Andreas Gergen

Andreas Gergen is the opera director of Landestheater in Salzburg, Austria and Chairman of the Board of the established ‚Bundeswettbewerb Gesang‘ (Federal German Singing Competition). He directed the operas THE MAGIC FLUTE and HÄNSEL AND GRETEL at Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Germany, MADAMA BUTTERFLY at Merzig Opera Festival, as well as Frank Wildhorn’s world premiére of the musical THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO at the theater in St. Gallen, for which Andreas has already helmed the English language workshop production on Broadway in New York City. He also directed a production of JEKYLL AND HYDE at the theatre in Magdeburg, highly acclaimed by audiences and critics, the operetta FRAU LUNA at Salzburger Landestheater in Austria and WEST SIDE STORY at Theater Magdeburg. He also directed the world premiere of the Swiss musical DÄLLEBACH KARI (award for „Best world premiere“ and „Best theatrical production of Switzerland 2010“) and the operetta DIE SCHÖNE HELENA at Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, DÄLLEBACH KARI in Zurich and KISS ME, KATE in Salzburg, Austria. More recent projects are THE SOUND OF MUSIC (first Salzburg production, at Salzburger Landestheater), LA TRAVIATA (Haus of Mozart at Festival house in Salzburg), up-coming HAIRSPRAY (Munich, Merzig and Tecklenburg), DÄLLEBACH KARI (Berne, Switzerland), DIE FLEDERMAUS (Salzburg) and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – THE CONCERT (Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, Vienna, Austria).

Born in Saarland he made his first theatrical experiences at Staatstheater Saarbrücken, where he started as assistant director for the musical theater department of the famous theatre. After his studies as singer, dancer and actor at University Of Arts in Berlin he initially worked as an actor, e.g. at Neuköllner Opera (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM) and at Theater am Potsdamer Platz (world premiére of DISNEY´S THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME). In 2004 he received the “German Comedy Award” for his part of son „Stefan“ in the TV cult-comedy-show FAMILY HEINZ BECKER, starring opposite its creator/writer TV-star Gerd Dudenhöfer. Together with his colleague Christian Struppeck he started his own production company in 1999, producing musicals like YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (Berlin), LITTLE SHOP OF HORROS (Vienna) and NON(N)SENS (Berlin, Basel, Düsseldorf). From 2004-2006 he became General Manager of legendary, long-established and most traditional Schlossparktheater in Berlin, where he directed the European première of the Broadway musical URINETOWN, the classic-operetta WIE EINST IM MAI, or the stage version of the German movie classic DIE DREI VON DER TANKSTELLE, the family show EINE WOCHE VOLLER SAMSTAGE and the play NACHTMUSIK (“Night Music”) by world famous writer Rolf Hochhuth (“The Deputy”).

After two years he was asked to become Artistic Project Manager for Stage Entertainment Germany in their Hamburg headquarters. In this position he was significantly involved in the creative development of major musicals, like for example ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK, based on the greatest hits of celebrated German entertainer Udo Jürgens or the stage musical version of Bully Herbig’s western spoof THE SHOE OF MANITOU, Germany’s most successful movie ever. This show had its world premiere at Theater des Westens in Berlin. He was also Associate Director of the world première of the musical comedy ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YOR at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg in 2007. Other productions include PIAF (Berlin), ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (Basel), Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE (Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken), DRACULA by Frank Wildhorn (Musicalfestival, Graz), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TELL ME ON AN SUNDAY, IRMA LA DOUCE (Berlin), PIRATES OF PENZANCE (Berlin) and the world premiere of WOCHENEND UND SONNENSCHEIN („HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN“) at Komödie im Marquardt in Stuttgart, Germany, for which he co-wrote the script.