At the turn of the 20th century, the Italian actress Eleonora Duse was one of the most influential artists worldwide. John Neumeier takes episodes from the life of this great woman, who influenced such diverse personalities as Rainer Maria Rilke, Isadora Duncan, Arrigo Boito and Gabriele D’Annunzio, as inspirations for his “choreographic fantasies” (2015). Enthralled by the legendary professional charisma of Duse, her relentless quest for an ideal theatre and a number of love/hate relationships, Neumeier develops a subjective vision of her biography. Discarding a documentary approach, he invents situations and images to conjure the essence of this unique personality. As music he chose pieces by Benjamin Britten and Arvo Pärt
photo © Kiran West
Sets Charles Edwards
lighting & Costumes John Neumeier
The Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier
PROGRAMME
Benjamin Britten
Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
Sinfonia da Requiem op. 20
Prelude and Fugue op. 29
Two Portraits
Arvo Pärt
Fratres string quartet version
Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten
La Fenice Orchestra
Conductor Luciano Di Martino
Eleonora Duse Alessandra Ferri
Désirée von Werheimstein Hélène Bouchet
Luciano Licastro Alexandr Trusch
Annunzio Cervi Jacopo Bellussi
Arrigo Boito Alexandre Riabko
Gabriele D’Annunzio Karen Azatyan
Isadora Duncan Anna Laudere
Sarah Bernhardt Silvia Azzoni
Il pubblico Marc Jubete
The performance lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes, including one interval