Intro
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Ballet evening by Frederick Ashton and David Dawson
The ballet evening »Ein Sommernachtstraum« brings together two classic works, namely William Shakespeare’s »A Midsummer Night’s Dream« and Antonio Vivaldi’s »The Four Seasons«. Frederick Ashton’s adaptation of »A Midsummer Night’s Dream« from 1964, featuring a highly virtuosic physical vocabulary and humorous narrative, has become a milestone in balletic interpretations of Shakespeare. It provides a somewhat intimidating opportunity for any ballet company to prove its technical expertise. While Ashton’s work is very specifically located in a busy forest during the Biedermeier era, the British choreographer David Dawson was inspired by Max Richter’s reinterpretation of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” (2012) to create an abstract piece about the cycle of life. A neoclassical ballet develops within the spare, beguilingly beautiful stage space of Eno Henze. The focus is on man, on stillness as well as the movement of continual change, exposed to the most diverse moments of perception and energy, alternating between life and death. »The Four Seasons« premiered at the Semperoper in 2018.
Premiere 10. March 2018
Ein Sommernachtstraum / A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Frederick Ashton / David Dawson
Oct
2023
Oct
2023
Dates
Oct
2023
Oct
2023
Info
- 2 pm – 4.20 pm
- after 60 minutes
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
-
Family Introductions
Free introductory talk for children and families 45 minutes before curtain-up in the opera cellar, duration around 20 minutes
- Guided tour through the Semperoper
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Sub / Packages
The piece is also part of
Cast
Cast12. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Martin Yates
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Simos Papanas
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast15. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Martin Yates
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Matthias Wollong
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast19. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Martin Yates
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Matthias Wollong
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast22. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Martin Yates
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Matthias Wollong
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast22. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Martin Yates
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Matthias Wollong
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast25. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Benjamin Pope
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Matthias Wollong
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast28. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Benjamin Pope
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Simos Papanas
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Cast30. Oct 2023Change
- Conductor Benjamin Pope
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney, Anthony Dowell
The Dream
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Simos Papanas
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
The Four Seasons
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán
The Dream
Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation
Complete Cast
- Conductor Martin Yates(12., 15., 19., 22. October 2023), Benjamin Pope(25., 28., 30. October 2023)
- Choir Jonathan Becker
- Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
- Music Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
- Set and Costume Design David Walker
- Lighting Design John B. Read
- Production and staging Patricia Tierney
- Choreography, Concept, Libretto and Staging David Dawson
- Music Max Richter
- Solovioline Simos Papanas(12., 28., 30. October 2023), Matthias Wollong (15., 19., 22., 25. October 2023)
- Set Design Eno Henze
- Costume Design Yumiko Takeshima
- Lighting Design Bert Dalhuysen
- Staged by Raphaël Coumes-Marquet, Rebecca Gladstone
- Dramaturgy Juliane Schunke
- Erste Elfe Sofia Savenko
- Zweite Elfe Fernanda Michelle Allande Guzmán