LES BALLETS DE MONTE-CARLO “Nijinsky program”
Second performance.
“Nijinsky program”:
“Daphnis & Chloe”, chor. Jean-Christophe Maillot
“Le Spectre de la rose”, chor. Marco Goecke
“Aimai-je un rêve?”, chor. Jeroen Verbruggen
“Petrushka” chor. Johan Inger
This year the celebration of the 10th International Festival of Arts “Diaghilev. P.S.” coincides with the 110th anniversary of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The chosen theme of “Diaghilev. P.S.” 2019 is therefore highly appropriate: The Legacy of the Ballets Russes in the 20th-21st Centuries: the Russian Seasons as a source of inspiration for contemporary choreographers.
The Festival opens with the Monte Carlo Ballet’s Nijinsky Program, which will be performed on November 14 and 15. Monte Carlo is an essential component in the creative biography of the Ballets Russes. For many years it was the Ballets Russes’s base – rehearsals and premières of all the enterprise’s ballets and operas here, and it is where its creative and financial issues were thrashed out and resolved. After the death of Diaghilev in 1929, the Russian Monte Carlo company was formed, which brought together former Diaghilev dancers.
Nijinsky Program presents four 21st century choreographic versions of Ballets Russes masterpieces: Daphnis & Chloe by Jean-Christophe Maillot, Le spectre de la rose by Marco Goecke, Aimai-je un rêve? by Jeroen Verbruggenand and Petrushka by Johan Inger. The programme is also a double homage: both to the 110th anniversary of the Ballets Russes and to the 130th birthday of the legendary dancer, choreographer and the star of Diaghilev’s Russian seasons – Vaslav Nijinsky, himself a great the innovator in the field of choreography.
“DAPHNIS & CHLOE”, CHOR. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAILLOT
Choroegraphy: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Music: Maurice Ravel
Scenography and drawings: Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Costumes: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting: Dominique Drillot
Video: Ernest Pignon-Ernest et Matthieu Stefani
Re-staged by Bernice Coppieters
Duration: 31 min
Premiere held on April 1st, 2010 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco
Daphnis & Chloe is not a new work – its première took place in 2010. But since then the choreographer has altered its focus. In this ballet, we see two pairs of lovers, the very young Daphnis and Chloe and a second more mature couple, Dorcon and Lycaenion.
Photo: © Alice Blangero
“LE SPECTRE DE LA ROSE”, CHOR. MARCO GOECKE
Choreography: Marco Goecke
Music: Karl Maria Von Weber
Scenography: Marco Goecke
Artistic Advisor: Nadja Kadel
Costumes: Michaela Springer
Lighting: Udo Haberland
Duration: 24 min
Premiere held on July 14th 2009, Terrasses du Casino de Monte-Carlo
Le spectre de la rose was staged in 2009. The choreographer changed Fokine’s concept: in his portrayal of the emotions involved it is the Phantom who is overwhelmed – it is he who craves love and passion, and the magnificent dancer Daniele Delvecchio remarkably expresses these impulses.
Photo: © Alice Blangero
“AIMAI-JE UN RÊVE ?” CHOR. JEROEN VERBRUGGEN
Choreography: Jeroen Verbruggen
Music: Claude Debussy
Costumes: Charlie Le Mindu
Lighting: Fabiana Piccioli
Duration: 12 min
Premiere held on December 8th 2018, Salle Garnier, the Opera de Monte-Carlo
Aimai-je un rêve? by Jeroen Verbruggen is a brand new version of the legendary Afternoon of a Faun. The choreographer chose one of the first lines from Mallarmé’s famous poem, Aimai-je un rêve? Instead of the original title in order to highlight the introspective aspect of this ballet alongside the bestiality it is generally associated with. This version of ‘Faun’ strays from the lines of thought present in the original, although the core theme remains that of eroticism. Where the Ballets Russes’ iconic ballet dealt with the unapologetic lust inherent to this hybrid creature, Jeroen Verbruggen examines questions and doubts related to sexual identity. Aimai-je un rêve? is an intimate duet in which a faun and a person meet.
“PETRUSHKA” CHOR. JOHAN INGER
After Michel Fokine, Alexandre Benois
Choreography: Johan Inger
Assistant: Christophe Dozzi
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Scenography: Curt Allen Wilmer with estudiodeDos
Costumes: Salvador Mateu Andujar
Lighting: Fabiana Piccioli
Duration: 36 min
Creation for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Premiere held on December 8th 2018, Grimaldi Forum Monaco
The culmination of the programme is perhaps the most recent re-envisioning of the classic Petrushka. Choreographed by Johan Inger, this production brings the whole story into the world of fashion. The main character, Sergey Lagerford – dressed in black suit and black glasses – is of course a clear reference to the figure of Karl Lagerfeld. Now, after the death of the globally celebrated fashion designer, the work can be read as a homage to this outstanding creative personality.
Photo: © Alice Blangero