Early life Born in
Frankfurt, Claus Guth first studied philosophy,
German studies and
theatre studies at
LMU Munich, and later theatre and opera directing with Cornel Franz at the
University of Music and Theatre Munich.
Contemporary opera Guth has focused on contemporary opera. He has staged several world premieres, some in the context of the
Munich Biennale, such as
Hanna Kulenty's
The Mother of Black Winged Dreams (in a co-production with the
Hamburg State Opera) in 1996,
Chaya Czernowin's
Pnima...ins Innere, and
Johannes Maria Staud's
Berenice, to a libretto by
Durs Grünbein based on
Edgar Allan Poe in a 2004 co-production with the
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. In 1995, he directed Henze's
El Cimarrón at the
Atlanta Opera. He staged the world premiere of Berio's
Cronaca del luogo at the
Salzburg Festival in 1999, which is regarded as his international break-through. He went on to direct the premieres of
Klaus Huber's
Schwarzerde at the
Theater Basel in 2001, of
Unsichtbar Land with music by
Helmut Oehring and
Henry Purcell there in 2006. He directed the world premieres of
Peter Ruzicka's
Celan at the
Semperoper in Dresden in 2001, The collaboration with Oehring continued with his
SehnSuchtMEER oder Vom Fliegenden Holländer at the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 2013, and with
AscheMOND oder The Fairy Queen at the
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, performed at
Schiller-Theater in Berlin the same year. He directed the world premieres of
Beat Furrer's
Violetter Schnee at the
Staatsoper Berlin, and of Czernowin's
Heart Chamber at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin, both in 2019.
Other operas Guth directed Verdi's
La traviata at the
Nationaltheater Mannheim, and in 2002 Wagner's
Das Liebesverbot and
Parsifal in 2011. Guth has worked regularly for the Salzburg Festival since the Berio premiere in 1999. It was followed by Gluck's
Iphigénie en Tauride in 2001, and in 2014 at the
Royal Opera House in London conducted by
Semyon Bychkov. In a regular collaboration with the
Theater an der Wien, he brought Handel's
Messiah to the stage in 2008. The biblical texts of the oratorio were combined with an invented plot; the choirs (sung by the
Arnold Schoenberg Choir) were combined with a stylised choreography, and a dancer and a deaf performer who expressed herself in
sign language) were added as further layers. The performance was recorded by
ORF and has also been released on DVD. Guth began a cycle of Monteverdi's operas in 2011 with ''
L'Orfeo, continued in 2012 with Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria and concluded in 2015 with L'incoronazione di Poppea''. In December 2013, he worked on another oratorio in a staged version, Schubert's
Lazarus, supplemented with further vocal works by Schubert as well as instrumental works by
Charles Ives. In November 2012, Guth staged Debussy's
Pelléas et Mélisande at the Oper Frankfurt, He also often works with the choreographer . In 2021, he staged Poulenc's
Dialogues des Carmélites at the Oper Frankfurt, conducted by
Giedrė Šlekytė. == Awards ==