Sophie Rois reads from Tilla Durieux’s memoirs

Lovis Corinth painted portraits of actors and actresses – including Tilla Durieux – in their roles and created designs for costumes and stage sets for Max Reinhardt’s productions. The exhibition ‘Lovis Corinth. Then came Berlin!’ devotes a separate section to this theme.

To accompany this, Sophie Rois reads extracts from Tilla Durieux’s memoirs, ‘Meine ersten neunzig Jahre’ (My First Ninety Years). Durieux (1880–1971) was one of the great stage stars of her time. She performed under Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator, emigrated to Switzerland in 1933, then to Zagreb in what was then Yugoslavia in 1937, and, following her return in 1952, appeared on German stages once more until shortly before her death.

Her memoirs recount a life in the theatre, friendships with fellow artists, and the art dealing of her second husband, Paul Cassirer, weaving together personal experiences with the cultural and political upheavals of the 20th century.