“Youth Without God” – A Staged Reading Based on the Novel by Ödön von Horváth
October 21, 2026 | 6.30 PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE
Join us for a staged reading of selected passages from Ödön von Horváth’s Youth Without God, a powerful examination of conformity, ideology, and moral responsibility.
About the Event
Published in exile in 1937, Ödön von Horváth’s Youth Without God paints a vivid portrait of fascist educational methods. The novel follows a teacher who observes his students learning to think in terms of race and obedience rather than compassion and truth. He remains silent, becoming complicit in the process. When one of his students dies, his indifference is shattered, forcing him to confront what it means to look away in the face of injustice. The novel tells the story of a generation of young people who have lost their moral compass; and of a man torn between conformity and conscience who seeks his own path back to responsibility.
In this staged reading, two voices bring selected passages of the novel to life: the detached perspective of the narrator and the voices of young people growing up caught between ideology and inner emptiness. Cellist Tamar Sagiv accompanies the reading with her own compositions.
Cast
Peter Kendall Clark – Actor: Peter Kendall Clark has been a member of the Elysium ensemble since 2001 when he sang the role of Edwin in Ernst Krenek’s opera What Price Confidence? at the Opera in Rome, Italy. He created the title roles in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Garden Of The Finzi-Continis and Ted Rosenthal’s Dear Erich with NYCO. He has sung frequently with Chelsea Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Opera Roanoke, St. Petersburg Opera, Syracuse Opera and Opera Company of Middlebury. A true ‘crossover’ baritone he has played Fredrik Eggerman, Sweeney Todd, Henry Higgins, King Arthur, Pirate King and Harold Hill. Earlier this season he played El Gallo in the “boy meets boy” version of The Fantasticks at Tri-Cities Opera and he will perform his sixth Older Thompson in Glory Denied next season at Greensboro Opera. Clark is perhaps best known for being the guy that sang 100 consecutive concerts in front of his building in Brooklyn Heights during the Pandemic. Songs From The Ledge, now in its seventh season, was called “the hottest ticket in town!” (New York Post). CBS Inside Edition: “Call him the ‘Brownstone Baritone’. Once a week Peter Kendall Clark gets on a stoop in Brooklyn and the magic begins!” As the “Brownstone Baritone” he has received global attention and is still going strong with his Cabaret style Concerts around the country. Image: Kristin Hoebermann
Aidan Cummins – Actor: Aidan Cummins is a New York City born and based student actor, studying at The New School. As a student of journalism and theater he lends his passion for storytelling to both fields. With performance being a constant throughout his life, he started working with Elysium on stage in the spring of this year acting in the dramatic reading of Erwin Piscator’s stage adaptation of Jaroslav Hasek’s novel The Good Soldier Schweik. Image: Courtesy of the Actor
Tamar Sagiv – Cello: Tamar Sagiv, award-winning cellist and composer, made her Carnegie Hall solo debut in May 2023, performing her original composition “Roots.” Her performances have graced prestigious venues including Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Sony Hall, and NYPL, while her work has been featured on WQXR’s “Young Artists Showcase” and at the Cello Biennale Festival in Amsterdam. She joined the Elysium ensemble in 2023. A recipient of the Certificate of Honor from Maestro Zubin Mehta and the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Tamar was recognized for her outstanding achievements in the orchestra training program at the Buchmann Mehta School of Music. Her performances have been broadcast on Israeli National Radio. Tamar Sagiv holds a Bachelor’s Degree in cello performance from the Buchmann Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, followed by both a Master of Music and Artist Diploma from Mannes School of Music, where she studied under celebrated cellist Matt Haimovitz. Her debut album “Shades of Mourning” was released by SonoLuminus in August 2026. Image: Marije van den Breg
Gregorij H. von Leïtis – Director: Gregorij H. von Leïtis, Elysium’s Founder & Honorary Artistic Director has worked in many theatres in Europe and the U.S., among them at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, where he directed the Italian premiere of Ernst Krenek’s opera What Price Confidence?, at the Austrian State Theatres of Linz and Bregenz, where he directed the world premiere of Oskar Zemme’s Maria, at the Bloomsbury Theater London, at the Guggenheim Museum (in its acclaimed series Works & Process) and the Miller Theater in New York, where he directed the New York premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s opera The Emperor of Atlantis. At the Festival Bernried he directed the world premiere of Egon Lustgarten’s opera Dante in Exile. He is Honorary Artistic Director of Elysium, which he founded in 1983 in New York City, President of the Lahr von Leïtis Archive & Academy, and President of the Annual Erwin Piscator Award. His awards include the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, the Knight’s Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the New York Theatre Club Prize. Image: Susanne Martin
Michael Lahr von Leïtis – Concept & Introduction: Michael Lahr von Leitis is author and editor of the books The Erwin Piscator Award, and Erwin Piscator’s Legacy Lives On: Conversations about Theater, Music and Politics, and a co-author of the volume of essays Bilder des Menschen (Images of Man). As a specialist in Erwin Piscator, the founder of the political and epic theater, he curated the exhibit Erwin Piscator: Political Theater in Exile, which so far has been seen in Bernried, New York, Catania, Salzburg, Munich, Vienna, and Berlin. He has unearthed numerous works by artists who were persecuted by the Nazis. Many of these compositions were performed for the first time in concerts in Europe and the U.S. He lectures regularly on questions of social and political significance. He has directed various Elysium productions, such as Remember – For the Future, and conceived many programs, such as Defending Democracy. He is Artistic Director of Elysium between two continents, Executive Director of The Lahr von Leïtis Academy & Archive, Chairman of the Erwin Piscator Award, advisor to the Nietzsche Forum Munich e.V., and Fellow Researcher at the Exilarte Center of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Image: Lothar Lenzen
In Cooperation with
Founded in 1983 in New York City, Elysium – between two continents along with its educational branch The Lahr von Leitis Academy & Archive fosters artistic and academic dialogue, creative exchange and mutual friendship between the U.S.A. and Europe. By means of art, Elysium fights against ignorance, discrimination, racism, hatred, and anti-Semitism. The Lahr von Leitis Academy & Archive promotes “Art and Education without Borders.”
