RILKE: CORNET – ‘The Ballad of Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke’ by Rainer Maria Rilke

Rilke’s *Cornet* depicts the monotony of war, describing how the soldiers feel torn from their normal lives and isolated – each on his own, yet all together, sharing similar feelings and longings.

The lyrical, impressionistic prose powerfully conveys feelings of youth and a zest for life, love and death.

Rilke’s *Cornet* is one of his best-known works and, in this current version, is introduced and interwoven with texts by Franz Fühmann, Carl von Clausewitz and figures from the worlds of politics and business.

Walter Prettenhofer was born in Graz, Austria, and trained as an actor at the ‘Mozarteum’ University of Music and Performing Arts in Salzburg. He subsequently worked as an actor at venues including the Volkstheater in Vienna and for the ORF.

Whilst studying for his Master’s degree in Speech Science and Rhetoric at the University of Regensburg, he worked as a voice coach at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz; since 2014, he has been teaching voice training at the ‘Ernst Busch’ Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. In addition, he performs as an actor in his own shows.

Noah Stehle was born in Pittsburgh (USA) and grew up in Frankfurt am Main. He began to focus on film and theatre acting whilst still at school. Following an engagement at the Kammerspiele Wiesbaden and having started a degree in law, he has been studying acting at the “Ernst Busch” Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin since 2025.