Quartett

(Quartet)

by Heiner Müller

”It is an electrifying experience when two great actors meet – Barbara Sukowa and Dutchman Jeroen Willems.” Salzburger Nachrichten.

June 4 at 6.00 pm & June 5 at 8.00 pm (1h)
Elverket, Dramaten
Language: German / Subtitles: Swedish. Meet the artists after the performance on the 4:th of June.

Heiner Müller (1929-1995) was a leading German playwright and a member of the post-war cultural scene, mostly working in East Germany. His work has been staged all over the world. Quartett, from 1981, is one of his more accessible plays. The two-character drama is based on the 18th century novelist Pierre Choderlos De Laclos’ famous Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which was also made into the 1980s feature film Dangerous Liaisons. Two aristocrats, Count Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, conceive a precarious erotic plot in order to sacrifice a young virgin while denying the feelings they in fact have for each other. Love, to them, is equal to defeat - a sign of weakness.

The female lead is played by Barbara Sukowa, who has been featured in Fassbinder’s Lola as well as in his television mini-series Berlin Alexanderplatz, a part that launched her career. Sukowa was also featured in Lars von Trier’s Europe and Margarethe von Trotta’s Rosa Luxemburg. Since 1994, Barbara Sukowa has lived in New York, along with her husband, artist and film-maker Robert Longo, where she has appeared as singer with a repertoire ranging from Schumann romances to blues and country. Quartett brought her back to the German stage for the first time in fifteen years.

The male lead is played by Jeroen Willems, a leading Dutch actor who has worked with the Toneelgroep, a Dutch theatre company appearing at the Bergman Festival with their version of Cries and Whispers.

Quartett first premiered at the Salzburg Festival to great acclaim due to the extraordinary performance of the two charismatic actors.

The director, Barbara Frey, has worked at the Schaubühne in Berlin. She was employed as a director at the Deutsches Theater in 2005 and is mainly known for her work with major classics such as Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard. She was recently appointed head of Schauspielhaus Zürich.

From the Salzburg Festival
By Heiner Müller
Director: Barbara Frey
Set design: Bettina Meyer
Costume design: Bettina Walter
Dramaturge: Laura Olivi
Light design: Rainer Küng
Assistant director: Alexander May
Assistant set and costume design: Stefanie Heinrich
Dramaturge apprentice: Nina-Maria Schmidt
Deputy stage manager: Gerhard Alt
Head of technical department: Klaus Kretschmer
Technical production manager: Thomas Bautenbacher
Head of set department: Michael Veits
Stage manager: Kristjan Meyer-Dobrotinsek
Media technology: Lutz Nerger
Light: Gerhard Patzelt
Head of costume department: Dorothea Nicolai
Costume production managers: Karin Orell, Ulrike Zimmermann-Mattar
Dressmakers: Jesefa Schmeisser, Irmgard Meier
Gentlemen’s tailors: Erich Hammel, Gregor Kristen
Dressers: Günter Schneider, Romana Zuckerstätter
Make-up: Peter Spörl, Christa Lamberz
Prompter: Gabriele Seifert

Cast:
Merteuil: Barbara Sukowa
Valmont: Jeroen Willems

For more information, please visit:
www.salzburgerfestspiele.at