Critical Classics – Team
Julia Jones
Julia Jones is one of the most internationally renowned conductors of her generation. She conducts „Die Zauberflöte“ at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Vienna State Opera, among others.
MUSIC ADVISOR
Leyla Ercan works as a cultural consultant and speaker, specialising in the following areas: Change processes, diversity development, inclusion, critical cultural practices in cultural institutions, etc. Most recently, she was responsible for diversity development at the Niedersächsische Staatstheater Hannover.
Leyla Ercan
DIVERSITY ADVISOR
Aşkın-Hayat Doğan
SENSITIVITY READER
As a diversity and empowerment trainer, sensitivity reader and author, Aşkın-Hayat Doğan works about Islamophobia, queerness and racism and uses his workshops to promote a more discrimination-reduced way of living together. Together with Susanne Kasper, he runs the „Phantastik-Bestenliste“ and is the host of the monthly Twitchtalk „Diverser Lesen mit Ask“.
Ilya Kukharenko
DRAMATURG
Ilya Kukharenko is an internationally recognised dramaturg, curator and director. As a dramaturg, he was responsible for the production of „Tannhäuser“ in Novosibirsk, which was cancelled by the government. Other theatres include: Vienna State Opera and the Boshoi Theatre in Moscow.
AUTHOR
Hartmut El Kurdi was born in Jordan and grew up in London and Kassel. He writes theatre plays and stories for children and adults as well as satirical columns, including in „Die Zeit“. His bestseller „Angstmän“ was published by Carlsen.
Hartmut El Kurdi
Berthold Schneider
INITIATOR, AUTHOR AND PROJECT MANAGER
Berthold Schneider is an international theatre manager and stage-director. Most recently, he was artistic director of the Wuppertal Opera. Under his direction, theatres have been awarded the „Prize for the Best Opera Programme“ and the „Federal Theatre Prize“.
Yosemeh Adjei
Born in Nuremberg with Ghanaian roots, countertenor Yosemeh Adjei was already involved in numerous record and television productions and concert tours at the age of ten. He has since performed in renowned music centres, including the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Auditorio Nacional de Musica Madrid, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and Ruhr Triennale Bochum.
VOCAL ADVISORS
Ralitsa Ralinova
Bulgarian-born soprano Ralitsa Ralinova sang the roles of Pamina and Papagena in Mozart’s „Magic Flute“ on the CD recording by Bulgarian national radio. She is part of the ensemble of Staatstheater Kassel. In 2019, she was nominated for Best Young Singer in „Opernwelt“.
PUBLISHING ADVISOR
Ulrich Etscheit
For many years, Ulrich Etscheit was the head of stage and orchestra promotion for the Alkor edition of the Bärenreiter Verlag. The fact that Handel’s operas are now a permanent fixture in the opera repertoire on the basis of the Halle Handel Edition published by Bärenreiter is one of his great services to the publishing industry.
DRAMATURGS AND PROJECT MANAGERS
Tamara Yasmin Quick works as a dramaturge, lecturer, researcher and project coordinator. After working as a research assistant and lecturer at the Research Institute for Music Theatre Thurnau (fimt) at the University of Bayreuth in 2022 / 2023, she has been project coordinator of the interdisciplinary DFG research group „Krisengefüge der Künste“ in Munich since September 2023. She also teaches at the University of Bayreuth, the LMU Munich and on the music theatre pedagogy course at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
Tamara Yasmin Quick
Änne-Marthe Kühn
Änne-Marthe Kühn is a freelance dramaturg, librettist and producer. She currently works primarily for the Neuköllner Oper Berlin, where she is jointly responsible for developing programmes and plays, developing digital music theatre formats and also appears as a (co-)author. Here she is committed to a critical examination of gender equality issues and racism on and behind the musical theatre stage, including with the German Cultural Council, Bühnenmütter e.V., proQuote Bühne and ensemble-netzwerk. She was a scholarship holder of the Akademie Musiktheater.