• Source: Benno Besson

Benno Besson was a Swiss Theatre Director.

Benno Besson (born René-Benjamin Besson; 4 November 1922 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland – 23 February 2006 in Berlin, Germany) was a theatre director.
Besson was the son of a teacher couple in french speaking Switzerland, Kanton Vaud. He was the youngest of their six children.




Switzerland


Besson realised his first directing work while touring various plays with the Troupe des Ecoliers in Yverdon, Vaud. From 1942 to 1946, he studied Roman and English language and literature in Zurich. It was there that he first came across the name Bertolt Brecht in an antiquarian bookshop. Here in Zurich he had the opportunity to attend many plays by exiled German actors and the premiere of Brecht's works at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. He translated and adapted the spoken word poem 'The Three Soldiers' into French and toured it under the name 'La bataille de Kohlen' with his troupe in 1945. He took part in the tours organised in the German territories still occupied by France in 1947, under the aegis of the Office Général de Décentralisation du Théâtre and met its director Jean-Marie Serreau. This marked the beginning of years of collaboration, especially in the joint French translations of Brecht's works with Geneviève Serreau.




Germany/GDR


Besson met Bertolt Brecht personally when the latter returned briefly from his Exile in the USA to Zurich in November 1947. Besson then joined Brecht at his demand in September 1949 when Brecht went to develop his theatre in Berlin, the Berliner Ensemble. Besson works there as an actor, assistant director and director until 1958. In 1954 he opened the new house of the Berliner Ensemble on the Schiffbauerdamm with "Don Juan" in cooperation with Brecht.
After Brechts‘ death, however, the situation at the Berliner Ensemble changed naturally, the usual collaboration no longer worked without Brecht. Following serious conflicts Besson decided to leave.
Besson then worked at the Deutsches Theater where he had great success among others with “Der Frieden” (Aristophanes edited by Peter Hacks). and “Der Drachen” (Evgny Schwartz) which was one of his acquainted stagings, so that they travelled with Deutsches Theater all-around Europe and Asia (also in Japan). In this plays, he worked amongst others with the popular actors Fred Düren, Eberhard Esche and Ursula Karusseit.
Besson became chief play director (1971) and then Intendant (1974) at Volksbühne East-Berlin. There he continued to work with Heiner Müller. and other contemporary authors and stage directors like Christoph Hein, Manfred Karge, Matthias Langhoff, Fritz Marquardt. Among the many works performed at the Volksbühne were the “Spectacles” 1 and 2, theatre in all room at the same time…




Western Europe


1978 Besson leaves Volksbühne and Berlin for different reasons such as problems with the play design of the theatre. After his first work at the Avignon Festival, he mainly wanted to continue working in his mother tongue. He so continues to work in Avignon and other European theatres and became 1982 director of the Comédie de Genève in french speaking Switzerland.




Private life


Besson first spouse was Iva Formigoni. With the actress Sabine Thalbach he had a daughter, the actress Katharina Thalbach. From his second spouse, Imma Lūning he had two children, therof the stage director Philippe Besson. From his third spouse, Ursula Karusseit he had a son, the actor Pierre Besson. With his partner Coline Serreau he had two children, the singer and actress Madeleine Besson and his youngest son Nathanel Serreau.




Theatre Productions


1952: Don Juan oder der steinerne Gast/Don Juan or The Stone Banquet (Molière/Brecht), Volkstheater Rostock
1952: Der Prozeß der Jeanne d'Arc zu Rouen 1431/The Trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen, 1431 (A. Seghers, B. Brecht, B. Besson) Berliner Ensemble
1953: Volpone oder der Fuchs/Volpone; Or the Fox (Ben Jonson), Scala Wien
1954: Don Juan (Molière/Brecht), Berliner Ensemble Berlin
1955: Pauken und Trompeten/Trumpets and Drums (Farquhar/Brecht), Berliner Ensemble Berlin
1956: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan/ The Good Person of Szechwan (Brecht), Volkstheater Rostock
1956: Die Tage der Commune/The Days of the Commune (Brecht), Städtisches Theater Karl-Marx-Stadt
1957: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan/The Good Person of Szechwan (Brecht), Berliner Ensemble Berlin
1958: Mann ist Mann/A Man's A Man (Brecht), Volkstheater Rostock
1959: Die Dreigroschenoper/The Threepenny Opera (Brecht), Volkstheater Rostock
1959: Die zwei edlen Herren von Verona/Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare), Frankfurt am Main
1960: Die Holländerbraut/The Dutch Bride (Erwin Stritmatter), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1961: Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe/Saint Joan of the Stockyards (Brecht), Württ. Staatstheater Stuttgart
1961: Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe/Saint Joan of the Stockyards (Brecht), Volkstheater Rostock
1962: Sainte Jeanne des Abbatoirs/Saint Joan of the Stockyards (Brecht), Théâtre Municipal de Lausanne
1962: Der Frieden/Peace (Aristophanes/Hacks), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1963: Die zwei edlen Herren von Verona/Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1963: Tartuffe (Molière), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1964: Don Giovanni/Don Juan (Molière), Teatro Bellini, Palermo
1964: Die schöne Helena/The beautiful Helen (Offenbach/Hacks), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1965: Der Drache/The Dragon (Evgeny Schwartz), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1965: Moritz Tassow (Peter Hacks), Volksbühne Berlin
1967: Oedipus Tyrann/Oedipus Rex (Sophokles/Hölderlin/Heiner Müller), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1967: Ein Lorbaß (Horst Salomon), Deutsches Theater Berlin
1969: Turandot oder der Kongress der Weißwäscher/Turandot (Brecht), Schauspielhaus Zürich
1971: Der Arzt wider Willen/The Doctor in Spite of Himself (Molière), Volksbühne Berlin
1973: Das letzte Paradies/The last Paradise (Andre Müller), Volksbühne Berlin
1973: Margarethe von Aix/Margaret of Aix (Peter Hacks), Volksbühne Berlin
1975: Wie es euch gefällt/As you like it (Shakespeare), Volksbühne Berlin
1976: Comme il vous plaira/As you like it (Shakespeare), Théâtre de l’Est Parisien, Festival d’Avignon
1977: Die tragische Geschichte von Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark/The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Shakespeare/ M.Langhoff/H.Müller), Volksbühne Berlin
1977: La tragique histoire d‘Hamlet, prince de Danemark/The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Shakespeare), Théâtre de l’Est Parisien, Festival d’Avignon
1978: Le cercle de craie/ The Caucasian Chalk Circle (B.Brecht/B.Besson/G. Serreau), Atelier théâtral de Louvain-la-Neuve, Théâtre National de Chaillot (Paris), Festival d’Avignon
1978: Edipo tiranno/Oedipus Rex (Sophokles/ Sanguinetti), Festival di Spoleto
1979: Hamlet (Shakespeare), in Swedish, Lila Teater Helsinki
1982: Der neue Menoza/The New Menoza (Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz), Burgtheater Wien
1982: L’oiseau vert/The Green Bird (Carlo Gozzi/Benno Besson), Comédie de Genève, Geneva
1983: Hamlet (Shakespeare), Comédie de Genève, Geneva
1983: Hamlet (Shakespeare), Schauspielhaus Zürich
1984: Le sexe faible/The Weaker Sex (Gustave Flaubert), Comédie de Genève, Geneva
1985: Hamlet (Shakespeare), in Finnish, Lila Teater Helsinki
1986: Don Juan (Molière/B.Besson/H.Müller), Burgtheater Wien
1986: Lapin Lapin/Hare Hare (Coline Serreau), Co-Production Comédie de Genève and Théâtre de la Ville Paris
1987: La flûte enchantée/The Magic Flute (W.A.Mozart), Grand Théâtre Geneva
1988: Théâtre de verdure/Theatre of Greenery (Coline Serreau), Comédie de Genève, Geneva
1989: Jonas und sein Veteran/ (Max Frisch), Schauspielhaus Zürich
1989: Jonas et son vétéran (Max Frisch) Théâtre de Vidy Lausanne
1990: Mille francs de récompense/Thousand francs reward (Victor Hugo), Théâtre de Vidy Lausanne, Théâtre National de Bretagne Rennes, Théâtre National de Chaillot Paris
1991: Cœur ardent/Burning Heart (Alexander N. Ostrovski), Théâtre National de Bretagne Rennes und Théâtre de Vidy Lausanne
1991: Mille franchi di ricompensa/Thousand franco reward (Victor Hugo), Teatro di Genova, Genoa
1992: Hase Hase/Hare Hare (Coline Serreau), Schiller-Theater Berlin
1993: Quisaîtout et Grobêta (Coline Serreau), Théâtre National de Bretagne Rennes
1993: Tuttosà e Chebestia (Coline Serreau), Teatro di Genova, Genoa
1993: Weißalles und Dickedumm (Coline Serreau), Schiller-Theater Berlin
1994: Hamlet (Shakespeare), Teatro di Genova, Genoa
1996: Io/I (Eugène Labiche and Edouard Martin), Teatro di Genova/ eatro della Corte
1997: Les poubelles boys with L'école des maris (Molière), Théâtre Vidy Lausanne
1997: Le roi cerf/The King Stag (Carlo Gozzi), Théâtre d'Orléans, Co-production CADO and Comédie de Genève
1998: Die heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe/Saint Joan of the Stockyards (B.Brecht), Schauspielhaus Zürich
2000: Don Juan (Molière), Kaupungin Teaterri Helsinki
2000: Il Tartufo/Tartuffe (Molière), Teatro di Genova, Genoa
2001: Le cercle de craie/The Caucasian Chalk Circle (B.Brecht), Théâtre de la Colline Paris
2001: L’amore delle tre melarance/The Love for the Three Oranges (Carlo Gozzi/Edoardo Sanguinetti) Teatro di Genoa, Teatro Malibran Venice
2002: Mangeront-ils?/ Will They eat? (Victor Hugo), Théâtre de Vidy Lausanne
2003: Il cerchio di gesso/The Caucasian Chalk Circle (B.Brecht), Teatro di Genova, Genoa




Further reading


André Müller: Der Regisseur Benno Besson. Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin 1967.
Cahiers théâtre Louvain: Brecht-Besson. Le cercle de craie caucasien. Atelier théâtral de Louvain-la-Neuve 1978.
Anne Cuneo, Jesus Moreno: Benno Besson et Hamlet. Favre, Lausanne 1987, ISBN 2-8289-0287-0.
Christa Neubert-Herwig (Ed.): Jahre mit Brecht. Theaterkultur-Verlag, Willisau 1990, ISBN 3-908145-17-1
Clas Zilliacus: Hamlet, Brecht und Besson. In: Brecht-Jahrbuch 15, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison 1990, S. 73–82.
Christa Neubert-Herwig (Ed.): Theaterspielen in acht Ländern. Texte – Dokumente-Gespräche. Alexander-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-89581-025-8.
Bérangère Gros: Benno Besson Maître de stage. Landsman Editeur, Carnière-Morlanwelz 1999, ISBN 2-87282-251-8.
Thomas Irmer, Matthias Schmidt, Wolfgang Bergmann: Die Bühnenrepublik. Theater in der DDR. Ein kurzer Abriss mit längeren Interviews. Accompanying book to the ZDF-documentary "Bühnenrepublik" with an interview of Benno Besson. Alexander, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89581-106-8.
Werner Wüthrich: Bertolt Brecht und die Schweiz. Chronos, Zürich 2003, ISBN 3-0340-0564-4.
Joël Aguet: Benno Besson. In: Andreas Kotte (Ed.): Theaterlexikon der Schweiz – Dictionnaire du théâtre en Suisse. Band 1, Chronos, Zürich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0715-9, S. 186 f. (French)
Philippe Macasdar, Alessandro Tinterri: Il viaggio in Italia di Benno Besson. With the film: „Der fremde Freund“/„L’ami étranger“. Morlacchi Editore, Perugia 2006. ISBN 978-88-6074-101-1.
Brecht hätte es sehr gefallen. In: Die Welt. 21. April 2004, Interview
Christian Mächler: Der Drache - Theater als Staatsaffäre. Politische Aufführungsgeschichte der Inszenierung von 1965 am Deutschen Theater in Ostberlin. Chronos, Zürich 2018, ISBN 978-3-0340-1279-9.
Rico Dietzmeyer, Christoph Püngel, Franziska Schubert, Leonie Sowa: Benno Besson. Theaterarbeit in der DDR. Leipzig 2022, ISBN 978-3-96023-499-9.
Christian Mächler (Ed.) 100 Jahre Benno Besson. Die Macht von Theater im kalten Krieg. Katalog der Wanderausstellung, Zürich, Bern, Lausanne 2023. ISBN 978-3-9525949-1-9. For the French Edition (Les 100 ans de Benno Besson. Le pouvoir du théâtre pendant la guerre froide.): ISBN 978-3-9525949-0-2.




Filmography


Pauken und Trompeten, TV 1955
Benno Besson, Der fremde Freund - L’ami étranger. (Documentary film by Philippe Macasdar), 1992.
Benno Besson (Documentary film) http://www.plansfixes.ch/films/benno-besson, 2002.
https://www.rts.ch/archives/grands-formats/13425509-benno-besson-un-theatre-politique-et-joyeux.html#chap02
https://www.rts.ch/archives/tv/culture/plateau-libre/3446503-benno-besson.html
https://www.rts.ch/play/tv/entracte/video/loiseau-vert?urn=urn:rts:video:13471846




References






Further reading


Zander, Peter (13 December 2018). "Gruppenbild mit Hase". Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
Green, John (4 April 2006). "Obituary: Benno Besson". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
"Zum Tod von Benno Besson: Schweizer Übervater des DDR-Theaters". Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (in German). 23 February 2006. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
Baumbach, Gerda; Dietzmeyer, Rico; Püngel, Christoph; Sowa, Franziska Schubert und Leonie (20 November 2020), "Der fremde Freund. Proben aus der Theaterarbeit von Benno Besson in der DDR", The Brecht Yearbook / Das Brecht-Jahrbuch 45, Boydell and Brewer Limited, pp. 132–165, doi:10.1017/9781800101074.010, ISBN 978-1-80010-107-4, S2CID 234687928
"Besson, Benno". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (in German). Retrieved 28 March 2022.




External links



Benno Besson at IMDb
Der erste Paukenschlag. (Memento vom 27. September 2007 im Internet Archive) 1996, eine Charakteristik des Regisseurs Besson von André Müller sen.
Benno-Besson-Archiv im Archiv der Berlin Akademie der Künste

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Deutsches Theater Berlin
• Benno Besson
• East Germany
• Culture of East Germany
• Benno
• Yverdon-les-Bains
• The Trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen, 1431
• Bertolt Brecht
• Molière Award for Best Director
• Hans-Reinhart-Ring
• Léa Drucker