Intendant Next Liberty
Michael Schilhan was born in Judenburg (Styria) and grew up in Wartberg/Mürztal. After studying Cultural Management at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz and training as an actor in Salzburg, as well as study visits to the GITTIS Institute in Moscow, he went on to direct over 80 plays and musical theatre productions, including productions for the “steirischer herbst 99” festival, the Volkstheater Vienna, Salzburger Landestheater, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Klagenfurter Ensemble, Vienna Volksoper, Oper Graz, Oper Chemnitz, Landestheater Niederösterreich, International Haydn Festival in Eisenstadt and Teatr “Ratscho Stojanov” Gabrovo. Among others, he staged “The Magic Flute” by W. A. Mozart, “L’anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice” and “Armida” by J. Haydn, “Satyagraha” and “In the Penal Colony” (Austrian premiere) by Philip Glas, “The Birdseller” by C. Zeller, “My Fair Lady” by F. Loewe”, “A Waltz Dream” by O. Strauss, “The Poacher” by G. A. Lortzing, and “The Merry Wives of Windsor” by O. Nicolai. He has worked with conductors such as Adam Fischer, Peter Keuschnig, Henrik Nanasi and Marius Burkert. His set and costume design partners have included Mignon Ritter, Rainer Sellmaier, Alexia Redl, Birgit Hutter, Gerhard Fresacher and Hermann Nitsch among others.
Michael Schilhan won the audience and sponsorship prize at the 1997 RING AWARD – International Competition for Direction and Stage Design with his set and costume design partner Andrea Kuprian-Maier for Richard Wagner’s “The Rhinegold”. He has been Artistic Director of the Graz children’s and youth theatre NEXT LIBERTY since the 2001/02 season and its Managing Director since autumn 2004.
Over the course of his directorship the youth theatre NEXT LIBERTY has become one of the most important children’s and youth theatres in the German-speaking world and has received numerous invitations to festivals and guest performances in Germany, South Tyrol, Switzerland and the USA.
In 2015 Michael Schilhan was honoured in the White Hall of the Grazer Burg by former Governor of Graz Hermann Schützenhöfer with the Josef Krainer Prize for his artistic achievements.
Michael Schilhan has been a member of the newly-founded RING AWARD Board of Directors since 2024.
Photo (c) shooted