„Nijinsky“ is the title of this „choreographic approach“ to a dance phenomenon that has been part of Neumeier‘s life ever since the beginning of his career. During his approximately ten years as a dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky set a new standard both technically and expressively, while in his choreographic work he pointed the way towards modern dance. His personal fate and mental illness that forced him to spend the last 30 years of his life in various asylums and in the keeping of his wife gave his short artistic career an even more aweinspiring and sensational quality. All three aspects – the dancer, the choreographer and the person Nijinsky – form the starting point for John Neumeier‘s latest creation. Neumeier, who as early as 1979 presented a short ballet „Vaslav“, is regarded as one of the leading Nijinsky experts worldwide. Nevertheless, it was not without reluctance that he took up the task of honouring through dance a dance legend: „In creating a work about a historical person, what aspect should we concentrate on? Who was he truly: The man? The artist? Which witness, what information can we trust, which theories should one follow? What point of view can we take towards the complex puzzle Nijinsky? An instinctive choice must be made…“ and sensational quality.
Le nozze di Figaro
For the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death, La Scala Theatre presents a new production of Le nozze di Figaro that had been entrusted to the extraordinary director Frederic Wake-Walker (author of a production of La finta giardiniera which was the revelation of the Glyndebourne Festival in 2014). He focusses the action of the piece on the instability of love: “Le nozze di Figaro presents us with an impossibility – a world where everyone is loving and forgiving.” The approach to his direction is “elaborate and very innovative” and “also musically, the new production of Figaro is worth a tour to Milan.” (NZZ) “the cast is magnificient.” (Kurier) “… when Diana Damrau enters as the Countess, we get a performance of special gravitas. Even the orchestra, under Franz Welser-Möst’s baton, melts to such grace.” (Financial Times)
Lucio Silla
This dramatic opera is associated with one of Mozart’s sojourns in Milan. The Austrian genius was sixteen when he composed this jewel of bel canto dedicated to the general and dictator of Ancient Rome: Lucio Silla made its debut on 26 December 1772, when Mozart was almost seventeen. It was the third opera that he had staged in the Regio Ducal Theatre, Milano. The staging by Marshall Pynkoski, specialized in eighteenth-century operas with particular insights into Baroque dance, drama and gestures, pays „attention to detail, making use of scenes and eighteenth-century impeccably decorated costumes designed by a specialist of the genre in film, Antoine Fontaine“ (delteatro.it). „The female cast is remarkable“ (La Repubblica).
Romeo and Juliet
This classic choreography of Romeo and Juliet by Kenneth MacMillan, set to the immortal notes of Prokofiev, is legendary in La Scala´s repertoire. In this ballet the choreographer MacMillan deals with the matter paying great attention to human relations, lyricism and psychological tension, without neglecting moments of humour, through the dynamics and the emotions of ballet d’action. Set and costumes are designed especially for La Scala by Mauro Carosi and Odette Nicoletti. The stars of this masterly performance are Roberto Bolle and Misty Copeland, together for the first time in this ballet. Iconic ballerina Misty Copeland makes history as the first African American Female Principal Dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. In addition to her dance career, Copeland has become a public speaker, celebrity spokesperson and stage performer. She has written two autobiographical books and narrated a documentary about her career challenges, A Ballerina’s Tale. In 2015, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, appearing on its cover. It’s the first performing Ballet DVD featuring Misty Copeland!
Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote
Don Quixote was created by the master choreographer Marius Petipa, together with the composer Ludwig Minkus, for the Imperial Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow in 1869. Marking the 400th anniversary of Cervantes’s death, Don Quixote is here seen in the revised version by Rudolf Nureyev which the French choreographer Manuel Legris – once a noted Basil
himself in his days as an “étoile” in Nureyev’s Paris troupe – devised for the Wiener Staatsballett. “A Don Quixote to love … Legris and company can count the evening a total success” (Die Presse). As for the two principals, Maria Yakovleva and Denys Cherevychko as Kitri and Basil, no praise was high enough: “both are technically brilliant” (Wiener Zeitung).
La Bohème
20 years after its very first performance, which took place at Teatro Regio di Torino, La Bohème returns to the tradition-steeped Italian opera house. With director Àlex Ollé from La Fura dels Baus and music director Gianandrea Noseda the Teatro Regio presents a spectacular, up-to-date anniversary production. For Àlex Ollé, directing the opera for the first time, “La Bohème allows the young generation to get rid of everything that prevents them from flying, feeding only on their own vitality; the real hunger of the protagonists is the hunger for life. My production is set in a modern city outskirt. It is there where, in my opinion, the intellectual matrix of the future happens; in ugly, disreputable and poor places which are authentic. In this kind of environment, where life and art – as they did in Romanticism – belong to the survivors.” “A triumphant youthful Bohème”, in which the singers excel due to their naturalness. Giorgio Berrugi sings his Rodolfo “with a luminous timbre, in refined nuances” (La Stampa), perfectly matching “Irina Lungu’s full-bodied Mimì” (The London Times). All in all, “this is theatre, this is life, this is passion” (Corriere della sera).
Die Walküre
On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the Salzburg Easter Festival presents a “Re-creation” of Die Walküre: of Herbert von Karajan’s musico-theatrical vision of the 19th century masterwork, with which the legendary Maestro opened the very first Easter Festival in 1967. The top-ranking ensemble of singers performs in the faithfully reconstructed scenery of the
original production with impressive video backdrops inspired by the original glass paintings. Christian Thielemann, who has been assistant of Karajan in his beginnings, counts among the world’s foremost Wagner conductors, “… there is an absolute polish to this performance that is exceptional” writes the Financial Times about the conductor and orchestra. The critics are full of praise for this “musically ravishing Walküre” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and its “excellent ensemble of soloists”. As Sieglinde, Anja Harteros is “enchanting and elegant”, Peter Seiffert “amazingly presents a steady and expressive Siegmund”, Christa Mayer “shows off as irresistible, throroughbred Fricka” and Anja Kampe is celebrated as “outstanding Brünnhilde” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). “Musically it was superb.” (The Spectator)
Mozart Requiem – Bartabas & Marc Minkowski
An absolute highlight of Salzburg’s Mozart Week with “highest art of sound and riding“ (Kronenzeitung): the French equine artist and theatrical genius Bartabas presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem. Horses and riders from the formidable Académie Équestre de Versailles join forces with the Musiciens du Louvre, conducted by Marc Minkowski, the Salzburger Bachchor and “an excellent quartet of soloists“ (Kurier), namely Genia Kühmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Julien Behr and Charles Dekeyser, to place the Requiem into a new theatrical context. Restoring the Felsenreitschule’s original purpose – a riding school – and at the same time including its impressive architecture of arcades into the musical dramaturgy, the production is a breath-taking synthesis of the arts. By meticulously refining the skillfully regulated interactions between humans, animals and music, Bartabas and his horsemen have created a production which is much more than a great show riding choreography: it’s a moving exploration of the interconnectedness of existence. A piece of art with an “exceptional power of attraction” (Schwäbische Zeitung), “a requiem for all senses“ (Kronenzeitung).
I due Foscari
In his ‘new life’ as a baritone, Plácido Domingo has triumphed in the role of Francesco Foscari in Los Angeles, London and Vienna. Now he takes to the role to La Scala, Milan, the theatre that is the symbol of Italian opera. I due Foscari, premiered in 1844, famously one of Verdi’s darkest operas, is staged by Alvis Hermanis, who made such an impact at the Salzburg Festival with “Die Soldaten” and “Il trovatore”. Domingo is joined by two of Italy’s most exciting singers, the soprano Anna Pirozzi and the tenor Francesco Meli, and the acclaimed Italian conductor Michele Mariotti. The Financial Times was deeply moved by Domingo’s performance, calling his interpretation of the role “sublime”.
BONUS Ioan Holender interviews Plácido Domingo on the occasion of I Due Foscari at La Scala in Milan
Carmen
Georges Bizet‘s captivating music with its Spanish sounds took the world by storm: Carmen‘s Habanera and Seguidilla, like Escamillo‘s Toreador‘s Song, are known to one and all. The French composer‘s most successful opera is staged at Bregenz with a set designed by British artist Es Devlin. She has designed sets for pop stars like Adele, U2, Take That, the Pet Shop Boys and Kanye West. In collaboration with the stage director Kasper Holten, Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House in London, she has also worked at opera houses in Helsinki and Copenhagen, at the Theater an der Wien and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. For the Danish stage director, this “opera about destiny and obsession” centres on “two people who are treated as outsiders, whose paths cross and who cling to each other in a passionate but unhealthy relationship”. „The whole ensemble deserves a floor-deep bow.” Der Tagesspiegel
„In terms of sound and, above all, visual finesse, the Carmen in Bregenz is opulent … and brilliant opera show.“ Wiener Zeitung // „The lake-stage in Bregenz is a venue for theatrical spectaculars, and Kasper Holten’s production of Carmen on Es Devlin’s extraordinary set was a knockout.“ The Telegraph // „The French singer Gaëlle Arquez proves to be a lucky find. Not only her massive, shimmering mezzo-soprano is convincing, but her high-quality acting skills as well.” Salzburger NachrichtenNachrichten