From June 7 to 9, 2025, the final segment will take place: the performance of the last three days of his monumental 6-Day Play in its second, expanded version.
The first two days of this score were already performed in July 2022. On Pentecost Sunday 2023, the third day, dedicated to the god Dionysus—symbolizing wine, joy, fertility, and ecstasy—followed. The artist left behind an almost 1,000-page score with meticulous instructions to enable performances in his spirit posthumously.
Rita Nitsch is once again bringing this visionary work to life at Pentecost, collaborating with Italian-British artist Andrea Cusumano, who will lead the orchestra consisting of over 100 musicians. Leonhard Kopp, who, as Hermann Nitsch’s foster son, has been familiar with the O.M. Theater from a young age, is directing alongside Frank Gassner, one of the longtime assistants of the artist. Around 60 performers are involved as actors. Food and drink also play a central role. The kitchen is once again under the trusted leadership of artist Paul Renner, while the wines are sourced from the Lower Austrian winery Michael Martin.
About the O.M. Theater:
The concept of the Orgies Mysteries Theater was developed by Hermann Nitsch in the mid-1950s. Its performances combine sacred and profane elements and often involve intense, sensory experiences where blood, flesh, and other organic materials play a central role. The first performance of the Orgies Mysteries Theater, titled „1st Action,“ took place in 1962. All actions are excerpts from the 6-Day Play. With this, Nitsch created a space for cathartic experiences, aiming to overcome taboos and confront the primal forces of human existence.
About the 6-Day Play:
The 6-Day Play by Hermann Nitsch, first performed at Schloss Prinzendorf in 1998, is considered the most monumental work of his Orgies Mysteries Theater. It is a continuous six-day and six-night performance engaging all the senses of participants and spectators. Music, painting, ritual acts, sacrificial symbols, and sacred elements merge into an intense experience that explores existential themes such as life, death, ecstasy, and transcendence. The meticulously planned performance, involving hundreds of participants, reflects Nitsch’s pursuit of a universal, spiritually charged artwork that provides space for reflection and catharsis.
Hermann Nitsch: An Exceptional Artist of International Standing.
Hermann Nitsch ranks among the most influential artists of the postwar era. His interdisciplinary approach, which combines painting, music, performance, poetry, and ritual, has profoundly shaped the understanding of art. As a co-founder of Viennese Actionism, he created works that merge provocation with spiritual depth. His creations are part of the art historical canon and are represented in many of the world’s most significant museums and collections—from MoMA in New York to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, the Lenbachhaus in Munich, and the Albertina and Belvedere in Vienna, among others. The Nitsch Museum in Mistelbach, Austria, and the Museo Nitsch in Naples are dedicated exclusively to his oeuvre.
Even after his death, Nitsch’s work remains prominently featured on the international stage. In 2023, his pieces were exhibited in esteemed institutions such as the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris and the Pace Gallery in New York. However, nowhere can the visionary power of his work be experienced as intensely as at Schloss Prinzendorf, his residence, studio, and the primary venue for the 6-Day Play.
The Orgy Mystery Theater
June 7–9, 2025 Schloss Prinzendorf,
Performance of the last 3 Days of the 6-Days-Play
Address and contact:
Schloss Prinzendorf
Schloss Straße 1, 2185 Prinzendorf an der Zaya, Austria
www.nitsch.org/schloss-prinzendorf/
Hermann Nitsch (1938–2022) was one of the most influential and controversial artists of postwar art and a central figure in Viennese Actionism. His works, characterized by radical physicality and ritual intensity, dealt with existential themes such as life, death, and spirituality. Through his Orgies Mysteries Theater and his oeuvre as a whole, Nitsch created a unique total work of art that viewed art as a cathartic experience. Nitsch’s work exemplifies provocation and a break from traditional art forms. His pieces are part of major collections and museums worldwide, underscoring his outstanding position in contemporary art. www.nitsch.org
Founded in 2009, the Nitsch Foundation aims to promote the significant position of Hermann Nitsch as an artist and to preserve his legacy, the Orgies Mysteries Theater. Its mission includes raising awareness of the conceptual foundation of his work, publishing editions and publications, organizing actions and performance events, curating and realizing exhibitions, fulfilling archival and documentation tasks, and expanding the catalogue raisonné. www.nitsch-foundation.com, www.instagram.com/nitschfoundation/