A Word from the Artistic Director of the Elysium Festival Bernried

     
Dear Friends,
 
”Joy, beautiful spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, we enter, fire imbibed, heavenly, thy sanctuary. Thy magic powers re-unite what custom’s sword had divided; all men will become brothers under thy gentle wing.” This passage from Friedrich Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” inspired me, when I was looking for an appropriate name for the theater company I founded 25 years ago in New York City. Over the years, the Elysium Theater Company presented a number of American premieres of German-language plays there in English translation. In 1993 Elysium Theater Company was transformed into Elysium – between two continents, the trans-Atlantic cultural exchange organization that it is today. Since 2004, we have been focusing our European activities at the southwest shore of Lake Starnberg. There, in Bernried, our Fifth Elysium Festival Bernried will take place from May 23 through June 1, 2008. Bernried, by the way, was recently awarded the title of the “Most Beautiful Village in Germany.”
 
The 25th anniversary of Elysium is a reason to rejoice and to celebrate. Joy, this godly spark, offers us a glimpse of heaven on earth. But joy is short-lived if we don’t share it with others. Here Schiller’s second thought comes into play: Where joy reigns, all human beings become brothers and sisters. The joy that Schiller had in mind is not the fleeting result of ephemeral pleasures. It is rather a synonym for a deeply grounded harmony, for peace, that is established only when all human beings recognize what they have in common and cultivate what unites them instead of insisting on what might separate them. In this sense, the name “Elysium,” from the very beginning, has stood for an idea: With our art we want to build bridges; we strive to bring people together so that they can experience and celebrate the richness of their own diversity. In the face of all the conflicts, crises and wars around the world, this might seem to be a utopian dream. But I am tempted to respond to this possible objection with a quote from Schiller’s Don Carlos which my dear and highly esteemed friend, the late exiled writer Hans Sahl, often mentioned: “Tell him, in manhood, he must still revere the dreams of early youth.”
 
The diversity of the festival program reflects the plentitude of topics which Elysium has dealt with over a quarter of a century. During the two week festival, 20 artists and lecturers from the United States, Mexico, Austria and Germany will come to Bernried and Munich.
 
I invite you all to come to “The Most Beautiful Village in Germany” for our festival this year. And I ask you to help us fulfill our dream of trans-Atlantic dialogue, exchange and friendship with a generous tax-deductible donation.
 

With best wishes and regards,

Gregorij H. von Leïtis