Programme Guide

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.