Acclaimed Viennese actress Maxi Blaha presented a solo performance exploring the life of Emilie Flöge, the companion and muse of Gustav Klimt. Emilie Flöge (1874-1952), reformist fashion designer, who ran a hugely successful fashion salon; she was also life companion to Austrian painter Gustav Klimt and an integral part of Vienna’s fin de siècle art movement. Those are the facts, but who was Emilie Flöge really? Beloved Muse re-imagines the part of Emilie’s life that she deliberately burnt, and rescues a radical and extraordinary woman from the ashes. Georg Buxhofer accompanied the captivating performance on his bass guitar underpinning the thoughts of this exceptional woman.
Written by Penny Black | Performed by Maxi Blaha
Music by Georg Buxhofer | Directed by Heidelinde Leutgöb
When: Monday, October 28, 2019 | 7:00 PM
Where: Austrian Cultural Forum Washington/Embassy of Austria
3524 International Court, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Ticket: Free admission, registration obligatory
Parking on International Court is available after 6:30 pm (for the duration of the event) or on 36th Street; access to the Embassy through the park behind the building.
A registration is not a guarantee of a seat as these are assigned on a first-come first-served basis. Doors close at event start-time.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Maxi Blaha | Actress
Photo | (c) Peter Rigaud
Born in Vienna, Maxi Blaha studied Music and Art at the Vienna University of Performing Arts and the Mozarteum University in Salzburg; Austria. Moreover, she took singing training with Klaus Ofczarek and Althea Bridges and worked with Robert Lewis in New York. As an ensemble member of the Vienna’s world famous Burgtheater, she had lead engagements at the theatres of Coburg and Tübingen (Germany) as well as Vienna and Linz (Austria). She also played the lead role at the “Purim Spil” during the Linz 09 European Cultural Capital program. Ms. Blaha worked with renowned directors such as Giorgio Strehler, André Heller, Paulus Manker, Georg Schmiedleitner, Walter Schmidinger, Achim Benning, Gil Mehmert, Gerhard Willert, Kurt Palm, Martina Gredler, Anna Maria Krassnig, Sarantos Zervoulakos, and Joshua Sobol. Ms. Blaha received the audience award for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest at the Bavarian Theatre Festival, Germany, and her Bertha von Suttner Solo was awarded for „Individual Performance“ at the BRM Festival in New Delhi, India. In 2018, Ms. Blaha was entrusted with the exclusive performing rights of the acclaimed biographical play Emilie Flöge - Beloved Muse by Penny Black about Emilie Flöge, Gustav Klimt’s long-time partner and muse by the Belvedere Museum, Vienna. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Klimt’s death in 2018, Ms. Blaha has toured with this performance around the world (Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Japan, UK, France, and Turkey among others).
Georg Buxhofer | Bass Guitar
Georg Buxhofer studied at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. He works as a freelance musician, band leader and composer switching between different genres from jazz to pop to classical music. He provided the live music for the two solo-plays Emilie Flöge - Beloved Muse (since 2018) and Soul of Fire (in 2014), performed by Austrian actress Maxi Blaha. He toured around the globe and performed at venues like the State Opera Vienna, the Barbican Centre London, the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo or the European Parliament in Brussels.