Dancing Shakespeare
One of Shakespeare’s more popular plays, «A Midsummer Night’s Dream,» is being brought to the stage of the Athens Concert Hall by the Zurich Opera House Ballet. The production will open on Saturday and performances will end on Tuesday. The choreography is by acclaimed Swiss choreographer and the theater’s artistic director Spoerli, while the music bears the signatures of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. The highly ambitious production is a joint Swiss and Greek collaboration, with the participation of the Camerata Orchestra (under the baton of James Tuggle), director Victor Ardittis and Greek actors. The Zurich Opera House Ballet, Switzerland’s largest dance ensemble, now ranks as one of the world’s greatest ballets. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century, it has been managed, among others, by former New York Ballet ballerina Patricia Neary. But its rise to become one of the most renowned ballets worldwide started when Spoerli became artistic director in 1996. Spoerli’s choreography brings out the basic structure of the play, which bears influences from ancient Greek mythology and English folk myths. The choreography creates a dreamy landscape where movement alternates with words and images to render the humor, the irony, the misunderstandings and the squabbles that are part of Shakespeare’s masterpiece. Victor Ardittis has directed the theatrical part of the performance, which features Greek actors Akyllas Karazissis, Stavros Mermingis, Dimitris Piatas, Giorgos Symeonidis, Costas Koronaios and Haris Fleouras. The texts have been translated into Greek by Eleni Varopoulou. The Tympana percussion ensemble also participates. The post-modern sets were designed by Hans Schavernoch and the costumes are by Keso Dekker. The shows, staged in the Alexandra Trianti Hall, are sponsored by Hellenic Petroleum. Athens Concert Hall, 1 Kokkali & Vassilissis Sofias, tel 210.728.2333.
