Heinz Schweers

Work by the author

Author's Bio

In 1998 Heinz acquired a repetiteur/conductor position at the State Theatre of Mecklenburg, Germany, where he directed several musicals and The Barber of Seville. In Berlin, Heinz directed new productions for the Neukoellneroper; these productions comprise Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wild’s The Young Prince and Le Vin Herbe, by the Swiss modernist, Martin. These productions were widely reviewed in the German press, as was his arrangement of Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus which premiered with Germany’s favourite pop star, Marianne Rosenberg. He also conducted an ‘A Grade’ performance of Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat in Essen.

In 2005 and 2006, on returning to Australia, Heinz presented Sid the Serpent and Hansel and Gretel for OzOpera in NSW and Cinderella and The Sound Garden in 2009 and 2010. Heinz has also produced, written and performed in two cabaret performances at the Seymour centre: Kathleen Ferrier: A Time of Kings and Queens, and Noel and Cole: Lives in Exile. In addition to his duties as Musical Director for Pacific Opera in 2007, Heinz produced his musical The Curious Pain of Louis XIV at the Seymour Downstairs. He wrote the book, lyrics and music for this piece. In 2009, he wrote the children’s musical Wombat’s Wild Weekend which toured in preschools throughout Sydney. In 2010 he produced 40 In Song, a retrospective musical of his best 18 songs. He has written incidental theatre music for many productions including Hell Hath No Fury, Suddenly Someday, The Crucible, Mrs Petrov’s Shoe, Burnt By The Sun, and The Farnsworth Invention.

More recently, Heinz performed and co-wrote with Jessica O’Donoghue End Your Week on a High Note for the Ballarat Cabaret Fesitval. He has written classical songs featuring the poetry of Henry Lawson – these were published by Wirripang, the home of Australia’s classical composers. He has also accompanied Opera Australia principal artists Amelia Ferrugia and Taryn Fiebig in recital. Heinz received a NIDA development opportunity for his latest musical, The Fat and the Fit, which was presented at The Basement. More recently, he presented the songs from this album collection in 40 In Song: Again at The Basement.

For musical recordings, press material and a fuller biography, please visit his website: heinzschweers.com.au