Berghaus, Ruth
Berghaus, Ruth
Berghaus, Ruth, German opera director; b. Dresden, July 2, 1927; d. Zeuthen, Jan. 25, 1996. She received training in dance at the Palucca School in Dresden (1947–50). In 1964 she became a choreographer with the Berliner Ensemble, serving as its Intendant (1971–77). She garnered notoriety as an opera director at the Berlin State Opera with her staging of II barbiere di Siviglia. From 1980 to 1987 she was an opera director at the Frankfurt am Main Opera, where she oversaw outstanding productions of Parsifal (1982) and the Ring cycle (1985–87); also was active as a guest director in other European opera centers, including Brussels, Hamburg, Munich, and Vienna. In her productions, Berghaus has pursued a radical course laden with symbolism and satire. She was married to Paul Dessau.
Bibliography
S. Neef, Das Theater der R. B. (Berlin, 1989); K. Bertisch, R. B. (Frankfurt am Main, 1990).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire