Die sieben Todsünden & Petroesjka

Two brand-new choreographies of milestones of the 20th century ballet repertoire in one evening: Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka and the ‘ballet chanté’ Die sieben Todsünden by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.The anti-hero Petrushka leads a double life. As a puppet in the theatre, he is an attraction for a sensation-hungry crowd. In his private life he is deeply human, torn apart and vulnerable. In four ‘burlesque scenes’, the cruelty and indifference of the crowd contrast with human sensitivity and loneliness. The Israeli choreographer Ella Rothschild, a former member of the legendary Batsheva Dance Company, takes the ballet from its original urban setting and finds a new narrative set in a wilderness with a tense relationship between humans and animals.

In Die sieben Todsünden, Anna, a young woman with a split personality, has to go out to earn money for her family. On her quest through seven American cities, she is each time hindered in her pursuit of profit by the lure of another mortal sin. Choreographer Stijn Celis brings a contemporary interpretation of this hybrid masterpiece in which dance and opera, the American Dream and social criticism go hand in hand. The music will be performed live by the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Symphony Orchestra, conducted by chief conductor Alejo Pérez.