Tamás Solymosi – Albert Mirzoyan – Irina Prokofieva – Jiří Kylián – Harald Lander

CLASSICAL BRAVURA

21 April 2024, 7 p.m.

Hungarian State Opera

In Brief

Four one-act ballet in three parts

Paquita-szvit, Petite Mort, Hat tánc, Etűdök

Performance length: , with 2 intermissions.

The Hungarian National Ballet invites you to its perhaps most elegant quadruple bill at the magnificent auditorium of the Budapest Opera House. Accompanied by a symphony orchestra, the one-act choreographies based on classical technique are true gems of the genre. The virtuoso solos, duets and ensembles of Paquita Suite provide perfect opportunity for the dancers to showcase their talents, the works by internationally renowned Jiří Kylián set to the music of Mozart present two sides of ballet, whereas Études allows viewers to glimpse into the hard work that leads to the stage.

Details

Location
Hungarian State Opera
Date
April 21, 2024
Start time
7 p.m.
End time
10 p.m.
M. Petipa – T. Solymosi – A. Mirzoyan – I. Prokofieva / L. Minkus – É. Deldevez

Paquita Suite

This production is part of the Classical Bravura triple bill which is available at the following link

https://www.opera.hu/en/programme/2023-2024/klasszikus-bravurok-2023/


Few works in classical ballet history have as many versions as the Paquita suite, also known as the Paquita Grand pas (classique). The new piece was created by Marius Petipa on the basis of the French ballet Paquita by working together with composer Ludwig Minkus to select the main musical numbers. Ever since the original premiere in Russia in 1882, the piece has used as many variations and solos, including additions from external sources, as dreamed up by the choreographer of the given production. In fact, a unique attribute of the piece is that the performing dancers often determine the numbers to dance or even perform choreographies prepared specifically for them.

Jiří Kylián / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

PETITE MORT

This production is part of the Classical Bravura triple bill which is available at the following link

Jiří Kylián has always admired Mozart; over the course of his career, he has created a number of choreographed to the composer's music, including one from 1991 that paid homage to the genius of the 200th anniversary of his death.

Featured in this uniquely atmospheric ballet are six women, six men and six swords. In addition to the weapons, other props include black, baroque-style clothing and bizarre crinolines. The symbolic image in the dance piece presents a world where aggression, sexuality, silence, music, vulnerability, interdependence and eternal human beauty exist together in their own sense of poetry. This ballet from the choreographer's mature period is characterised by daring visuals, superb dance performances, elegance and style and has featured in the Hungarian National Ballet's repertoire since May 2013.

Jiří Kylián / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

SIX DANCES

This production is part of the Classical Bravura triple bill which is available at the following link

https://www.opera.hu/en/programme/2023-2024/klasszikus-bravurok-2023/

"I've decided that I cannot simply create a dance series reflecting the composer's sense of humour and music genious. Instead, I've choreographed six visibly confusing scenes..." (Jiří Kylián)

In Kylián's ballet, Mozartian playfulness and absurd reality are transplanted into the language of movement. It was not a story that he set out to create, but rather a dance piece constructed out of the absurd situations encountered by heroes in powdered wigs who sometimes act irrationally and awkwardly: the very dictionary definition of the word "burlesque". From the first moment, the eight dancers take the stage like they are stepping out of a wax museum from Mozart's own era, and then the innovative freshness and dizzying dynamic of the choreography makes them ever more modern: timeless heroes of Kylián's absurd creative world.

Harald Lander / Carl Czerny – Knudåge Riisager

ÉTUDES

This production is part of the Classical Bravura triple bill which is available at the following link

Études is one of choreographer Harald Lander's most outstanding creations, one that he crafted for the Danish Royal Ballet in 1948. Beginning with the five positions of ballet and exercises beside the bare, it goes on to show certain parts of the rehearsal process, finally culminating in the grand finale of the completed Performance. Études depicts the everyday work of ballet dancers in its full reality and grandeur: the beauty and aesthetics of classical ballet and the joy and thrill of Dance.

“Both ballets are extreme compilations of vigorous ballet technique. Those ballets require virtuosity in bursts, often punctuating less onerous scènes d’action; these ballets require a lexicon of the toughest dance vocabulary, from start to finish….In particular, one must applaud the excellence of the ballet masters for the overall magnificence of the corps de ballet across both works.” (Graham Watts, Bachtrack)