21 Facts About Michael Hampe

Michael Hampe was a German theatre and opera director, general manager and actor.

Michael Hampe developed from acting and directing plays at German and Swiss theatres including the Bern Theatre, to focus on directing opera and managing opera houses, first at the Mannheim National Theatre, then the Cologne Opera from 1975.

Michael Hampe was professor at the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz Koln since 1977.

Michael Hampe directed at international opera houses and festivals, including productions recorded for television, film and DVD.

Michael Hampe's grandfather was the historian Karl Hampe; his great-grandfather was the cultural historian Johannes Scherr.

Michael Hampe studied dramatics and musicology at the Heidelberg University and in Munich.

Michael Hampe studied further in Vienna with Heinz Kindermann, and submitted his doctoral dissertation on the development of stage technology.

From 1972 to 1975, Michael Hampe was general manager and artistic director of the Mannheim National Theatre.

In 1975, Michael Hampe was named general manager and artistic director of the Cologne Opera, a position he held for 20 years.

Michael Hampe was on the board of directors of the Salzburg Festival from 1983 until 1990, where he was the stage director for productions, often in collaboration with the scenic designer Mauro Pagano.

Michael Hampe's productions included the world premiere of Henze's adaptation of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in 1985, Don Giovanni conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1987, Rossini's La Cenerentola conducted by Riccardo Chailly in 1988, and Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Bernard Haitink in 1991.

Michael Hampe served as a guest director at major opera houses and festivals.

Michael Hampe was professor at the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz Koln since 1977.

Michael Hampe taught at numerous universities and academies in Germany and abroad, including Yale University and the University of Southern California, as well as Europaische Akademie fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst Palazzo Ricci, Montepulciano.

Michael Hampe was honorary board member of the European Music Theater Academy in Vienna.

Michael Hampe was in demand as a theatre construction expert and was vice president of the German Theatre Technology Society.

Michael Hampe consulted for the buildings of the Opera Bastille in Paris and the New National Theatre Tokyo, as well as renovation and modernisation of older theatres.

Michael Hampe died in Zurich on 18 November 2022, at the age of 87.

Michael Hampe was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goldenes Ehrenzeichen des Landes Salzburg and was named Commendatore of the Italian Republic.

Michael Hampe was an honorary member of numerous organisations and federations.

Part of Michael Hampe's archive is located in the University of Cologne's theatre collection, which will receive and administer his complete theatrical estate.