Michael Bleiziffer deceased

The German State Theater Timisoara mourns the death of its former colleague Michael Bleiziffer. The theater director and actor, who was born in Sanktanna, Banat, Romania, died in Regenburg on September 6, 2023, at the age of 69.

After graduating from high school, he attended the seminary in Karlsburg (Alba Iulia) for a year before training as an actor at the Bucharest Theater and Film Institute in 1978. He was then a member of the ensemble at the German State Theater in Timisoara, where he worked as an actor and director. There he staged Hans Kehrer's play "Two Sisters," among others. The performance received the main prize of the National Colloquium of Minority Theaters of Romania in 1980.

In 1982 Bleiziffer left for the Federal Republic of Germany. His first production was Georg Büchner's "Woyzeck" at the Ingolstadt City Theater. This was the beginning of a successful engagement as play director in Ingolstadt, which lasted until 1995. After that, he worked as head stage manager at the theater in Regensburg. His productions have won several awards, including at the Bavarian Theater Days. Especially his production of "Faust I" remains in memory. Due to the great popularity of the play, it was staged for six consecutive years. Bleiziffer also staged numerous open-air plays.

In 2012, he retired from the post of Regensburg's head stage director and worked as a freelance director at numerous German-language stages. During his career, he has directed over 170 plays. In 2010, as a guest director at the German State Theater in Timisoara, Bleiziffer staged Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" there.