That these qualities do not always correspond to his self-assessment is another matter. Matthias Hartmann sees himself as an artistic nature. He states as a creative impulse and principle: "Never arrive. Take all disturbances seriously. Never believe you know how it works. The journey must not stop."
One thing is certain: Hartmann's career in German and German-speaking theater is quite unique. It did not begin in North Rhine-Westphalia, although the merchant's son, born in 1963 in Osnabrück, grew up on the state border, but Bochum became a decisive station in his professional career. Before that, the Waldorf student and English boarding school pupil worked as a director and guarantor of stage successes, among others in Hanover, Munich, Vienna, and at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg. Many classic productions were among them, but also brilliant world premieres such as Botho Strauss' "Kiss of Forgetting" (1998), which was invited to the Berlin Theater Meeting just like his "Emilia Galotti" in 1992.
From 2000 to 2005, Hartmann proved as the artistic director of the Schauspielhaus Bochum that he has a theater under control. The house was by no means doing poorly artistically under its predecessor Leander Haußmann, but it had fallen into disrepair. Hartmann upgraded it – media-effectively. The audience thanked him and came in numbers not seen in a long time. They liked the new director, who achieved spectacular coups: Harald Schmidt played Lucky in Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," Helge Schneider wrote a musical. Concentrated chamber plays by Jon Fosse and Christian Kracht were on the program under Hartmann, along with plenty of contemporary theater from Sibylle Berg, Albert Ostermaier, or Moritz Rinke to Neil LaBute. This was supported by a top-notch ensemble, including popular performers such as Otto Sander and Tobias Moretti.
The Bochum balance sheet paved Hartmann's way to the Zurich Schauspielhaus, whose contract he dissolved prematurely in order to lead the prestigious Vienna Burgtheater from the 2009/2010 season. At both locations, in Bochum and Vienna, he became a successor to the somewhat born Burgtheater director Claus Peymann. If there is a comparative size for Hartmann, it is the 26 years older colleague: in ego size, in skill in power and organizational talent, with his knack for success and the staging of success.
In 2014, an almost unprecedented financial scandal shook the Vienna Burgtheater, and as a result, Hartmann was forced to resign from his position. However, no responsibility could be proven against him in court. He took on leading roles at the Austrian private broadcaster ServusTV and Red Bull Media House. As a freelance director, Hartmann continues to work in both opera and drama, including in Düsseldorf.
