Otto Schenk, 1930–2025

The Metropolitan Opera mourns the passing of internationally renowned Austrian director Otto Schenk, a towering operatic figure whose 16 Met productions left an indelible mark on the company.

Born in Vienna, Schenk began his career as an actor, before directing his first opera, Die Zauberflöte, at the Salzburg Landestheater in 1957. He quickly rose to prominence directing major productions at opera companies throughout Europe, including in Vienna, Berlin, London, Munich, and Hamburg.

In 1968, Schenk debuted at the Met with Tosca, followed by 15 more productions over a span of nearly 40 years. He is particularly remembered for his productions of the four operas of Wagner’s Ring cycle, which ran from 1986 to 2009. Hundreds of thousands came to the Met from around the world to see what was considered a magical yet authentic and traditional take on Wagner’s masterpiece, and millions more enjoyed his staging through the Met’s groundbreaking telecast of the cycle, subsequently released on video.

Schenk’s grand, picturesque productions—many created in partnership with designer Günther Schneider-Siemssen—had incredible staying power, often remaining in the Met repertory for more than 20 years. Among them were the popular Les Contes d’Hoffmann (1982), Rigoletto (1989), Parsifal (1991), Elektra (1992), and Rusalka (1993), as well as four that remain in the active repertory: Tannhäuser (1977), Arabella (1983), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1993), and Don Pasquale (2006).

Schenk never strayed far from his first love and maintained his connection to acting—as well as directing film and television—throughout his long career. He appeared in more than 30 films and directed the film Merry-Go-Round, among others. He even performed in one of his own operatic productions. Schenk made his Met acting debut as the comedic jailer Frosch in his new production of Die Fledermaus on December 4, 1986, a role he performed 28 times at the Met until 2003.

Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Photo: Beatriz Schiller / Met Opera, 2009


Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Photo: Ken Howard / Met Opera, 2005

Verdi’s Rigoletto. Photo: Cory Weaver / Met Opera, 2009

Richard Strauss’s Arabella. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera, 2014

Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Photo: Richard Termine / Met Opera, 2021

Otto Schenk as the jailer Frosch in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Photo: Beth Bergman, 2002