Händl Klaus

Libretto

Händl Klaus
© Barbara Aumüller

Austrian born Händl Klaus works all over the world as a writer and film maker. He writes lyric poetry, prose and plays, which have received their word premieres at the Kammerspiel in Munich, the Salzburg Festival, the Burgtheater in Vienna, the Ruhrtriennale and the Steirismark Autumn festival; (Wilde) Mann mit traurigen Augen / (Wild) Man with Sad Eyes and Dunkel lockende Welt / Mysteriously Tempting World were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen (a big honour). He has also written librettos for composers including Eduard Demetz, Beat Furrer (Wüstenbuch / Barren Book, Theater Basel / Wiener Festwochen und Violetter Schnee / Violet Snow, Staatsoper Berlin), Georg Friedrich Haas (the »Schwetzinger Trilogie« Bluthaus / Thomas / Koma / Blood House / Thomas / Coma, which will be followed in 2024 by Liebesgesang / Lovesong), Arnulf Herrmann (Der Mieter / The Tenant, commissioned by Oper Frankfurt 2017), Heinz Holliger (Lunea, Zurich Opera), Klaus Lang (Buch Asche, Theater Bonn), Isabel Mundry (Im Dickicht / In the Thicket, co-production between Staatstheater Mainz and the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, April 2023) and Hèctor Parra (Wilde, Schwetzingen SWR Festival and Les Bienveillantes, Vlaamse Opera). This is the first time he has worked with Vito Žuraj. Händl Klaus is the winner of the Robert Walser Prize, the Locarno Film Festival’s Silver Leopard, The Berlinale’s Teddy Award and, most recently, the Author’s Price (from the Author Foundation Frankfurt am Main) and the big prize from »Haus am Gern«. The operas Coma and Lunea were voted »World Premiere of the Year« in 2016 & 2017 by Opernwelt magazine.