Domplatz choreographic piece: “Beauty – The Story of a Murderer” blends ancient tragedy with the present

Theater meets dance and ancient Greek tragedy meets the spirit of the present: “Beauty – The Story of a Murderer” is a play that premieres on June 24 in Klagenfurt Cathedral Square and is inspired by many different tragedies. Motifs by Friedrich Nietzsche, Patrick Susskind or Victor Hugo, “who all deal with the beauty of art, flow into the piece,” says Leon Bernhofer, who serves as co-director.

“But the issue is brought up in the present and is being thought about,” he explains. The fate and predestination of the deities is made a theme and is represented by the representative role of the narrator. Bernhofer is still interested in the dance scene: “Dance as a form of expression is in the foreground and is accompanied by other artistic mediums such as music, film and installation art.”

For several months now, he and Mohsen Rabie have been working with several young artists who have established themselves in the local art scene. “This is how this project emerged with contemporary urban dance.” This mixture – of dance and drama – is a co-production of the association courtyard culture (EigenART Theatre) and urban stadium. And the cathedral square was not chosen as the first venue by chance, as Bernhofer explains: “The cathedral itself would be part of the theater design.” Just like five dice are rolled throughout the piece. “We follow the classical structure of Aristotle and that is why the performance is divided into five scenes.”