Semperoper Ballett

Renowned set designer Jérôme Kaplan will create the costumes and set design for this production. Already familiar from David’s productions of »Giselle« and »Tristan + Isolde« are Bert Dalhuysen, who is responsible for the lighting design, and Freya Vass, who supports him as production dramaturge. The musical direction on the podium of the Sächsische Staatskapelle is taken over by Benjamin Pope.

The second highlight of our season is the three-part ballet evening »White Darkness«, which will celebrate its premiere on 3 June 2023. I am delighted that this evening of ballet will once again present new choreographers and their artistic signatures in combination with works from already well-known and celebrated productions at our house.

All three parts are completely different in their energy and we open the evening with the revival of William Forsythe’s neo-classical masterpiece »The Second Detail«. I first presented this ballet at the beginning of my second season, in autumn 2007 in Dresden. The choreography was created in 1991 for the National Ballet of Canada. To the rhythmically varied music of Tom Willems, Forsythe pushes the dancers to the limits of their balance and mobility. With a touch of humour, this work shows the pure joy of dance. I myself am very excited to present »The Second Detail« again with my actual company. 

The second title of the programme is the dance piece »Half Life« to the sound of techno DJ Ori Lichtik. I am very happy to be able to present the Israeli choreographer duo Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar with this work at our house. »Half Life« premiered in 2016 with the Royal Swedish Ballet. Sharon Eyal’s work has made huge waves in the dance world over the last two decades and I find her to be one of the most exciting contemporary choreographers at the moment. Set to the mesmerizing electronic music of Ori Lichtik, this intense work takes the audience into an abstract world where driving beats make the bodies of the troupe of dancers pulse to the same rhythm as if they were a single organism. The finale of this extraordinary evening of ballet is the titular creation »White Darkness« by the renowned Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato. It is also a premiere for him in Dresden. »White Darkness« is a requiem that the choreographer created in 2001 for his deceased sister. At the center of the creation is a woman who has lost faith in love. But the attempt to forget drives her down the path of increasing alienation and isolation. Duato created the piece for the Compañía Nacional de Danza in Madrid and it is without doubt one of his most powerful and personal works. 

In addition to these contemporary impulses, our repertoire will of course once again include extremely popular classical story ballets such as »The Nutcracker« and »La Bayadère/ The Temple Dancer«. And after Johan Inger’s fantastic ballet thriller »Carmen« has been celebrating outstanding successes on our stage since 2019, our company is now also dancing Inger’s second innovative and multi-artistic story ballet, »Peer Gynt«.

Major international guest performances are not planned at the moment due to the effects of the pandemic, but we are looking forward to being guests at the Carmen Würth Forum on 5 February 2023 with highlights from »La Bayadère/ Die Tempertänzerin«. The Würth Company has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Semper Opera Foundation – Förderstiftung for many years.

I am looking forward to bringing this exciting and colourful season 2022/23 to life together with our dancers and of course our loyal audience.

Aaron S. Watkin, Artistic Director Semperoper Ballett