Schenk, Otto
Schenk, Otto
Schenk, Otto, Austrian opera producer and actor; b. Vienna, June 12, 1930. He studied at the Reinhardt Seminar and at the Univ. of Vienna. In 1952 he began his career as an actor, and in later years became particularly known for his portrayal of the jailer Frosch in Die Fledermaus. In 1957 he produced his first opera, Die Zauberflöte, at the Salzburg Landestheater. His productions of Dantons Tod and Lulu at the Vienna Festival in 1962 secured his reputation, and in 1963 he conquered audiences at the Salzburg Festival with Die Zauberflöte. In 1964 he oversaw a production of Jenůfa at the Vienna State Opera, where he was made resident producer in 1965. In 1968 he staged Tosca for his first production at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y., and subsequently produced there Fidelio (1970), Tannhäuser (1977), Les Contes d’Hoffmann (1981), Arabella (1982), and the Ring cycle (1986–91). His other productions included Le nozze di Figaro at Milan’s La Scala (1974) and Un ballo in maschera at London’s Covent Garden (1975). His productions followed along traditional lines with a preference for naturalistic settings.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire