Roman Hovenbitzer

After studying musical theatre direction under Götz Friedrich in Hamburg, Roman Hovenbitzer was appointed to the Staatstheater Kassel for three years as an assistant director and director. He has been working as a freelance director since 1999 and has since staged over 90 productions across all genres of musical theatre. His career has taken him to, amongst others, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Mozart Week in Salzburg, the opera houses of Augsburg, Braunschweig, Dessau, Dortmund, Essen, Erfurt, Hagen, Kiel, Meiningen, Schwerin, as well as to Prague (State Opera), Innsbruck, Tallinn, Tartu, Salvador/Bahia and on a guest performance tour to the People’s Republic of China. A key focus of his work is on works from the more obscure repertoire as well as modernist works.

From 2014 to 2016, he held a visiting professorship at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, and from 2018 to 2019, a lectorship at the Cologne University of Music and Dance. From 2019 to 2021, he taught as a visiting professor of musical theatre at the Weimar University of Music and directed the opera school there. Since 2021, he has held the Chair of Opera Direction at the University of Music, Drama and Media in Hanover.

In 2023, Roman Hovenbitzer staged Verdi’s *Un giorno di regno* at the Großes Haus of the Musiktheater im Revier with members of the NRW Opera Studio and the Gelsenkirchen ensemble. Upcoming productions include ‘Turandot’ at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, ‘Un ballo in maschera’ at the Augsburg State Theatre, and ‘Suor Angelica’ and ‘Gianni Schicchi’ at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media.