European Companies

Too Bad

“Scheherazade”
Czech National Ballet
National Theatre
Prague, Czech Republic
June 21, 2025 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu To be upfront, Mauro Bigonzetti’s new Scheherazade for the Czech National Ballet is no asset to its repertory. Its choreography is meager and the plot thin; the characters lack depth, and the digital set design is unconvincing.
Bigonzetti takes up the narrative thread where Fokine’s 1910 Scheherazade for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes ends. Zobeida, the favorite but unfaithful wife of Shahryar, the king of Persia, had died. Enraged about womanhood in general, Shahryar took revenge by killing every woman he slept with the morning after their first night together. Scheherazade, the clever daughter of his vizier, put a stop to the slaughter. The tales she narrated to the king each night (collected in the Middle Eastern folk tale, One Thousand and One Nights) softened him.
Bigonzetti portrayed the women in line for Shahryar, among them Scheherazade (Nana Nakagawa), who was ready to sacrifice herself.
3. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu 2. G.Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu Ambiguous movements made it difficult to discern their natures. Elegant and spiky sequences seemed to alternate randomly, flexed feet spoiled the lines, and hips gyrated but weren’t enticing. Little of these modern Orientals radiated beauty. Panels of rippling silky fabric (hanging from above like curtains and, later, symbolizing a connective bond between the women) and shawls that fluttered through the air in a ribbon-like dance distracted the eye from the limited choreography.
Video projections by OOOPSudio transported the audience into Shahryar’s (Giovanni Rotolo’s) palace, through whose hall snappy court society darted, either hopping on both feet or turning pirouettes.
4. G.Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu 5. G.Rotolo (Shahryar) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu Shahryar’s characterization was blunt. A silent darkness represented his mental state; a stiff, pompous cloak closed with a grid collar (costumes by Anna Biagiotti) either imprisoned or protected him. Even after slipping out of it, he remained static and brooding. The knife in his overly beringed hand was connected to the huge splashes of blood on the backdrop. Suddenly, the seductive violin melody of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade composition began to sing. It sounded out of place, like a far cry from cultured times. The violin accompanied the king as he entered a glass dome reminiscent of a space travel command center. He threw himself to the floor, ready to beat himself, but instead his movements alternated between sharp jerks and freezing.
7. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu6. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.GherciuHeavy yellow smoke billowed in a video as the scene changed to a vaulted oriental hall, photos of which lined the backdrop. In each photo, the hall glowed as if burning hot. From there, two men dragged Scheherazade to the king. Although she was resolved to become his next lover, she fought her captors and flailed her legs while being carried past a blood-smeared wall. Her fate seemed to be part of the assembly line of women that Shahryar’s men delivered to him. Each woman was thrown, thrashing, into Shahryar’s arms, whose brief yank broke their necks. Shahryar dragged one woman across the floor like slain game and overstretched her leg as if to tear it out before strangling her. He then flung his coat off and screamed, which brought Rimsky-Korsakov’s music to a sudden halt.
8. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu 9. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and G.Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.GherciuScheherazade walked for a long time between the corpses, which, after some time, came to life. To prepare herself for her encounter with Shahryar, she gave her headdress and jewelry to other women and, for some reason, pulled red ribbon from her mouth. After cutting a lock of her hair, she thrust Shahryar’s knife into the floor. The firestorm raging behind her indicated that the story was close to its climax. Although nothing in Scheherazade’s appearance indicated any special power, Shahryar backed off the moment she approached him. She immediately dominated him and stood on his chest, pushed him around, and flew into his arms like a redeeming dove. Chastening him was easier than previously thought. The violin played at a high pitch as Shahryar knelt on the floor, his bare chest bent back toward the audience, and his gaze lost.

Václav Zahradník and the orchestra of the National Theatre did their accompaniment for Rimsky-Korsakov’s iridescent Scheherazade score (to which Bigonzetti added Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sinfonietta on Russian Themes). Yet its allure suffered from the gloom onstage.
10. N.Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and G.Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by M.Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025 © S.Gherciu

Links: Website of the Czech National Theatre
“Scheherazade” – The Making Of
“Scheherazade” – Trailer
Photos: 1. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade), Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
2. Giovanni Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
3. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
4. Giovanni Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
5. Giovanni Rotolo (Shahryar) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
6. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
7. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
8. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and ensemble, “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
9. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and Giovanni Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
10. Nana Nakagawa (Scheherazade) and Giovanni Rotolo (Shahryar), “Scheherazade” by Mauro Bigonzetti, Czech National Ballet 2025
all photos © Serghei Gherciu
Editing: Kayla Kauffman

 

Eerie

“Valerie and Her Week of Wonders”
Laterna magika
The New Stage
Prague, Czech Republic
June 20, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Z.Piškula (Orlik) and P.Stach (Richard/Polecat), “Valerie and Her Week of Wonders,” Laterna magika 2025 © V.Brtnický The Czech avant-garde author Vítězlav Nezval’s gothic novel, Valery and Her Week of Wonders, written in 1935 and published in 1945, has experienced a revival at home. It was first adapted for the stage in 1967, and a new production was shown in Prague only forty years later in 2008. In 2023, two Czech companies simultaneously presented stage versions of Valeria and Her Week of Wonders; the West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb (located between Karlovy Vary and the Czech/German border) and Laterna magika in Prague. I saw Laterna magika’s production.

The wonders that Nezval’s teenage heroine, Valerie, experiences during the span of one week are far from wonderful and are rather a sexually laden horror trip that torpedoes her into womanhood. Events unfold with a dream Valerie has on the night of her first menstruation. Only late in the novel does this dream verge into the realm of reality, which it soon forsakes for a Garden of Eden-like happy ending. (more…)

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Bolshoi Theatre © Bolshoi Theatre/D.Yusupov2. Statuette of the Prix Benois de la Danse, design by I.Ustinov © Benois Center As in 2024, the Prix Benois jury nominated thirteen dancers from eight companies for this season’s award. Of the six women and seven men, two dance in China, France, and South Africa; one dances in Kazakhstan; and six, Russia. Next Tuesday, the laureates will be announced at an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company name: (more…)

Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Mukaram Avakhri, Wang Ge, Thomas Lebrun, Andrey Merkuriev, Mthuthuzeli November, Alexander Sergeev
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)

Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Bolshoi Theatre © Bolshoi Theatre/D.Yusupov2. Statuette of the Prix Benois de la Danse, design by I.Ustinov © Benois Center On June 17th, the Bolshoi Theatre’s Historic Stage will host the annual Prix Benois charity gala and awards ceremony. Traditionally, laureates of previous years have performed in a gala concert on the following evening. Prizes will be awarded for the best choreographer, female dancer, and male dancer. This year’s festival will pay tribute to Yuri Grigorovich, who passed away on May 19th. Grigorovich founded the Prix Benois competition in 1991 and served as chairman of the jury, artistic director, and president.
Below is an overview of the six nominated choreographers. A report of the dancer nominees will follow. (more…)

Quarrel in Hamburg

The Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg, Germany
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

D.Volpi and L.Haslach rehearsing “Demian” by D.Volpi, The Hamburg Ballet 2025 © K.WestAfter John Neumeier handed over the artistic reins of the Hamburg Ballet to Demis Volpi, a smooth transition process seemed underway. Volpi, whose career as a dancer and choreographer began in Stuttgart, was artistic director of the Ballett am Rhein when Neumeier’s successor came into question. A selection committee of eleven (including Ted Brandsen, Dutch National Ballet; Tamas Detrich, Stuttgart Ballet; Brigitte Lefèvre, Paris Opera Ballet; and Ashley Wheater, Joeffrey Ballet) recommended Volpi to the Hamburg State Opera board of directors. As it happens, he was Neumeier’s desired candidate. In 2022, the then thirty-seven-year-old Volpi was unanimously elected as Hamburg Ballet’s new artistic director as of August 2024. (more…)

A Farewell Triplet

“Pathétique” (“Divertimento No. 15”/“Summerspace”/“Pathétique”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 09, 2025 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Divertimento No. 15” by G.Balanchine © George Balanchine Trust, Vienna State Ballet 2025 © Vienna State Ballet/A.TaylorTriple bills have become a trademark of the Vienna State Ballet since Martin Schläpfer took over as artistic director in 2020. The latest, Pathétique, is titled after Schläpfer’s newest and last creation. As on previous occasions, the program’s safe and well-tested base was a Balanchine followed by Cunningham’s Summerspace. (more…)

Much story, little dance

“Édith Piaf – La vie en rose”
Finnish National Ballet
Opera House
Helsinki, Finland
March 15, 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

 1. T.Myllymäki (Édith Piaf), “Édith Piaf – La vie en rose” by R.Wäre, Finnish National Ballet 2025 © J.Lundqvist 2. T.Myllymäki, L.Haakana, H.J.Kang, and S.Kunnari (Édith Piaf); “Édith Piaf – La vie en rose” by R.Wäre, Finnish National Ballet 2025 © J.Lundqvist Two weeks after its world premiere, the Finnish National Ballet streamed its latest piece, Édith Piaf – La vie en rose, live on the online platform Stage 24. Sami Sykkö presented the live stream and conducted several interviews during the break. I was able to watch a recording a few days later.

Javier Torres, the company’s artistic director, assembled an entirely Finnish artistic team for Édith Piaf – La vie en rose. It is choreographer Reija Wäre’s (whose previous work stretches various genres, including opera and street dance, TV shows, and sports events) first full-length production. Composer Jukka Nykänen also has a reputation as a pianist. Jani Uljas designed the set; Erika Turunen, the costumes. (more…)

Family Feeling

“Dream Team” (“Jardi Tancat”/“The Blue Brides”/“Lickety-Split”/“High Moon”)
Gauthier Dance Juniors
Theaterhaus Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
March 15, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Jardí Tancat” by N.Duato, Gauthier Dance Juniors 2025 © J.BakIs it the laid-back, feel-good attitude of Eric Gauthier, director and choreographer of Gauthier Dance, that makes his company’s performances feel like family gatherings? A sense of family also unites his junior company, which was founded in 2022 and comprises six dancers (three men and three women) from Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan. Their latest mixed bill, Dream Team, premiered in January. It includes two podcasts that fill the breaks the performers take to change costumes. In them, Gauthier chats with his juniors and the choreographers. When talking about their group spirit, the young dancers call Gauthier their boss whereas Gauthier seems like a proud daddy.

The original title of the program (Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue—quoting a traditional English wedding rhyme that details what a bride should wear for good luck) referred to the selection of pieces. (more…)

Human Striving

“Homage to Uwe Scholz”
Leipzig Ballet
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
February 15, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Seventh Symphony” by U.Scholz, Leipzig Ballet 2025 © I.Zenna The Stuttgart-bred Uwe Scholz was in his early thirties when he became the Leipzig Ballet’s artistic director and chief choreographer in 1991. Scholz’s ballets were substantial and had depth, but the extent of his choreographic talent has been undiscovered due to his premature death in 2004. Last weekend, the Leipzig Ballet toured Homage to Uwe Scholz at the Forum Ludwigsburg. The double bill comprised two of Scholz’s symphonic pieces, Seventh Symphony, set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (1811-1812), and Second Symphony, set to Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 (1847).

For the first time, Leipzig Ballet isn’t led by a choreographer, but by artistic director Rémy Fichet. Fichet, who took the reins from Mario Schröder just this season, danced in Leipzig under Scholz and intends to keep his ballets in the repertory. However, he’s realistic. The company’s standard does not yet meet the requirements of every Scholz piece, he admitted, and the dancers will need time to hone their technique. Perhaps, Fichet can prevent Scholz’s work from sinking deeper into oblivion. (more…)

Effervescent

“The Merry Widow”
Hungarian National Ballet
Hungarian State Opera
Budapest, Hungary
February 8-9, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. M.Takamori (Valencienne), M.Bäckström (Camille), and D.Zhukov (Njegus), “The Merry Widow” by R.Hynd, Hungarian National Ballet 2025 © V.Berecz 2. M.Radziush (Count Danilo Danilovitch) and T.Melnyik (Hanna Glawari), “The Merry Widow” by R.Hynd, Hungarian National Ballet 2025 © V.Berecz The brisk beats that opened last Saturday’s revival of The Merry Widow at Budapest’s opera house promised a peppy performance, and the following two and a half hours delivered brio indeed. Franz Lehár composed the music in 1905 for his popular eponymous operetta, and John Launchbery and Allen Abbot were the first to edit it for the dance stage in 1974. Both worked on behalf of the British choreographer Ronald Hynd who in 1975 adapted the comic operetta into a three-act ballet for the Australian Ballet. Since then, many ballet companies have added it to their repertory. The Hungarian National Ballet premiered The Merry Widow in 2014 with new sets and costumes by the Brit Peter Docherty.

Docherty designed a long workbench stuffed with books and champagne (shadowed by a wall-sized replica of the national coat of arms) where the staff of the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris shuffled papers, boozed, and stood at attention as soon as the anthem sounded. The small Balkan state of Pontevedrian was bankrupt, but its geriatric ambassador, Baron Zeta, had a bailout plan. If his first secretary, Count Danilo Danilovitch, married the Pontevedrian millionaire’s widow, Hanna Glawari, her money would refill the state coffers. (more…)

As It Should Be

“Peter and the Wolf”
Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera
NEST (Künstlerhaus Vienna)
Vienna, Austria
January 26, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. A.Martelli (Peter) and S.E.Schippani (Bird), “Peter and the Wolf” by M.Schläpfer, Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera 2025 © M.Furnica2. E.Renahy (Cat), “Peter and the Wolf” by M.Schläpfer, Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera 2025 © M.Furnica 3. A.Martelli (Peter), Y.Kato (Grandfather), and S.E.Schippani (Bird); “Peter and the Wolf” by M.Schläpfer, Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera 2025 © M.Furnica Last December, the Vienna State Opera opened a new venue for its young audience in a side wing of the Künstlerhaus, around 550 yards from the Vienna State Opera. The venue was previously a home for the city’s independent companies but was rebuilt thanks to private funding and a grant from Austria’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Research. The theater’s steep auditorium ensures visibility of the stage for even the shortest audience members. Although I was told that its name, NEST, is an abbreviation of “New State Opera,” it reminded me of a bird’s nest.

Despite sunny early spring weather, last Sunday’s matinee was well attended by both children and grown-ups to see the premiere of Peter and the Wolf, (more…)

Striking Similarities

“kaiserRequiem”
Vienna State Ballet & Volksoper Wien
Volksoper Wien
Vienna, Austria
January 25, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1.D.Schmutzhard (Emperor Overall) and ensemble, “kaiserRequiem”, directed and choreographed by A.Heise, Vienna State Ballet/Volksoper Wien 2025 © A.Taylor kaiserRequiem, the Volksoper Wien’s latest premiere, is a joint production of the State Ballet Vienna and the singers, choir, and orchestra of the Volksoper. The piece intertwines the sixty-minute chamber opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis), composed by Viktor Ullmann in 1943/44, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D minor (K. 626). Both pieces feature death, which overtook both composers while working on them. Mozart died in December 1791 before finishing Requiem. Requiem had been commissioned, and when Mozart died, his wife, Constanze, assigned its completion to Franz Xaver Süßmayr, her husband’s former pupil. Being of Jewish parentage, Ullmann and his wife were deported to the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt (in today’s Czech Republic) in September 1942. It was a showpiece ghetto to promote the allegedly successful resettlement of Jews, so Theresienstadt had a department for so-called “leisure activities,” such as sports, theater, lectures, and reading. Ullmann worked there as a composer, music critic, and musical event organizer. The premiere of his opera The Emperor of Atlantis was scheduled for Theresienstadt’s stage but was canceled after the general rehearsal. Perhaps the piece’s highly political sarcasm, though subtle, did not slip the notice of the ruling powers, but that’s only speculation. (more…)

Aerial Ballet

“Möbius”
Compagnie XY
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
January 10, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Möbius”—a collective artwork by Compagnie XY in collaboration with R.Ouramdane, Compagnie XY 2025 © C.R.De LageThe northern French company Compagnie XY is a group of forty acrobats who specialize in lifts. Nineteen of them perform in Möbius, the troupe’s fifth and latest piece created in collaboration with the French choreographer and dancer Rachid Ouramdane. Last weekend, it toured at the Forum Ludwigsburg.
Möbius opened sedately and silently. One by one, the barefooted artists walked on either side of the auditorium toward a stage equipped only with gray-greenish flooring. They stood scattered across it, motionless, gazing sternly at the audience. The first percussive beats set them in motion. They stretched their arms sideways like birds ready for take-off, and a blink of an eye later, the first bodies soared in the air. Pushed by multiple interlocked arms that served as a living trampoline, they flew from one group to the other, often adding extra thrilling saltos and other aerial acrobatics. (more…)

Lucky He

“A Christmas Carol”
Finnish National Ballet
Opera House
Helsinki, Finland
December 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. J.Xia (Fred) and J.Pakkanen (Scrooge), “A Christmas Carol” by D.Bintley, Finnish National Ballet 2023 © R.Oksaharju Last Christmas, I missed the Finnish National Ballet’s new A Christmas Carol on arte.tv. Luckily, the channel rescheduled the recording for this December. David Bintley, the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s former director, choreographed the two-act production and was the first to adapt Charles Dickens’s novella about the chronically ill-tempered miser, Scrooge, for the ballet stage.

In Act I, Bintley introduces the old merchant, Scrooge (Johan Pakkanen), who hates people in general and Christmas in particular, along with his antitheses, Fred (Jun Xia) and Bob Cratchit (Frans Valkama). Both are family men but represent different social classes. Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, is well-off and in the most buoyant of Christmas moods when he invites his uncle for Christmas (he’s, of course, immediately rebuffed). Bob, Scrooge’s conscientious but underpaid clerk, feeds his family of six on a limited budget. He, too, is happy and generous by nature but worries about the serious illness of his youngest son, Tiny Tim (Janne Kouhia). (more…)

Battling Self-Doubt

“Cyrano de Bergerac”
Ballet NdB (Národní divadlo Brno)
National Theatre Brno
Brno, Czech Republic
October 27, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Ten years ago, I watched one of Jiří Bubeníček’s early ballets—The Picture of Dorian Gray—which he created and danced with his twin brother, Otto. Since then, the Bubeníčeks regularly cooperated on many productions, with Jiří usually contributing the choreography and Otto the design. Their latest ballet, Cyrano de Bergerac for the Ballet of the National Theatre Brno in the Czech Republic, is also a product of family cooperation, especially given that Jiří’s wife and longstanding artistic collaborator, Nadina Cojocaru, joined the team as costume designer.

Cyrano de Bergerac is based on the eponymous 1897 romantic-comedy verse drama by the French dramatist Edmond Rostand (1868-1918). Rostand modeled the hero after Hector-Savinien de Cyrano (1619-1655), nicknamed Cyrano de Bergerac. A fabulously heroic swordsman, he served in various regiments before quitting the cadet’s life and dedicating himself exclusively to writing prose and love poetry. The prominent nose that affected the love life of his literary representative also graced the real de Cyrano, though it was more moderately sized. (more…)