Einar Schleef
Encyclopedia
Einar Schleef
was a German dramatist, director, set designer, writer, painter, photographer, and actor.
Nobel Prize
winning Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek
wrote in his obituary,
, a small town in the South East of Germany. An industrial landscape shaped by mining and surrounded by the mythical landscapes of Harz
and Kyffhäuser
. His father Wilhelm Schleef was an architect, his mother Gertrud Schleef worked as a seamstress. He had one sibling, Hans Schleef.
From 1972-1975 he worked mainly for the Berliner Ensemble
with its artistic director Ruth Berghaus
. He co-directed three productions with B.K. Traglehn ("Katzgraben" in 1972, "Frühlings Erwachen" in 1974, "Fräulein Julie
" in 1975). Even though artistically successful Schleef was put under more and more political pressure. In 1976 he left East Germany and via Vienna
finally settled down in West Germany
. From now on Schleef produced more and more text. Already from 1953 onwards he wrote journals and he continued this practice till his death. In the 1980s he wrote the critically acclaimed novel "Gertrud" portraying the life of his mother. He also wrote plays, radio plays and more fiction. From 1978 to 1982 he studied film making at the DFFB in West Berlin.
Schleef returned to theatre in 1985 when he became a steady director at Schauspiel Frankfurt. In the following 5 years he developed his theatre vision. He re-introduced the choir
as a dramtis personae
and celebrated the tragic potential of the classic, ancient text. This theatre work was controversially received, audiences as well as critics varied between harsh criticism and very positive feedback.
Through the 1990s he continued to produce a number of successful and influential productions such as “Wessis in Weimar” by Rolf Hochhuth
in 1993 at the Berliner Ensemble
. “Puntila
” by Bertolt Brecht
in 1995 at the Berliner Ensemble
. He directed as well as acted in “Puntila”. Another production that needs to be mentioned is “Ein Sportstück
” by Elfriede Jelinek
in 1998 at Burgtheater
Wien and his final piece as a director “Verratenes Volk” using texts by John Milton
, Nietzsche, Dwinger and Alfred Döblin
in 2000 at Deutsches Theater
in Berlin.
The last phase of his theatre work was accompanied by the work on his epic theatre essay "Droge, Faust, Parsifal" published in 1997.
Schleef died in Berlin on 21 July 2001 due to a heart disease. He is buried in Sangerhausen.
was a German dramatist, director, set designer, writer, painter, photographer, and actor.
Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winning Austrian writer Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
wrote in his obituary,
As a poet and creator of theatre, Schleef was the most outstanding phenomenon that I have encountered. The postwar period in Germany has produced only two geniuses - Faßbinder in the West and Schleef in the East.
Life
Schleef was born and raised in SangerhausenSangerhausen
Sangerhausen is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, without being part of it.It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. 35 km east of Nordhausen, and 50 km west of Halle...
, a small town in the South East of Germany. An industrial landscape shaped by mining and surrounded by the mythical landscapes of Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
and Kyffhäuser
Kyffhäuser
The Kyffhäuser is a range of hills located on the border of the German state of Thuringia with Saxony-Anhalt. It stands on the southern edge of the Harz. The range has a length of and a width of . It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg , situated in Thuringia...
. His father Wilhelm Schleef was an architect, his mother Gertrud Schleef worked as a seamstress. He had one sibling, Hans Schleef.
Career
Einar Schleef started to train as a painter while he was still in school. He attended a socialist painting circle lead by Wilhelm Schmied from 1958 onwards. In 1964 he started a degree in fine arts at the arts academy in Berlin Weißensee. After being expelled in 1965 Schleef switched to set design two years later and finished with a bachelor degree in 1973.From 1972-1975 he worked mainly for the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
with its artistic director Ruth Berghaus
Ruth Berghaus
Ruth Berghaus was a German choreographer and opera and theatre director.Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca there and was an advanced student at the German Academy of Arts in Berlin, at least part of the time under Walter Felsenstein -...
. He co-directed three productions with B.K. Traglehn ("Katzgraben" in 1972, "Frühlings Erwachen" in 1974, "Fräulein Julie
Miss Julie
Miss Julie is a naturalistic play written in 1888 by August Strindberg dealing with class, love, lust, the battle of the sexes, and the interaction among them...
" in 1975). Even though artistically successful Schleef was put under more and more political pressure. In 1976 he left East Germany and via Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
finally settled down in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. From now on Schleef produced more and more text. Already from 1953 onwards he wrote journals and he continued this practice till his death. In the 1980s he wrote the critically acclaimed novel "Gertrud" portraying the life of his mother. He also wrote plays, radio plays and more fiction. From 1978 to 1982 he studied film making at the DFFB in West Berlin.
Schleef returned to theatre in 1985 when he became a steady director at Schauspiel Frankfurt. In the following 5 years he developed his theatre vision. He re-introduced the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
as a dramtis personae
Dramatis personæ
Dramatis personæ is a phrase used to refer collectively, in the form of a list, to the main characters in a dramatic work —- commonly employed in various forms of theater, and also on screen. Typically, off-stage characters are not considered part of the dramatis personæ...
and celebrated the tragic potential of the classic, ancient text. This theatre work was controversially received, audiences as well as critics varied between harsh criticism and very positive feedback.
Through the 1990s he continued to produce a number of successful and influential productions such as “Wessis in Weimar” by Rolf Hochhuth
Rolf Hochhuth
Rolf Hochhuth is a German author and playwright. He is best known for his 1963 drama The Deputy and remains a controversial figure for his plays and other public comments, such as his insinuation of Pope Pius XII's sympathies for Hitler's extermination of the Jews in the 1963 play The Deputy and...
in 1993 at the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
. “Puntila
Mr Puntila and his Man Matti
Mr Puntila and his Man Matti is an epic comedy by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. It was written in 1940 and first performed in 1948....
” by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
in 1995 at the Berliner Ensemble
Berliner Ensemble
The Berliner Ensemble is a German theatre company established by playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Helene Weigel in January 1949 in East Berlin...
. He directed as well as acted in “Puntila”. Another production that needs to be mentioned is “Ein Sportstück
Ein Sportstück
Ein Sportstück is a play by Elfriede Jelinek. It was first published in 1998.The playwright examines our obsession with the publicly waged battle of sports....
” by Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek
Elfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
in 1998 at Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
Wien and his final piece as a director “Verratenes Volk” using texts by John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, Nietzsche, Dwinger and Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin
Alfred Döblin was a German expressionist novelist, best known for the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz .- 1878–1918:...
in 2000 at Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
in Berlin.
The last phase of his theatre work was accompanied by the work on his epic theatre essay "Droge, Faust, Parsifal" published in 1997.
Schleef died in Berlin on 21 July 2001 due to a heart disease. He is buried in Sangerhausen.
Literature
- Michael Freitag, Katja Schneider: Einar Schleef. Der Maler, Köln, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8321-9089-7
- Gabriele Gerecke, Harald Müller, Hans Ulrich Müller-Schwefe: Einar Schleef Arbeitsbuch, Berlin, 2002. ISBN 3-934344-12-7
- Alexander Kluge: Einar Schleef - der Feuerkopf spricht. (Hg. Christian Schulte & Reinald Gußmann). Facts & Fakes, Band 5. Vorwerk 8, Berlin, 2003. ISBN 3-930916-59-2
- Harald Müller, Wolfgang Behrens: Kontaktbögen. Fotografie 1965-2001, Akademie der Künste Berlin, 2001 ISBN 3-934344-58-5
External links
- Einar Schleef
- ub.fu-berlin.de list of links edited by Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin
- Einar-Schleef-Arbeitskreis Sangerhausen
- Stiftung Moritzburg Schleef's paintings
- Schleef Vita written by Alexander Kluge, profile ITI Germany