direction
Music theater is a cornerstone in Michael Hell’s artistic biography. He has been the musical director of the artist collective Ārt House 17 since 2020, where he works to explore artistic intersections beyond the boundaries of musical performance. His ensemble Neue Hofkapelle Graz was an important creative partner in this regard from 2010 to 2020.
He works in close collaboration with his theater partners, especially the director and dramaturge Thomas Höft and the director and actor Adrian Schvarzstein.
Selected music theater projects. Musical direction: Michael Hell
Koffiecantate!
Cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach
Ārt House 17, stage direction: Adrian Schvarzstein and Thomas Höft
Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, 2021
Il Ciarlatano
Comedic intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Neue Hofkapelle Graz / Ārt House 17, stage direction: Adrian Schvarzstein
Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, 2019
FAMB Basel, 2021
styriarte, 2021
Agar et Ismaele esiliati
Oratorio by Alessandro Scarlatti
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Thomas Höft
Psalm-Festival Graz, 2019
Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, 2019
Venus and Adonis
Masque by John Blow
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte Graz, 2019
Arrived
Street-music theater by and with Adrian Schvarzstein
Offenbach-Festival Köln, 2019
L’Amfiparnaso
Madrigal comedy by Orazio Vecchi
Profeti della Quinta, Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Adrian Schvarzstein
Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, 2019
Gl’incantesimi disciolti
Baroque opera by Antonio Draghi
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte Graz 2018
L’Europa
Baroque opera by Alessandro Melani
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Deda Cristina Colonna
Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, 2018
Cupid and Death
Masque by Matthew Locke and Christopher Gibbons
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Adrian Schvarzstein
Kölner Fest für Alte Musik, 2018
Musica Fugit
Music theater with music from the 16th to 18th centuries Kamchàtka, ZAMUS-Ensemble, stage direction: Adrian Schvarzstein Kölner Fest für Alte Musik, 2016
Repeat production: Kölner Fest für Alte Musik, 2017
Repeat production: Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, 2017
La Margarita
Baroque opera with equestrian ballet
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte, 2017
Concentus musicus
A celebration of Johann Joseph Fux
Neue Hofkapelle Graz / Ārt House 17, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte, 2017
La Barca di Venezia a Padova
Madrigal comedy by Adriano Banchieri Rheinische Kantorei, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte, 2015
Dido and Aeneas
Opera by Henry Purcell
Neue Hofkapelle Graz, stage direction: Thomas Höft
styriarte, 2013
Agar et Ismaele esiliati
Oratorio by Alessandro Scarlatti
Austrian Baroque Connection, preparation of historical stage gesture: Christine Pollerus
Israel, 2011
Together with the baroque violinist Lucia Froihofer, Michael Hell co-founded and led the ensemble Neue Hofkapelle Graz from 2010 to 2020. The orchestra, based in Graz, Austria, performed a regular series of four concerts per year in the Minoritensaal, as well as a series of moderated concerts at the Museum im Palais. Michael Hell was jointly responsible for the conception and programming of these series.
He is responsible for the direction of the Baroque Orchestra of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, together with the baroque violinist Susanne Scholz.
Previous music theater projects at the Kunstuniversität Graz and at summer courses:
Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno
Oratorio by Georg Friedrich Händel
Orchestra of the Kunstuniversität Graz, musical direction: Michael Hell
Kunstuniversität Graz-Abo, 2020
Ariadne
Melodrama by Georg Benda
Baroque Orchestra of the Kunstuniversität Graz, musical direction: Susanne Scholz & Michael Hell
Kunstuniversität Graz-Abo, 2018
International musicological symposium on melodrama, Michaelstein 2018
Les Plaisirs de Versailles
Opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Musikfabrik Edelhof, musical direction: Michael Hell, stage direction: Andrea Straßberger
Edelhof, 2016
King Arthur
Semi-opera by Henry Purcell
Musikfabrik Edelhof, musical direction: Michael Hell, stage direction: Andrea Straßberger
Edelhof, 2015
King Arthur
Semi-opera by Henry Purcell
Baroque Orchestra of the Kunstuniversität Graz, musical direction: Susanne Scholz & Michael Hell, stage direction: Axel Richter
Kunstuniversität Graz-Abo, 2015
Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho
Opera by Georg Philipp Telemann
Musikfabrik Edelhof, musical direction: Michael Hell, stage direction: Andrea Straßberger
Edelhof, 2014
Kaffeekantate
Dramma per musica by Johann Sebastian Bach
Musikfabrik Edelhof, musical direction: Michael Hell & Jörg Zwicker, stage direction: Andrea Straßberger
Edelhof, 2013
Andromeda
Baroque opera by Antonio Bononcini
Baroque Orchestra of the Kunstuniversität Graz, musical direction: Michael Hell, concertante performances
Kunstuniversität Graz, 2013
Gl’incantesimi disciolti
Baroque opera by Antonio Draghi
Musikfabrik Edelhof, musical direction: Michael Hell & Jörg Zwicker, stage direction: Hannelore Unfried & Andrea Straßberger
Edelhof, 2012