Eliconie

The Hungarian National Ballet is proud to announce its 2015/16 season. With over 100 performances throughout the season, dance fans have a wide range of selection to choose from new and repertoire productions of the only classical ballet company in Hungary (resident at the Hungarian State Opera.)

The rich repertoire includes classic ballets like Rudi van Danztig’s Swan Lake, John Cranko’s Onegin and Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, all of which premiered in recent years. The new season of the Opera is dedicated to William Shakespeare on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death. Two classic choreographies based on the bard’s works by László Seregi, Romeo and Juliet and The Taming of the Shrew return to the programme.

All-time Tchaikovsky favourite The Nutcracker gets a facelift by Wayne Eagling and ballet director Tamás Solymosi featuring international prima ballerina Polina Semionova in selected performances, whereas The Sleeping Beauty delights audiences again in a new production. Another ballet based on a well-known tale by the brothers Grimm is probably the most popular repertoire piece among the youngest audience: the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs keeps children glued to the seats.

Fans of modern pieces can also see the stars of the National Ballet excel in them. These modern ballets are chosen carefully and presented in mixed bills. The all-male ballet parody entitled Troy Game, an ironic vision of male machismo, is the work of Robert North, who also created a new all-female version, Troy Game – with Amazons for the Opera. Harald Lander’s Etudes, a benchmark work for major ensembles, gives the opportunity for dancers to demonstrate their leaps, pirouettes, their pointe technique specialities and pas-de-deux to varying degrees of difficulty.

Two choreographies, Petite Mort and Six Dances by Jiří Kylián (recipient of the 2015 Seregi Award founded by the Hungarian State Opera) created to the music of Mozart have been seen by many, and in the new season two more pieces that are shown in Hungary for the first time can find their way into the hearts of the audience by this master. Falling Angels, choreographed for eight ballerinas to the music of Steve Reich, is about the ballet profession itself. Sarabande (music by Bach), on the other hand, tries to explore the meaning of the male existence. Modern film art and literature is also frequently translated into the universal language of dance. Planet in Turmoil (by Dóra Barta) is homage to the film Koyaanisqatsi. It is paired with Sándor Román’s piece based on Ray Bradbury’s landmark science-fiction
short story collection The Martian Chronicles.

More contemporary dance is featured on the playbill of the Erkel Theatre, the second venue of the Hungarian State Opera. On a special night entitled Pas de quatre ’16 top ballet companies of Hungary join the Hungarian National Ballet to impress audiences with the latest modern choreographies. Another event, DanceTrend ’16 gives the opportunity for innovative artists and independent companies to show their talents.

In 2016, the second Iván Nagy International Ballet Gala takes place at the Opera. Each year now an international ballet gala night is organised, in which soloists from the greatest ballet companies in the world join the artists of the Opera’s ballet ensemble to pay tribute to the memory of the internationally renowned ballet dancer who passed away in 2014.

The usually quiet summer break sees an exclusive series of performances in 2016. Billy Elliot, the musical by Sir Elton John is put on stage in a non-replica production by director Tamás Szirtes and choreographer Ákos Tihanyi. This exciting project by the Hungarian State Opera attempts to attract audiences who prefer “lighter” genres as well as to inspire children to try themselves in the world of ballet.

Hungarian State Opera
Address: H-1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 22.
Postal address: 1373 Budapest, P.O. Box 503

http://www.opera.hu/v/4031/