Felsenstein, Walter

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Felsenstein, Walter (b Vienna, 1901; d East Berlin, 1975). Austrian opera producer and actor. Début as actor, Lübeck 1923. Chief opera and drama dir. Basle Stadtth. 1927–9. Opera producer at Cologne (1932–4), Frankfurt (1934–6), Zurich (1938–40), and Schiller Th., Berlin (1940–4). Prod. Le nozze di Figaro, Salzburg Fest. 1942. Producer and Intendant, Berlin Komische Oper from 1947, setting new standards in imaginative and totally integrated prod. techniques, particularly in Die Fledermaus (1947), Carmen (1949), The Cunning Little Vixen (1956), Don Giovanni (1966), Fiddler on the Roof (1971), and Háry János (1973). Prod. film version of Fidelio. Among producers who worked and studied with him were Joachim Herz, Harry Kupfer, Götz Friedrich, and Ruth Berghaus.