World premieres: storytelling ballets at Berlin State Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet
- Ikuko
- Feb 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 17
Three storytelling full-length ballets will soon world-premiere with Staatsballett Berlin (Berlin State Ballet), Ooppera Balleti (Finnish National Ballet) and Het Nationale Ballet (Dutch National Ballet). Two of them are Shakespeare.
Berlin State Ballet: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 12th February - 28th May 2025
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is William Shakespeare’s (romantic) comedy. I tend to associate A Midsummer Night’s Dream as ballet to George Balanchine’s ballet of the same name and Frederick Ashton’s Dream.
However, Edward Clug is re-inventing it for the Berlin State Ballet. The score is commissioned and it is composed by Milko Lazar.
It seems Clug’s work keeps Shakespeare’s comedic plot but the trailer looks very contemporary!
For tickets and more information, click here.
Finnish National Ballet: Édith Piaf – La vie en rose, 28th February – 27th May 2025
The Finnish National Ballet is working on a biopic of the French singing legend Édith Piaf. The choreographer is Reija Wäre.
The company’s website says, “Though the choreography embraces the beauty and precision of classical ballet, it also incorporates the flow of contemporary dance to reflect Piaf’s unique gestures and movements.”
“The score, composed by Jukka Nykänen, draws inspiration from Édith Piaf’s repertoire, incorporating familiar melodies and small motifs that echo Piaf’s famous songs.”
Sounds interesting!
In my very personal opinion, which may be wrong, biopic ballets can be hit (Broken Wings by the English National Ballet) and miss (Cellist by The Royal Ballet). I hope Édith Piaf will be a hit! (I watched Nureyev by the Bolishoi Ballet only partially and I unexpectedly liked it)
The Finnish National Ballet created a compilation of Piaf’s songs on Spotify. Timeless classics.
For tickets and more information, click here. The ballet can also be watched online.
Dutch National Ballet: Lady Macbeth, 5th - 22nd April 2025
The title looks dark.
Helen Pickett is creating a ballet of Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth through the eyes of Lady Macbeth. This ballet creation marks the renowned American choreographer’s European debut.
The creation is credited to Pickett and and James Bonas.
The Dutch National Ballet website says, “In this new, full-length production, Pickett and Bonas reveal the unseen, hidden scenes from Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth, seen through the eyes of Lady Macbeth, one of the most captivating ‘creations’ of the sixteenth-century playwright.”
I believe Macbeth does not witness his wife’s death but he is only informed of it?
In the Story behind the story on the company’s website, Bonas says, “As Lady Macbeth’s suicide is only talked about in the play and you never actually see it, for us it was interesting to flip the stage around. We bring what happens offstage in the play onstage in our ballet.”
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.
The hands…
The score for Lady Macbe is composed by Peter Salem, who also composed the score for Annabelle Lopez Ochoa‘s Broken Wings. Lopez Ochoa expanded Broken Wings for the Dutch National Ballet and changed the title to Frida, which I have not gotten a chance to watch.
For tickets and more information, click here.