Blog

Dear audience, in the second half of this season, the Staatsballett Berlin presents three premieres:

In EK/EKMAN, two Swedish choreographers take the stage: Mats Ek and Alexander Ekman are very close and yet, as mentor and protégé, could not be more different. In A SORT OF..., Mats Ek directs his focus inward, layering movements with a subtext; Alexander Ekman directs his focus outward, at the excesses and artificiality of the art world. What binds them together is their cunning sense of humour.

On top, it’s all about grandiose scores. In April, Giuseppe Verdi’s MESSA DA REQUIEM, choreographed by Christian Spuck, celebrates its Berlin premiere; a very special occasion as the ballet ensemble is not only joined on stage by vocal soloists but by an 80-singer-strong chorus as well. Through dance, the piece is taken to another dimension, thus turning Verdi’s requiem into a truly moving event, resounding with the vocal talents of the Rundfunkchor Berlin and Nicholas Carter and Dominic Limburg alternatingly conducting the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

The double bill STRAVINSKY is entirely dedicated to the Russian composer. In his lifetime, Igor Strawinsky composed a variety of works for ballet and dance many of which have found their way into concert halls. I decided to stage two of them: PETRUSHKA, which we have to carefully put in context nowadays. We’ll stage a version choreographed by Marco Goecke, who was recently honoured with the Deutsche Tanzpreis. The evening also comprises DAS FRÜHLINGSOPFER, as Pina Bausch calls her choreography to the music of LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, a key work in dance history which became iconic in its own right. I am very much looking forward to these three premieres and cordially invite you to experience these highlights together with the Staatsballett Berlin.

Dr. Christiane Theobald, Acting Artistic Director