Berlin hosts 15th Kotzebue conference

The 15th Kotzebue conference is taking place on October 23 at the Einstein Hall of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, ERR reports. The event examines the work of August von Kotzebue, a world-famous German playwright, journalist, travel writer, historian and admirer of Estonia who lived in Estonia and founded a theatre in Tallinn.

The conferences, held alternately in Berlin and Tallinn, were launched in 2012 by Harry Liivrand, then Estonia’s cultural attaché in Berlin. They have since become an important meeting place for Estonian and German humanities scholars. The event’s partner institutions are the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the Estonian Embassy in Berlin.

Researchers from Estonia, Latvia, Germany and Romania are taking part. The central themes are Kotzebue’s international reach, his plays and opera librettos based on them. Estonian speakers include conference organisers Harry Liivrand and Kristel Pappel, as well as Kairit Kaur, Juhan Kreem and Jaan Undusk. Alexander von Kotzebue, a member of the Kotzebue family, will deliver the closing address.

Excerpts will also be read from Kotzebue’s famous play Der Graf Burgund, which inspired Gaetano Donizetti’s first full-length opera.