Mit Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben

The Memoirs of Jürgen Flimm - a theater legend who has written cultural history. It all began very early: as a young boy, Jürgen Flimm sat next to his father, a theater doctor, in the audience, captivated by the events on stage. He gained his first practical experiences as a student at the Cologne studio stage, and in 1968, he began his unparalleled theater career as an assistant director at the Munich Kammerspiele. Over the following five decades, he has made significant contributions to cultural history both nationally and internationally.

With unforgettable directorial works, as the artistic director at the Cologne Schauspielhaus and the Hamburg Thalia Theater, as the head of the Ruhrtriennale and the Salzburg Festival, as well as the artistic director of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden. In Bayreuth, he staged a memorable "Ring," and his often spectacular opera productions took him to the Met in New York, Milan, London, St. Petersburg, and Chicago.

Almost every theater lover remembers one or more groundbreaking productions by Jürgen Flimm, such as "Käthchen von Heilbronn" in 1979 in Cologne, "Romeo and Juliet" in 2001 at the Vienna State Opera, or Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" in 1999 in Zurich. At the same time, he was involved in cultural politics, appeared as an actor, worked for television, and never lost his charming, Rhineland humor, which makes his memoirs a highly enjoyable read.

A book full of ups and downs, bravos and boos, great successes and failures. A document of time and cultural history and a reminder that life without art is not life.