“And the Moon Took the Night Off” - A tribute to Hildegard Knef

“My work should be my myth,” she says in an interview when asked about the problem of too much privacy in her public image. What makes the impact of this multi-talented artist so special even beyond her death? Her directness, her sharp powers of observation, her inner conflict and melancholy, her rebellious spirit, her civil courage as a woman, artist, and public figure?

The program “And the Moon Took the Night Off” was created in collaboration with Hildegard Knef’s closest friend, Petra Roek, author of the Knef biography “Don’t Ask Why.”

Together with her pianist Frank Augustin, Ila Raven brings the myth of the diva to the stage alongside numerous Knef chansons: through concise, often contradictory yet complementary dialogues.


February 1, 2026 marks the 24th anniversary of the death of the great Hildegard Knef — all the more reason for a performance to keep her memory alive.