Alexander von Pfeil is a stage director whose work spans the core operatic repertoire, 20th-century music theatre, and rarely performed works. Alongside his international directing career, he is deeply committed to the training of young singers and stage performers. Since 2016, he has been Professor of Music Dramatic Performance at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where he is responsible for the stage direction of one of the two classes in the MA Opera programme.
Alexander von Pfeil studied opera directing at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre with Götz Friedrich. His work as a director has taken him to theatres in Kiel, Düsseldorf-Duisburg, Meiningen, Bielefeld, Aachen, Freiburg, Oldenburg, Gelsenkirchen, Würzburg, Biel/Solothurn, Koblenz and Linz, as well as to the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Hamburg State Opera.
The operas he has staged include major works of the repertoire such as Orfeo ed Euridice, L’elisir d’amore, Carmen, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Rigoletto, La forza del destino, Falstaff, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Faust, Rusalka, Madama Butterfly, Salome, Arabella and The Cunning Little Vixen. He has also devoted particular attention to rarely performed works and rediscoveries, including Piccinni’s La Cecchina, Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, von Reznicek’s Donna Diana and Meyerbeer’s Le prophète.
His repertoire also encompasses 20th-century music theatre, ranging from Schönberg’s Pierrot lunaire and Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins to Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and song projects based on works by John Cage. In addition, he has directed world premieres including Sidney Corbett’s Ubu.
Alongside his directing career, Alexander von Pfeil has taught stagecraft at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and, since 2013, directing at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin as a guest professor.
Since 2016, he has been Professor of Music Dramatic Performance at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where he leads a class in the Opera MA programme. At the Mozarteum, he has directed productions including Carmen, Eugene Onegin, Gianni Schicchi, Alcina, La finta semplice, Reigen, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Owen Wingrave, Winterreise, La clemenza di Tito, the project Faust Scenes, Faust, L’incoronazione di Poppea and Albert Herring.