SVEN-ERIC BECHTOLF (born 1957) received his training at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. He has worked as an actor on major stages in Germany and Switzerland and spent many years at the Burgtheater in Vienna.
He received the Nestroy Theater Prize as best actor of the year in 2002 and 2003 and the Albin Skoda Ring in 2007.
In 1993 he began directing for the theater and was invited to the Theatertreffen in Berlin with his second work Der Streit by Marivaux.
His first production for the opera was Lulu by Alban Berg at the Zurich Opera House. Since then, many works have followed at other important theaters, including Richard Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen at the Vienna State Opera and the Mozart/Da Ponte cycle at the Salzburg Festival
In 2006, he published his book Vorabend, a very personal examination of Wagner's Ring. This was followed in 2018 by Nichts bleibt so wie es wird, his first novel
In 2012, Bechtolf became acting director of the Salzburg Festival. In 2015 and 2016, he was the artistic director of the festival.
In 2016, he received the Ring of Honor of the City of Salzburg and the Austrian Cross of Merit for Culture and Science in recognition of his work.
Since fall 2016, he has been working as a freelance actor and director again, including at the Staatsoper unter den Linden and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.