors like Pierre Corneille, Voltaire and Jean Racine. Racine's tragedy "Phedre" opened the Comedie-Francaise theater in 1680. The Parisian theater remains renowned today, especially for its performances of plays by Moliere (above), hence its nickname, "The Home of Moliere" ("La Maison de Moliere").
Image: gemeinfrei
The Burgtheater in Vienna
Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780) initiated the theater's creation in 1741, and the famous Burgtheater, or Austrian National Theater, opened its doors to the public in 1888. Today, the Neo-Baroque building located opposite Vienna's city hall houses one of the German-speaking world's most important theaters. The Viennese refer to their theater as "The Burg" and its ensemble as "Burg actors."
Image: picture-alliance/H. Ringhofer
The Semperoper in Dresden
Dresden's Semperoper was named after Gottfried Semper, who also designed Vienna's Burgtheater. The Semperoper opened in 1878 with Carl Maria von Weber's orchestral "Jubel Overture" and Goethe's tragedy "Iphigenia in Tauris." Later on, comspoer Richard Wagner premiered many of his operas in the magnificent building. The building is home to the Saxon State Orchestra and Opera.
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The Royal Opera House in London
When today's visitors enter the Royal Opera House in the London neighborhood of Covent Garden, they are stepping into the third building built to house the royal company. Fires devastated the two previous structures. German composer Georg Friedrich Handel was very active here, both as a composer and as an organist. He wrote some of his operas and oratorios especially for the Royal Opera.
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The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow
Assassination attempts, legends and fame have marked the history of Russia's most significant theater for opera and ballet, the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Its huge ensemble, consisting of more than 200 female dancers, is seen as one of the world's best. Performances of Tchaikovsky's ballet "Swan Lake" are particularly popular with viewers. Following restoration works, the theater reopened in 2011.
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The Teatro La Fenice in Venice
The reference to "fenice" (Italian for "phoenix") is anything but a coincidence. The name was chosen because the Venetian opera house had to be reconstructed after burning to the ground. The fiery bird, a symbol of the Enlightenment, also alludes to the Freemasons, who participated in the reconstruction. Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi premiered several of his works in the opera house.
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The Metropolitan Opera in New York
From 1880 through 1966, the Metropolitan Opera was located on Broadway. It then moved to New York City's Lincoln Square, where it remains today. The "Met," one of the world's most renowned opera houses, owes much of its fame to the numerous outstanding singers and conductors that have graced its hall, such as Austrian composer Gustav Mahler. The Met gave the first opera radio broadcast in 1910.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Tichler
Sydney Opera House
One can hardly imagine Sydney without its visually striking opera house. The unusual building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Danish architect Jorn Utzon and finished in 1973. While the unconventional design initially triggered a lot of controversy, the building become one of Australia's most important tourist attractions.
