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© Semperoper Dresden/Klemens Renner
Nijinsky
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 July 2026 | ||||||
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Nijinsky
Ballet by John Neumeier
Music by Frédéric Chopin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Dmitri Shostakovich and Robert Schumann
Premiere:January 24, 2025
John Neumeier pays his respect to the dance legend Vaslav Nijinsky.
In brief
What better way to celebrate the 200th birthday of the Semperoper Ballett than with a tribute to the genius of Vaslav Nijinsky? His name and that of the Ballets Russes are closely associated with the history of dance in Dresden.
As biographer Richard Buckle once put it: „Nijinsky’s life can be simply summarized: ten years of growing; ten years of learning; ten years of dancing; thirty years in eclipse.” The work and life of this unparalleled performer has proved an inexhaustible theme for John Neumeier since his youth. The ballet he created in 2000 about the luminous dancer deals with the biography of a soul, interwoven with memories and associations, feelings and states. Neumeier’s choreographic explorations aim to create something living out of the past, with newly defined power relations and fields of tension that capture Nijinsky’s on-stage magic as well as the dangers he encountered outside the theatre.
Program and cast
Musical Direction: Simon Hewett
Choreography: John Neumeier
Lighting, Stage, and Costumes using partial original designs by Léon Bakst and Alexandre Benois: John Neumeier
Music: Frédéric Chopin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Dmitri Shostakovich, Robert Schumann
Lighting: John Neumeier
Coaching: Leslie McBeth, Piotr Stanczyk, Sonja Tinnes, Ivan Urban
Saxonian State Orchestra Dresden
Semperoper Ballet
With kind support from the Semperoper Foundation – Promotion Foundation
Semperoper Dresden
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper ballet. The building is located near the Elbe River in the historic centre of Dresden, Germany.
The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841. After a devastating fire in 1869, the opera house was rebuilt, partly again by Semper, and completed in 1878. The opera house has a long history of premieres, including major works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.
The first opera house at the location of today's Semperoper was built by the architect Gottfried Semper. It opened on 13 April 1841 with an opera by Carl Maria von Weber. The building style itself is debated among many, as it has features that appear in three styles; Early Renaissance and Baroque, with Corinthian style pillars typical of Greek classical revival. Perhaps the most suitable label for this style would be eclecticism, where influences from many styles are used, a practice most common during this period. Nevertheless, the opera building, Semper's first, is regarded as one of the most beautiful European opera houses.
© Semperoper Dresden/Klemens Renner
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