Before Nightfall A short ballet by Nils Christe Music: Bohuslav Martinů Double Concerto Choreographer-Stage Director: Nils Christe (Holland) Premiere at the Estonian National Opera: April 29, 2008
The ballet Before Nightfall was completed in 1985 on the commission by Rudolf Nurejev. It premiered at the Paris Opera. Nils Christe’s choreography reflects the feelings of Bohuslav Martinů’s music written on the eve of the Second World War.
“It is a piece born in the midst of shocking events, but the feelings the composition evokes are not depressing. They express outrage, courage and steadfast belief in the future. The style of the composition is sharp, the dramaturgy is exciting and the flood of music does not pause for one second. The rich melody line demands passionately the right for freedom.” - Bohuslav Martinů
Pelléas and Mélisande A short ballet by Tiit Härm Music: Arnold Schönberg Choreographer-Stage Director: Tiit Härm
Schönberg’s Pélleas and Mélisande is one of several compositions that has come to be regarded as the last gasp of Romanticism while simultaneously suggesting a future path for music. It is a composition with different layers open to interpretations of a world filled with inner conflict. Schönberg has recalled many years later: “I had planned then to convert Pelléas et Mélisande into an opera, but I gave up this plan, though I did not know that Debussy was working on an opera at the same time.” The work has a tense and demanding dramaturgy inspired by Maeterlinck’s play.
Second Symphony A short ballet by Uwe Scholz Music: Robert Schumann Choreographer-Stage Director and Designer: Uwe Scholz(Germany) Choreographer's Assistant: Daniel Otevrel World premiere: March 10, 1990 (Zürich Opera House)
The abstract but emotionally profound and musically sensitive choreography of one of the most famous European choreographer’s, Uwe Scholz (1958–2004), has won worldwide acclaim. His choreography to Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 is corresponding to the romantic emotions of the piece and makes use of both the strict structure of academic dance and the impulses lead by the sensitivity of human soul.
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