»Der Graf« is one of Bela B’s best-known songs and his very own tribute to a cult figure who has always fascinated him: Count Dracula. Bela’s stage name is a nod to the first actor to play Dracula in a sound film, Bela Lugosi, the screen icon whom he has admired since childhood. And that is just one of many connections to the enigmatic vampire myth that began exactly 550 years ago – with the death of the Transylvanian ruler Vlad III, feared for his cruelty, better known as Count Draculea or Vlad Tepes, »The Impaler«, named after a gruesome method of execution he devised.
Please note: The event will be held in German.
Ever since Bram Stoker borrowed Vlad Tepes’s epithet for his vampire count, he has haunted the nights, dreams and stories as an undead being, leaving his mark on literature and popular culture, and to this day stands as the embodiment of an aristocracy of night and shadow figures – far beyond the horror genre. So it is high time that Bela B turned his attention to this fascinating subject, recounting his engagement with the myth, his vampiric research and his discoveries. On 29 September, he will read from a wide variety of Dracula stories at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and leaf through his favourite chapters. He will be accompanied in various roles by the actress Julia Kemp, who will, among other things, test his mettle as Dr van Helsing.
Bela B Felsenheimer, born in 1962 in West Berlin, is a drummer, guitarist, composer, singer, actor, dubbing artist and audiobook narrator; he was a comic book publisher and had his own radio show. He is best known as a member of the punk rock band Die Ärzte. As an author, he has published several short stories, a film script and his two novels, »Scharnow« and »FUN«, both of which immediately entered the SPIEGEL bestseller list and were acclaimed by the press.
PERFORMERS
Bela B Felsenheimer reading
Julia Kemp acting
