Johan Inger
Premiere 9. December 2023
World premiere
Info
- Starting Time: 6 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Post-Show Discussion following the performance (free admission).
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 7 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
Info
- Starting Time: 2 pm
Venue: Semperoper Dresden
Free introductory talk- held in the Semper Opera House cellar 45 minutes before curtain-up
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
After his acclaimed literary adaptations of »Carmen« and »Peer Gynt«, Johan Inger now turns to a classic ballet that will reveal yet another facet of his art: »Swan Lake«. In 2023, the Swedish choreographer has reinterpreted this great work for Semperoper Ballett and, in so doing, addressed some profound questions: How are personal relationships affected by violence and manipulation? And what roles do personal freedom, respect and acceptance play in a loving relationship?
»Der geraubte Schleier« (The Stolen Veil) from Johann Karl August Musäusʼs collection of »German Folk Stories« (1784) is believed to be one of the inspirations behind the popular narrative ballet. This fairy tale, partly set in the Ore Mountains near the »Swan City« of Zwickau, provides an exciting alternative to the traditional interpretation of »Swan Lake«. Based on this story and accompanied by a new arrangement of Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky’s music, Johan Inger has devised a choreographic reinterpretation of Musäusʼs fantastic tale revolving around the motif of the swan-maiden.
Act 1
Zoe, a queen who possesses the gift of turning into a swan by means of a veil, is unhappily trapped in her marriage to her husband, King Zeno. Only once a year is she permitted to take the form of a swan, flying to a mystical lake whose waters confer eternal youth and bathing in it in human form. At this “Swan Lake,” one can let oneself go, live free of social norms and constraints, and simply be oneself. One day Zoe meets a stranger named Benno. The two fall in love and come closer. When King Zeno catches the couple, he has Benno arrested. However, Theo, the King's personal physician, helps the prisoner to escape, revealing to him that he may have a chance of seeing Zoe again at the distant Swan Lake. In this hope, Benno embarks on a journey to the Swan Lake and waits on its shores for Zoe. There the two are in fact reunited and give rein to their love together for the first time. After Zoe's return to the court, King Zeno punishes his wife by destroying her magic veil and thus cutting off her wings, after which Benno waits in vain for years for the return of his beloved.
Act 2
Around 20 years later: The recently widowed Queen Zoe must now accept another loss: having reached adulthood, her son, Prince Kallisto, is compelled to go to war. On the very shores of the Swan Lake, he is wounded and then found and nursed back to health by the aged Benno, who takes him in like a son. Benno tells his protégé about the liberating nature of the lake, which is visited each year by swan people. He then dies in Callisto’s arms. Now living as a hermit himself, Prince Kallisto seems to court good fortune one day when he secretly watches some of the swan people swimming in the enchanted lake. Kallisto manages to get hold of the veil of the beautiful Odette, committing her to himself, since having lost her wings, the princess must now seek shelter on the shores of the Swan Lake. She thus willingly engages with the Prince, who pretends to be her rescuer and to take her in benevolently …
