We’re back on tour! Our current guest performances take us to Australia and Singapore for the very first time. Firstly, we will perform at the world renowned Adelaide Festival of Arts presenting Johan Inger's »Carmen«, which we successfully premiered here at home at the Semperoper Opera a few weeks ago. Immediately afterwards we travel onto Singapore with William Forsythe’s »Impressing the Czar«, where we are invited for two performances at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Follow our tour diary for a daily report about our experiences!
March 3rd, 2019
Today is the day! After months of preparation, organization and of course hard work, the Semperoper Ballett is going on tour again. For the first time it takes us »down-under« to Adelaide and immediately afterwards onto wonderful Singapore. But before this we have a very long journey ahead of us! Luckily all the bags and suitcases are all already packed and stowed away, so we can leave the Semperoper on time at 12:00 noon with our bus to the Frankfurt airport. Meanwhile, all of our costumes, props and technical equipment are already sailing on the big sea, on their way to Singapore so that they will arrive on time! For Adelaide, the Arts Festival is actually building us a new set and we are bringing our costumes with us by air on the plane. Finally arrived in Frankfurt, there are only a few more hours left until our Airplane takes off. Over 10.252 kilometers ahead before we reach our first destination. »Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts...« , finally, we have all boarded the plane and the anticipation and excitement is written all over our faces. Now only a last quick glimpse out of the window as we wave goodbye to cold Germany ....here we go!
March 4th, 2019
Phew, the first half is done, after the long twelve-hours flight with Singapore Airlines we all arrived safely in Singapore. But only a short six-hours layover, just enough time to explore the airport, do some shopping and prepare ourselves for our connected flight into to Adelaide, which leaves at 23:35.
March 5th, 2019
After two exhausting days of travelling we finally made it »down under« and Adelaide has welcomed us with a sunny 28 degree summer day! Fortunately our rehearsals don’t begin until tomorrow, so today we are free to relax and enjoy ourselves. No time to waste, let’s quickly check into our hotel and then off to explore the city or maybe a short nap and then off to the beach to take in some rays of sun. The whole city already has »festival fever« and so do we! The Adelaide Festival of Arts is one of the world’s biggest art festivals and is visited by renowned artists from all over the world. Beginning from the 1st to the 17th of March opera, dance, literature and visual arts from different cultures will all meet right here – and the whole city becomes an international stage!
March 6th, 2019
Waking up under the clear blue skies of the warm Australian sun, enjoying a yummy breakfast to the sound of the rolling waves Well, not much time for this today because class begins at 12:00 followed by a lunch break and studio rehearsals until 17 o’clock. After such a long flight, it takes a while to get our bodies awake and moving again. Most of us managed to stay awake up yesterday until early evening, then slept through the night The best way to adjust to the 9 hour 30 mn time change! We open with Carmen in 3 days!
March 7th, 2019
Class starts at 10 o’clock sharp! At 12:00 noon our Artistic Director Aaron Watkin, Company Manger Adi Luick, Production/ Tour Manager Frank Seifert along with our first cast Carmen and Don José, Ayaha Tsunaki & Jón Vallejo, all attend the »Governor’s Lunch« .In the afternoon, at 2 pm rehearsals begin for »Carmen« on the impressive stage of the Adelaide Festival Centre for the very first time. It is always an exciting feeling to look out into the auditorium of some 2,000 empty seats knowing that on Friday they will all be filled with spectators!
March 8th, 2019
The big day finally has arrived! Our opening night here at the Adelaide Festival of Arts with our »Carmen«. We can’t wait to present this wonderful production to the Australian audience. This morning is a run through on stage for our second cast and then time to relax and recharge our batteries this afternoon before the show. At 7 pm it’s »showtime«... our performance to a sold out auditorium begins! Our dancers really gave their all with so much passion and commitment, you could feel the electricity coming off the stage. The audience was amazed and reacted with a thunderous applause! Now it’s time to celebrate at the private reception organised by the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
March 9th, 2019
After yesterday’s successful performance, the hard work now really begins. Today our dramatic tragedy will be told twice, once at 14 o’clock with our second cast and again at 19 o’clock, to a public. We are happy the Australian audience is so enchanted with our »Carmen«.
March 10th, 2019
Time really flies when you’re having fun! Today is already our last performance of Carmen, as well as our last day in Adelaide. But that's no reason to grieve, because after the performance we have another exciting After-Show-Party hosted by the Adelaide Festival of Arts. A great opportunity to meet with other artists from all over the world who are performing here at the festival and celebrate the success of our tour. Big thank you to directors Rachel & Neil, the administration and technical staff of the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, who have all been amazing! So friendly, helpful and professional, a pleasure to with you all! Cheers to wonderful experience here down under and hope to return to Oz again in the future!
March 11th, 2019
As they like to say »It’s not how long it takes you to get somewhere, it´s where you finally arrive that matter«. This morning we meet at 7:45, ready to start our next adventure onwards to Singapore. 10:25 am, everyone’s done boarding our Singapore Airlines flight and we are good to go. We are a little sad to leave Australia. Still a little tired from yesterdays After- Show- Party, we wave goodbye to the koalas and kangaroos one last time and make ourselves comfortable for our 7 hour flight. Looking forward to being able to catch up on some sleep! Welcome back to Singapore, this time we will stay longer than just a few hours, promise! At the airport we will meet the rest of our company who have just arrived from their night-flight from Dresden to join us now here in Singapore for two performances of »Impressing the Czar«. After our check-in at the hotel, we are ready to explore this new and amazing city and for anyone with a jet-lag only a few hours to stay awake and then you can all go to bed and get a good night’s sleep!
March 12th, 2019
We have today free and will spend these 24 hours exploring this amazing city! In this huge metropolis you can find just about anything your heart desires, no matter if you just want to take a boat trip around the Bay, do the sky walk, take in the sights of the most incredible architecture from old English colonial styles to cutting edge modern skyscrapers and for example visit the »Singapore Gardens by the Bay«, the National Gallery or just relax in our rooftop hotel pool, there is something for everyone to enjoy!
March 13th, 2019
Back to work! We start with ballet class at 10:00 am sharp, followed by a long day of rehearsals. We are so excited to perform William Forsythe’s award-winning production »Impressing the Czar« at this incredible theatre the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay in front of an audience of 3,600 spectators in 2 days!
March 14th, 2019
It is our second day of work, only 1 day left before our opening night! After our morning class more rehearsals to put the last touches on everything so the show runs perfectly tomorrow. In the afternoon we have a break, so a little time to stroll through the wonderful streets of Singapore and buy some souvenirs for our friends and family.In the evening we have a complete run through on stage with all costumes, make-up and props. At the same time our Artistic Director Aaron Watkin, Principal Ballet Master Gamal Gouda, Managing Director Wolfgang Rothe and Company Manager Adi Luick are at the reception of the German ambassador with the Prime Minister of Saxony, the Mayor of Dresden, the foundation of the Semperoper Ballett and representatives of business and science from Saxony and Singapore. After such a long day with rehearsals, all we want to do is fall into our beds, put our feet up and have a good night’s sleep to be all ready for tomorrow’s first show!
March 15th, 2019
The time has arrived! Only a few hours before the curtain rises on our first of two performances of William Forsythe's »Impressing the Czar«. It’s 7 pm - a short warm-up barre to get our bodies going, immediately after a sound check for all speaking roles and we are ready to go! Everyone back stage from our dancers to our technical crew are concentrated and focusing on delivering their best tonight. The lights go down and the audience falls silent..... It’s Showtime!
After the opening night performance, there will be a post-show talk in which our Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin, and our Ballet Master Laura Graham, both former dancers with The Frankfurt Ballet, will answer questions from the audience. We are delighted that the Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, our Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, Dresden's Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert, the German Ambassador in Singapore and other Saxon representatives from politics, business and science will all attend our opening night performance tonight and also the reception held by the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay thereafter. It will be a wonderful opportunity for our company to meet all of these politicians personally. But above all, we are happy that the audience in Singapore has welcomed us so enthusiastically!
March 17th, 2019
We will make the most of our last day in Singapore! Everything we haven't managed so far, we can explore and do until tonight. Since our bus leaves for the airport at 21 o’clock and we still have a lot planned, we start right away ... South Sea adé! Shortly before midnight we finally take off and leave Singapore – once again around half the globe, before we arrive back in Dresden 13 hours later. It was two exciting and eventful weeks and we are already looking forward to the next tour – let's see where we are going!