Biography

Stefan Morgenstern was born in Cologne, Germany in 1960, and now lives and works in Stuttgart, Germany.

Stefan studied architecture and after completing his architecture studies in 1989, embarked on a theatrical career and since 1993 has worked as a freelance set and costume designer. The primary emphasis of Stefan’s theatre design career lies in the area of dance.

He created set and costume designs in partnership with many notable choreographic artists the likes of Daniela Kurz, Anna Vita, Bridget Breiner, Georg Reischl, Stephen Shropshire, Davide Bombana, Mauro de Candia, Torsten Händler, Roberto di Oliveira, Lauri Stallings, Matjash Mrozewski, Michael Pink, Renato Zanella, Ivo Bärtsch, Antonio Gomes, Lior Lev, and Stephen Greenston. These productions have presented his work in theatres such as the State Theaters of Stuttgart, Nürnberg, and Saarbrücken, the National Theater Mannheim, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna State Opera, Vienna Volksoper, Aalto-Theater Essen, Theater Plauen Zwickau, Mainfrankentheater Würzburg, der Companie De Anima in Rio de Janeiro and Theater Ausgburg.

Stefan has also worked intensely in the theater and opera genres as well designing and working with directors such as Silke Johann Fischer, Carsten Knödler, Stefan Wolfram, Jochen Biganzoli, Daniela Kurz, Rennie Wright, Sylvia Armbruster, Steffen Jäger and Ernst Konarek resulting in the presentation of his artistic productions being featured in thaters such as the Vienna State Opera, Teatr Polski Wroclaw, State Theater Mainz, Vienna Volkstheater, State Theaters of Klagenfurt, Eisenach, St.Pölten , Linz, Detmold, and Esslingen, Theater Plauen-Zwickau, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Theater Kempten, Theater Lindau, and the Gerhart Hauptmann Theater Frankfurt /Oder.

In several free scene experimental productions (et al at the Kammertheater Stuttgart) Stefa repeatedly deals with the themes of space, movement, music, interaction and improvisation. In 1996 he was a scholarship recipient at the Akademie Solitude Stuttgart to further these topics. In October 2003, the ExperimentMusikTheater “Coming and Going“, an EU project with the DZzM in the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden, was created in collaboration with the director Silvia Kurz. In addition, together with Daniela Kurz, he directed “Die Tanznacht” in the years 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. This special concept evening featured repeatedly more than 20 choreographies created by dancers from the company. In July 2003, the Stefan’s artistic installation “Im Wald 7” was installed at the Marienplatz in Stuttgart.

In addition to his theatrical work, since 1996 Stefan has also developed many projects focused on the themes of event design, presentation, and exhibition.

On behalf of various agencies he developed the event concepts for “50 Years of Baden-Württemberg” in the state parliament, “125 years forward” in Berlin among others. In 2008 he designed the exhibition “10 Years Dance Theater D. Kurz in Nuremberg” in the foyer of the Staatstheater Nürnberg. For many years he has been working together with Milla & Partner agency and studios on, among others, projects such as: Stage design for the presentation of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class at the Detroit Motor Show 1996; Collaboration Interior design for the exhibition opening of the Troja exhibition, LBBW Stuttgart 2001; the stage design of the DaimlerChrysler Truck Presentation, IAA Commercial Vehicles, Hannover 2004; and cooperation show conception, object design, “The knowledge of the world”, 200 years Brockhaus, Frankfurt Book Fair 2005, u.v.m.

Nominations and Prizes:

 The production “Die Winterreise” in collaboration with Daniela Kurz and the Tanztheater Nürnberg received the Bavarian Theater Award of 2000.

In 2011 Stefan Morgenstern received a nomination by the critics of the Journal OPERNWELT in the category best set design of the year: “Stefan Morgenstern is nominated for his set design of Schumann’s “Genoveva” in Zwickau, for finally illustrating the intelligent artistic use of projection/video screens.“ – Udo Badelt/Der Tagesspiegel

The productions “The Marquess of O.” (co-production with theater Wahlverwandte, the Theater Lindau and Kempf Theatergastspiele) and “The Legend of the Holy Drinker” (co-production with Theater Wahlverwandte, the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, the kassel Musiktagen and the Tourneetheater Thespiskarren) were nominated for the INTHEGA “Neuberin” Prize 2014!