National Ballet of Canada & Neumeier’s “Nijinsky” come to San Francisco

The National Ballet of Canada in Neumeier’s Nijinsky.
(© Bruce Zinger) guest company

“The National Ballet of Canada’s production of John Neumeier’s Nijinsky is a triumph on all fronts.”
— Canada’s The Globe and Mail

While the San Francisco Ballet keeps busy in preparation for its epic *Unbound New Works Festival, with its twelve exciting new commissions, the stage at the War Memorial Opera House gets turned over to The National Ballet of Canada and their presentation of John Neumeier’s  Nijinsky. Watching this preview of Neumeier’s masterpiece, all I can say is, “Oh, wow. Give me more. And more!” Take a look for yourself.

Choreographer John Neumeier is the longtime artistic director of the Hamburg Ballet, on whom he set this ballet in 2000. Not only is Neumeier one of contemporary ballet’s most important voices, he is a world authority on the life and work of Vaslav Nijinsky, having maintained a lifelong interest in the artist. The National Ballet of Canada’s website shares this about the charismatic Nijinsky who stunned and entranced audiences for a brief ten years before retiring from the stage at age twenty-nine. “Renowned for his unforgettable stage presence, his astonishing technique and his groundbreaking approach to choreographic expression, Nijinsky shattered for all time not just the prevailing notions and expectations of the male dancer, but the limitations that convention had imposed on the range of dramatic possibilities in dance itself.”

Neumeier’s ballet draws from several aspects of Nijinsky’s life, presented in a meditative, non-linear fashion, that ultimately reflects the madness that will come to consume him. The ballet’s opening scene is set just after WW I in a hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where the real-life Nijinsky offered the audience his final performance as a dancer. Through this, we, the other audience, become privy to the man’s memories, his genius, his choreography, important relationships and life events, premonitions, and the madness that seemed to have taken over the world, as well.

Guillaume Côté in Neumeier’s Nijinsky.
(© Erik Tomasson) guest company

The music accompanying the production, for my classical music enthusiast readers out there,  features Chopin’s Prélude in C minor, the first movement of Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Rimsky-Korsakov’s sumptuous  Schéhérazade (Movements I, III and IV), the “Adagio” movement from Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, as well as his Symphony No. 11.

Here’s what critics are saying about the production:

  • “A triumph of dramatic intensity… the National Ballet rises to the challenge of presenting John Neumeier’s Nijinsky, a spectacular, sprawling, surreal and often mind-bending homage to ballet’s most legendary male dancer.” — Toronto Star
  • Nijinsky soars to intense heights… a richly detailed production” — National Post
  • “Under the enlightened and demanding direction of Karen Kain, former great international ballet star, the company has earned its place at the highest level, enriching its repertory considerably by collaborating with the greatest choreographers of our time” — Danses Avec La Plume

Here is National Ballet of Canada dancer Félix Paquet explaining about what’s required from him as he portrays Nijinsky as the Faun and the Golden Slave, both iconic Nijinsky roles that are featured in Neumeier’s ballet. it’s fascinating and informative to watch.

Interested in going? Here are some details for you:

Where?  War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, San Francisco
When?   April 3 to 8, 2018, 7 performances total
How?    
Purchase tickets online HERE or call (415) 865-2000
Run Time  2 hours, 25 minutes, with one intermission

Principal casting for the San Francisco dates of the production has been announced!  

Vaslav Nijinsky
Guillaume Côté (April 3, 6 at 7:30 pm/April 8 at 2:00 pm)
Skylar Campbell (April 4 at 7:30 pm/April 7 at 2:00 pm)
Francesco Gabriele Frola (April 5 at 7:30 pm/April 7 at 7:30 pm)

Romola Nijinsky
Heather Ogden (April 3 at 7:30 pm/April 8 at 2:00 pm)
Sonia Rodriguez (April 4 at 7:30 pm/April 7 at 2:00 pm)
Svetlana Lunkina (April 5, 7 at 7:30 pm)
Xiao Nan Yu (April 6 at 7:30 pm)

Serge Diaghilev
Ben Rudisin (April 3, 6 at 7:30 pm/April 8 at 2:00 pm)
Piotr Stanczyk (April 4, 5, 7 at 7:30 pm/April 7 at 2:00 pm)

Casting is subject to change

* San Francisco Ballet’s Unbound: a Festival of New Works  is a ground-breaking celebration of innovation within ballet, featuring twelve new commissions and world premieres, taking place in four programs, April 20 to May 6, 2018. Want to know more? Here’s a preview from the San Francisco Chronicle. For further information or to order tickets, go HERE.

Just as my last blog, “Debussy’s ‘Afternoon of a Faun,'” offered a teaser of this blog and this program at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, I can’t resist ending this with a teaser of San Francisco Ballet’s forthcoming Unbound extravaganza. It’s going to be an amazing two weeks, chock full of amazing, innovative ballet. The following is a photo shoot that features the company’s dancers in poses from featured Unbound works that photographer Erik Tomasson turns into stunning art. Check it out!

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