back to
eventsINFO
OTHELLO
NATIONAL THEATRE
Ostrovní 1, Praha 1, PRAHA
+420 224 901 448
Ostrovní 1, Praha 1, PRAHA
+420 224 901 448
WorldEventsCalendar
The brand-new, full-length narrative ballet Othello has been specially created for the National Theatre Ballet by the groundbreaking choreographer and stage director Youri Vàmos. The world premiere performances of the work, conceived to Leoš Janáček’s music, will take place in the historical building of the National Theatre on 1 and 2 April 2010.
National Theatre audiences have already been enchanted by Vàmos’s popular productions originally created in Germany: The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol and Romeo and Juliet. Now, ballet-lovers can look forward to a brand-new dance title, not seen anywhere to date, inspired by Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy.
Petr Zuska, Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet, asked “the last ballet narrator”, as the choreographer of Hungarian origin is frequently dubbed, to create a work tailored for the Prague National Theatre Ballet dancers.
“I know that about ninety per cent of the music leans on Janáček’s Taras Bulba,” Zuska reveals. “The conception seems interesting to me: we are in the Czech Republic, in Prague; Othello, written by an Englishman, is being choreographed by a Hungarian working in Germany – to music by a Moravian and to a Russian musical theme, to boot!” Zuska says, adding: “We are thus linking up to the tradition of Shakespeare works in our repertoire, following The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet.”
Youri Vàmos started his international soloist and choreography career at Munich’s Opera House. Subsequently, already a well-known creator, he headed the ballet company at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf for 13 years. The 16 grand narrative ballets he has created to date have always managed to fill the auditorium, be it modernised classical works (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty – The Last Daughter of the Czar, Giselle, Coppélia from Montmartre), or adaptations of novels and dramas (Julien Sorel, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
For Vàmos, just as important as the story itself are the emotional situations, the feelings of the characters: “Since it is precisely where verbal language cannot reach that dance comes in as the ideal expressional means,” Vàmos points out. Although his works are based on classical ballets, he is convinced that “today it is almost impossible to tell stories in a realistic manner by means of ballet language” and requires from the dancers that they empathise with the characters’ states of mind – every pirouette, every jump must come from within.
For Czechs, it is interesting that the notion of the Othello production corresponds to Vàmos’s perception of Janáček’s works: “The music to the ballet is made up of various compositions of Janáček’s, with the symphonic suite “Taras Bulba” having given me the decisive impulse,” the choreographer reveals. “With its frequent alternation of short and rapid moods, this suite is not overly typical as a basis for ballet. Yet this is precisely what I need to express Othello’s emotional vacillation between jealousy and explosive manifestations of love. Janáček’s music is expressive, abounding in movement, running the gamut of moods, yet none the less clear…”
Vámos also requires theatrical art from the dancers selected – powerful, dramatic expression, “since they are to portray flesh-and-blood characters with their feet in the mud, head in the clouds and a sword in their hand”. This is what is expected from the artists performing the role of Othello, (in alphabetical order) Jiří Kodym, Richard Kročil and Michal Štípa, as well those dancing Iago (Jonáš Dolník, Viktor Konvalinka and Tomáš Rychetský), and Roderigo (Alexandre Katsapov, Oleksandr Kysil and Petr Strnad). Desdemona’s youthful naivety and tenderness will be portrayed by Klára Kutilová, Nikola Márová and Zuzana Susová.
Music: Leoš Janáček
Libretto, choreography and stage direction: Youri Vàmos
Sets and costumes: Pet Halmen
Conductor: David Švec / Marko Ivanović
Light design: Klaus Gärditz
Assistant choreographers: Joyce Cuoco, Alexei Afanassiev, Veronika Iblová
National Theatre Orchestra
National Theatre audiences have already been enchanted by Vàmos’s popular productions originally created in Germany: The Nutcracker – A Christmas Carol and Romeo and Juliet. Now, ballet-lovers can look forward to a brand-new dance title, not seen anywhere to date, inspired by Shakespeare’s immortal tragedy.
Petr Zuska, Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet, asked “the last ballet narrator”, as the choreographer of Hungarian origin is frequently dubbed, to create a work tailored for the Prague National Theatre Ballet dancers.
“I know that about ninety per cent of the music leans on Janáček’s Taras Bulba,” Zuska reveals. “The conception seems interesting to me: we are in the Czech Republic, in Prague; Othello, written by an Englishman, is being choreographed by a Hungarian working in Germany – to music by a Moravian and to a Russian musical theme, to boot!” Zuska says, adding: “We are thus linking up to the tradition of Shakespeare works in our repertoire, following The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet.”
Youri Vàmos started his international soloist and choreography career at Munich’s Opera House. Subsequently, already a well-known creator, he headed the ballet company at Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf for 13 years. The 16 grand narrative ballets he has created to date have always managed to fill the auditorium, be it modernised classical works (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty – The Last Daughter of the Czar, Giselle, Coppélia from Montmartre), or adaptations of novels and dramas (Julien Sorel, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
For Vàmos, just as important as the story itself are the emotional situations, the feelings of the characters: “Since it is precisely where verbal language cannot reach that dance comes in as the ideal expressional means,” Vàmos points out. Although his works are based on classical ballets, he is convinced that “today it is almost impossible to tell stories in a realistic manner by means of ballet language” and requires from the dancers that they empathise with the characters’ states of mind – every pirouette, every jump must come from within.
For Czechs, it is interesting that the notion of the Othello production corresponds to Vàmos’s perception of Janáček’s works: “The music to the ballet is made up of various compositions of Janáček’s, with the symphonic suite “Taras Bulba” having given me the decisive impulse,” the choreographer reveals. “With its frequent alternation of short and rapid moods, this suite is not overly typical as a basis for ballet. Yet this is precisely what I need to express Othello’s emotional vacillation between jealousy and explosive manifestations of love. Janáček’s music is expressive, abounding in movement, running the gamut of moods, yet none the less clear…”
Vámos also requires theatrical art from the dancers selected – powerful, dramatic expression, “since they are to portray flesh-and-blood characters with their feet in the mud, head in the clouds and a sword in their hand”. This is what is expected from the artists performing the role of Othello, (in alphabetical order) Jiří Kodym, Richard Kročil and Michal Štípa, as well those dancing Iago (Jonáš Dolník, Viktor Konvalinka and Tomáš Rychetský), and Roderigo (Alexandre Katsapov, Oleksandr Kysil and Petr Strnad). Desdemona’s youthful naivety and tenderness will be portrayed by Klára Kutilová, Nikola Márová and Zuzana Susová.
Music: Leoš Janáček
Libretto, choreography and stage direction: Youri Vàmos
Sets and costumes: Pet Halmen
Conductor: David Švec / Marko Ivanović
Light design: Klaus Gärditz
Assistant choreographers: Joyce Cuoco, Alexei Afanassiev, Veronika Iblová
National Theatre Orchestra
thismonth
March
May
Bookyourhotelnow
