John von Düffel, Thomas Mann

Werther and Lotte, the fictitious dream couple of the eighteenth century, are still regarded today as the epitome of passionate lovers. They are the heroes of the most famous German-language novel next to Buddenbrooks and Steppenwolf. In it, irrational longings and unrestrained devotion unite into a heady concentration - a concentration that drove Werther fans into suicide and caused generations of young fans to cry their hearts out. The impossibility of an ideal love: this is Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. But what happens when fiction meets reality? Years after the world success of the book, according to Thomas Mann's narrative construction, Lotte, actually Charlotte Kestner, goes in search of her own myth and travels to Weimar and Goethe, Werther’s alter-ego and now a world-famous author. What is true, what is invention? Does Charlotte remember Lotte or the other way around? No sooner dos she arrive in Weimar that fans surround her hotel, and vassals and satellites of Goethe bring her news of his doings. But the rendezvous with the genius is still outstanding. Does the encounter stand up to her dreams, or does it reveal itself to be nothing more than a comedy? (Theater Lübeck)