Barrie Kosky: "Fear is not the answer to terror"

Conflicts - Barrie Kosky: "Fear is not the answer to terror"

Theater and opera director Barrie Kosky is not intimidated by hard times and war: "Fear is not the answer to terror," he told the German Press Agency ahead of a new production of the operetta "Die Fledermaus" at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.

Kosky, the grandson of Jewish immigrants, reflects that many people in Germany are afraid at the moment. "I feel like I'm in the middle of this storm. I swing back and forth between different emotions every day," said the Berliner, referring to the situation in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

Born in Australia, he always finds himself in the problematic situation of always having to take a side as a Jew in Germany. "My main emotion is to remember all the victims of the Hamas attack, this pogrom, this massacre. That is my main duty as a Jew. But if I have done that, then I also have a duty as a citizen, as a human being, to remember the innocent victims in Gaza. That's over 5000 children," he emphasized.

After ten years as opera director, Kosky is now returning to his roots. "I am an artist - that is my main identity. I was the artistic director of the Komische Oper Berlin, but I am not an artistic director by profession. My next chapter goes back to being a freelance artist." His calendar remains as full as ever, however, and he is currently preparing "Die Fledermaus" at the Bavarian State Opera. "I want to give Munich a little taste of this Kosky operetta frenzy," he said with a laugh.

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1. Despite the tensions in the Middle East, Barrie Kosky, a renowned theater and opera director based in Berlin, has chosen to operate at the International Bavarian State Opera in Munich, with a new production of "Die Fledermaus."
2. The German Press Agency interviewed Kosky, highlighting his stance on fear and terror, stated as, "Fear is not the answer to terror."
3. Born in Australia and now a German resident, Kosky, the grandson of Jewish immigrants, finds it challenging to navigate the complex situation of tension in the Middle East as a Jew in Germany.
4. Though his role as a Jew in Germany obliges him to remember the victims of the Hamas attack, his duty as a human being and German citizen compels him to remember the innocent victims in Gaza as well.
5. After ten years as the artistic director of the Komische Oper Berlin, Kosky is returning to his roots as a freelance artist, preparing for a "Kosky operetta frenzy" with "Die Fledermaus" in Munich.
6. The recent conflicts in the Middle East have not deterred Kosky from operating in Berlin and Munich, as he remains committed to using music and theater to promote understanding and unity among diverse cultures.

Source: www.stern.de