ON THE 85TH BIRTHDAY OF ELISABETH ORTH
FROM KREISKY'S LIVING ROOM
A republican history lesson
Elisabeth Orth, Doyenne of the Burgtheater in conversation with Wolfgang Maderthaner, Historian, Association for the History of the Labour Movement
Elisabeth Orth was born in Vienna on 8 February 1936, the daughter of Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger.
She began her professional career as a film editor, while also studying languages and working as an assistant director before attending the Max Reinhardt Seminar. She adopted her maternal grandmother's maiden name as her stage name: Orth.
In 1968, she became a permanent member of the Burgtheater ensemble and, although she was engaged at the Berlin Schaubühne from 1995 to 1999, she remains a member to this day. In 2014, the Salzburg Festival staged Die letzten Tage der Menschheit in a co-production with the Burgtheater. Elisabeth Orth took on several roles in this dramatisation. In addition to her stage work, Orth is also active in film and television.
Elisabeth Orth has not only made a name for herself as an actress, but also through her socio-political commitment against anti-Semitism and xenophobia. She is president of the campaign against anti-Semitism in Austria. On 11 January 2015, together with Peter Matić, she read out a text from the Austrian federal government in front of 12,000 demonstrators at the „Together against terror“ demonstration on Vienna's Ballhausplatz. She has also repeatedly spoken out against racism and in favour of human rights in previous years.
In addition to numerous awards such as the Bad Hersfeld Critics' Prize and the Bavarian State Prize, Elisabeth Orth received the Liselotte Schreiner Ring from Judith Holzmeister. In 2006, she received the Golden Decoration of Honour for Services to the State of Vienna, in 2010 Orth was awarded the 2009 Radio Play Actress of the Year Award and in 2011 the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art I Class. In 2014 she became an honorary member of the Burgtheater. Following the death of Annemarie Düringer, Elisabeth Orth was appointed Doyenne of the Burgtheater in February 2015.