Schenk also directed films of operas and plays, and was on the board of directors of the Salzburg Festival and the Theater in der Josefstadt.

[6] He soon also played at the Theater in der Josefstadt and the Wiener Volkstheater,[7] and as a comedian at Vienna's Kabarett Simpl [de].

[2] He turned to also directing in 1953, and introduced absurd theatre, especially plays by Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, soon as a master of comedy leaning to tragedy.

[2] He later directed plays by William Shakespeare, Arthur Schnitzler, Ödön von Horváth, and Anton Chekhov at renowned stages such as the Burgtheater, the Munich Kammerspiele and the Salzburg Festival.

In 1965 Austrian television engaged him to direct a studio production of Verdi's Otello sung in German with a stellar cast.

[14] In the United States, Schenk is especially remembered for his lavish traditionalist productions at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) where he first staged Puccini's Tosca in 1968.

[20] The Met currently uses his productions of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tannhäuser, Arabella by R. Strauss, and Don Pasquale.

[21] In December 2010, he revived his Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Asher Fish with a cast including Adrianne Pieczonka.