Vienna ballet premieres 'Bluebeard's Secret'

Source:AFP Published: 2012-12-17 20:00:05

The Vienna Ballet continues to experiment with newer and lesser known works. Over the weekend it premiered Bluebeard's Secret by German choreographer

Stephan Thoss to an enthusiastic crowd.

The piece, first performed in February 2011 at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany, follows the immense success last season of Carmina Burana, Bolero and Afternoon of a Faun - three new pieces created by former Vienna Ballet dancers.

Such choreography, staged at Vienna's smaller Volksoper Theatre, contrast with the Ballet's grander repertoire generally presented at the State Opera, but

have gained an audience in the usually conservative Austrian capital.

On Saturday, the Vienna premiere of Bluebeard's Secret drew cheers from the crowd, despite several empty seats around the theater.

Thoss's relentless choreography never lets up during the two-hour program, with dancers contorting and hurling themselves through the air.

As the title character, Kirill Kourlaev impressed as always with a powerful yet tormented performance, while his young wife, portrayed by Alice Firenze, is

confronted by the ghosts of his past relationships.

Dagmar Kronberger also cut a dominating, slightly menacing figure as Bluebeard's ever-present mother.

Dramatic with moments of playfulness, the ballet benefited from music by Polish composer Henryk Gorecki and American Philip Glass, known for his operas and

stage music as much as his award-winning soundtracks to films such as The Truman Show and The Hours.

On top of the choreography and costumes, Thoss designed the sets, starting with a surrealist gravity-defying background that gave the appearance the dancers

were bouncing off the walls.

A darker atmosphere after the break was filled with doors as Bluebeard and his wife explore new corners of his past.



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