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Matthias Pees (archive picture): Change from the Main to the Spree
Photo: Andreas Arnold / dpa
The Frankfurt theater director Matthias Pees is the new director of the Berliner Festspiele.
He will succeed Thomas Oberender on September 1, 2022, as Minister of State for Culture Monika Grütters (CDU) announced on Thursday.
Pees was appointed by the supervisory board of federal cultural events in Berlin.
Grütters praised him as a "renowned theater and festival professional".
She is convinced that with Pees on board, the Berliner Festspiele will "continue to shine far beyond the city limits".
Pees, born in 1970, is currently the director of the Mousonturm in Frankfurt am Main.
His previous positions included the Wiener Festwochen, the Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen and the Berliner Volksbühne, and he also worked as a theater critic.
Oberender is leaving at his own request at the end of the year, according to the announcement.
The Berliner Festspiele include two houses in the capital: the Martin-Gropius-Bau, the venue for exhibitions, and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the venue for festivals and guest performances.
Oberender's departure had been known since June.
He has headed the federal institution since 2012. The Berlin Festival includes the Maerzmusik Festival, the Theatertreffen, the Berlin Music Festival and the Berlin Jazz Festival.
feb / dpa