Living Legacies
Featuring the renowned choreography of George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon and Frederick Ashton, Living Legacies is a performance that anchors classical ballet in a modern interpretation at the Vienna State Opera. With three works on the programme, Living Legacies rethinks balletic traditions in a compellingly modern way, with each choreography bringing something unique to the overall presentation.
The programme opens with Divertimento No. 15 by George Balanchine. Created for a Mozart Festival and originally performed by members of the New York City Ballet, the ballet’s first performance took place at the American Shakespeare Theatre on 31 May 1956. Balanchine set the choreography to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 15 in B-flat major, K. 287, omitting its second minuet and the Andante from the sixth movement. Given that divertimenti did not typically follow a fixed structure in Mozart’s time, Balanchine’s choice aligns with the spirit of the work. Playful, tender and offering a lyrical beauty, the ballet is choreographed for eight principal dancers, including three men, alongside an ensemble of eight female dancers.
Within the Golden Hour, Christopher Wheeldon’s critically acclaimed ballet, comes next. Inspired by the distinctive artwork of Gustav Klimt, the ballet unfolds as a series of scenes resembling painterly sketches. Its premiere took place at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California, on 22 April 2008. Set primarily to music by the contemporary Italian composer Ezio Bosso, the score also incorporates Baroque compositions by Antonio Vivaldi to provide contrast and structure. Bosso’s music forms the core of the sonic landscape, giving the ballet its flowing and distinctly modern character.
The final ballet of Living Legacies is Rhapsody, one of Frederick Ashton’s last major works. The British choreographer’s ballet premiered at the Royal Opera House in London on 4 August 1980, marking the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. This striking non-narrative ballet is set to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s famous 1934 work, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. With its sparkling virtuosity and superbly crafted choreography, the ballet has been regarded as a timeless masterpiece of classical style for several decades. It is easy to understand why, when Ashton's style blends Russian balletic influences so well with his often lyrical approach to dance.
The trio of ballets that make up Living Legacies at the Wiener Staatsoper together create a compelling interpretation of classical dance with contemporary overtones, offering a rich and rewarding evening of entertainment for audiences of all kinds.