PREMIERES IN THE SEASON 2010/11
Ballet in three acts
Music SERGEY PROKOFIEV
Choreography SIR FREDERICK ASHTON
Production Directed and Supervised WENDY ELLIS SOMES
Conductor TADEUSZ KOZŁOWSKI
Set and Costume Designer TOER VAN SCHAYK
Original Lighting Design MARK JONATHAN
Choreographer's Assistant MALIN THOORS
Lighting re-created for this production STANISŁAW ZIĘBA
Premiere: 27 November 2010
Charles Perrault's famous fairy tale about Cinderella, her evil stepmother, her petulant stepsisters, her fairy godmother, and the prince who fell in love with her, has not been staged in Warsaw for a long time. We have decided to present Sergey Prokoviev's popular ballet in its most famous production, that of British choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton – theatrically sophisticated, full of charm and humour, easy to follow for the broadest audience, including children. This decision is sure to please anyone who has been to our theatre over the past years to applaud another excellent ballet by Frederick Ashton, the unforgettable La Fille Mal Gardée. The late British classic's choreography will be prepared by the Polish National Ballet coached by the British ballet mistress Wendy Ellis-Somes, former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London, today owner of the rights to stage Ashton's Cinderella around the world. The set designer for the Warsaw premiere will be the well-known Dutch artist Toer van Schayk. [pch]
PERFORMANCES:
27, 28 October / 5, 17, 18, 21, 22 (x 2), 23 (x 2) December
3rd Choreographic Workshop
New works by young choreographers
Music by various composers (recordings)
Premiere: 21 January 2011
Chamber Hall
The idea of holding annual choreography workshops was brought to the Teatr Wielki by Krzysztof Pastor. The guiding principle is to give dancers the opportunity for a choreographic debut as well as releasing the creative and organizational initiative of ballet artists, who have been given free rein regarding the concept, preparation, organization, and promotion of a ballet evening using their own resources. The very first two Polish National Ballet workshops, in 2009 and 2010, yielded some interesting proposals, including choreographies by Robert Bondara and Jacek Tyski. Robert Bondara’s ballet from 2009, When You End and I Begin…, to music by Paweł Szymański, is now presented as part of the ballet company’s chamber repertoire. In 2010 Jacek Tyski received the opportunity to stage his new choreography, In Search of Colours, to the music of Grażyna Bacewicz. Both works by these two young Warsaw choreographers are now part of the programme of the Polish National Ballet’s chamber evening entitled Alpha and More. [pch]
running time: ca 2:00
PERFORMANCES:
21, 23, 25 January
Ballet by Krzysztof Pastor in 3 scenes
Music HENRYK MIKOŁAJ GÓRECKI
Production and Choreography KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Conductor WOJCIECH MICHNIEWSKI
Chorus Master BOGDAN GOLA
Literary Consultancy DANIEL PRZASTEK
Arrangement of Space and Lighting Designer BERT DALHUYSEN
Costume Designer YUMIKO TAKESHIMA
Projections MIGUEL NIETO
Choreographer's Assistant STEVEN ETIENNE
World Premiere: 27 March 2011
After the first seasons of the Polish National Ballet during which Krzysztof Pastor staged three of his ballets (Tristan, Kurt Weill, In Light and Shadow) previously produced abroad, the time has come for his production devised specially for the Warsaw ballet company. The new project will be the effect of the choreographer's desire to speak out on topics that are close to his heart - Polish issues which have always interested him. The inspiration comes from historic events which many Polish artists have presented before, but also from contemporary Polish music, which has an extremely intense way of conveying the emotions linked to those events. Working with music which was not originally composed for ballet, but which adds innovative elements to the art of dance and encourages a search for new choreographic forms and means of expression, is one of the elements of the philosophy of the revived Polish National Ballet. In the past, Krzysztof Pastor designed a ballet to the music of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki's Symphony No. 3 - first in Warsaw with the Teatr Wielki Ballet (1994), and then in a new choreographic version with Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam (1996). He also used Górecki's music in his ballet Moving Rooms, the premiere of which was performed by the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam during the Holland Festival 2008. These ballets did not tell a story, but the dance combined with the great composer's music created a powerful impression through pure choreographic form. This time Krzysztof Pastor has also taken the music of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, his aim being to create a new ballet presenting poetic reflections on Poland's historical experiences and the social emotions they involved. The title is taken from the poetry of Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. [pch]
running time: ca 1:40
PERFORMANCES:
27, 30, 31 March / 1, 4 April
Ballet evening in three parts
Music IGOR STRAVINSKY
Conductor ŁUKASZ BOROWICZ
1. Sacre du printemps
Choreography VASLAV NIJINSKY
Reconstructed and Staging MILLICENT HODSON
Scenery and Costumes NIKOLAI ROERICH / KENNETH ARCHER
Lighting STANISŁAW ZIĘBA
2. Sacre du printemps
Choreography EMANUEL GAT
Staging MIA ALON, ROY ASSAF, MICHAEL LÖHR
Lighting and Costumes EMANUEL GAT
Technical Supervisor SAMSON MILCENT
3. Sacre du printemps
Choreography MAURICE BÉJART
Staging TONY FABRE, KYRA KHARKEVITCH, DOMENICO LEVRÉ
Scenery and Costumes PIERRE CAILLE
Lighting DOMINIQUE ROMAN / STANISŁAW ZIĘBA
Polish Premiere: 11 June 2011
The revolutionary piece of music by Igor Stravinsky – the ballet The Rite of Spring – in three different, famous choreographic versions. The avant-garde nature of the music and the first choreography by the legendary Polish artist Vaslav Nijinsky (Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev, 1913) were far ahead of their time and had a huge impact on the development of music and ballet in the 20th century. Many more stage visions of The Rite of Spring followed, including the most famous choreography by Maurice Béjart (Ballet of the 20th Century, 1959), and new ones are still being designed today. The reconstruction of Vaslav Nijinsky's original choreography, by the American artist Millicent Hodson in association with the British art historian Kenneth Archer (1987), was also a major event. The world could rediscover Nijinsky as the precursor of modern choreography. Krzysztof Pastor has decided to present a globally unprecedented evening at the Teatr Wielki – Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in three different stage versions: by Vaslav Nijinsky, Maurice Béjart, and the contemporary Israeli-French choreographer Emanuel Gat from 2004. This will be a unique artistic project by the Polish National Ballet on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the most famous ballet of the 20th century. [pch]
running time: ca 2:30
PERFORMANCES:
11, 12, 18, 19 June
Repertoire of the season 2010/2011
Ballet evening in three parts
1. When You End and I Begin...
Choreography ROBERT BONDARA
Music PAWEŁ SZYMAŃSKI (Two Pieces for string quartet)
Costumes and Lights ROBERT BONDARA
World Premiere: 24 June 2009
2. In Search of Colours
Choreography JACEK TYSKI
Music GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ (Concerto for string orchestra)
Costumes TIJANA TYSKI
Lights MACIEJ IGIELSKI
World Premiere: 23 April 2010
3. Alpha Kryonia Xe
Choreography JACEK PRZYBYŁOWICZ
Music ALEKSANDRA GRYKA
Set and Costume Designer PAWEŁ GRABARCZYK
Lights PUTTO
World Premiere: 7 April 2006
A ballet evening comprising works by three young Polish choreographers. Robert Bondara’s ballet When You End and I Begin… to music by Paweł Szymański is the most interesting effect of the 1st Choreography Workshop at the Teatr Wielki (2009), during which dancers from the Polish National Ballet had the opportunity to stage and present their own choreographies. That is why the work was included in the ballet company’s chamber repertoire last season. Our soloist Jacek Tyski already boasts some choreographic achievements outside the Teatr Wielki. His ballet In Search of Colours, to the music of Grażyna Bacewicz, is a new work commissioned by the Polish National Ballet. The evening’s third choreographer is our former dancer Jacek Przybyłowicz, currently the ballet company director at the Teatr Wielki in Poznań. He produced his work, Alpha Kryonia Xe to music by the young composer Aleksandra Gryka, at Warsaw’s Teatr Wielki in 2006, and the Polish National Ballet revived it last season as part of the evening entitled Alpha and More, in which young Polish choreography confronts contemporary Polish music. [pch]
A pleasure in itself: to see the beautiful performance of Jacek Przybyłowicz’s Alpha Kryonia Xe to the music of Aleksandra Gryka once again. A double pleasure: to see Alpha together with a revival of Robert Bondara’s When You End and I Begin… – an etude set to Paweł Szymański’s Two Pieces for String Quartet, rightly recognized as the most mature proposal of the first Creations choreography workshop. A triple pleasure: to combine all this with the latest production by Jacek Tyski, In Search of Colours (to Grażyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra). … Three choreographies, three musical styles, three different emotionalisms. One overriding quality: the integrity of expression through dance and music – even though this music is not quite tamed, not always easy to listen to, it is seemingly ‘non-ballet’ music. … We have been given three completely separate proposals testifying to the strong individualism of the authors and their great sensitivity to the language and expression of Polish 20th- and 21st-century music. [Dorota Kozińska, Ruch Muzyczny]
running time: 2:00
PERFORMANCES:
7 September, [26, 28, 29 September in Bergen] / 3, 8, 9, 11 December
Chamber Hall
Ballet in two acts
Music RODION SHCHEDRIN
Libretto: BORIS LWOW-ANOCHIN after Leo Tolstoy
Premiere: 19 November 2008
Choreography ALEXEI RATMANSKY
Conductor EVGENY VOLYNSKY
Set and Costume Designer MIKAEL MELBYE
Projections WENDALL K. HARRINGTON
Lights JORN MELIN
One of the most heart-rending love stories, drawn from great Russian literature. The dramatic story of a woman emotionally torn between the stable life of a wife and mother, and her passionate feelings for her lover. An uncontrollable surge of love in confrontation with a sense of responsibility for her family and the moral norms of 19th century Russia. Would things have been easier for Anna today in a similar situation – this is a recurring question despite the passage of time and the moral changes of the 20th century. The Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin provided a musical framework for Leo Tolstoy’s celebrated novel for his wife, the legendary prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya (1972). We, however, present this ballet in the contemporary version by the great Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, former director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, who recently joined the American Ballet Theatre. He produced this ballet in Copenhagen (2004) and then repeated it with success in Vilnius, Helsinki, Warsaw, Budapest, and lately also in St. Petersburg – with scenery and costumes on loan from our theatre. [pch]
Taking an old story, Alexei Ratmansky wanted to produce a modern show at the Polish National Opera. … He knows that audiences expect different performances today than 40 years ago, when Plisetskaya was in her heyday, so he makes use of modern staging means. Video visualizations add to the sparing, symbolic sets, the show has a film-like pace, comprising short, flowingly changing episodes. … The ballet version of Anna Karenina doesn’t try to summarize Tolstoy’s entire novel. It focuses on the heroine’s tragic love for young Vronsky. Ratmansky knows there is no female dancer in the world today whose distinct individuality could equal Maya Plisetskaya’s, and leads the plot so that the men are Anna’s equals as characters: Vronsky and her husband Karenin who has no intention of relinquishing his rights. The story is universal, love triangles have always existed, they exist, and always will exist. [Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita]
running time: 2:00
PERFORMANCES:
28, 29, 30 January / 5, 6 February
Ballet in three acts
Music LUDWIG MINKUS / JOHN LANCHBERY
Libretto MARIUS PETIPA, SERGEY KHUDEKOV
Polish Premiere: 15 May 2004
Choreography NATALIA MAKAROVA
After MARIUS PETIPA
Conductor TADEUSZ KOZŁOWSKI
Set and Costume Designer JADWIGA JAROSIEWICZ
Lights STANISŁAW ZIĘBA
A beautiful Hindu tale about the love whose power is stronger than death. The title temple dancer, Nikia, has devoted herself to gods, but she falls in love with a noble warrior Solor who also loves her. At the same time, the omnipotent Rajah has chosen the brave young man as a candidate for her daughter’s, Gamzatti, husband. To get rid of her daughter’s rival, he treacherously exposes Nikia to the bite of a venomous viper. The girl dies with a broken heart and Solor, in a dream, just like Orpheus follows his beloved into the Kingdom of the Shades. Meanwhile, Gamzatti triumphs and leads her grieving fiancé to the marriage ceremony. However, the gods, who want to revenge for the death of their priestess, destroy the temple, killing all those within. It is only now that the souls of Nikia and Solor are united for good. The legendary ballet star Natalia Makarova has staged at our theatre her world-renowned version of La Bayadere, according to the best St. Petersburg tradition. It is a grand, colorful, fairytale performance and the famous ballet scene The Kingdom of the Shades in the wonderful choreography of Marius Petipa performed by the Polish National Ballet is deeply touching and stays long in our memory. [pch]
Whoever enjoys classical ballet tales simply must see this show at the Polish National Opera. It was prepared exactly according to the rules of the genre, but also springs a few surprises. Watching La Bayadère, we have the impression of communing with something familiar, analogies to the immortal Swan Lake are obvious. And it’s not just the ‘white act’, in fact The Kingdom of Shadows scene is visually far superior to the famous dance of the swans. … But La Bayadère was first, it was created almost 20 years before Swan Lake. We need to revise our views on what is original and what is derivative in ballet art. We also need to give some thought to why Swan Lake enjoys lasting popularity while La Bayadère had to wait almost 100 years before it was first staged in the West. … If we are to bring La Bayadère out of oblivion today, we can only do it if we present it in a perfect performance. When the Kingdom of the Shadows scene at the Polish National Opera has the ethereal dancers come on stage one by one, performing an impeccable arabesque, we gain certainty that this premiere made sense. [Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita]
running time: 2:50
PERFORMANCES:
14, 15 January / 27, 28, 29, 30 April
Ballet in two parts
Music HECTOR BERLIOZ, FRYDERYK CHOPIN, MANUEL DE FALLA, SERGEY LAPUNOV,
FERENC LISZT, FRANZ SCHUBERT, ROBERT SCHUMANN
Libretto ANTONI LIBERA
Music Concept STANISŁAW LESZCZYŃSKI
World Premiere: 9 May 2010
Production and Choreography PATRICE BART
Conductor TADEUSZ KOZŁOWSKI
Set and Costume Designer LUISA SPINATELLI
Chorus Master BOGDAN GOLA
Lights MARION HEWLETT
The most important ballet event of the Chopin Year. At the initiative of Waldemar Dąbrowski, director of the Teatr Wielki and coordinator of the Chopin celebrations, a new ballet was designed in Warsaw, invoking the great Polish Romantic’s life and history. The music includes not only pieces by Fryderyk Chopin but also composers who were influenced by his work. The production is choreographed by Patrice Bart, the great French ballet master from the Paris Opera, one of few contemporary choreographers specializing in producing new full-length ballets, a form greatly appreciated by the audiences of great opera houses. The inspiration came from Warsaw, but the ballet looks at the legend of the great Polish composer from the point of view of Paris with which Chopin had such close ties. At the end of the previous season, at the invitation of Valery Gergiev, the Polish National Ballet presented this production twice at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg as part of the Stars of the White Nights Music Festival. [pch]
It’s not easy to present the inner image of an artist, and in a non-verbal version at that. On the other hand, dance is the best way of saying all that is the most elusive, what is hard to define in words. … Both the steps and the arrangement of the dancers’ bodies, every gesture and every movement made during the performance, are fully comprehensible. One could say that in many scenes, the audience are given ready-made content complete with interpretation, commentary, and message, to the extent that they don’t have to make an effort to decipher the symbolism of the images. It’s all handed over on a plate. Patrice Bart doesn’t shower the audience with any fireworks of ideas. His choreography contains practically no ‘new expression’, contrary to what some people expected. But it is precisely because this production doesn’t go beyond the clarity of every sign in the traditional sense of the word that it can easily appeal to young people, especially of school age. That’s important. [Temida Stankiewicz-Podhorecka, Nasz Dziennik]
running time: 2:15
PERFORMANCES:
[11, 12 September in Shanghai], 22, 23 September / 9, 22 October / 6, 7 November / 13 December
Ballet by Krzysztof Pastor in two parts
Music KURT WEILL
Libretto and Music Concept KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Polish Premiere: 20 November 2009
Production and Choreography KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Conductor PACIEN MAZZAGATTI
Visual Concept KRZYSZTOF PASTOR, BERT DALHUYSEN
Costumes MACIEJ ZIEŃ
Chorus Master BOGDAN GOLA
Projections and Lighting BERT DALHUYSEN
Kurt Weill composed The Threepenny Opera and The Seven Deadly Sins. After Hitler’s rise to power he emigrated to the United States. He composed symphony, film and theatre music, songs. He drew on jazz and cabaret, and was not averse to the foxtrot, shimmy, waltz and tango. Krzysztof Pastor came up with an unusual idea. With Het Nationale Ballet in Amsterdam, he produced a multimedia show in the form of a collage of dance images (2001). Taking the music of Kurt Weill, he created a vibrant ballet fresco, inspiring in its dance expressiveness, diversity of music forms and vocal hits, encouraging reflection on the social experience of the composer’s times, the changeable fate of artists, symptoms of intolerance, and constant longing for love. British critic Maggie Foyer agreed this was „a great work by Pastor, demonstrating choreographic and staging talent. The dance and music setting, she added, was extensive, stretching from a Berlin bar to Broadway; a gigantic project by the choreographer”. In the Netherlands this production was hailed as the event of the season and nominated for the prestigious Benois de la Danse Award. The premiere of Kurt Weill by the Polish National Ballet also aroused a lot of interest among audiences and Polish critics. The Warsaw production of Krzysztof Pastor’s ballet includes a special attraction: a guest performance by the Dutch dance star Rubi Pronk. [pch]
In the ballet evening dedicated to Kurt Weill, among other things Krzysztof Pastor invokes the paintings of Georg Grosz. The composer’s biography is also the history of an entire generation, or even the story of the fate of Europe, the history of emigrants. … The whole is governed by the chronology of Weill’s biography. Nevertheless, the performance is not a linear narrative. It is more of a colourful kaleidoscope of associations and impressions … The Brecht-like reserve towards the plot is strengthened in Pastor’s work by the commentaries to the songs, and especially their non-obvious interpretation, often based on a stylistic counterpoint. Like a lyrical provocation, the songs lend the show a quality of poetic indeterminacy, stimulating the imagination. … The unknown soldier, the forgotten poet, the rejected painter, the unwanted composer, the lonely dancer – these are the anti-heroes called up in a personal message from a choreographer who, having travelled for many years, has paused among his own at the stop called Weill… [Aleksandra Rembowska, Teatr]
running time: 2:20
PERFORMANCES:
28, 29, 30, 31 October
Ballet in three acts
Music SERGEY PROKOFIEV
Libretto after WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Premiere: 18 May 1996
Production and Choreography EMIL WESOŁOWSKI
Conductor TADEUSZ WOJCIECHOWSKI
Set Designer ANDRZEJ KREUTZ MAJEWSKI
Costumes BORIS KUDLIČKA
Lights STANISŁAW ZIĘBA
Juliet and Romeo, young lovers from two warring families in the Italian Renaissance, succumb to their love against or perhaps in spite of the will of their hostile parents. They will pay the highest price. This by now mythical love story has moved people for centuries and continues to warn them against the tragic effects of hatred between adults. Clearly to no avail, seeing that Shakespeare’s play constantly returns in different forms and art disciplines. There is probably no more beautiful transposition than the ballet version to the dramatic music of Sergey Prokofiev. This work has conquered the hearts of audiences everywhere and continues to appear in different choreographies all over the world. It is the pride of the repertoire of leading ballet companies. Brilliant interpretations of the roles of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio and Tybalt, have been and continue to be created by the greatest dancers. At our theatre, Prokofiev’s ballet drama is presented by choreographer Emil Wesołowski with sets designed by the great Polish stage designer Andrzej Kreutz Majewski. Their production has already been shown almost a hundred times at the Teatr Wielki and enjoys enduring popularity. [pch]
This lucid, compact, and lively ballet story takes maximum advantage of the virtues of Prokofiev’s brilliant music. You can feel its inspirational role in every step and gesture of Wesołowski’s choreography. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the excellence of this production by no means lies in the innovative nature of the choreographic aspect; the dance sequences are largely quite simple, but what attracts the attention is the pure, stylistically uniform, logical and beautiful composition of the whole. … Elements of humour in this show are intertwined with genuine drama, the lively scene of the fight between supporters of the Montecchi and the Capuleti is like a sequence from today’s films (a brilliant display of fencing skills on the part of almost the entire male cast). The harmony between emotional tension and technical skill visible onstage the whole time makes Romeo and Juliet a genuine success, a pleasure to write about and a pleasure to watch. [Teresa Grabowska, Trybuna]
running time: 3:00
PERFORMANCES:
12, 14, 19, 21 May
Ballet evening in four parts
Music JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Conductor MODESTAS PITRÉNAS
1. The Kisses
Choreography EMIL WESOŁOWSKI
Music: Harpsichord Concerto No. 1 in D minor
Costumes MAGDALENA TESŁAWSKA
Lights TOMASZ MIERZWA
World Premiere: 25 June 2010
2. Concerto Barocco
Choreography GEORGE BALANCHINE
Music: Concerto in D minor for Two Violins
Staging ADAM LÜDERS
Lights TOMASZ MIERZWA
Polish Premiere: 25 June 2010
3. The Green
Choreography ED WUBBE
Music: Herr, unser Herrscher... from Johannes Passion
Set Designer and Lights ED WUBBE
Costumes PAMELA HOMOET
Chorus Master BOGDAN GOLA
Polish Premiere: 25 June 2010
4. In Light and Shadow
Choreography KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Music: Air from Goldberg Variations and Third Orchestral Suite in D Major
Set and Costume Designer TATYANA VAN WALSUM
Lights BERT DALHUYSEN
Polish ballet has seldom turned to the music of Bach which has inspired so many choreographers. This inexhaustible resource has been used by Balanchine, Lifar, Petit, Cranko, Béjart, Robbins, van Manen, and Neumeier, to mention only the greatest names of the 20th century. Now the time has come for us – thanks to Krzysztof Pastor, who has planned an entire ballet evening to the music of Bach. It will begin with A new work The Kisses by Emil Wesołowski to Bach’s Concerto for harpsichord in D minor. Concerto Barocco by the legendary George Balanchine, an abstract ballet typical of his work, perfectly coordinated with the Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins will also be featured. The great Dutch choreographer Ed Wubbe will present his original male ballet The Green, set to the choral introduction to the St. John Passion. To conclude, Krzysztof Pastor will show his own ballet hit In Light and Shadow to the music of the Aria from Goldberg Variations and Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, which has already won loud applause in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Ankara, Glasgow, and Hong Kong, as well toured with the Dutch National Ballet in Holland, France, Canada, and presented by the Scottish Ballet at the Edinburgh Festival and in London. This promises to be an evening of choreographic surprises. [pch]
Four choreographers encourage us to dance Bach as if it were obvious that this music makes the feet invent an imaginative set of steps all by themselves. … The structure of Bach’s suites and concertos is so precise that whatever a choreographer adds could seem commonplace. Unless, that is, they can create an equally perfect form as that created 70 years ago by George Balanchine, whose Concerto Barocco is still considered one of the greatest classical ballets of the 20th century. … In The Green, Dutch choreographer Ed Wubbe has used the introduction to Bach’s St. John Passion. He wanted to express its mood, juxtaposing the insignificance of man with the greatness of God described in the music. … The main thing Emil Wesołowski has noticed in the music are images. His world-premiere production Kisses is not exhilaratingly original in the dance aspect, but is visually attractive. … During this evening, all the above pales when compared to In Light and Shadow by Krzysztof Pastor. He has delved the deepest into the world of Bach’s music, presenting its polyphonic multiplicity of themes. … This is an important premiere for the Polish National Ballet, which is becoming an increasingly interesting company. [Jacek Marczyński, Rzeczpospolita]
running time: 2:15
PERFORMANCES:
18 September (x 2) / 3 October, [17 October in Poznań] / 9, 11, 13 March
Ballet by Krzysztof Pastor in two acts
Music RICHARD WAGNER / HENK DE VLIEGER
Libretto CAREL ALPHENAAR, KRZYSZTOF PASTOR after Joseph Bédier
Polish Premiere: 29 March 2009
Choreography KRZYSZTOF PASTOR
Conductor TADEUSZ KOZŁOWSKI
Set Designer KATARZYNA NESTERUK
Costumes MACIEJ ZIEŃ
Projections PLATIGE IMAGE
Lights BOGUMIŁ PALEWICZ
„A phenomenal Tristan at the Polish National Opera”. „A ballet revelation at the Teatr Wielki”. „Beautiful passions”. „An enchanting Tristan”. „The premiere of the season”. „The most beautiful death from love”. „Absolute applause”. „A breakthrough at the Warsaw ballet”. „Polish ballet shines!” These are just some of the headlines with which critics greeted the first production by Krzysztof Pastor as the director of the Polish National Ballet. He took on the most famous love story of our cultural tradition, giving it the form of an original, contemporary ballet interpretation. He originally created the production for the Royal Swedish Ballet, and in March 2009 for the Polish National Ballet in Warsaw. The music is drawn from two famous works by Richard Wagner: the musical drama Tristan und Isolde and the Wesendonk Lieder cycle. This is the story of the ill-fated love of two mythical lovers, Tristan and Isolde, who after a series of extraordinary adventures and adversities are only reunited in death. This is the first genuine success of Polish ballet in years, publicized around the world. An original work by a Polish choreographer, great interpretations by the dancers, a spectacular inauguration of a new era for our ballet company as the Polish National Ballet. [pch]
„With its the theme of death-defying love, Wagner's intoxicating musie and the largest stage in Europe – the premiere of Tristan at Warsaw's Teatr Wielki was a grand occasion. This production by Krzysztof Pastor, the first in his new role as director of the Polish National Ballet, is a reworking of the ballet premiered in Stockholm in 2005. For his scenario, Pastor, with dramaturg Carel Alphenaar, returned to the roots of the legend. The story knows no half measures, plunging the depths and scaling the heights where love is absolute and death is preferable to dishonour. And like an emotion junkie, Wagner's music goads the passion to the extremes. (…) Fortunately Pastor has the cast to run this emotional gamut. (…) With Tristan, Pastor has shown he is not one to shirk a challenge and, on the evidence of this successful start, the company can look forward to exciting times ahead”. [Maggie Foyer „Dance Europe”]
running time: 2:15
PERFORMANCES:
19, 20, 26, 27 February
