Art Carnuntum opens with Dominique Horwitz’s delirious Faust
Sunday 23rd August 2026 on 15:45 in
Austria
Art Carnuntum opened on Saturday with a solo performance of Goethe’s Faust by Dominique Horwitz, ORF reported. The festival in Petronell-Carnuntum, Lower Austria, had been postponed by a day after severe storms swept through the Roman amphitheatre where the opening was due to take place.
Directed by Berlin-based Torsten Fischer, the production presents Horwitz alone in a minimalist staging. With flamboyant make-up, unconventional costumes and exaggerated gestures, the 69-year-old actor plays Faust, takes on elements of Mephisto and also poses Gretchen’s question.
A rapid and unsettling Faust
Horwitz delivers Goethe’s demanding texts at close range and at full volume, occasionally removing his clothes. His raw performance highlights Faust’s inner conflicts and presents the character as delirious, with intensely shifting emotions.
The staging moves rapidly through the drama and can be difficult to follow without prior knowledge of the story. Faust, consumed by a thirst for knowledge and deeply disappointed with life, enters into a pact with the devil. Gretchen, the woman he loves, pays with her life.
Horwitz moves from one historical Goethe monologue to the next, changing characters without warning. The sparse stage offers little guidance, making the performance itself the main focus.
One actor in the amphitheatre
The production is tailored to Horwitz, who carries the performance alone. In the open-air setting among the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre, the stage design was reduced to a minimum. A chair on the grass at the beginning was removed during the second part, allowing Horwitz to use the space directly in front of the audience and the meadow stretching towards the hill behind the amphitheatre walls.
Fog machines, illuminated trees, small props, music and sound effects subtly reinforced the production’s dynamics. The performance ended with sustained applause, although the fragmented storytelling may at times have left the audience uncertain about the narrative.