Barbara Petritsch & Nicolas Brieger - Culture.Summer.Semmering

"The letters of the Tolstoys can be read like a gripping novel. Two highly intelligent people argue about love, politics, and life. No word has lost its relevance or urgency." —ORF "War and Peace" is still considered one of the most significant novels in world literature. The writer and important moralist of the Russian pre-revolution, Leo Tolstoy, unfolds a monumental cosmos in it, connecting historical dimensions with a deeply intimate observation of humanity. He depicts not only the upheavals of an era but also the moral and emotional conflicts of his characters. In their staged reading, Burgtheater actress Barbara Petritsch and actor and director Nicolas Brieger translate the title of the novel to the tumultuous private life of the author: the focus is on the more than 50-year marriage between Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy and his wife Sofya Andreyevna Tolstaya, née Behrs. This connection is unique because their entire correspondence has been preserved, and numerous diary entries provide deep insights into their intense, passionate, and turbulent relationship. Brieger has transcribed this equally delightful and frighteningly honest dialogue into an authentic and captivating text, with which the brilliantly performing acting duo compellingly brings to life the touching and amusing moments of two extraordinary people.