Lars Marcel Braun is a stage director working across opera, theatre, and the visual arts. With roots in South Korea, born in Aachen and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he is based between Berlin and Switzerland. His approach to directing draws on the Felsenstein tradition of detailed character work, alongside a particular interest in the theatrical possibilities of space.

Since making his directorial debut with the Austrian premiere of Oscar Strasnoy’s Geschichte at Oper Graz in 2023, Braun has directed productions at the Semperoper Dresden (humanoid), Oper Köln (Tancredi, Co-Regie), Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (Il barbiere di Siviglia), and Landestheater Detmold / Theater Winterthur (Das schlaue Füchslein), among others. In 2025, he directed the world premiere of Nachhall at ORF musikprotokoll as part of steirischer herbst in Graz. His productions have been praised by nmz for their detailed, character-driven direction, by NWZ for their dynamic theatricality, and by Opernwelt for their sensitivity to the score and its dramatic possibilities. Das Opernglas described his production of Das schlaue Füchslein as having “won the hearts of the audience by storm.”

Having studied cello from an early age, Braun went on to study physics, musicology, and Slavic literature in Zurich. While supporting his studies through various jobs in hospitality, he eventually found his way to the Opernhaus Zürich as an extra, where he discovered his passion for theatre and began pursuing directing. Following his first internships and assistant directing positions, he was invited by Barrie Kosky to join the Komische Oper Berlin, where he served as a staff director from 2014 to 2017.

As an assistant and associate director, he has collaborated with artists including David Alden, Andreas Homoki, Eva-Maria Höckmayr, Jan Philipp Gloger, Kirill Serebrennikov, Ted Huffman, Benedict Andrews, Nanine Linning, and Christian Spuck. His work with these mentors has taken him to institutions including Det Kongelige Teater, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Opernhaus Zürich, the Norwegian National Opera, the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Ruhrtriennale, Chicago Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall.

Beyond the opera house, Braun has created immersive installations for Amsterdam’s Milkshake Festival, bringing together theatre, nightlife, drag, and dance. He also collaborates with Askonas Holt on international touring productions in artistic supervisory and production capacities, most recently with Joyce DiDonato, overseeing staging, lighting, video, and the theatrical realization of productions across venues.

Braun is a fellow of Akademie Musiktheater heute in the 2024–2026 Regie selection.