Dutch National Ballet presents
'La Traviata’ in a gripping dance drama
John Neumeier’s La Dame aux Camélias is one of the most important new narrative ballets of the last fifty years. The ballet is based on the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, and is best known because of Verdi’s opera version, La Traviata.
In short
Marguerite, a courtesan, lives a dissolute life of debauchery until she falls in love with the young Armand. She keeps her tuberculosis hidden from him, and together they exchange life in Paris for the countryside. Armand’s father – who sees her as a fallen woman – forces her to give up her love. By the time Armand discovers why Marguerite has left him, it’s too late: she dies in his arms during their last encounter.
John Neumeiers La Dame aux Camélias is een van de belangrijkste verhalende balletten van de afgelopen vijftig jaar. Caroline de Bruijn, Anna Drijver en Ted Brandsen vertellen hoe zeer zij naar de voorstelling uitkijken.
Who is dancing when?
Vr 10 april 2015 19:30 - Igone de Jongh & Marijn Rademaker
Za 11 april 2015 19:30 - Anna Tsygankova & James Stout
Di 14 april 2015 19:30 - Megan Zimny Kaftira & Remi Wörtmeyer
Do 16 april 2015 19:30 - Igone de Jongh & Marijn Rademaker
Vr 17 april 2015 19:30 - Anna Tsygankova & James Stout
Zo 19 april 2015 14:00 - Megan Zimny Kaftira & Remi Wörtmeyer
Do 23 april 2015 19:30 - Igone de Jongh & Marijn Rademaker
Vr 24 april 2015 19:30 - Anna Tsygankova & James Stout
Zo 26 april 2015 14:00 - Igone de Jongh & Marijn Rademaker
(Subject to change)
Creation
Never told before
Neumeier, one of the greatest contemporary storytellers, turns this love story into an overwhelming psychological dance drama. He has created challenging dance roles, both in a technical respect – the duets are especially virtuosic – and in an artistic sense. “Every dancer can give his or her own interpretation, telling the story as its never been told before. “
Costume drama
Neumeier's evening-long production can best be described as a gigantic costume drama in an abstract setting. For this ballet, Jürgen Rose, the famed German opera director and designer of decors and costumes, created 450 luxuriously rustling costumes in a nineteenth century style. With transparent scrims he suggests the various locations and worlds where La Dame aux Camélias takes place.
Music
For his choreography, Neumeier choose piano works and compositions for piano and orchestra by Frédéric Chopin, instead of using the music of Verdi. The choreographer saw an important parallel between the life and work of Chopin and Dumas’s story.
Orchestra
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by James Tuggle.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra, formerly known as Holland Symfonia, is the regular orchestra partner of Dutch National Ballet. The orchestra brings together music and dance into a magical experience: from classical ballet to modern dance, from music education to talent development. Het Balletorkest is conducted by chief conductor Matthew Rowe, and consists of 45 musicians, supported by highly qualified guest performers when necessary. This is what makes the orchestra flexible, dynamic and adept. Dutch Ballet Orchestra is an orchestra with personality, driven by one mission: to stir people with music.
Introductions
Every performance of National Opera & Ballet is preceded by a pre-performance talk. Learn more, enjoy more. This talk begins 45 minutes before curtain and is held in the foyer of the second balcony. The pre-performance talk is free of charge to everyone attending the performance, and amplification is used to enhance audibility. Several days prior to the premiere, the talk will be made available digitally as a podcast. Check this page to see if the podcast has already been made available.
' La Dame aux Camelias combines upper school acting with dance of the highest technical level.'