[1] He studied theory of drama, literature, and sociology at the University of Cologne, and gained theatre experience at the Theater der Keller,[3] a small stage in a basement with an associated acting school.

Among his most important productions there were works by Anton Chekhov,[1] Platonov in 1989, Uncle Vanya in 1995, and Three Sisters in 1999, Ibsen's Peer Gynt in 1985 and The Wild Duck in 1994, Schnitzler's Liebelei in 1988 and Das weite Land [de] in 1995, and Shakespeare's Hamlet in 1986, King Lear in 1992, and As You Like It in 1998.

[1] He staged Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Staatsoper Hamburg in 1981, and Mozart's Così fan tutte in Amsterdam, where he first collaborated with conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

[5] In summer 2000, he directed a new production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen for the Bayreuth Festival, in sets by Erich Wonder and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.

[4] In June 2002, he directed the world premiere of Der Riese vom Steinfeld by Friedrich Cerha at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Michael Boder.

He was artistic director of the Salzburg Festival from 2006 to 2010,[1][8] staging operas such as Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and Purcell's King Arthur.