Now it’s out: Stefan Bachmann, artistic director in Cologne, will be in charge of the Burgtheater in Vienna from 2024, this palace of Austrian high culture.
So it won’t be a woman after all. The Vienna Burgtheater remains in the hands of male directors. The Swiss Stefan Bachmann, currently artistic director at the Schauspiel Köln, will take over the management of the traditional house in 2024. He succeeds Martin Kušej, whose pending contract extension has been a stalemate in recent months, until it became increasingly clear that Kušej, who was unpopular in Vienna and at his house, would probably not have a chance, although he would like to stay. Only one day before the public announcement did he pull back the rip cord and his application himself, resentfully. He should have known then that Stefan Bachmann would replace him.