artistic team

Dirk Kaftan was appointed the General Music Director of the Beethoven Orchester Bonn and the Oper Bonn in the summer of 2017. Dirk is a welcome guest at the world’s most renowned concert halls, with recent highlights that include performances with the Royal Danish Orchestra, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Ensemble Modern and a much-acclaimed rendition of Tristan at the Staatsoper Hannover. In 2016, he conducted Miroslav Srnka’s Make No Noise at the Bregenzer Festspiele.

While he enjoys his various guest appearances, Dirk's work on his own stage always remains the focus of his commitments, and his dedication to his own ensemble, orchestra and choir is a trait that is appreciated in both musicians and colleagues alike. This work ethic, borne of the Kapellmeister tradition has accompanied him since his very first appointments, but also in his previous posts as General Music Director in Augsburg and Graz. His work is highly cherished by audiences and critics, with his most recent recording of Beethoven’s Egmont - his first with the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn - received rave reviews and was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK Award in 2020. 2021 Beethoven Orchester Bonn with Dirk Kaftan were awarded the European Culture Prize.
www.dirk-kaftan.de

Since studying directing with August Everding, Dominik Wilgenbus has worked as a freelance music theater and drama director as well as an author, translator and lecturer. He is a co-founder of the Metropol Theater Munich and the Munich Chamber Opera. His directing work in musical theater has taken him to Den Jyske Opera Aarhus, the Gran Teatro Cordoba, the Vienna Volksoper, as well as several times to the Gärtnerplatztheater Munich, Leipzig, Dortmund, Chemnitz and Meiningen. His works as an author include the opera pastiche “Der Diener zweier Herren” (Mozart), “Kaspar Hauser - ein Traumspiel” (Schubert) and “Das Gespenst von Canterville” (Gershwin/Purcell). He regularly performs as a soloist with his program “Wie kommt der Lippenstift in Lehmanns Unterbett?” and the literary-musical solo “Mein Wagner”. In addition to his teaching position at the Lübeck University of Music, he has repeatedly worked at the Maastricht Conservatory and the Nuremberg University of Music. He staged “Le nozze di Figaro” (2015), Don Giovanni (2013) and “La Cenerentola” (2007) for the Junge Oper Schloss Weikersheim.

begann seine Ausbildung zum Veranstaltungstechniker an der Oper Frankfurt am Main, an der er sich nach dreijähriger Ausbildungszeit auf den Fachbereich Beleuchtung spezialisierte. Neben seiner Tätigkeit an der Oper gestaltet und betreut er Produktionen im Bereich Schauspiel, Musical und Performance an verschiedenen Theatern in Frankfurt und Umgebung. Mit seiner Lichtgestaltung debütierte er 2017 bei „Hänsel und Gretel“ im Schlosshof Weikersheim und ist seit dem Teil des künstlerischen Teams der Jungen Oper.

Kristina Ruge studierte zunächst Klavier in Freiburg und Frankfurt bei Prof. Vitaly Berzon und Prof. Irina Edelstein und anschließend Opernkorrepetition bei Prof. Eugen Wangler und Maria Conti Gallenti in Italien. Erste Opernerfahrungen sammelte sie am Staatstheater in Mainz und am Theater Bremen, bevor sie von 2012 bis 2018 am Theater in Koblenz als Solorepetitorin engagiert war. Seit 2018 lebt sie in Frankfurt und arbeitet freischaffend als Gast bei verschiedenen Opernprojekten und Theatern.  Neben der Arbeit am Theater widmet sich Kristina Ruge mit Hingabe der Kammermusik und Liedgestaltung. Außerdem engagiert sie sich intensiv im Bereich der Musikvermittlung. Zudem ist sie Dozentin für Opernkorrepetition an der Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe und der Hochschule für Musik und Darstellen Kunst in Frankfurt.