Günter Rimkus

Günter Rimkus (22 December 1928 – 29 September 2015) was a German dramaturge and, from 1984 to 1991, manager of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

Born in Stallupönen, East Prussia, Rimkus studied vocal music at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar from 1947 to 1953.

For example, he was instrumental in organising the restructuring of the opera and ballet ensembles, as well as the chorus and the Staatskapelle, after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, thus ensuring the theatre's ability to perform.

First performances included Shostakovich's The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda, Schoenberg's Moses and Aron and Victor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis.

He also successfully expanded the repertoire with rarely performed works such as Verdi's I vespri siciliani, Weber's Euryanthe, Goethe/Reichardt's Erwin und Elmire, Meyerbeer's l'Africaine and Hindemith's Neues vom Tage.