“Clear and concise self-expression without sounding banal – that is the goal. It is valid for any art form, and I create musical theater. You may call it musical, but what I do differs greatly from its common definition.”

Michael Kunze

World-renowned lyricist and librettist Michael Kunze created hit shows such as Elisabeth, Dance of the Vampires, Mozart!, Marie Antoinette, and Rebecca, which have reached a combined audience of more than 16 million people in Europe and abroad. Their worldwide box office gross receipts have passed the one-billion mark. As a lyricist, Michael created more than 200 chart-busting songs, for which he received the coveted Grammy and Echo Lifetime Awards. In addition, he authored several best-selling books.

Michael Kunze’s musicals are seen as the foundation of a new genre of contemporary popular musical theater – the DramaMusical. It is characterized by an elaborate dramatic structure which integrates elements of movie design into the classic two act drama form. Michael thinks of himself as an Architect of the Musical Drama.

 His extraordinary adaptions connected him to the success of many international shows in most German-speaking countries… Follies, Evita, Cats, A Chorus Line, Phantom of the Opera, Company, Little Shop of Horrors, Into the Woods, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Sunset Boulevard, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Lion King, Aida, Mamma Mia!! and Wicked.

Michael Kunze & Björn Ulvaeus (ABBA; Mamma Mia!)

Michael grew up in Munich where he studied law, history and philosophy. In the late 1960s, he turned his attention to writing pop songs. Soon he was regarded as one of Germany’s best songwriters. His productions with first-rate international acts reached the top of both Billboard and Cashbox charts in the U.S. Michael became the first German ever to win a Grammy Award.

At the top of his success, Mr. Kunze wrote a book on the subject of witch hunt. “Highroad to the Stake” won the 1981 Faculty Prize of the University of Munich Law School and was subsequently translated into several languages. The New York Times Book Review Supplement bestowed highest praise upon Michael’s work, in a special 2-page review.

In the 1980s, MK began to adapt international musicals for a German audience, opening the doors of the German-speaking market to the modern Anglo-American musical. Ten years later, the first of his own shows opened in Vienna, Austria – a musical about the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth (music by Sylvester Levay). Elisabeth ran for almost six years and was soon exported to Japan, Hungary, Sweden, Holland and Germany.

Elisabeth

In collaboration with Roman Polanski (director) and Jim Steinman (composer), Michael wrote his first English libretto and lyrics for the musical Dance of the Vampires. A German version opened in October 1997 at the Viennese Raimund Theater to raving reviews, and it became an international hit. An unauthorized and mutilated Broadway version could not stop the international success of the original.

Michael’s next hit was Mozart! (music by Sylvester Levay; directed by Harry Kupfer) – a show about Mozart’s dramatic life. In 2006 his Rebecca, based on Daphne Du Maurier’s famous novel, premiered at Vienna’s Raimund Theater. It became the number one musical of 2007 (97 % avarage attendance, „best musical“ poll of Musicals Magazine). Marie Antoinette, a work dramatizing the events of the French Revolution, saw its Grand Opening in Tokyo’s most prestigious Imperial Theater, on November 1, 2006. A European production is scheduled for 2009.
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In addition to his Grammy and Echo Lifetime Awards, Michael Kunze was honored with 79 Gold and Platinum Records, 3 Golden Europe Awards, 2 Best Musicals Awards (Image1996 and Image 1998), Musical Of The Year Award 2000 (Mozart!), 2001 (Elisabeth), 2003 (Dance Of The Vampires), 2007 (Rebecca). Michael is a member of GEMA, Deutsche Dramatiker Union and The Dramatists Guild, Inc., New York. He and his wife Roswitha live in Hamburg, Germany.

Michael & Roswitha Kunze

At home in Hamburg