Markus Kiesel is a musicologist and cultural manager. He studied in Heidelberg and the USA. He received his doctorate in 1992 on Siegfried Wagner. He has worked as an assistant director, dramaturge, artistic manager, orchestra director, and opera director at the theaters in Freiburg, Kassel, Frankfurt, Cottbus, Dortmund, Wiesbaden, Ludwigsburg (Schlossfestspiele), and Essen. From 2015 to 2021, he was head of program planning at the Beethovenfest Bonn (Int. Nike Wagner). He has taught at the universities of Bayreuth, Berlin, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Munich, Vienna, and Zurich. From 2013 to 2015, he was a member of the "Wahnfried Board" in Bayreuth. He has published numerous publications on stage and music law and on Richard Wagner. Until 2025, he was a member of various committees of the Richard Wagner Foundation Bayreuth. Since 2022, he has worked as a dramaturgist at and for the Bayreuth Festival.