Association

Karin Korte served as District Councillor for Education, Culture and Sport in Neukölln until her retirement in 2024. Prior to that, she was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives.

She worked for many years in the Neukölln district administration, including as Migration Officer and as long-standing Director of the Community Center in Gropiusstadt. She is a qualified social worker (Diplom-Sozialarbeiterin) and a certified theatre educator (BuT).

Ilka Seifert was Director and Dramaturge of the Neuköllner Oper Berlin and later worked as a dramaturge at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. She also served as a curator for the Sophiensæle in Berlin.

Since 2006, she has been working internationally as a freelance dramaturge and concert designer for a wide range of opera houses, concert venues, festivals, ensembles, and presenters. Her current focus is on the development of new concert formats, particularly immersive and interactive concepts.

Website: www.neue-konzertformate.de

Wolfgang Janßen, long-time former administrative director of the Berlinale, developed and founded the platform Rollenfang. The initiative was inspired by the wish of his godson, who has Down syndrome, to become an actor, and the significant challenges he faced in pursuing this goal.

Since May 2015, Rollenfang has supported, represented, and connected professional actors with physical or intellectual disabilities. The platform also offers individual coaching and inclusive camera workshops.

Anna Jacobi has worked for more than 30 years in Berlin’s cultural sector in press, PR, and marketing. Most recently, she served as Head of Communications at the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin. She previously managed the press department at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt and later oversaw all communications at the TIPI am Kanzleramt.

She studied theatre studies and has been a long-time admirer of the Neuköllner Oper Berlin, dating back to her student days when performances were still held, among other places, in the Alte TU-Mensa. Even in retirement, Anna continues to work as a consultant in the cultural sector.

Helmut Jansen worked at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

Susanne Lehmann has been active for many years as a board member of the Neuköllner Oper Berlin. She co-manages the Museum im Böhmischen Dorf and is involved with the QM Rixdorf neighborhood initiative.

Magdalena Weidauer worked for many years at the Theater Plauen Zwickau / Vogtlandtheater Plauen as a musician and later as a stage manager and assistant director. She has been living in Berlin since 2012.

Winni Radeke studied school music with a focus on composition, church music, and conducting. In 1972, he took a permanent cantor position in Neukölln, where he also staged music theatre at the Martin-Luther-Kirche Neukölln.

In 1977, together with choir members, he founded the Neuköllner Oper e.V., motivated by the lack of cultural offerings in the district at the time and the fact that public funding was only available to registered associations. His first senate-funded production was Niemand und Jemand (Baroque theatre). He later preferred 20th-century works, composing Overkill (1980, anti-nuclear) and Die Vögel (1981).

From 1984, he sought a permanent home for the Neuköllner Oper after many guest performances across West Berlin. In 1988, the company opened at its current location in the Passage on Karl-Marx-Straße in Neukölln. Radeke conceived and directed a total of 17 operas for the Neuköllner Oper, including five for children. He served on the board until 2007 and remains an honorary board member.