Bremerhaven City Theatre orchestra is concerned and criticises artistic director

The General Music Director of Bremerhaven City Theatre, Marc Niemann, will not be extending his contract, which expires in summer 2026. The job advertisement for a new appointment has now been published and is causing anger.

In an open letter, the city theatre's philharmonic orchestra accuses Lars Tietje, who has been Artistic Director since 2021, of wanting to strengthen his own position and weaken that of the future General Music Director. In the letter, the orchestra members express their concern because they fear personal disadvantages.

The advertisement for the position of General Music Director does indeed state that the position will in future report to the Artistic Director. This would mean that the artistic director, administrative director and general music director would no longer be on an equal footing, emphasises the orchestra, which fears that it could one day be cut back if opera and operetta are relegated to the background because Tietje favours musicals. It is emphasised that Tietje is also questioning the future viability of the symphony concert.

The artistic director responded to the orchestra's complaints by accusing the musicians of inappropriate behaviour. The city's head of cultural affairs, Michael Frost, defended the planning as follows: "Even if the Bremerhaven City Theatre will be managed by a dual leadership consisting of an artistic director and an administrative director from 2026, this does not diminish the prominent position of the general music director, who will of course continue to be the artistic director of the Philharmonic Orchestra. " But this is precisely the crux of the matter: 'emphasised' does not mean 'equal' for the orchestra.