Biography

STAGE DIRECTOR

Opera

Download here the Press Portfolio 2024 – Benjamin Prins

Since 2022, the stage director Benjamin Prins, born in Lisieux (1982), is based in Germany working as Operndirektor & principal stage director at Theater Nordhausen.

“The new artistic director of the Opera Nordhausen Benjamin Prins gave a magnificent directorial debut with DON GIOVANNI.
What the audience got to see was great art.”
Vera Lengsfeld, 29.01.2023

Among his latest productions:

• ROMÉO & JULIETTE by Gounod, Nordhausen Opera (2024)
• ORPHÉE AUX ENFERS by Offenbach, Opera Zuid (2023)
• IM WEIßEN RÖßL by Benatzky, Nordhausen Opera (2023)
• IL DON GIOVANNI by Mozart, Nordhausen Opera (2023)
• DIE GLÜCKLICHE HAND by Schönberg & GIANNI SCHICCHI by Puccini, Würzburg Opera House (2021)
• FANTASIO by Offenbach. Opera Zuid, Cologne Philharmonie, Hague Opera House. (2019)
• VOUS QUI SAVEZ CE QU’EST L’AMOUR, by Romie Estèves after Mozart, Théâtre de l’Athénée (2019)
• WERTHER by Gounod. National Opera Brunswick (2017)
• DIE LUSTIGEN WEIBER VON WINDSOR by Nicolai. Dessau Opera House (2017)
• COSÍ FAN TUTTE by Mozart. Erfurt Opera House (2016)
• A KÉKSZAKÁLLÚ HERCEG VÁRA by Bartók. Dessau Opera House (2016)
• FAUST by Gounod. Erfurt Opera House (2015)
• THE BEGGAR’S OPERA by Britten. National Opera Montpellier (2013)

« Spectacular « 
« cinematic »
« a performance that knows how to touch directly. »
MDR KLASSIK, Bernhard Doppler, 2024

From 2005-2012, Prins worked alongside some of Europe’s most acclaimed masters of opera and theater as an assistant director in over sixty productions, in France and abroad, among them:

• Olivier Py. HAMLET at the Theater an der Wien, LA FORZA DEL DESTINO at the Cologne Opera and IL TROVATORE at the Munich Opera Festival
• Johannes Weigand. STIFFELIO at the Fenice of Venice
• Carlos Wagner, LOHENGRIN at the Opera de Rouen et Opera Rennes
• David Pountney. DER KUHHANDEL at the Volksoper Vienna
• Waut Koeken. LA VIE PARISIENNE at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg
• Guy Montavon. LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT at the Shanghai Opera

After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Law-Political Science and a Masters in Linguistics at the University of Montpellier, he chose to enhance his knowledge of the German language, culture, and musical and theatrical canon and was accepted to the prestigious Austrian University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna. He graduated with honors with a major in Musical Theater Direction (Prof. Reto Nickler).

“His French and Germanic culture gives him a much broader vision.”
Olivier Py, Directeur Festival d’Avignon, 2014

His interest in the future of musical theater also leads him to regularly give masterclasses in the performing arts, and to conduct pedagogical productions together with Opera Fuoco (David Stern), with Luxembourg Philharmonie (Stefan Gehmacher/Pascal Sticklies) and Le Parlement de Musique (Martin Gester) among others.

Benjamin Prins has been laureate of a artistic residency 2019  at the Cité internationale des arts from where he  produced the trilogy THE EXPLORERS for the Young audience.
He also completed his 3 years training to become a teacher of the Alexander Technique ® ( Training Center of Agnès de Brunhoff in Paris).

« A breathtaking journey into the darkness of Bluebeard’s soul, directed by young Frenchman Benjamin Prins…
a luminosity of musical pathos with dark opulence… »
Joachim Lange, 01.05.2016, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung

He is fluent in French, English, German and Italian.

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