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Three modern ballets on the stage of the National Opera
Janar Ala/ Postimees
25.11.2009
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Three different modern short ballets will be brought to the stage tomorrow within the ballet evening taking place at the Estonian National Opera: Uwe Scholz’ "Second Symphony", Tiit Härm’s "Pelleas and Melisande" and Nils Christie’s "Before Nightfall".
Uwe Scholz, one of the most famous choreographers in Europe created “Second Symphony” to the music of Robert Schumann in 1990 for the Zurich Ballet Theatre. He was the director of the Zurich Ballet Theatre at the time.
Scholz’ choreography has been described as abstract, but at the same time emotionally deep and musically sensitive.
According to Daniel Otevrel, the choreographer of the Leipzig Ballet who re-staged “Second Symphony” at the National Opera, Scholtz’ ballet can be described as notes on the dance floor. “It was the idea of Uwe Scholz, he was famous for his symphonic ballets, he never took so much interest in historical ballets, even though he did some,” proceeds the choreographer. Scholz’ stage is very simple and there are no decorations. There are basically only the dance and the music and the communication between them on the stage – a symphony that can not only be listened to, but also seen.
Scholz’ piece is considered technically very complicated and not all ballet companies are capable of performing it. The choreographer from Leipzig lauds the ballet company of the Estonian National Opera. “It’s a difficult piece, it has a lot of energy, it needs a lot of attack, but the company is very eager to learn and they have managed very well,” the choreographer does not hesitate to heap praise.
The ballet evening includes a world premiere. Namely, Tiit Härm has arranged a ballet to the symphonic poem “Pelleas and Melisande” by Arnold Schönberg . This is one of the pieces that is considered the last gasp of romanticism and that simultaneously suggests a future path for music. The dramaturgy is based on the famous story by the Belgian symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden love between two young people.
Schönberg wrote his symphonic poem in 1905. After the premiere of the piece, Schönberg showed his score to Gustav Mahler who considered it extremely complicated. One music critic advised to place Schönberg in an asylum and better keep him away from music-paper after the premiere, no more than six years later however the piece was staged with huge success.
The third piece to delight the fans of dancing arriving at the National Opera for the ballet evening is the short ballet “Before Nightfall” by the Dutchman Nils Christie. The ballet “Before Nightfall” was completed in 1985 on the commission by Rudolf Nurejev and it premiered at the Paris Opera. The ballet is arranged to the music written by Bohuslav Martinu on the eve of the Second World War and expresses appropriate feelings.
“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 a second. The rich melody line demands passionately the right for freedom, » the composer Martinu himself has said to describe his piece.
The main roles are danced by Eve Andre, Sergei Upkin, Marika Muiste, Artjom Maksakov and others at the first performances.
Since there are just a few people who write about dance and ballet, the National Opera also announced a competition for young ballet critics with the first ballet performance of the season. The competition invites young people aged 15-25 to write about the ballet evening and give feedback to the performance. At this point, 27 young people have entered the competition.
New production
Ballet evening
Short ballets “Second Symphony”, “Pelleas and Melisande” and “Before Nightfall”
Premiere on November 26
Music Director Jüri Alperten
Conductors Mihhail Gerts and Risto Joost
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© Rahvusooper Estonia 2010
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