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A THEATER PLAY FROM A CONCERT PIECE; POETRY AND RITUAL IN THE GESAMTKUNST WERK? the allusions of the heroine become clear: the sword symbolizes the power acquired by God, which helps Joan to retrieve France for France; under traditional circumstances, though, it would be a symbol of war and violence. Joan’s last sentences exemplify the duality of the power of self-sacrifice and the power of community, ? as does the closing scene: “It is a real catharsis as Joan — played by Katya Tompos — simply walks along the edge of the orchestra pit in her torn white clothes, as if she is walking on the border of damnation and salvation, spreading the importance and power of love through her glowing eyes. Joan, the ‘chosen virgin’s’ mystic, clear figure is the message herself: there is hope. There is love.”*4 Attila Vidnyanszky broadened the figure of Saint Joan with this naive but determined gesture into a universal symbol, quoting Pierre Nora, famous French historian of the twentieth century, the site of memory [lieu de mémoire] of the converging power for the French nation.* In doing so he made the act of visiting theaters into a celebration, while paying close attention to the ritual theater’s liminal, transformative, and cathartic dimensions, giving the theaters their [inherently] sacral functions back. APPENDIX Attila Vidnyanszky talked about the difficulties and the circumstances of working in the Csokonai Theater in Debrecen. Excerpts from an interview with Istvan Kornya, editor-in-chief of Nemzeti Magazin, the magazine of the National Theatre: ISTVAN KORNYA: Working in a stone theater is a very special ‘way of life’: new plays have to be premiered all the time, a rehearsal season lasts for only six weeks, the repertoire has to always offer something new, [...] The lifestyle of the drama group in Beregszäsz is the exact opposite of this practice. [...] You still decided to do it. [...] Why? ATTILA VIDNYÄNSZKY: Because it has been clear to me for quite some time, then and now, that theaters offer a lot more than solely aesthetical pleasure. In relation to the theater, the group, and the community this thing has become something like a service and duty, and this is what became important for me over the pure aesthetical realm. The revelation came in Beregszász, in "97. The premiere of the play called Murder in the Cathedral took place in the church 33 “Saint Michael himself gave me this sword, this giant, shining sword. It is not called Hatred — it is called: Love.” Vidnyanszky: Ibid., 8. 34 Rechtenwald: Ibid. 35 Pierre Nora: Entre Mémoire et Histoire. La problématique des lieux, in P. Nora (ed.): Les lieux de mémoire — I. La République, Paris, Gallimard, 1984; [Emlékezet és térténelem között. A helyek problematikaja], trans. Zsolt K. Horvath, http://epa.oszk.hu/00800/00861/00012/993-10.html, accessed 28 August 2020.
