Glaube und Heimat

A nation is torn apart, and those who think differently are persecuted: an edict from the emperor orders the expulsion of Protestants from Austria, and a brutal witch hunt forces them to face the relentless choice of submitting to the will and faith of the authorities or leaving their homeland. It is not only the question of faith, but also fear and mistrust that are now tearing family ties apart: Old Rott’s family is divided. As brutal as the actions of the “Wild Rider” are—who, on behalf of the government, brings death to all Lutherans—Old Rott nevertheless clings desperately to his own possessions. But even the dead no longer have a home in this country: the old woman from Sandperg is buried on the Schindanger as a Protestant. When Rott learns of this, he is finally ready to give up all his possessions and start a new life elsewhere. His son Christian goes with him, but must leave his own young son behind due to political directives. Premiered in Vienna in 1910 and one of the most successful stage plays of its time, “Faith and Homeland” today—at the dawn of a new millennium—serves as a prime example of how we deal with the foreign: an apocalyptic series of scenes depicting brutal exclusion and expulsion.

Recording from the Burgtheater, 2001