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| Frozen Echo ©Gert Weigelt |
On Saturday February 19, I was at the Premiere of Martin Schläpfer's b.o7 as an Opera Scout. Despite being most unwell, I wouldn't have missed it for anything, such a die-hard fan of the Rhine Ballet I now am, and indeed, the evening was simply marvellous!
We were treated to three very contrasting pieces, each by a different choreographer, the first by the Dutch master of purism Hans van Manen, took us into the world of passion, men and women, erotic battles and breaking free with piece "Compositie". An elegant tale, minimalist and stunningly beautiful which left my mind meandering as I took our first break.
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| Frozen Echo ©Gert Weigelt |
The next piece impressed me the most and might easily become one of my all time favourites - Regina van Berkel's "Frozen Echo". A phenomenal performance which the choreographer told us at the press conference was not about one story in particular but about what we, the viewers make of it. Just as a melody works on each one of us differently Ms van Berkel says "An ideal dancer is capable of making music with the body" and that music moves each of us in different ways ...
And indeed how the impressions of the Opera Scouts varied when we exchanged ideas with the Rheinische Post after the performance!
The set, made up of a sweeping line of monitors, raised high above the dancers, was stunning to say the least. You just have to see this, the dancers, the lights and atmosphere were spellbinding.
The final piece was Martin Schläpfer's "Robert Schumann's Dances". My review for the German Opera on the Rhine website will be not be straight forward, Schläpfer has raised the bar so high, he has re-educated the Düsseldorf audience in terms of "What is ballet? What can we expect?" He hasn't made it easy for himself ...
I'm so looking forward to seeing b.07 again. There was much to absorb and admire; the dancers' grace, timing and strength just incredible.
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| Robert Schumann Dances ©Gert Weigelt |
RhineBuzz have tickets for one of the final performances of b.07 in Düsseldorf on March 24 and as always, we benefit from great seats at discounted prices in the stalls and second tier. Please contact opera@rhinebuzz.com for details.
