Ballets Special September
19 & 26 September
On three Thursday nights in September, Stingray Classica viewers will be swept off their feet by beautiful ballet premieres of exquisite European ensembles. On Thursday the 12th, the Ballet of Monte Carlo enchants with Le Songe, a dreamy and humorous ballet by choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, based on Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The following week, the Victor Ullate Ballet-Comunidad de Madrid turns a more serious page with the dramatic El Amor Brujo, a choreography by founder Victor Ullate. With beautiful visuals and colours blending in with music by the likes Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, the Paris Opera ballet rounds off a series of stunning premieres with George Balanchine's Jewels on the 26th of September.
El Amor Brujo
Thursday, September
The Victor Ullate Ballet-Comunidad de Madrid performs the ballet El Amor Brujo (which translates to Sorcerer Love, in English) by choreographer Victor Ullate. The ballet was originally composed in 1914 by Manuel de Falla to a libretto of Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It tells the story of Candela, a gypsy whose loves Carmelo, but is haunted by the ghost of his former lover. It is a story of love and passion, tears and grief, sorcery and seduction, but also death and dance. This new choreography contains great beauty, though different in form compared to the original, it stays eternal in its essence. The production was recorded in the Theater of Victoria Eugenia, San Sebastian, in 2015.
Jewels
Thursday, September 26
The Paris Opera ballet performs George Balanchine's Jewels. The orchestra of the Paris Opera is conducted by Paul Connelly. Physical perfection and colours blend in with music by the likes Fauré, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. The ballet exists of three parts (Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds), all transpositions of the choreographic styles of three countries where Balanchine lived: France, the cradle of the romantic school of dance; the United States, a subtle tribute to the showgirls of musical comedy and the last part suggests Saint Petersburg’s opulence and splendor of the imperial ballet and the classical heritage of choreographer Petipa. Jewels was created in 1967 for the New York City Ballet. This performance took place at the Opéra National de Paris in 2005. Soloists are Kader Belarbi, Mathieu Ganio, Laëtitia Pujol, Clairemarie Osta, Aurélie Dupont, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Agnès Letestu and Jean-Guillaume Bart.