OUR COMPANY

Stefan Herheim

Artistic Director Opera Musiktheater an der Wien

As one of the most sought-after opera directors of his generation, Stefan Herheim will take over as artistic director of the Theater an der Wien, the stagione opera house of the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, from the 2022/23 season.

After training as a cellist and singer and working in various roles, including at the opera in his hometown of Oslo, Herheim studied musical theatre direction with Götz Friedrich at the University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg.

Herheim's repertoire ranges from early Baroque opera to contemporary music theatre, which he has staged at numerous opera houses and renowned festivals in collaboration with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Adam Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons, Antonio Pappano and Simon Rattle.

He has won numerous international awards and has been voted "Director of the Year" three times in the critics' poll conducted by Opernwelt magazine.

Herheim regularly teaches at European universities and serves as a juror at international competitions. He has been a professor at the Norwegian Opera Academy since 2018.

At the 2022 Opera Awards ceremony at the Teatro Real Madrid, Stefan Herheim was awarded the prize in the Director category. In 2024, he was awarded the Austrian Music Theatre Prize for Best Director for his production of The Cunning Little Vixen at the MusikTheater an der Wien.

Prof. Dr. Franz Patay

Management VBW

Prof. Dr. Franz Patay, born in 1961, has been managing director of Vereinigte Bühnen Wien since October 2016. From 2014 to 2018, he held the position of rector of the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna.

Previously, he was managing director of KUNST HAUS WIEN GmbH from 2007 to 2014, managing director of IMZ– Internationales Musik & Media Centre Vienna, founding managing director of Kunsthalle Wien GmbH in 2012, managing director of Joseph Haydn Burgenland GmbH in 2008, managing director of Wiener Mozartjahr Organisationsges.m.b.H from 2004 to 2007 and coordinator of the "Vienna Mozart Year 2006".

Franz Patay is also a member of numerous international art and music committees (including the International Music Council in Paris and the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New York, which is responsible for the International Emmy Awards). He is a member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's general assembly, the board of trustees of the Alban Berg Foundation, and has been a member of the ORF III cultural advisory board since 2017.

He regularly gives specialist lectures at home and abroad.

Christian Struppeck

Artistic Director Musical Raimund Theater / Ronacher

Christian Struppeck has been working in the musical theatre industry for three decades. He has been the artistic director of Vereinigte Bühnen Wien since 2012. In this role, and previously as artistic director and head of the creative department at musical production company Stage Entertainment Germany, he has been responsible for over 40 major productions, including CATS, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, TANZ DER VAMPIRE, TITANIC, MAMMA MIA!, WICKED, ELISABETH, MOZART!, MARY POPPINS, THE BODYGUARD, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA, DISNEY'S THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, REBECCA, MISS SAIGON and many more.

Together with Andreas Gergen, he ran the Creative Agency Berlin, and together they staged more than 40 musicals and operettas in German-speaking countries. He is the creator, co-author and co-director of the hit musical ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK (I've Never Been to New York), which was developed in close collaboration with Udo Jürgens (Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Tokyo, Munich, Zurich, Stuttgart, Linz, Salzburg, Bregenz, Oberhausen, Thun and cinema adaptation) and co-author of I AM FROM AUSTRIA, the musical featuring the hits of Rainhard Fendrich (Vienna, Osaka, Tokyo, TV broadcast). 

Together with three-time Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz, he wrote the musical SCHIKANEDER, which premiered in Vienna in a production by legendary director Sir Trevor Nunn. He is also the author and creative developer of the musical DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME (Thun, Vienna, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Germany, Netherlands) and wrote the musical comedy WOCHENEND UND SONNENSCHEIN (Stuttgart, Lucerne, etc.) as well as new book versions of DIE DREI VON DER TANKSTELLE (Berlin, Vienna, etc.), DIE SCHÖNE HELENA and FRAU LUNA. He was also co-author of the successful Swiss musical production DÄLLEBACH KARI (Thun, Zurich, Bern, revival in 2023). Most recently, the world premiere of ROCK ME AMADEUS – DAS FALCO MUSICAL took place at the Ronacher, for which he was responsible for creative development and also wrote the book. He is currently working on several new VBW musicals. Christian Struppeck is a recipient of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.