“Composed to a libretto by Harry Graf Kessler and Hugo von Hofmannsthal and premiered by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in the summer of 1914, Strauss’ Josephs Legende was one of the earliest cultural casualties of the First World War. The leads in John Neumeier’s production from 1977 are terrific, especially the sensational Judith Jamison as Potiphar’s Wife. The Wiener Philharmoniker sounds sumptuous and conductor Heinrich Hollreiser keeps the drama from dragging without getting in the way of the dancers.” (James Leonard, ALLMUSIC.com)
Schwanensee (Swan Lake)
Perhaps the most popular ballet in the world, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” has been given a compelling new interpretation by Rudolf Nureyev. The Russian dancer, a towering figure in 20th-century ballet, placed greater emphasis on the character of Prince Siegfried. First produced in Vienna in 1964, Nureyev’s choreography has been hailed as one of the most fascinating ever. Nureyev and his partner Dame Margot Fonteyn perfectly embodied the noble and more volatile style of classical ballet performance featured here.
Mahler, Live
“Mahler, Live” is a dialogue between two outstanding ballets, the world premiere of “4” by Martin Schläpfer and Hans van Manen‘s icon of dance history “Live”. The new director of the Vienna State Ballet Martin Schläpfer not only presents his first own program at the Vienna State Opera with the premiere “Mahler, Live” but also introduce himself as choreographer with his world premiere “4” to Gustav Mahler‘s 4th Symphony. The result is a great ballet for the entire ensemble, which is preceded by an icon of dance history at the opening of the evening, with Hans van Manen‘s “Live”. For Martin Schläpfer music is a central basis of his work. Whether a large symphony or a chamber music miniature – the scores he chooses are usually the starting point for his works, provide the framework with their architectures, supply the energy for his tension-filled movement images. Hans van Manen‘s “Live” is the first video ballet in dance history and a masterful puzzle game with the mechanisms of perception. First performed in Amsterdam in 1979, “Live” has so far been danced exclusively by Het Nationale Ballett. With this new production in Vienna, Hans van Manen entrusts his work to another company for the first time.
Salzburg Festival 2012: Zurich Ballet and the Hagen Quartet
A singular project is staged at the Salzburg Festival with the famous Felsenreitschule as a backdrop: for the first time the renowned Hagen Quartet appears at the festival accompanied by a dance company. The Swiss grand master of dance Heinz Spoerli presents three works he choreographed for his Zurich Ballet set to three of the great works of the quartet literature: Leos Janácek’s string quartet “Intimate Letters”, Antonín Dvorák’s “American Quartet” and Franz Schubert’s string quartet “The Death and the Maiden”.
Seagull
Pathétique – A ballet by Martin Schläpfer
Set to Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, Martin Schläpfer’s highly expressive choreography offers glimpses into the composer’s biography, echoes of his great ballets, Russian motives and reflections on our time. “A precisely danced, emotionally charged creation from a single mould, which he concludes touchingly with a Handel aria” (Kronenzeitung). “This is Martin Schläpfer at his best (…) classical ballet that is nevertheless entirely contemporary” (NZZ)
The Seasons
With The Seasons, the aged Joseph Haydn composed a great secular oratorio about man’s integration into the cycle of nature. This inspired choreographer Martin Schläpfer to create his first full-length dance piece for the Wiener Staatsballett, in which 80 dancers are joined by three singers of the Wiener Staatsoper’s ensemble and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor. Scenes from real life are juxtaposed with gripping musical depictions of nature, grand oratorio scenes with popular singspiel full of wit and crude humour. “The State Opera Orchestra flourishes under the baton of Adam Fischer, who is very familiar with Haydn and his music. […] It is a constantly mood-changing flow of life […] brilliantly realised in dance.” (Die Welt) “What a stunner: the entire ballet ensemble with a large orchestra and choir! It’s an evening for all the senses.” (Die Presse)
Goldberg Variations
Simply Clavier-Übung bestehend in einer Aria mit verschiedenen Veraenderungen, Johann Sebastian Bach titled his Goldberg Variations in 1742 – and composed a fascinating compendium of variations, canons and fugues. In 1993, the Swiss choreographer Heinz Spoerli took up the challenge of meeting Bach’s opus summum of piano literature with dance – and created one of his signature works: a dance drama about man, his joys and fears, loneliness and lusts, bonds and ruptures, youth and old age, which builds up
from making music with the body. Now, 30 years after its creation, it’s been brought to the stage of the Wiener Staatsoper in a new set and costume design, especially for the Wiener Staatsballett – “a wonderful addition to the repertoire” (Tanz). “The courage to choreograph Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations for piano was rewarded. Spoerli has succeeded in creating a highly attractive and musical exploration of the variations, which shows pure dance in many colorful facets. […] The spectrum ranges from large group scenes to solos and pas de deux. All highlights.” (Kurier)
Iolanta and the Nutcracker
When Tchaikovsky premiered his famous ballet The Nutcracker in Saint Petersburg 130 years ago, it was presented as a double bill, as standard at the time, together with the opera Iolanta. The Volksoper Wien, being part home to the famous Wiener Staatsballett, under the helm of the new music director Omer Meir Wellber decided to present both works again in one evening, but not as two separate pieces, but by fusing the two works into one. Iolanta is a blind princess. A famous doctor can cure her, but only after she is being told about her blindness. Her father doesn’t want to break that horrible news to her. Lotte de Beer: “In her blindness Iolanta lives with a magical imagination of everything that surrounds her. The Nutcracker music and the dancers of the Wiener Staatsballett show us Iolanta’s world perception by her inner eye. But there comes a time in life, when you have to decide whether to remain a blind princess or to see the world in all its imperfection.” This production plays on the cutting edge of fantasy and reality, of being a child and being a grown-up, of opera and dance. In short: it’s a family-show to the core.
Peer Gynt
In this story ballet, choreographer Edward Clug merges the distinct versions of Peer Gynt by Edward Grieg and Henrik Ibsen into a new ballet experience. “A brilliant narrator” (Kronenzeitung), Clug captures the fantastic adventures of the boastful peasant boy, who sets off to become emperor of the world, with the help of the bold stage and costume design by Marko Japelij and Leo Kulaš. The result are “magical scenes, never seen like this in conventional ballets” (Kurier) with “an outstanding cast, down to the smallest roles” (Opernfreund).