Film director, opera director and producer, stage director, actor
Years active
1960 – present
Johannes Schaaf (7 April 1933 – 1 November 2019) was a German film, theatre and opera director and actor. Several of his films have been internationally recognized. His focus shifted to opera in the 1980s and he worked with many of the leading international opera houses within Europe, and was invited to direct at several renowned opera houses in the United States and Asia.
Biography
He initially studied medicine at the Universities of Tübingen and Berlin, but moved into theatre during the 1950s, during which he worked at the Staatstheater Stuttgart as actor and assistant stage director. 1958 he started directing himself at the Theater Ulm. During the 1960s, he became acclaimed through multiple movie and TV productions. His film Trotta was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.[1] He was head of the jury at the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.[2] His movie Tattoo was one of the first films to address the generational tensions during the early years of Germany's "student revolution".
Schaaf lived and worked for many years of his early career with actress Rosemarie Fendel; since 1984 he is married to opera singer Stella Kleindienst [de].