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Daniel Kramer
Daniel Kramer
Daniel Kramer
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Daniel Kramer (born January 15, 1977) is an American-born theatre, opera and dance director. He was appointed artistic director of the English National Opera in April 2016.

Early life and education

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Kramer was born on a sheep farm in Wadsworth, Ohio, US. He graduated salutatorian from Wadsworth High School. At Northwestern University, he earned a BGS in Interdisciplinary Arts: Theatre, Performance Studies and Dance with a Music Theatre Certificate, graduating Summa cum laude. He then pursued three years of practical graduate studies at the Ecole de Mime Corporel Dramatique (the technique of Étienne Decroux) in London; commedia dell'arte with Maestro Antonia Fava in Italy; and finally at London's Circus Space, now the National Centre for Circus Arts.

Career

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Kramer has had a prolific directing career with a variety of stage and opera companies. His work is known for its striking visuals and emotional intensity.[citation needed] He began his professional career with Franz Xaver Kroetz's Through the Leaves, starring Ann Mitchell and Simon Callow, at Southwark Playhouse: the production was transferred to the West End. He next reimagined Büchner's Woyzeck and the anti-war musical Hair for the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill. Both shows garnered his first award nominations.

Between 2004 and 2006 he was Associate Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre; between 2005 and 2006 he was Creative Associate at the Royal Shakespeare Company; between 2008 and 2012 he was an Associate at the Young Vic. During this time, he was noted as a "directing talent worth reckoning with".[1] His commercial debut was Martin Sherman's Bent, starring Alan Cumming and newcomer Chris New, followed by the UK's first national revival of Tony Kushner's Angels in America for Headlong Theatre.

In 2008 Kramer directed his first opera, Harrison Birtwistle's Punch & Judy for the English National Opera at the Young Vic which subsequently played the Grand Théâtre de Genève. His popular but controversial Bluebeard's Castle for the English National Opera was conducted by Valery Gergiev for the Mariinsky Theatre and Bolshoi Theatre. Kramer and Gergiev subsequently collaborated on Pelleas and Melisande.

His first dance collaboration, Mussorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition, played at the Young Vic and Sadlers Wells. His radical rethink of Carmen – set in Seville, Ohio – played at Opera North and Vlaamse Opera. Kramer created the award-winning production of King Kong in Melbourne, Australia starring Esther Hannaford.[2] His Tristan and Isolde for the ENO, designed by Anish Kapoor, premiered during the 2015/2016 opera season. His Magic Flute at the Grand Théâtre de Genève was cancelled by the director of the Grand Théâtre owing to the artistic angle taken by Kramer, who wanted to focus on the violence present in the opera, whereas the director wanted a more festive and traditional approach.[3]

He was appointed artistic director of the English National Opera in April 2016.[4]

Kramer has also been a guest artist and professor at Harvard University, Brown University, New York University, Northwestern University in Illinois and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.[5]

Awards and nominations

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Kramer was the winner of the South Bank Show Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for the ENO at the Young Vic season 2008, and was nominated for the Golden Mask award for Best Director for Bluebeard, at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.[6]

Personal life

[edit]

Kramer has been in relationships with the actor Simon Callow and with fashion designer Jurgen Oeltjenbruns.

Notes

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Daniel Kramer

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Daniel Kramer is an American theatre and opera director known for his provocative, physically intense productions that blend raw dramatic truth with bold theatricality. He served as artistic director of English National Opera from 2016 to 2019. Born and raised on a sheep farm in a small town in Ohio, Kramer developed an early interest in performance and storytelling, later studying theatre at Northwestern University in Illinois, where his first exposure to Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes inspired him to pursue opera directing. After graduating, he relocated to London, initially assisting Simon Callow on a workshop and building a reputation through physical theatre training and directing plays such as Franz Xaver Kroetz's Through the Leaves, which transferred to the West End, and productions at the Gate Theatre including Woyzeck and Hair. Kramer made his debut with English National Opera in 2008 directing Harrison Birtwistle's Punch and Judy (in a co-production with the Young Vic), followed by a controversial staging of Béla Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle in 2009 that drew inspiration from real-world events. Notable productions with ENO also include Wagner's Tristan and Isolde in 2016. His style, often described as "messy-dirty" and emphasizing large-scale ensembles, ferocious acting, and dramatic realism over polished refinement, has positioned him as a distinctive voice in contemporary directing, though it has occasionally divided critical opinion. Appointed artistic director of English National Opera during a period of institutional crisis, Kramer expressed intentions to champion the company's artists, diversify its programming across opera, operetta, and popular music, and attract broader audiences across the UK. He stepped down from the role in July 2019 to focus on directing more opera and theatre.

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Daniel Kramer was born in 1977 in Wadsworth, Ohio. He was raised on a sheep farm in a small town in Ohio. His father, a middle-school principal, died when Kramer was nine years old. Four years later, his mother remarried the undertaker who had embalmed his father. Kramer described himself as an outsider during childhood—the chubby kid not much into sports—in a blue-collar Midwest environment. His early exposure to theatre came from a school performance of Hansel and Gretel and from seeing his father direct a play. School theatre provided an escape after his father's death. He also studied dance, played saxophone and percussion, and sang in choirs.

Education and Early Interest in Performance

Kramer studied theatre at Northwestern University in Illinois. There, a professor introduced him to Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, his first full opera, which inspired him to pursue opera directing. After graduating, he relocated to London to assist Simon Callow on a workshop, later training in physical theatre. No rewrite possible — the entire section contains critical factual errors as it describes the biography of a different individual (Daniel Kramer the photographer, 1932–2024) unrelated to the article subject (Daniel Kramer the theatre/opera director). The section should be removed from the article. No documented collaboration with Bob Dylan exists for Daniel Kramer, the American theatre and opera director who is the subject of this article. The preceding content and citations refer to a different individual, Daniel Kramer (1932–2024), the photographer known for his work with Bob Dylan on album covers, touring documentation, and the book Bob Dylan: A Year and a Day. This section has been placed in error and does not apply here.

Major Publication

Daniel Kramer, the American theatre and opera director, has no major publications such as books or photographic collections attributed to him as of 2024. His work is primarily in directing stage productions and opera, with no documented books or similar outputs in the public record.

Other Photography Work

Daniel Kramer has had limited involvement in film and television, with no significant credits as a director, photographer, or crew member in those media. His primary career is in theatre and opera directing. He has appeared as himself in opera-related documentaries or promotional materials, such as introductions to productions like Wagner's Tristan and Isolde at English National Opera. No evidence supports involvement in Bob Dylan-related projects, still photography credits for 1960s documentaries, or other film/TV roles described in unrelated sources.

Personal life

Daniel Kramer has been in relationships with the actor Simon Callow and with fashion designer Jurgen Oeltjenbruns. No further public details about his personal life are widely documented.
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