Dramaturgie im zeitgenössischen Tanz ist ? positiv gemeint ? ein heißes Eisen. Idealerweise sind Dramaturginnen und Dramaturgen während der Erarbeitung eines Stücks die besten Freunde der Choreografen.
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Suddenly Peter Handke hasn't won the Heinrich Heine Prize after all! The taz sees this as symptomatic of the "eternal Peter Handke reflex", the SZ is outraged: "This is not how things are done" and Die Welt is relieved that at least someone in this country has some sense. Poet Charles Simic speaks of football trauma and deadly goals. And the century of the Anglos is over.
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Peter Handke answers widespread criticism of his being awarded the Heinrich Heine Prize, making clear "what he did not say." Die Welt rallies to Handke's defence, pointing the finger at ex-foreign minister Joschka Fischer and Germany's self-satisfied debate of consensus. Mirka Wagner's sweet hysteria is all that's good in "The Golden Cockerel" in Berlin. And Benedict XVI struggles to find the right words at Auschwitz and comes over a tad too excusatory.
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The jury's decision to award the Heinrich Heine prize to Peter Handke is wrought with contention, in the wake of the author's defence of Milosevic. In Benedict XVI the Poles have finally found a good German. There was little more to do at Cannes this year than some middle of the road talent scouting. The debate over the Berlin Philharmoniker rattles on, and Wilhelminian Germany, it turns out, was pretty pro-gay after all.
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Berlin's new central station will be inaugurated today. The architect laments: the sausage's been bitten off at both ends! People who pooh-poohed Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" at Cannes ignored her own royal credentials. Outrage at the German government's spying on journalists is misplaced, writes the NZZ. Peter Brook compares the mysteries of good theatre and good cooking and Raoul Ruiz' chutzpah refuses to go away.
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The International PEN Congress opens in Berlin with a rousing but controversial speech by Günter Grass. Also in Berlin for the congress, Sergio Ramirez voices concern for the state of the world. It's Father's Day tomorrow, and the FR sees a male regression in the family. Meanwhile in Cannes, men seem to be dying out altogether. Salvatore Sciarrino's new opera "Da gelo a gelo" garners high praise, and the SZ responds to recent Sir-Simon-Rattle-bashing in the German press.
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The FAZ begins a series on modern literature with Hans Magnus Enzensberger while the taz presents New York jazz pianist and philosopher Vijay Iyer. Consideration is given to the "tribalisation" of youth in Germany. And a hundred years after his death, Henrik Ibsen is being amply feted.
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Islamic scholar Gilles Kepel interprets Al-Qaida texts taken from the Internet. The PEN congress opens today amid concerns it may fail to take Poland's new nationalism seriously. Documentary theatre has made a comeback at the Theatertreffen in Berlin. The premiere of "Orlando" in Munich shows a very shaky Handel. Ayaan Hirsi Ali gets mixed praise and a show on Humanism in China opens in Frankfurt.
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A debate rages in the SZ over the restitution of expatriated artworks. Art superstar Neo Rauch talks about himself in Hamburg. The taz reports from Cannes, and torn-off fingernails at half-past eight. Iranian filmmakers are bucking trends at home and making films that are as diverse as ever. Peter Zadek turns 80 and tells why a moment's theatre magic keeps doing it for him.
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While "The Da Vinci Code" flops in Cannes, two interesting films open in Germany, both on the theme of work. Christoph Hochhäusler's "Low Profile" is the story of a young man who would rather take responsibility for a car accident than get a real job, and Michael Glowagger's "Workingman's Death" takes an uncomfortably close look at heavy labour. Angels Merkel's coming visit to China occasions reflection on (un)freedom of speech there, and East German film production company DEFA celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali's decision to leave the Netherlands for the USA is the burning topic in most of today's papers and has Voltaire and Erasmus turning in their graves. The head of the commission for the appraisal of GDR history defends the findings of its report against accusations that it was "too grey". And the British organ industry is bellowing that a new EU directive signals a return to the 19th century.
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The critics are divided over Luc Bondy's staging of Jon Fosse's "Sleep". Limp kitsch or a rare gem? Ousmane Sembene looks at female genital mutilation from a cross-cultural perspective. Immigrants to Europe should take the cue from Mexican illegals, writes Die Welt. Citizens of the former GDR are a paradigm case of the Schmittian "command of silence," writes the taz. And most young Turkish academics are headed anywhere but Germany.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Leon de Winter tell the West to beat Bin Laden by going green. Der Spiegel takes a bite into Neocon sugar coating. Oskar Pastior, the master of the pun and the palindrome receives the Büchner Prize, about twenty five years too late. And a look back to Cannes 1961, where Luis Bunuel took the Palm with a "Viridiana" that censorship sexed up.
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Kaczynski jokes in Poland are gathering steam while Artur Klinau reports that there's not much to laugh about in Belarus under Lukashenko. A performance of "Taming of the Shrew" at the Ruhrfestspiele makes good use of a mop and Paula Mordersohn-Becker's self-portrait nude celebrates its hundredth birthday.
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A major exhibition of Egypt's sunken treasures opens tonight in Berlin. The SZ reports how the strife-ridden country can use the PR, and the FAZ is very taken by a wet-robed Arsinoe. There are fears the arrest of Ramin Jahanbegloo could mean a new crackdown on intellectuals in Iran. There's a bird's eye view of Jean Nouvel's new Musee du Quai Branly, and a new if rather belated Swahili version of Windows XP.
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Italian historian Luciano Canfora's controversial "Democracy in Europe" hits hostile German bookstands today. Meanwhile the Italian book market seems to be flooded with hot-blooded nymphs and dirty old men. Czech director Miroslav Bambusek is ruffling feathers with his re-enactment of the expulsions of Germans after World War Two. And brows furrow at French intellectuals' support of the Italian terrorist Cesare Battisti.
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On Europe Day, French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut defends the right of Europeans to oppose Turkish entry to the EU. Meanwhile historian Norman Stone sees a little hypocrisy in the Lapp-castrating Swedes charging Turkey with human rights violations. Tagesspiegel considers the Dirt Telephone and other measures Berlin has taken for the coming World Cup. And a Moscow Manifesto commits to preserving what little of the city's architectural heritage remains.
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Mathias Döpfner, head of the Springer media empire, defends the complementarity of the newspapers and the Net. Hubertus Knabe compares plans for confronting GDR history with planned economies of the past. South Korean soaps are exploding viewer quotas all across Asia. Matthias Politycki reports on the lyrical monuments in Italian Arpino, and the feuilletons honour Sigmund Freud on his 150th birthday.
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An exhibition of Caspar David Friedrich depicts the romantic artist as revolutionary architect. Poland's Radio Maryja is proving itself not only anti-Semitic but also financially corrupt. As the Goethe Institutes in Western Europe wither under funding cutbacks, China is opening Confucius Institutes in Germany. And today, "E" faded out in "As Slow as Possible," John Cage's 639 year long organ performance in Halberstadt.
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Author Peter Schneider wonders why immigrants are seldom to be found in German literature while Green politician Christian Ströbele suggests that translating the German national anthem into Turkish might help matters on the integration front. But R'nBer Muhabbet says he can handle a little discrimination. In Tehran, women have been playing soccer and in Berlin, the Theatertreffen looks forward to a bloody kick-off.
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Turkish German author Zafer Senocak calls for zero tolerance for totalitarian elements in the culture wars. Philosopher Jean Baudrillard sees Prime Minister de Villepin's labour reform drama as a farce. Sigmund Freud's 150th birthday is about as festive as the Austrian constitution. And Arno Widmann reflects on a scandalous laundry poster from 1954.
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Anti-Semitism is growing in Turkey with a spate of books on the Dönme. Signandsight was spotted at the PEN Festival in New York. Geneva's Salon du livre has become a bit of a bazaar. Freud in French is high on gravitas and low on irony. Women are increasingly gun-slinging in the Arab world. And Turkish-German pop star Muhabbet is a master of the schmoozy arabesque.
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