Sommer Ulrickson
choreographer | director

Sommer Ulrickson was born in California. She received her Bachelor of Theater Arts Degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz and was awarded the Chancellor's and the Dean's Honours for her original theater productions. In 1998 she came to Germany with the Chancellor's Fellowship from the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung. Her first position in Berlin was as assistant to Johann Kresnik in Berlin's Volksbühne as well as giving physical training to the Sasha Waltz & Guests dance company and the Schaubühne Thomas Ostermeier company. She created many original works for venues throughout Europe and has won prizes both as a director and choreographer.

 

From 2004 -2014 she was choreographer and regular director at the Freilichtspiele Schwäbisch Hall. In 2006 she was a Lucas Artist in Residence at Montalvo Center for the Arts. She gave workshops throughout Europe and between 2006 and 2008 she was guest-lecturer at the University of California at Santa Cruz. 

 

Creations include works for venues like the Freie Kammerspiele Magdeburg, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Sophiensaele Berlin, Gerhard Hauptmann Theater Goerlitz, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin and the 92nd Street Y - New York and she has directed and developed several music-theatre works that were performed at the Neuköllner Oper Berlin. 

 

In addition to her work as choreographer she also directed operas and music-theater: Shockheaded Peter (Composer - Tiger Lillies) at The Globe Theater in Schwäbisch Hall 2013,  Lovesick (2010) , Wagner for Sale (2013) and Wüstinnen (2023) at the Neukoellner Oper Berlin,  Ferne Nähe - world premiere - composer Daniel Smutny in 2011 in Hellerau, Fidelio (together with Alexander Polzin) in 2014 at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and most recently Maria de Buenos Aires at Theater Regensburg in 2023 for which the production won a Broadway World Award. 

 

Her collaborations as choreographer in operas include the most important theatres worldwide: Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dutch National Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Opera de Paris, Bolshoi State Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Festival Aix-en-Provence and many more. 

She has worked with David Hermann on Helmut Lachenmann’s Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern at the Deutsche Oper 2012, Hans Neuenfels Salome at the Staatsoper 2018. Daniela Kerck teamed up with her for Widman’s Babylon at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden in 2022 and in 2024 director Wolfgang Nägele brought her to Seoul to collaborate on A Midsummer Nights’ Dream at the Korean National Opera and

 

Productions in collaboration with director Claus Guth include Salome at the Deutsche Oper 2016, Jeptha at the Dutch National Opera 2016 then Paris Opera Garnier 2017, Salome at the Bolshoi Theatre in 2021, The Makropulos Affair at the Staatsoper 2022, Doppelgänger with Jonas Kaufman at the Park Avenue Armory in New York in 2023, Turandot at Staatsoper Wien in 2023 and Samson at Festival Aix en Provence 2024 and Chowanschtschina at the Staatsoper Berlin 2024. 

 

Sommer Ulrickson regularly creates original pieces with musicians and artists including with cellist Alban Gerhardt, Noh Performer Ryoko Aoki, sculptor Alexander Polzin and the Ensemble for early music Phantasm. The production with Phantasm, after its premiere in the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, toured to the Aldeburgh Music Festival at Snape Maltings 2023.