The Flying Carpet: The Ufenau

With the cycle of poems ‘Hutten’s Last Days’ (published at the end of September 1871), Conrad Ferdinand Meyer finally achieved his major literary breakthrough. The enigmatic Zurich poet (1825–1898) is one of the pre-eminent figures in Swiss literature. The cycle consists of eight chapters comprising 71 poems. It tells the story of the terminally ill knight and humanist Ulrich von Hutten, who settles on the island of Ufenau in Lake Zurich to spend his final days there. Unbowed, he justifies his struggle for the Reformation and against the papacy.
Huldrych Zwingli had offered asylum on Ufenau to the banished and ostracised Hutten in August 1523. Cared for by the Reverend Johannes Klarer, he died there on 29 August of syphilis.

The work was inspired by Meyer’s own melancholic outlook on life, the ‘familiar landscape that is kindred to my soul’, which he experienced as a walker, rower and swimmer, and the momentous events of the time, notably the founding of the German Empire.

The actress Mona Petri, most recently seen as ‘Maria’ at the Rigiblick Theatre, will bring this ‘declaration of love to the Ufenau’ to life, accompanied by a small ensemble from the circle of the well-known ‘Schweizer Vokalconsort’. A soprano and a tenor, accompanied by a theorbo player, will bring the historical world of the Renaissance and the Reformation to life through songs of farewell, pain and letting go.

This performance is part of the series ‘The Flying Carpet – Eight Literary and Musical Island Journeys’.
A season ticket is also available for this series. Eight performances for a season ticket price of CHF 240. Bookings at info@theater-rigiblick.ch