Apart from Richard Strauss, Carl Orff is the most important Bavarian composer of the 20th century. Today, Carmina Burana is the most frequently performed choral work of all time, but other works by Carl Orff have fallen into oblivion. This is most notably the case with his Greek dramas, and also his Bavarian pieces, but various new productions are heralding a renaissance: the Darmstadt State Theatre has addressed Oedipus and Antigone in productions by John Dew, and the Orff Festival in Andechs, under the artistic direction of Hellmuth Matiasek, has broken fresh ground with new productions of Astutuli and Die Bernauerin.

The Carl Orff DVD series - created by B.O.A. Videofilmkunst Munich under the direction of Peider A. Defilla - presents a new view of the composer Carl Orff.

Astutuli
Orff’s Bavarian piece is about the love affair and eventual marriage — which is not befitting their social positions — of Duke Albrecht III and Agnes Bernauer, the beautiful daughter of a barber-surgeon from the city of Augsburg. Albrecht’s father, Duke Ernst, feels that this marriage jeopardises rightful succession and has Agnes declared a witch and drowned in the Danube River.

Duke Albrecht III founded the Andechs Monastery in 1455 and is buried in the conventual church where Carl Orff is laid to rest.

Cast:
- Christoph Gehr (Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria)
- Julia Urban ( Agnes Bernauer, Kaspar's daughter)
- Peter Rappenglück (Kaspar, barber)
- Fred Maire (Monk)
- Winfried Hübner and Reinhold Lampe (Burghers of the city of Munich)
- Heinz Schmidtpeter (Chancellor of Duke Ernst)

Stage Director: Hellmuth Matiasek
Stage and costumes: Thomas Pekny
Lights: Georg Boeshenz

Performed in the Florian Barn of the Andechs Monastery