Mats Ek: Julia & Romeo
Romeo and Julia becomes Julia & Romeo when world renowned choreographer Mats Ek presents his full-length work to Tchaikovsky’s music, with its first performance of the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Opera House. ‘It’s time to turn things around,’ says Mats Ek. Also, one of Shakespeare’s originals was in fact named Julia and Romeo. So you can say that this is a return to the story’s source. And to use the music of Tchaikovsky, and not Prokofiev’s, is also a signal. But the drama’s bearing conflict with the young unprotected love versus the established violence, is still there – a tragedy in which love triumphs by going under. Julia and Romeo is Mats Ek’s first major full-length works since Sleeping Beauty made for the Hamburg Ballet in 1996. Music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, in the selection of Mats Ek, adapted by Anders Högstedt.
J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio – Ballet by John Neumeier
“Rejoice, exult” – John Neumeier turns Bach’s Christmas Oratorio into an experience that confronts us all with the most basic questions of trust, hope, faith, doubt and self-sacrifice: “My choreography is not a religious undertaking. We perform to Bach’s music, for a few hours unifying individuals of many different cultural and religious backgrounds. For me, the basic human values expressed through the choreography are always the most important thing. Therefore, in my ballet, Mary is known simply as ‘the Mother’ and Joseph as ‘her Husband’.” “Once again it is impossible not to be impressed by the flawless technique of the ensemble … When at the end Lloyd Riggins tap-dances his way across the stage like Fred Astaire, the Christmas Oratorio is complete” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).