Martin Schläpfer appointed new Director at Vienna State Ballet

[Angela]

Swiss choreographer Martin Schläpfer, since 2009 AD at Ballet on the Rhine at Düsseldorf/Germany, was appointed new Director of Vienna State Ballet where he will start in 2020/21, following Manuel Legris. He was appointed by Bogdan Roščić, the designated new Opera Intendant of the Vienna State Opera from 2020.

This is a very astonishing choice for a) Vienna, as they usually do full-length ballets and Schläpfer did not do story ballets until his recent Swan Lake, and b) for Schläpfer, whose works tend to be very intellectual and modern, not made for a huge house like the State Opera. I really wonder how he plans to fill it – at Düsseldorf, the only repertory from other choreographers he showed was by Hans van Manen, Balanchine, Robbins etc. No story ballets at all, though he did symphonic full-length evenings. Legris seems to leave because Roščić intends to cut the number of ballet evenings, so maybe Schläpfer intends to work more at the Volksoper, the smaller house where the Vienna State Ballet also dances.

In the press release, Schläpfer said that in the last years he had many offers from Germany and other companies (he reportedly turned down Berlin, for example), but that now he wants to move on to this „huge, artistically necessary in that sense consequent challenge“.

[toursenlair]

I agree about the "astonishing".

and " Roščić intends to cut the number of ballet evenings ". !!!!! Vienna already has relatively few ballet evenings compared to opera. I don't understand! My sense was that ballet had become much more popular in Vienna under Legris, especially the big extravaganza ballets.

🙁

[Lizbie1]

Angela, for the avoidance of doubt, my "like" is to thank you for posting this piece of news and giving the very interesting background to it.

[Angela]

😊😉

[Angela]

In the press text released by Vienna State Opera, Schläpfer says: "The company under my leadership will continue to curate and perform its grand classical repertoire but at the same time fully embrace contemporary expressions of our art."   -  scroll down here

 

 

[Lizbie1]

10 minutes ago, Angela said:

"The company under my leadership will continue to curate and perform its grand classical repertoire but at the same time fully embrace contemporary expressions of our art."

 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but my impression is that the Viennese public is very much more conservative in its artistic tastes than the German. It does seem an odd move for both parties!

[Geoff]

It's all politics. To unpick the history of the recent appointments in Vienna would take pages but, suffice to say, it's not about the work, the dancers or the audience.

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by Geoff

[Vanartus]

I did admire his addition of Ashton’s Symphonic Variations to the rep of Ballett am Rhein....

[Angela]

1 hour ago, Geoff said:

It's all politics. To unpick the history of the recent appointments in Vienna would take pages but, suffice to say, it's not about the work, the dancers or the audience.

 

Geoff, I don't think that Mr. Schläpfer is an artist who lets other people, if politicians or an opera director, reduce him to a plaything of politics.