Dance project: “Carmen”
Few choreographers have had a greater influence on modern dance theatre than Sasha Waltz. All the greater then was the response to her interpretation of the Carmen story as part of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Education Dance Project in 2012. This Carmen, however, plays out on the streets of Berlin. The performance, conducted by Simon Rattle, featured Berlin schoolchildren who took a very unique approach to the opera.
Georges Bizet’s material proves to be surprisingly universal thanks to Sasha Waltz. The fire and energy of the music and plot are perfectly suited to a modern metropolis like Berlin. Also, the students show in their passionate interpretation that Bizet’s story and characters still speak to the youth of today. The choreographer used yet another technique which revealed the diversity of the subject: scenes are acted out simultaneously and in different ways by the school classes, impressively demonstrating the many facets and possible interpretations of the opera.
The music used for the performance is the Ballet Suite by Rodion Shchedrin, who condensed Bizet’s music to great effect. For the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle, the work on this score connected seamlessly to another Carmen project at the time: the performance of Bizet’s opera at the Salzburg Easter Festival and in the Berlin Philharmonie.
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle
Sasha Waltz
© 2012 Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker
