Bernard-Marie Koltès
Encyclopedia
Bernard-Marie Koltès was a French
playwright
and director.
, his life was violent and anchored in revolt. He tried his hand at writing at a very young age but later renounced it, and didn't take to the stage until the age of twenty. He garnered recognition for his work on a production of Medea
(Médée) directed by Jorge Lavelli
in 1970.
After seeing the film actress Maria Casarès
, he was inspired and resumed writing, completing around ten plays in his lifetime. His first piece, the long monologue
, The Night Just Before The Forests, was staged in 1977 at the Avignon Festival
, and subsequent productions were put on in collaboration with director Patrice Chéreau
. Koltès died in 1989 due to complications from AIDS
.
when he was artistic director of the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre
. Koltes also translated into French Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
.
It is evident that Genet and the absurdists
influenced Koltès's writing. Like other absurdist writers, he felt exiled - in his case, as a homosexual in a heterosexual world. In Africa, he saw native cultures being wiped out by European influences. This theme brought forth Black Battles with Dogs. After a visit to America he wrote Quay West (1985), about a brother and sister in a foreign culture. The psychopathic killer Roberto Succo
provided the inspiration for his final play Roberto Zucco. It was first performed posthumously in Berlin
in 1990, directed by Peter Stein
. It has since been performed across Europe and the United States.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and director.
Life
Born in 1948 to a middle-class family in MetzMetz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, his life was violent and anchored in revolt. He tried his hand at writing at a very young age but later renounced it, and didn't take to the stage until the age of twenty. He garnered recognition for his work on a production of Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
(Médée) directed by Jorge Lavelli
Jorge Lavelli
Jorge Lavelli is a French theater director of Italian ethnicity and Argentine origin.The son of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Lavelli has lived in France since the early 1960s. He became a French citizen in 1977....
in 1970.
After seeing the film actress Maria Casarès
María Casares
María Casares was a Spanish actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage. She was usually credited in France as Maria Casarès.-Early life:...
, he was inspired and resumed writing, completing around ten plays in his lifetime. His first piece, the long monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
, The Night Just Before The Forests, was staged in 1977 at the Avignon Festival
Festival d'Avignon
The Festival d'Avignon, or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, it is the oldest extant festival in France and one of the world's greatest...
, and subsequent productions were put on in collaboration with director Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre...
. Koltès died in 1989 due to complications from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
.
Writing
Koltès's work, based in real-life problems, expresses the tragedy of being alone and of death. His writing style accents the dramatic tension and the lyricism of his plays. Koltes is most famous for his plays The Night Just Before the Forests (La Nuit juste avant les Forêts, 1976), Sallinger (1977) and In the Solitude of Cotton Fields (Dans la Solitude des Champs de Coton, 1986). Many of these plays were first directed by Patrice ChereauPatrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre...
when he was artistic director of the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre
Nanterre
Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....
. Koltes also translated into French Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale
The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
.
It is evident that Genet and the absurdists
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
influenced Koltès's writing. Like other absurdist writers, he felt exiled - in his case, as a homosexual in a heterosexual world. In Africa, he saw native cultures being wiped out by European influences. This theme brought forth Black Battles with Dogs. After a visit to America he wrote Quay West (1985), about a brother and sister in a foreign culture. The psychopathic killer Roberto Succo
Roberto Succo
Roberto Succo , was an Italian serial killer who murdered several people in Europe in 1987 and 1988.-Murders:Succo committed his first known murders on April 9, 1981 when he fatally stabbed his...
provided the inspiration for his final play Roberto Zucco. It was first performed posthumously in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1990, directed by Peter Stein
Peter Stein
Peter Stein is a critically acclaimed German theatre and opera director who established himself at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, a company that he brought to the forefront of German theatre....
. It has since been performed across Europe and the United States.
Stagings
In spite of his particular poetry, Koltes's works have not been staged so much. In addition to Chereau, among world theatre directors we find:- Ivica Buljan
- Jan Bosse
- Frederic Dussenne
- Doris Mirescu
- Arthur Nauzyciel
- Roberto PaciniRoberto PaciniRoberto Pacini is an Italian director, author and theatre and film producer.-Biography:He lives and works in Rome. In 1987, he attended the Bottega Teatrale di Firenze directed by Vittorio Gassman...
- Jay ScheibJay ScheibJay Scheib is an American stage director noted for his contemporary productions of both classical and new plays and operas. Scheib is Associate Professor of Theater Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he teaches performance media, motion theater, media and methods, and...
- Giampiero Solari
- Èric VignerÉric VignerÉric Vigner is a French stage director, scenic designer and theater director of the CDDB - Théâtre de Lorient, Centre Dramatique National, France- Biography :...
- Rachid Zanouda
- Krzysztof Warlikowski
- Julián HernándezJulian HernándezJulian Hernández may refer to:*Julian Hernández Santillán, Mexican politician*Julian Hernandez...
Plays
- Bitterness (Les Amertumes) (1970)
- La Marche (1970)
- Heritage (L'Héritage) (1972)
- Récits morts (1973)
- Sallinger (1977)
- The Night Just Before the Forests (La Nuit juste avant les forêts) (1977)
- Black Battles with Dogs (Combat de nègre et de chiens) (1979)
- Quay West (Quai Ouest) (1985)
- In the Solitude of Cotton Fields (Dans la solitude des champs de coton) (1985)
- Tabataba (1986)
- Return to the Desert (Retour au désert) (1988)
- Roberto Zucco (1988)