Barbara Nüsse
The German edition of the Czesław Miłosz poetry audiobook, with pieces selected by Adam Zagajewski features renowned German actress Barbara Nüsse
Prior to the audiobook's official release, on the 16th of September Berlin's Internationales Literaturfestival hosted an evening devoted to Czesław Miłosz. Starting at 10.30 pm, the event entitled "Czesław Miłosz: Die Welt des polnischen Lyrikers" / "Czesław Miłosz: The World of a Polish Poet" was a poetry reading session. Haus der Berliner Festspiele hosted the evening, featuring readings by Barbara Nüsse, Peter Franke and Stephan Stroux.
The two men and one woman were cast in a minimalist setting: A table, a set of microphones, and in the background - the projected image of a flowing river. Polish singer and musician Julia Marcell opened the evening with a delicate yet rebellious performance of her songs based on Miłosz's works. The actors took turns reading out poems selected for the evening by Stephan Stroux. Their interpretations were intertwined with music written and performed by Marcell, a recording of Miłosz’s "The Gift" in Chinese, and special recording of Czesław Miłosz reading his own poem "The River" closed the programme.
The evening had the Polish poet's works resound in different languages and in each actor’s different voice.
Barbara Nüsse recorded 13 poems for the German edition of Czesław Miłosz's audiobook which was also presented during the evening.
As part of the Polish 2011 Milosz Year selected works of the poet will feature as an insert to the Polish-German Dialog magazine.
The endeavour forms part of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency of the EU, as well as a special programme commemorating the hundredth year since the Polish poet's birth. The publications engage various actors and writers in lending their voices for recording different selections of Miłosz’s poems -with actors and translations differing for each country of publication. The graphic design and overall concept remains the same: The audio books, produced by the pan-European Polish Institutes, are an opportunity for European readers to acquaint themselves with the works of the Polish laureate of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The poet and writer Adam Zagajewski chose the selection of poems to be recorded on the German edition of a Czesław Miłosz audiobook. The 13 pieces which will be presented to the German public have been translated into the German by Karl Dedecius, Doreen Daume and Peter Lachmann.
Barbara Nüsse reads the poems on the German audiobook. Nüsse, who was born in 1943, is a German film and theatre actress. She graduated from the Otto Falckenberg Theatre School in Munich. The actress was part of many theatre troupes across Germany: she worked in the Hannover theatre, Residenz Theatre in Munich (under Hans Lietzau), Köln Schauspielhaus theatre (under Hans-Günther Heyme), Stuttgart Theatre (under Claus Peymann), and Deutsches Spielhaus in Hamburg (under Niels-Peter Rudolph). Barbara Nüsse then performed in various theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Zurich and Vienna. The actress won nationwide recognition for her tournee of a Molly Bloom solo entitled "Penelope" based on James Joyce’s "Ulysses".
Nüsse has recorded numerous audiobooks in the past. George Sand’s "A Winter in Mallorca" and "Miss de Scudery" by E.T.A. Hoffmann are two examples of titles recorded by the actress. Her 2009 performance on the "Der verbotene Ort" audiobook by Fred Vargas won the German Corine Internationaler Buchpreis. In 2009, Nüsse was honoured with the Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring prize for her overall merits in the German theatre. In 2010 the Gertrud-Eysoldt-Ring award once again went to Nüsse, this time for her role as King Lear. Since 2010, Barbara Nüsse is a member of the Thalia Theatre team in Hamburg. At present, she is cast in five plays. In 1990 the actress was honoured with the Medal of Merit of the Federal German Republic. The great talent of Barbara Nüsse and the recognition she enjoys in Germany enrich the way Miłosz’s words will reach audiences in her home country.
Barbara Nüsse on Czesław Miłosz:
Czesław Miłosz for me stands on the side of life... even if he has to struggle through pain and misery. The depth of words with which he describes violence is very moving – and yet he still finds anew an incredible strenght in the combat and in the lightness of being...
Full list of Czesław Miłosz's poems on the German audiobook:
"Worwort"
"Das Lied vom Weltende"
"In Warschau"
"Was groß war"
"Ein armer Christ schaut auf das Ghetto"
"Mewine treue Sprache"
"Wolken"
"Rue Descartes"
"Geschenk"
"Erde"
"Campo di Fiori"
"Der du Unrecht getan hast"
"So wenig"
Date: Distribution starts 1st of October, 2011
Location: Nationwide in Germany, through the Polish-German Dialog magazine
Organised by: Dialog magazine, Adam Mickiewicz Institute
Project cofinanced by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland.
Czesław Miłosz is a Flagship Project of the Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency. For more information on the project, see: Czesław Miłosz
For more information on 2011 Milosz Year, see: www.milosz365.eu
Source: Adam Mickiewicz Institute