Otto Schenk

Otto Schenk is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director.

Schenk was born to Catholic parents. His father, a lawyer, had Jewish roots and therefore lost his job after the Anschluss in 1938. Schenk studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, and started his acting career at the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Wiener Volkstheater, and as a comedian at Viennas Kabarett Simpl. His directing career began in 1953 at small Viennese venues, later leading him to renowned stages like the Burgtheater, the Munich Kammerspiele or the Salzburg Festival, staging plays by William Shakespeare, Arthur Schnitzler, dn von Horvth, Anton Chekhov. In 1957, Schenk directed his first opera, Mozarts The Magic Flute for the Salzburg Landestheater. His breakthrough as an opera director came in 1962 with Alban Bergs Lulu at the Theater an der Wien. This production was later moved to the Vienna State Opera, where Schenk debuted in 1964 with Leo Janeks Jenfa. He was contracted by the State Opera as a permanent producer for several seasons, while continuing his freelance

Source: Wikipedia