BIOGRAPHY

Katharina Kastening is an award winning female stage director for opera and theatre. She was born in London, England, to German parents.

Throughout her career, Kastening has consistently endeavoured to challenge boundaries and interrogate societal beliefs and structures. Her work as an artist often focuses on reflecting stereotypes, aiming to engage audiences actively and prompt introspection into our own societal conduct. 

After graduating from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2015 with a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies, Katharina completed a MA in Text and Performance, specialising in directing, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Birkbeck, University of London, with a focus on racism, BAME art and artists, and culture and identity in the performing arts.

From 2019 to 2023, she worked as a Staff Director at Oper Frankfurt, Germany.

Awards:
2022/2023 Grand Prix - meilleur spectacle musical de l’année 22/23 - Le Syndicat de la Critique, for her production of Manru at Opera National de Lorraine .
2022 FAUST Perspektivpreis, for her production of Manru at Oper Halle.

© Maike Glöckner

Director credits include:
Otello, Seoul Arts Center (Revival Director)
La Tragédie de Carmen, Buxton International Festival
Tannhäuser, Nikikai Opera Foundation Tokyo (Revival and Associate Director)
Brontë, Grimeborn Opera Festival, Arcola Theatre
Manru, Opera Nationale de Lorraine, Nancy
Der Goldene Drache, Oper Halle
Manru, Oper Halle
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Theater an der Wien (Co-Director), Vienna
Der Karneval der Tiere , Oper Frankfurt
Cosi fan tutte, Royal Opera House (Revival Director)
Daphnis et Chloë (Opera Studio) Opera Northern Ireland, Belfast
Rodrigo (Youth Production), Händel Festspiele, Göttingen
Our Baby, Bread and Roses Theatre, London

Associate Director credits include:
The Wreckers (dir. Keith Warner), Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe
Der Zar lässt sich Photographieren und Die Kluge (dir. Keith Warner), Oper Frankfurt
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (dir. Keith Warner) Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna
Tosca (dir. Keith Warner) Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe
La Forza del Destino (dir. Keith Warner) Semperoper, Dresden
Tosca (dir. Amy Lane), Emirates Palace Auditorium, Abu Dhabi

Assistant Director credits include:
Oper Frankfurt: Die Zauberflöte (dir. Ted Huffman), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (dir. Brigitte Fassbaender), Warten auf Heute (dir. David Hermann), Maskerade (dir. Tobias Kratzer) Bianca e Falliero (dir. Tilmann Köhler), Pénélope (dir. Corinna Tetzel), Manon Lescaut (dir. Alex Ollé) Otello (dir. Damiano Michieletto)

Egmont (dir. Keith Warner), Theater an der Wien, Vienna; Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte, Montepulciano; Rodrigo (dir. Walter Sutcliffe), Händel Festspiele, Göttingen; Cosi fan Tutte (dir. Jan Phillip Gloger), Royal Opera House, London; Der Ring des Nibelungen (dir. Keith Warner), Royal Opera House, London; Falstaff (dir. Robert Carsen) Royal Opera House, London; Agrippina (dir. Walter Sutcliffe) Grange Festival, Hampshire;   Der Besuch der alten Dame (dir. Keith Warner) Theater an der Wien, Vienna; Die Zauberflöte (dir. Torsten Fischer) Theater an der Wien, Vienna; Elegie für Junge Liebende (dir. Keith Warner), Theater an der Wien, Vienna.

Her aim as a director is to be a facilitator in an explorative environment in order to give performers the possibility to produce truthful and heartfelt work.