Double bill featuring Carmina Burana by Edward Clug and Jeunehomme by Uwe Scholz with choir and orchestra
A beautiful vital energy emerges from this double bill. Uwe Scholz exploits the playfulness of Mozart with unrivalled mastery while Edward Clug invites the audience to indulge in an evocative work depicting a world in constant renewal.
In this vividly staged contemporary ballet, Romanian choreographer Edward Clug revisits a major 20th century musical work by German composer Carl Orff. Borne by the formidable energy of almost 150 artists on stage (dancers, musicians, chorus and soloists) and the timeless beauty of the score, this piece of contemporary dance created for Les Grands Ballets sweeps along everything in its path. A true ode to life!
When he created the ballet Jeunehomme in 1986, the late German choreographer Uwe Scholz wanted to pay homage to Mozart, especially the beauty and the melancholy of the great composer’s works. A pure treasure, the piece enthrall spectators by the changes in rythm through its three movements.
Powerful scores by composers Carl Orff and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be carried by the solo voices, choir and Les Grands Ballets Orchestra.
About the show
Total duration: 1h55, including a 20-minute intermission
Choreography: Edward Clug
Costumes: Léo Kulas
Sets: Marko Japelj
Music: Carl Orff
Duration: 61 minutes
With Carmina Burana, choreographer Edward Clug revisits a major 20th century work by German composer Carl Orff. This “scenic cantata” - one of the most celebrated in choral singing - is adapted from 24 medieval poems. Its world famous first movement O Fortuna evokes the World's destiny while humanity is powerless in facing its uncertain future. The irresistible energy emanating from this work continues to fascinate.
The ballet follows the structure of the composition, based on the concept of the circle : the Wheel of Fortune, embodying the cycle of existence, made up of joy, bitterness, worry and hope. Based on this central theme, choreographer Edward Clug has imagined an immense circle overhanging the stage, an orbit drawing dancers into it, like solitary satellites – attracted as though by an invisible magnet – and holding some of them at its center. The powerful breath of Carmina Burana is a bearer of love, of awakening and of constant renewal. Borne by the formidable energy of the group, the passion of the chorus and soloists, the power of the orchestra and the timeless beauty of the score, this piece centres on human beings in their most visceral dimension: legacy and longevity.
Choreographer: Uwe Scholz
Costumes: Uwe Scholz
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 9 in E♭ major, K. 271, known as the Jeunehomme concerto
Duration: 34 minutes
Uwe Scholz (1958–2004) was inspired by the joy found in the great Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s works to create this 21-dancer piece, premiered at the Ballets de Monte-Carlo in 1986. Jeunehomme follows a classical three-movement structure (allegro, andantino and presto) and centres around six couples from the corps de ballet and two couples who each perform a pas de deux. The work ends with a solo dancer playing Mozart himself. The discipline of the six dance couples in perfect harmony and the three soloists’ beautiful technique complete the graceful and emotional pas de deux.
Mozart composed the Jeunehomme Concerto when he was just 21. A critical success, the work was said to have been composed for Victoire Jenamy (incorrectly understood by Mozart as “Jeunehomme”), daughter of dancer and ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre.
'' A piece of great beauty. The dancers are charismatic, hypnotizing (…).''
Eugénie Lépine-Blondeau, Radio-Canada
LES GRANDS BALLETS
Artistic Director: Ivan Cavallari
Executive Director: Marc Lalonde
President Emeritus: Constance V. Pathy, C.M., C.Q., DMus.
Founder: Ludmilla Chiriaeff
Artistic Director Emeritus: Gradimir Pankov
