Calixto Bieito

Calixto Bieito was born in Mirando de Ebro (Burgos). From 1999 to 2009 he was Artistic Director of the Teatre Romea in Barcelona. Shakespeare’s «Macbeth» at the Salzburg Festival 2001 and Mozart’s «Don Giovanni» were followed by a highly controversial production of Mozart’s «Die Entführung aus dem Serail» at the Komische Oper Berlin (2004). Since then, he has directed both opera and theatre on stages all over the world. A list of his recent works includes Britten’s «War Requiem» (Basel/Oslo/Hamburg), Zimmermann’s «Die Soldaten» in Zurich and at the Komische Oper Berlin, Halévy’s «La Juive» in Munich, the semi-opera «The Fairy Queen» at Stuttgart State Theatre (2016), Verdi’s «Jerusalem» in Freiburg, Reimann’s «Lear» in Paris, «Oresteia» by Aeschylus/Xenakis at Theater Basel, Prokofiev’s «The Fiery Angel» in Zurich and Puccini’s «Tosca» in Oslo (2017). In 2019 he has produced the opera «The Kindly Ones» by Hèctor Parra, the production «Waiting» with music by Edvard Grieg and a libretto by Karl Ove Knausgård at the Bergen International Festival and Horvàth’s «Italian Night» at Stuttgart State Theatre. His production of Richard Wagner’s tetralogy «Der Ring des Nibelungen» can be seen at the Opéra de Paris from November 2020. At the Residenztheater he has directed «The Cherry Orchard» (2012) and «Leonce and Lena. Dark Night of the Soul». Calixto Bieito won the European Cultural Award in 2009, the Franco Abbiati Prize in 2012 and the Premios Líricos Campoamor in Oviedo in 2014. He is currently Artistic Director of the Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao.