by Thomas Mann –– Stage version and direction: Clemens Bechtel
Premiere
After completing his studies in Hamburg, the aspiring engineer Hans Castorp visits his cousin Joachim Ziemßen, who is suffering from tuberculosis, at the Berghof Sanatorium in Davos. Castorp only intends to stay for a few weeks. But he becomes increasingly captivated by the people and the peculiar life at the sanatorium: he undergoes rest cures, obsessively measures his temperature—like the other patients—and has himself X-rayed. The visitor becomes a patient. With some of the sanatorium's residents—like the writer Settembrini—Castorp engages in lively and heated discussions; with others—like the eccentric Clavdia Chauchat—he observes with fascination, not daring to speak to …
