AUSTRIA: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT – Berta Zuckerkandl And Her Era. Reading and Performance by Stefanie Dvorak
Images: Picturedesk.com & Irina Gavrich
November 20 | 6:30 PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE
Please join us for a special evening with renowned Austrian actress Stefanie Dvorak, who will take us on a captivating journey through the life of one of the most extraordinary figures of fin-de-siècle Viennese society. Berta Zuckerkandl is often regarded as the last great salonnière of her era. Her salon attracted the luminaries of literature and art, music and theater, fashion and medicine, philosophy and politics. She was also an addict — of the telephone. Zuckerkandl spent countless hours on the line, her conversations weaving through the social and cultural fabric of her time. A single call, a passing message, or a whispered request might mark the beginning, the climax, or the end of a fateful chain of events. Among other things, she saved Alexander Girardi’s life, witnessed the early steps of Arthur Schnitzler’s career, and even found a bride for Gustav Mahler.
About Berta Zuckerkandl
Berta Zuckerkandl-Szeps was one of the most remarkable figures of Viennese society. Thanks to the unique position of her father, Moritz Szeps, editor-in-chief of the Neues Wiener Tagblatt and a close advisor to Crown Prince Rudolf, she had access to the highest circles of European society from an early age. Her marriage to Emil Zuckerkandl, a distinguished anatomist of the Viennese School of Medicine, opened the door to the world of science. For nearly half a century, Berta Zuckerkandl was active as a novelist, journalist, and writer, yet her greatest passion was modern art. Her famous salon became a vibrant meeting place for artists, writers, and intellectuals, and among her friends were Auguste Rodin, Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Mahler, and Max Reinhardt.
About Stefanie Dvorak
Stefanie Dvorak, born in 1975 in Graz, completed her acting training at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. Since the 1999/2000 season, she has been a member of the ensemble of the Burgtheater. Guest engagements have taken her, among others, to the Salzburg Festival and the Reichenau Festival. In addition, Stefanie Dvorak regularly appears in film and television productions.