Of
Alexandra Föderl-Schmid
Hermann Nitsch is not so easily lured out of the reserve. When asked what he is planning in Bayreuth, he growls: “Ask me something clever.” And sends a scowl across the table. Only gradually does Nitsch, one of Austria’s most important artists, thaw on this hot afternoon. He welcomes you in the shadow of his baroque palace in Prinzendorf, around an hour’s drive from Vienna. The barking of two dogs and the screaming of several roosters interrupt the conversation again and again. A peacock struts around in the castle courtyard.