Mercedes Benz

Péter Esterházy
Mercedes Benz
Schedule of performances
Mercedes Benz is based on the Madách classical drama The Tragedy of Man, where at the beginning the Lord and Lucifer make a new bet on the legendary family of Hungarian history – the House of Esterházy. "Take their luck and I bet that even so they won’t turn against me, or even betray the good," says the Lord, like in a case of Job. Based on his words, the cunning Lucifer throws generations of princes and counts into Hungarian – hence also Slovak – history, largely in in the turbulent and bloody events of the twentieth century. He himself was in the role of the tempter or in other disguises, trying to break male members of the family in historical tests and sometimes he succeeds. In the individual episodes of the family chronicle – which are at times tragic and sometimes ironic comedy, the characters reveal the well-known aristocratic family members and persons who were associated with it. Kurutzes and Lanabtses, Turks and Communists, Haydn and secret police, all appear on stage, yet, from time to time, the incredible joyful and horrified laughter of Janis Joplin from the end of the iconic song Mercedes Benz is heard.
Running time: 3 hrs with one interval
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