Elysium Between Two Continents

08/28/2026

Get ready to be inspired! 🎉 We're thrilled to announce the honorees of the 39th Annual Erwin Piscator Awards Dinner on November 5, 2026, at the Lotos Club, NYC. Join us in celebrating the trailblazing achievements of Anthony Roth Costanzo and Anthony Napoli, two visionaries who are redefining the boundaries of art and culture. By reserving your seat, you'll be supporting Elysium's mission to break down barriers and foster a world where creativity knows no bounds. Together, let's unlock a brighter future! 🌟

Meet our honorees:
GRAMMY-winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (photo: Matthew Placek) has performed on the world's leading opera, concert, and Broadway stages since age 11. He is General Director and President of Opera Philadelphia and Artistic Director of SongStudio at Carnegie Hall. A Princeton and Manhattan School of Music graduate, he's won the Met Opera Competition and Operalia, and has a forthcoming book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux with a companion album on Nonesuch.
Anthony Napoli (photo: private) is a Bronx-born leader with 30+ years in destination management and incentive travel, including as former CEO of PRA/Briggs Inc. A onetime Off-Broadway director and founder of the GAP Theatre Company, he's served on the boards of Second Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, the Manhattan School of Music, and more. He's currently writing a book of short stories.

07/28/2026

06/16/2026

A Clear Commitment - The cast members of the r***e “Dance on the Volcano,” produced by Elysium, before their performance at the Künstlerhaus in Munich. The lyrics and songs of this r***e, set in 1920s Berlin, are shockingly relevant today and hold up a mirror to our society. Since our founding over 40 years ago, we at Elysium - between two continents have been resolutely using the power of art to fight against antisemitism, racism, discrimination, and hatred, and to promote genuine, authentic dialogue and exchange across borders.

06/12/2026

Fulminante Vorstellung im ausverkauften Festsaal des Münchner Künstlerhauses. Am Montag präsentierten wir unseren "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" in München. Neelam Brader, Patrick Lammer, Christa Pillmann und Maria Yulin heizten dem Publikum ordentlich ein, steppten, swingten, musizierten und rezitierten, was das Zeug hielt. Immer wieder begeisterter Zwischenapplaus.
Tausend Dank dem Münchner Künstlerhaus für eine erneute wundervolle Kooperation und dem Österreichischen Generalkonsulat München für die Unterstützung.
Fotos: Steffen Amann

06/10/2026

„Tanz auf dem Vulkan" – eine Premiere, die begeistert
Berlin, Freitagabend: Das Österreichische Kulturforum öffnete seine Türen für eine R***e, die das Publikum von der ersten Minute an in ihren Bann zog. Der Saal war bis auf den letzten Platz besetzt – und die Energie im Raum tat es dem Titel gleich.
Mit scharfzüngigen Texten von Valeska Gert, Kurt Tucholsky und Klaus Mann, feinsinnig-satirischen Miniaturen von Joseph Roth und Alfred Polgar sowie Liedern von Paul Abraham, Paul Lincke, Mischa Spoliansky und Kurt Weill verdichtete das Programm die schillernde Widersprüchlichkeit der Weimarer Republik zu einem mitreißenden Bühnenerlebnis. Mezzosopranistin Neelam Brader, Bariton Patrick Lammer, Schauspielerin Christa Pillmann und Pianistin Maria Yulin meisterten dabei den Spagat zwischen Glanz und Abgrund mit bewundernswerter Leichtigkeit.
Unser herzlicher Dank gilt den Kooperationspartnern, die dieses Projekt erst möglich gemacht haben: dem Leo Baeck Institute New York /Berlin, dem Österreichischen Kulturforum Berlin sowie Schirmherr Dr. Felix Klein, Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für jüdisches Leben in Deutschland und den Kampf gegen Antisemitismus.
Fotos: Christian Walter

06/08/2026

Heute in der Münchner Abendzeitung! Es gibt noch ein paar wenige Restkarten! Wir freuen uns auf Euch!

06/05/2026

Die Premiere von "Tanz auf dem Vulkan" am 5.6. in Berlin ist komplett ausgebucht. Aber für die Aufführung im Münchner Künstlerhaus am Montag, 8.6. gibt es noch Karten. Kommt und taucht ein in das brodelnde Berlin der 1920er Jahre. Tickets unter: https://tickets.kuenstlerhaus-muc.de/event/literarische-r***e-tanz-auf-dem-vulkan--im-juni-2026

05/02/2026

“Anyone who attacks Jewish life in Germany attacks the identity of German society; they attack all of us” — Former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz received the Leo Baeck Medal in New York on April 29. In his laudatory speech, former U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted Scholz’s zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of antisemitism. Blinken also emphasized the enormously important contribution of German-Jewish political thinkers—such as Hannah Arendt and Ernst Fraenkel—to the philosophical foundations of democratic institutions. Blinken’s stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was the only member of his family and school class in Bialystok to survive the Holocaust. After the presentation of the Leo Baeck Medal by David G. Marwell, President of the Leo Baeck Institute, Olaf Scholz and Antony Blinken discussed the future of the transatlantic alliance, NATO, and the war in Iran with journalist Kati Marton. A truly fascinating evening! Congratulations to Olaf Scholz.

04/21/2026

On March 30 a star-studded group of theater artists convened at The New School to discuss what it means to be an artist and to do political theater. The panel consisted of recipients of the Erwin Piscator Award who came together on the 60th anniversary of Erwin Piscator’s death and reflected on the lasting legacy of this great pioneer of the theater on both sides of the Atlantic.
We are deeply grateful to Ellen Burstyn, James Nicola, J.T. Rogers, Bartlett Sher and Doug Wright, and to our moderator Linda Chapman, for sharing with us their experiences, their personal stories, their thoughts, their doubts, their questions. We are also thankful to Eugene Lang College at the New School and to 1014 Space for Ideas for partnering with us in realizing this event.

When a student in the audience asked the panelists what advice they might have for the younger generation of artists especially in a time that feels so hopeless, they all answered unanimously to get out and make work, to make things that are important to them, to push the envelope. And if they lack the space to start in their own living room and invite their friends and like-minded people.

This encouraging message isn’t just for artists. It applies to all of us. In the face of so many crises, sitting idly by—frozen, paralyzed, and waiting passively like a rabbit facing a snake—doesn’t change a thing. It only deepens our sense of powerlessness and hopelessness. It is in taking action—no matter how small the steps—that the way out and the way forward becomes clear.

You can watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bzLHerPJqI