Hello, Heidelberg!

Bernadette Sonnenbichler
Artistic Director

»Theatre, art, music and language create spaces for encounter. These are spaces of possibility where different perspectives can be experienced and tolerance for ambiguity grows – spaces for dialogue, understanding and shared reflection on our world.«

Bernadette Sonnenbichler was born in Munich in 1982 and studied directing at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. After working as an assistant at the Schauspielhaus Graz, she has been working as a freelance director since 2008, including at the Berliner Ensemble, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Schauspiel Stuttgart, Staatstheater Nürnberg and Residenztheater München. In addition to her theatre work, she has also directed radio plays for BR, SWR, HR and NDR, which have won several awards. Since the 2016/17 season, she has been resident director at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus; since 2022, she has also been head of drama there and a member of the artistic management team. From the 2026/27 season, she will take over as Artistic Director of the Theater & Orchester Heidelberg.

»Joining hands with a new team, I am looking forward to continue meeting people from Heidelberg and putting ideas into practice: comfortable, surprising and maybe a little crazy. Here’s to expecting many special moments to enjoy – not only for you, dear audience, but with you.«

Mino Marani
General Music Director

Mino Marani has been General Music Director of Theater & Orchester Heidelberg since the 2024/25 season. Born in Italy in 1985, the conductor studied piano, chamber music, composition, conducting, semiotics and communication studies in Bologna and Milan. His repertoire includes works by Wagner, Verdi, Mozart, Strauss and Bartók, as well as contemporary operas and rediscovered works – he also enjoys developing his own concert formats.

»What a joy to discover Heidelberg and its many sides – to see history and modernity side by side in a diverse urban society. We want our programme to pick up on that, building bridges between tradition and innovation. Join us to experience the power of all genres of musical theatre and opera!«

Sarah Grahneis
Director of Opera

Sarah Grahneis studied theatre, media and music studies at the University of Bayreuth and theatre and orchestra management at the HfMDK in Frankfurt am Main. During this time, she worked for the Bayreuth Festival and the Institut für zeitgenössische Musik (Institute for Contemporary Music), amongst others. She is an alumna of the Deutsche Bank Foundation’s »Akademie Musiktheater heute«. From 2012 to 2026 she was dramaturg for musical theatre and, from 2024, opera director at the Staatstheater Braunschweig.

»Dance is dialogue. It starts where words no longer suffice, when the body speaks and feelings come to the fore. I cannot wait for this extraordinary interaction with you and the town.«

Tim Plegge
Director of Dance

Tim Plegge was born in Berlin and trained as a dancer at the Hamburg Ballett’s ballet school. He subsequently studied choreography at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst »Ernst Busch« in Berlin. From 2006 onwards, he created works for the Ballet Kiel, the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe and the Staatsballett Berlin. As ballet director of the Hessisches Staatsballett, he has been creating both shorter pieces and narrative ballets since 2014. Plegge is a member of the Deutschen Akademie der Darstellenden Künste (German Academy of Performing Arts) and has served on several juries. His works have been invited to international festivals. From the 2026/27 season, he will be the new director of dance at Tanz Heidelberg.

»Let us understand theatre as a space of community and fellowship where people from different backgrounds come together. A place for imagination, empathy and trust where our world is questioned and not just accepted without challenge. We have assembled a theatre programme that invites you to experience this place together – with dedication, entertainment and many opportunities to join in.«

David Benjamin Brückel
Head Dramaturge (Theatre) and Deputy Artistic Director

David Brückel was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1982 and grew up in Switzerland. He studied theatre, film and media studies as well as cultural studies at the University of Vienna and subsequently worked as an assistant director at the Schauspiel Hannover. From 2013 to 2018, he was dramaturg and deputy director of the Bürgerbühne at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden. There he developed numerous participatory and documentary productions and formats. In the 2018/19 season, he moved to the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus – initially as a dramaturg at the Junges Schauspiel, later at the Schauspiel; he has been head dramaturge there since 2025. From the 2026/27 season, David Brückel will take up the position of chief dramaturge at the Schauspiel and deputy artistic director at Theater & Orchester Heidelberg.

»Theatre for children and young people is theatre for everyone! The cares of the young, all their pain and joy, stay with us for life. Unfortunately. Fortunately! Justice, finality, togetherness – and the greatest of all questions: why? Tackling those topics on stage gives us comfort – performers and audience alike. Let us celebrate the sensuality, the depth of conflicts, the fact of sharing the same space!«

Kristo Šagor
Director of Young Theatre

Kristo Šagor is a playwright and director and is regarded as one of the leading figures in German-language theatre for children and young people. He studied Modern German Literature, Theatre Studies and Linguistics in Berlin and Dublin. His plays have won numerous awards, including at the Heidelberger Stückemarkt in 2001, 2019 and 2025. As a director, he received the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST. He is coming to Heidelberg as the new director of Young Theatre.

»We are eager to test out the full sound and scope on offer in the »new« Stadthalle with our 2026/27 programme of concerts, featuring music that ranges from the Baroque to now, from intimate to thunderous. Let’s be amazed together!«

Florian Scheiber
Orchestra Director

After completing a degree in cultural management, Florian Scheiber began his professional career in Vienna, where he spent five years as orchestra manager of the international Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. This was followed by three years as orchestra manager at the Sinfonieorchester Münster, before he spent many years as concert director at Konzert und Theater St. Gallen in Switzerland, where he was responsible for the artistic and administrative management of the concert division and the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen. Since the 2023/24 season, Florian Scheiber has been orchestra director at the Heidelberg Theatre & Orchestra.

»I am looking forward to meeting you – at TheaterMobil in the districts and at the fixed venues! I am utterly convinced that theatre is a communal space that permits differences, changes of perspective and that is a strong unifying force. I am driven by the desire to open access for as many people as possible.«

Ellen Brüwer
Special Projects, Inclusion & Funding Officer

Ellen Brüwer studied art history, theatre studies and German language and literature. She initially worked as a press officer and dramaturge at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and Schauspiel Essen. From 2005, she worked at the Saarländisches Staatstheater, where she later headed up the marketing, press and public relations departments. In 2017, she moved to the Staatstheater Braunschweig. She is taking on the role of interim General Director there for the current season; from the 2026/27 season, she will join Heidelberg as a consultant for special projects, participation and third-party funding.