Rudolf Sellner | |
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| Born | Gustav Rudolf Sellner (1905-05-25)25 May 1905 |
| Died | 8 May 1990(1990-05-08) (aged 84) Burgberg,Baden-Württemberg, Germany |
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Rudolf Sellner, bornGustav Rudolf Sellner (25 May 1905 – 8 May 1990[1]) was a German actor,dramaturge, stage director, andintendant.[2] He represented in the 1950s a radicalInstrumentales Theater (instrumental theatre).[3] After decades of acting and directing plays, he turned to staging operas, and was a long-time intendant of theDeutsche Oper Berlin from 1961, when theBerlin Wall was built. He staged notable world premieres, includingErnst Barlach's playDer Graf von Ratzeburg in 1951,Ionesco'sMörder ohne Bezahlung in 1958,Giselher Klebe'sAlkmene in 1961 for the opening of the Deutsche Oper, andAribert Reimann's operaMelusine in 1971.
Born Gustav Rudolf Sellner inTraunstein, he began his career as an actor,dramaturge and stage director at theatres inMannheim underFrancesco Sioli [de] from 1925, inGotha from 1928, and inCoburg from 1929 to 1931. He was influenced by the work ofOtto Falckenberg,Leopold Jessner andErwin Piscator. He was anOberspielleiter, dramaturge and actor at theLandestheater Oldenburg from 1932 to 1937 when he was promoted toSchauspieldirektor (director of plays) there. Sellner joined theNazi Party in 1933.[4] He wasIntendant of theStadttheater Göttingen [de] from 1940 to 1943.[5]
Sellner was Intendant of theStädtische Bühnen Hannover [de] from 1943. He also directed the Theaterschule Hannover, a school of acting as part of the Landesmusikschule Hannover. In 1944 he was appointed Generalintendant of the Städtische Bühnen. In October 1944, he was drafted into theWehrmacht. After World War II, he was aprisoner of war and was interned until 1947 in two U.S. prisoner camps. In the process ofdenazification in 1949, he was ranked as aMitläufer, revised in 1950 to "entlastet".[6] From 1948 to 1951, he worked as a stage director inKiel,Essen andHamburg. He staged in Kiel in 1948The Persians byAeschylus, and in 1950Lorca'sBernarda Albas Haus.[5]
From 1951 to 1961, Sellner was Intendant of theLandestheater Darmstadt. He staged the premiere ofErnst Barlach'sDer Graf von Ratzeburg in 1951. Sellner also had a small theater school in Darmstadt. When the state ceased subsidies in 1954 in the face of a lack of placement success among the graduates, the theater school had to be dissolved. In 1954, Sellner stagedShakespeare'sTroilus und Cressida at theStaatliche Schauspielbühne Berlin, and hisDer Sturm at the 1959Ruhrfestspiele. In Darmstadt, he directed the premiere of Ionesco'sMörder ohne Bezahlung in 1958. He worked as a regular guest at theBurgtheater, staging a cycle of plays bySophocles,Oedipus Rex in 1960,Antigone in 1961, andElektra in 1963.[3][7]
Sellner had a reputation for being a representative of classical theatre. In 1959, he was invited byCarl Ebert to stageSchoenberg's operaMoses und Aron at theStädtische Oper Berlin.[8] He became Generalintendant (General manager) of the opera company, now calledDeutsche Oper Berlin, in 1961. It was during theCold War, and he was expected to showcase culture inWest Berlin in a new opera house. A few weeks before the opening, theBerlin Wall was built, making the ambitious opening performances even more of a logistical challenge.[8] The new opera house was inaugurated in 1961 with a performance ofMozart'sDon Giovanni, staged by Ebert and conducted byFerenc Fricsay, with singers such asElisabeth Grümmer,Pilar Lorengar,Erika Köth,Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,Donald Grobe,Josef Greindl andWalter Berry.[8] The following day, Giselher Klebe'sAlkmene received its world premiere, staged by Sellner and conducted byHeinrich Hollreiser.[8] The third day,Verdi'sAida was shown in a production byWieland Wagner.[8] Sellner held the post at the Deutsche Oper Berlin until 1972.[8] He stagedMussorgsky'sBoris Godunow in 1971 in Berlin, the premiere ofAribert Reimann'sMelusine the same year at theSchwetzingen Festival,Alban Berg'sWozzeck also the same year at theSalzburg Festival, Mozart'sIdomeneo at the Salzburg Festival in 1973,Gottfried von Einem'sDer Besuch der alten Dame at theNationaltheater München in 1975, andThomas Bernhard'sDie Jagdgesellschaft [de] at theTheater Basel in 1974, among others.[8] Occasionally, Sellner also worked for television and film. InMaximilian Schell's productionDer Fußgänger, Sellner played the title role while Schell personified his deceased son.
Sellner was married from 1940 to the actress Manuela Bruhn and from 1951 to Ilse Sellner. The first marriage produced two children. He died in Burgberg, part ofKönigsfeld im Schwarzwald.[5]
Sellner directed several operas for television, and appeared as an actor in films:[9]
Sellner received several awards, including;[3]
1996:Gustav Rudolf Sellner. Regisseur und Intendant,Theatermuseum Düsseldorf [de], by the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung (Collection of theatre science) of theUniversity of Cologne[7]
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