Rarely have I found an obituary as difficult as this one. For Austria and far beyond, Otto Schenk's death means the loss of an important artist and an incomparable personality who shaped the theater and the stage like no other. For me, his death means the loss of a close and especially dear friend.
Otto Schenk was an institution - an actor, director, cabaret artist and theater director who touched generations of people with his fine sense of humor and his unique gift for bringing stories to life. His career spanned decades. During this time, he created unforgettable moments that enriched cultural life. As an actor, he was a master of subtle expression and profound comedy. He knew how to portray characters with a mixture of lightness and depth that never ceased to amaze his audiences. Whether on the theater stage, in cabaret or in film - he was always authentic, always present and yet modest.
His work as a director was characterized by a deep love of the theater. His productions of great operas and plays are particularly legendary. As theater director of the Vienna Volksoper and the Theater in der Josefstadt, he led these theaters with a vision that combined tradition and innovation. Under his direction, the stages became places where art could be experienced in its purest form.
But Otto Schenk was not only a world-class artist, he was also a great comedian. He could make an entire auditorium laugh with a single story. His anecdotes about theater life are still unforgotten today. But in addition to his humor, it was his humanity that set him apart - a quality that also made him an incomparable friend.
For me personally, Otti (as his friends were allowed to call him) was more than the great artist the world knew. He was a friend, an advisor and a person whose wisdom and zest for life left a deep impression on me. Our conversations, which were shaped by our origins (Otti's father was Jewish, his grandmother and uncle were murdered by the National Socialists), our passion for art, but also by stories about mundane everyday life, are something I will carry in my heart forever. I got to know and appreciate Otti and his congenial wife Renée many years ago as immediate neighbors and was often able to enjoy their legendary hospitality. During Renée's long illness, I was deeply impressed by the incredible sensitivity and tenderness with which Otti cared for his wife. After Renée's death, I was allowed to visit Otti every week and take him on excursions to various Viennese museums. I felt it was a great privilege to be able to read to Otti again and again, which he really enjoyed. Otti acknowledged my projects with great interest and always contributed - often unusual - information. He told me that the famous actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr had approached his father, a well-known Viennese notary, in 1955 to obtain the restitution of some properties that her father had owned in the Weinviertel and which had also played a role in the Nazi looting. “Hedy Lamarr rushed in like a being from another world. We only knew her naked,” Otti told me, alluding to Hedy Lamarr's nude appearance in the film Ecstasy. At that time, however, the Weinviertel was part of the Soviet occupation zone, whereupon Hedy Lamarr quickly asked whether she could sue the Soviet Union for the return of the land. Eugen Schenk then said goodbye to the most beautiful woman in the world with polite words, but very quickly. Otti also contributed a story to my book “Stammgäste. Jüdinnen und Juden am Semmering”, in which he told me about his childhood in Semmering. I gratefully accepted the reports of his experiences.
tto Schenk gave the world countless gifts: unforgettable roles, immortal productions and moments of pure happiness. His legacy will live on in the theaters he loved, in the stories he told and in the memories of all those who were lucky enough to know him. He was an artist who won hearts and a person who touched my soul deeply. Otto Schenk will be missed: on stage and certainly in my life.