© Alex Kat
Stage Director
Timofey Kulyabin
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Short Bio
Timofey Kulyabin is one of the most renowned theatre and opera directors. Kulyabin is internationally known for his radical and conceptually precise reinterpretations of classical texts.
In 2015, he became the youngest chief director in Russia when he was appointed artistic leader of the Red Torch Theatre in Novosibirsk, a position he held until February 2022. His earlier theatre works that brought him world recognition include Three Sisters (Golden Mask Award, 2015), Children of the Sun (2018), The Trial (2016), and The Wild Duck (2021). His productions are regularly presented on leading European stages.
Timofey Kulyabin was also appointed as the Chief Director of Staatstheater Cottbus (from season 2026/27).
Upcoming
The Master and Margarita at the Schauspiel Frankfurt (premiere February 2025), Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Staatstheater Kassel (2026/27 season), Nora at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (2026/27 season), The Ghosts in Malmo (2026/27 season), 12 in Staatstheater Cottbus (2026/27 season), Stahltier starring John Malkovich and Veronica Ferres at the Staatstheater Cottbus ((2026/27 season), Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich (2026/27 season).
Most Recent
Recent works include Kolyma Tales at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, Miss Julie and Platonov at the Deutsches Theater Berlin, Macbeth at the Schauspielhaus Frankfurt, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Long Day’s Journey into Night at the Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu, and Hedda Gabler at the Ivan Vazov National Theatre Sofia, Iphigenia in Aulis at the opening the Epidaurus Festival (2024) — the first opening production by a non-Greek director in the festival’s history, Pique Dame at the Opéra de Lyon, named “Performance of the Year” by Opernwelt, The Night of Broken Glass by Arthur Miller at the Teatrul Regina Maria, as well as the ongoing international tour of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields starring John Malkovich and Ingeborga Dapkunaite.
Stage Photos
© Gio Kardava
© Maris Morkans
© Maris Morkans
© Maris Morkans
© Stefan Zdraveski
© Alex Kat
© Thomas Daskalakis
In The Solitude of Cotton Fields
Starring Ingeborga Dapkunaite and John Malkovich Director Timofey Kulyabin Dramaturg Roman Dolzhanskiy Stage Design Oleg Golovko Composer Timofei Pastukhov Lighting Designer Oskars Paulins Co-production of the Dailes Theater Latvia and Ekaterina Yakimova Executive Administration Flow Projects GmbH
In The Solitude of Cotton Fields
Starring Ingeborga Dapkunaite and John Malkovich Director Timofey Kulyabin Dramaturg Roman Dolzhanskiy Stage Design Oleg Golovko Composer Timofei Pastukhov Lighting Designer Oskars Paulins Co-production of the Dailes Theater Latvia and Ekaterina Yakimova Executive Administration Flow Projects GmbH
Iphigenia in Aulis
Director Timofey Kulyabin Dramaturg Roman Dolzhanskiy Stage Design Oleg Golovko Composer Timofei Pastukhov Lighting Designer Oskars Paulins Production of Athens Epidaurus Festival
Iphigenia in Aulis
Director Timofey Kulyabin Dramaturg Roman Dolzhanskiy Stage Design Oleg Golovko Composer Timofei Pastukhov Lighting Designer Oskars Paulins Production of Athens Epidaurus Festival
Reviews & Press
Státní opera Praha - Schreker - Vzdálený zvuk
Kuljabin’s staging gives Schreker’s opera a striking psychological clarity, turning an elusive symbolist work into a deeply human drama.
The production proves Kuljabin’s rare ability to make complex modernist opera feel urgently relevant and emotionally gripping.
Under Kuljabin’s direction, the opera emerges not as a historical curiosity but as a powerful statement about art, obsession and failure.
- Frank Kuznik , Bachtrack
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Athens Epidaurus Festival — Euripides - Iphigenia in Aulis
Kuljabin’s direction highlights the brutal mechanics of power and collective responsibility with unsettling clarity.
- Τώνια Καράογλου
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Kuljabin approaches ancient tragedy with contemporary urgency, exposing its political and moral violence without compromise.
...His Iphigenia in Aulis speaks powerfully to the present while respecting the gravity of the original.
Online Merker
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Oper Wuppertal - Verdi - Rigoletto
Kuljabin transforms Rigoletto into a gripping political thriller with unmistakable contemporary resonance.
...The production demonstrates how classical opera can speak directly to the realities of power and manipulation today.
- Stefan Schmöe , Wuppertaler Rundschau
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Kuljabin’s staging is precise and unsentimental, marked by dramaturgical clarity and strong narrative control.
... Nothing here is arbitrary; every gesture serves the larger dramatic architecture.
Deianira
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Opéra national de Lyon - Tchaikovsky - The Queen of Spades
Kuljabin delivers a radical and uncompromising reading of The Queen of Spades, stripping the work of folklore to reveal a dark psychological tragedy ... His staging confronts the audience with a brutally lucid vision of obsession, power and
emotional emptiness.”
- Joël Heuillon , Olyrix
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Kuljabin’s direction is rigorous and intellectually coherent, maintaining relentless dramatic tension from start to finish.
...This is a director who trusts structure and meaning over decorative effect.
