Princess Dramas - Death and the Maiden

The play Prinzessinnendramen (Princess Dramas) by Elfriede Jelinek with music from Franz Schubert's Death and the Maiden was a modern version of the ambivalence of the fear of death and the desire to die. The play combined the romantic motif of a "merciful death" with the topos of "death in life". Jackie Onassis is the perfect example of a woman who appeared to have led a fairy-tale life, which she herself experienced as "lifeless". Living a fairy tale is not a dream, but a nightmare which only death can mercifully end.

Author: Elfriede Jelinek (A)
Artistic director and stage director: Kazuko Watanabe (J)
Assistant: Alicia Bustamante (C),
Dramaturge: Yvonne Gebauer
Artists: Hanna Schygulla, Stipe Erceg (HR), Nele Hollinderbäumer, Enrique Ugarte (E)

Venues and schedule:
Stadttheater Bozen, 23 - 24 Apr. 2007
Hamburger Kammerspiele, 28 Apr. - 6 May 2007
Additional performances: Berlin, Hamburg, Bochum and other cities, November - December 2007