MK:

Bavarokratie Βαυαροκρατία

A search for clues between Athens and Munich
Final production

 Werkraum

 World premiere

 19.3.2025

 1 hour

 german and greek

 10€, reduced 5€

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 Werkraum

 World premiere

 19.3.2025

 1 hour

 german and greek

 10€, reduced 5€

“It is strange what a talent the German governments have for bringing the ridiculous into the most terrible stories.” Ludwig Börne — Detailed account of the accession to the throne and reign of the first King of Greece, Otto, the unfortunate, uprooted, non-Bavarian, non-Greek, non-linguist, grasshopper, protector, pain in the neck, together with a detailed description of his long life and suffering, adapted from the best sources and accompanied by a suitable song.

Αναλυτική εξιστόρηση της ανόδου στο θρόνο και της βασιλείας του πρώτου βασιλιά της Ελλάδας, του Όθωνα, του κακότυχου, ξεριζωμένου, του ούτε Βαυαρού ούτε Έλληνα, αλλόγλωσσου, εμπρηστή, της ακρίδας, του προστάτη και σπαστικού, συνδιασμένη με μια εξίσου αναλυτική περιγραφή της μακράς ζωής και της ταλαιπώριας του, βασισμένη στις καλύτερες πηγές και συνοδευόμενη από ταιριαστό τραγούδι.

Otto von Wittelsbach was the first and last Bavarian on the Greek throne. He was installed in 1832, after the Greeks had won their independence from the Ottoman Empire. Otto loved ancient Greece - but he had no idea about the new multi-ethnic state structure in south-eastern Europe. He had Athens built in the neoclassical style, but did not meet with approval and remained a paper king for the rest of his life.

In Germany, Otto is therefore regarded as a misunderstood benefactor; in Greece, many see his bavarocracy as a continuation of despicable foreign rule.

Who do you have to thank for your crown, Otto! You didn’t fight for it yourself! You are a child, Otto, a pretzel on two legs.

Bavarokratie, the final production by Paula Schlagbauer, lifts Otto and his wife Amalie out of their history, their coffins in Munich’s Theatinerkirche. A team of Greek and German artists questions what this is supposed to be: a king, a nation state, a European spirit.

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A production of the Otto Falckenberg School in cooperation with the Münchner Kammerspiele.
Supported by: Goethe Institut Athens, Habibi Kiosk, König Otto Sprudel, König Otto Museum Ottobrunn, Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München, Palladion Stiftung Richard-Stury Stiftung, Streitfeld Appartments, Schwuhplattler e.V., Wolf-Ferrari-Haus Ottobrunn.

Interlocutors Research:
Xaris Sarris, Folk Music Archive Athens; Leonidas Empeirikos, Historiker; Philip Dragoumis Künstler und Philosoph; Eleni Iliadou, Bayerischer Rundfunk; Prof. Dr. Lilia Diamantopoulou, Neogräzistik LMU München; Tabea Förth, König Otto Museum Ottobrunn; Prof. Dr. Miltos Pechlivanos, FU Berlin Neogräzistik; Helene Dorfner, Musikwissenschaften IKGS LMU; Stella Kourmpara, Odeion Athens Music Conservatory