Displaying items by tag: Lyric Opera House

Frolicking season is upon us once again and Joffrey Ballet welcomes summer with the return of Alexander Ekman’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This production was last seen in Chicago in 2018. Told through a mix of ballet and modern dance, this striking and original show nods at both the Swedish holiday and the Shakespeare play.

Joffrey’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” asks what makes a dream and whether they ever truly end. In two vivid acts, the ballet explores one man’s dreams on the eve of the summer equinox. Much like “The Nutcracker”, the protagonist is whisked away to a fantastical dance party in his sleep.

The ballet opens with a rather literal roll in the hay that elicits the feeling of young love. Much of the first act takes place in this pastoral setting as the young lovers prepare for the Midsummer holiday. The visual spectacle created by flying hay paired with the original score by Mikael Karlsson is immediately mesmerizing. Though haunting live vocals provided by Swedish pop superstar Anna von Hausswolff really help the music soar to the Christmas light-adorned rafters. The first act’s peaceful feeling billows right off the stage as the protagonist, and the audience are jarred back to reality, left craving just a few more minutes of beauty sleep.

Act II is decidedly more mature. If the first act is about first love, the second act is about erotic love. The triumphant music of Act One is replaced with a stucco, semi-industrial sound. Elements of danger and dread are introduced through nightmarish imagery and shadowing. The dance is harsher, dispensing with the feathery ballet movements and going for a more tribal aesthetic.

Perhaps nothing is as transfixing however as the all-nude ballet complete with simulated sex and giant fish. Dreams don’t have to make sense. In the psychosexual nightmare, time is elastic, and after its eventual climax, we’re looped back to the ballet’s first image, showing the perpetuity of our dream cycles.

As an internationally acclaimed dance institution, expectations are always high for Joffrey Ballet, and in turn they do not disappoint. “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is stylish and sexy. Joffrey has a way of pushing the envelope, and their work feels daring. Though this is a revival, “Midsummer” feels as fresh as the first love depicted in the first act. The forthrightly erotic imagery and choreography and at times intense scoring are as alluring as they are unsettling. Throw in Anna von Hausswolff’s siren call and you’ll be sucked right into this magical work.

Through May 5 at Joffrey Ballet at Lyric Opera House. 20 N Wacker. (312) 332-2244.

Ashley Wheater MBE, The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director of The Joffrey Ballet, today announces the Joffrey's 2024–2025 Season at Lyric Opera House, featuring an adaptation from Ian McEwan's 2001 novel-turned-Academy Award®-winning film; the magical return of a holiday classic; two world premieres in an illuminating winter series; and a plunge down the rabbit hole into a whimsical Wonderland adventure.

The Joffrey Ballet begins its 69th season with Cathy Marston's U.S. premiere of Atonement, October 17–27, 2024, a full-length narrative ballet of a tragic love story set against the historical backdrop of 1935 England. Soon after, the Joffrey once again brings holiday magic with the return of Christopher Wheeldon's The Nutcracker, December 6–28, 2024, followed by Golden Hour, February 20–March 2, 2025, with original work by Dani Rowe and Yuri Possokhov, accompanied by pieces from frequent Joffrey collaborators Nicolas Blanc and Cathy Marston. Closing out the season is a not-to-be-missed highlight of the year—plunge down the rabbit hole into the fantastical world of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where two-time Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon brings Lewis Carroll's fantastical world to life with instantly recognizable characters such as the high-strung Queen of Hearts, the entrancing Caterpillar, and the tap-dancing Mad Hatter, June 5–15, 2025.

"It is always an honor to set premieres on the Joffrey, whether new to Chicago, the U.S., or the world. Our 69th season is a special invitation for audiences to immerse themselves in an abundance of fresh, captivating narratives," says The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE. "We begin with the haunting echoes of redemption in Cathy Marston's poignant adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel Atonement, a co-production with Ballett Zürich making its North American premiere. In our winter series, Golden Hour, we'll infuse the Lyric with a touch of warmth through radiant interpretations, including Dani Rowe's Princess and the Pea. Lastly, we close the season on a celebratory note, as we are the first American company to stage Christopher Wheeldon's unique realm of beauty, curiosity, and delight with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This year, Chicago will witness all that dance can offer."

"The coming season provides the opportunity for continued growth, both artistically and on a business front," says President and CEO Greg Cameron. "Ashley's vision is grounded in Robert Joffrey's founding principle to embrace the new, and in a city fostering creative growth and exploration, Chicago is the perfect home for a year as expansive and dynamic as this one. Our 2024-2025 season invites audiences of all ages to experience the many worlds of dance."

All season performances take place at the Lyric Opera House in downtown Chicago at 20 North Upper Wacker Drive. All programs throughout the season feature live music performed by the Lyric Opera Orchestra, conducted by Scott Speck, Music Director of The Joffrey Ballet.  

About the 2024-2025 Season

Atonement | October 17–27, 2024

Choreographer: Cathy Marston | Music: Laura Rossi

Renowned choreographer Marston brings her re-imagining of Ian McEwan's 2001 novel-turned Academy Award®-winning film to the stage in a large-scale narrative ballet. The poignant story follows Briony Tallis, revealed in the book as its author and now portrayed in the ballet as a celebrated choreographer, as she grapples with the haunting echoes of her past through a breathtaking dance of redemption.

Marston's adaptation unfolds the tragic love story of Briony's older sister, Cecilia, against the historical backdrop of the First World War in 1935 England to explore the intricate layers of societal norms and the enduring impact of a single lie. Enveloped in Rossi's evocative musical score, with dynamic choreography portraying the complexities of self-deception, the transformation of memory, and the weight of guilt, Atonement shares an emotionally charged experience with a startling twist finale that will linger in the soul. Learn more about Cathy Marston here.

U.S. Premiere

With gratitude to Atonement Producing Sponsor Anne L. Kaplan and Presenting Sponsors Lorna Ferguson and Terry Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Joel V. Williamson, and the Rudolf Nureyev Fund at The Joffrey Ballet.

The Nutcracker | December 6–28, 2024

Choreography: ©Christopher Wheeldon | Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

On a magical Christmas Eve, mere months before the opening of Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, Marie and her mother, a sculptress creating the fair's iconic Statue of the Republic, partake in a festive celebration with a surprise visit from the mysterious Great Impresario. That evening, after awakening to an epic battle between Toy Soldiers and The Rat King, Marie is swept away by a Nutcracker Prince on a whirlwind journey to the dreamlike fairgrounds of the World's Columbian Exposition with sprawling attractions represented by countries from around the globe.

Set to Tchaikovsky's classic score, The Nutcracker features a celebrated creative team, including two-time Tony Award®-winning choreographer ©Christopher Wheeldon, Tony Award®-nominated set and costume designer Julian Crouch, Caldecott Medal Award-winning author Brian Selznick, Obie and Drama Desk award-winning puppeteer Basil Twist, Tony Award®-winning lighting designer Natasha Katz and Tony Award®-winning projection designer Ben Pearcy. Learn more about Christopher Wheeldon here.

With gratitude to The Nutcracker Presenting Sponsor Guarantee Trust Life Insurance Company.

Golden Hour | February 20–March 2, 2025

Bask in the glow of Golden Hour, a radiant mixed repertoire program of warmth and splendor. Featuring world premieres by Dani Rowe and Yuri Possokhov, the return of Cathy Marston, and an audience favorite by Nicolas Blanc.

The full program is as follows:

Princess and the Pea

Choreography: Dani Rowe | Music: Jim Stephenson

Heralded as a "choreographic storyteller," Rowe's artistic style has been described as "rich, flowing, and contemporary." The Australian choreographer will present an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's timeless fairy tale, Princess and the Pea, in a dynamic and modern re-envisioning.  When her parents are unjustly "canned and banned" in the authoritarian world of Pea Town, young Penelopea embarks on a daring quest for justice. As she battles the oppressive Master Pea to regain her parents' freedom, Penelopea discovers the power of individuality and growth, leading to a revolution that transforms Pea Town into something no one could have ever expected. Learn more about Dani Rowe here.

World Premiere

With gratitude to The Princess and the Pea Commissioning Sponsor Mary Jo and Doug Basler.

Heimat

Choreography: Cathy Marston | Music: Richard Wagner

A dance interpretation of the glorious symphonic poem Seigfried Idyll, composed by Wagner in Switzerland after the birth of his son, Heimat paints a halcyon picture of a family in the Swiss countryside. Marston defines the German word "heimat" as the feeling of home, which is not necessarily where one lives or was born. Rather, it's a term that suggests a place of spiritual and creative familiarity. Marston feels that "heimat" is a tender description of her personal feelings about Chicago and The Joffrey Ballet. Learn more about Cathy Marston here.

Under the Trees' Voices

Choreography: Nicolas Blanc | Music: Ezio Bosso

Under the Trees' Voices examines the persistence of community and connection in the age of distance and isolation. Set to Bosso's Symphony No. 2, Blanc's choreography arose from his observations of the nuances of people's temperaments during the spring of 2020 as the weather became warmer and the chill of pandemic restrictions thawed. In four distinct sections, Under the Trees' Voices imagines a future of hope and unity, reminding us that we are better together than alone. Learn more about Nicolas Blanc here.

With gratitude to Under the Trees' Voices Sponsor Mary Jo and Doug Basler.

World Premiere (title TBA)

Choreography: Yuri Possokhov | Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

Frequent choreographer at the Joffrey whose most recent productions include the critically acclaimed adaptation of Anna Karenina, in addition to The Miraculous Mandarin and Don Quixote, returns for the 2024-2025 season with an intimate world premiere created for three dancers. Known for his expansive choreography and powerful partnering skills, Possokhov's work has been described as among "the canon of 21st-century classics." Learn more about Yuri Possokhov here.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | June 5–15, 2025

Choreography: ©Christopher Wheeldon | Music: Joby Talbot

Plunge down the rabbit hole into the fantastical world of Wonderland as two-time Tony Award®-winner Christopher Wheeldon brings Lewis Carroll's whimsical adventure to the stage with a modern twist. Immersed within Joby Talbot's hallucinatory sound world of sweeping melodies and ticking clocks, with Tony Award®-winning designer Bob Crowley's vibrant stagecraft and puppetry, Wheeldon makes Wonderland wonderfully real in this audience-favorite dance adventure. Things get curiouser and curiouser as Alice traverses a mysterious realm of instantly recognizable characters: the high-strung Queen of Hearts, the entrancing Caterpillar, and the tap-dancing Mad Hatter at his bizarre tea party. Lose your head in a seamless fusion of humor, eccentricity, and fantasy as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland takes you on a magical trip through the extraordinary. Learn more about Christopher Wheeldon here.

Experience this Chicago premiere with the Joffrey, the first American ballet company to bring Wheeldon's Wonderland to life.

With gratitude to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Major Sponsors Mary Jo and Doug Basler and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald V. Waters III, and Costume Sponsor Jane Ellen Murray Foundation.

Other Engagements

The Joffrey Academy of Dance: Winning Works | March 14–23, 2025

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, presents five world premieres in the culmination of Joffrey's national call for ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American) artists. Winning Works will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago's Edlis Neeson Theater.

With gratitude to Winning Works Sponsors William Blair with Board Member Rita Spitz and Wilson Garling Foundation.

The Joffrey Ballet and Chicago Symphony Orchestra | April 10–13, 2025

New works and noteworthy collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra include world premieres of two newly commissioned ballets. Former Winning Works choreographer Amy Hall Garner sets her new ballet to Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's Sinfonietta No. 1, and Joffrey choreographer Nicolas Blanc sets his new ballet to 20th-century French composer Darius Milhaud's Le Bœuf sur le toit.

Joffrey on Tour

Ravinia | September 13–14, 2024

Highland Park, IL

Baden-Baden Festival Tour | September 23–27, 2024

Baden-Baden, Germany

Tickets and Subscriptions for the Joffrey's 2024–2025 Season Performances 

Three-program subscriptions for the fall, winter, and spring season productions, which do not include The Nutcracker, start at $129. Subscriptions are available for purchase online at joffrey.org, by mail (Joffrey Ballet Subscriptions, The Joffrey Ballet, Joffrey Tower, 10 East Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601), by telephone at 312.386.8905, by fax at 312.739.0119 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Single tickets for the October, February, and June performances, as well as The Nutcracker, will be available starting this summer, by telephone at 312.386.8905 or online at joffrey.org. Please visit our website for updates. 

All performances are subject to change. 

About The Joffrey Ballet 

The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies in the world today, with a reputation for boundary-breaking performances for 68 years. The Joffrey repertoire is an extensive collection of all-time classics, modern masterpieces, and original works.  

Founded in 1956 by pioneers Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, the Joffrey remains dedicated to artistic expression, innovation, and first-rate education and engagement programming. The Joffrey Ballet continues to thrive under The Mary B. Galvin Artistic Director Ashley Wheater MBE and President and CEO Greg Cameron. 

The Joffrey Ballet is grateful for the support of its 2024–2025 Season Sponsors: The Abbott Fund, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation, The Florian Fund, and Anne L. Kaplan.

Live Music Sponsors Sandy and Roger Deromedi, Sage Foundation, Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation, and The Marina and Arnold Tatar Fund for Live Music. The Joffrey also acknowledges our Season Partners: ATHLETICO and Chicago Athletic Clubs.

For more information on The Joffrey Ballet and its programs, visit joffrey.org. Connect with the Joffrey on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

What would the holidays be without “The Nutcracker”? No matter where you are in the world, chances are you don’t have to go far to catch a production of the yearly tradition. Joffrey Ballet pays homage to Chicago with their unique version staged by Christopher Wheeldon. This striking version remains just as thrilling year after year and works especially well on the stage at the Lyric Opera house accompanied by the Lyric Opera orchestra.

Instead of the opulence typically associated with the Tchaikovsky ballet, Wheeldon’s version moves the story to bustling 1892 Chicago, just before the 1893 World’s Fair. Visions of the impending World’s Fair dance in the children’s heads as their parents celebrate an evening off work. Coincidentally 1892 is also when the ballet first premiered in St. Petersburg.

Wheeldon’s version makes “The Nutcracker” an American fairy tale in the same vein as “The Wizard of Oz.” It’s an interesting choice to contextualize this normally European-depicted story in an emerging international city. Joffrey’s version is somewhat darker than standard productions but that’s what gives it an edge.

“The Nutcracker” can be a little dull for adults because after all, it is a ballet about dancing food. Upon a closer glance though there’s more than meets the surface. While the spectacle is certainly worth the ticket price alone, what this version does is create a more discernable purpose for Marie’s nocturnal space travel.

Marie, danced beautifully by Anabelle de la Nuez, is a young girl on her last Christmas Eve as a child. After watching her parents and other adults dance and share grown-up romance, she dreams her beloved nutcracker comes to life and whisks her away for an enchanting evening of dance and merriment. “The Nutcracker” can be an interpreted as a tale of young girl’s awakening.

However, you interpret this timeless ballet, Joffrey’s production is one of those staple Chicago holiday shows that seem to occupy our major theaters each December. It’s refreshing to see that our hometown production is unlike anything audiences will see throughout the world.

'The Nutcracker' The Joffrey Ballet Ensemble

As a ballet, the focal point of the performance is the dance and Joffrey’s talented company of dancers from all over the world do an incredible job bringing this story to life. The choreography is transfixing for both children and adults. In fact, adults might even find some of choreography a bit saucy.

Joffrey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” is a treat for audiences of all ages, and that starts in the pit. By drawing upon Chicago’s rich cultural heritage, this version can find places for instruments not typically heard on recordings of the Tchaikovsky masterpiece. Perhaps Chicago is the only production of “The Nutcracker” in which you’ll hear an accordion.

Americanizing things isn’t always a bad thing and Christopher Wheeldon’s “The Nutcracker” is proof of that. The adaptation is so seamless you’ll wonder why it hasn’t always been presented like this. Because it’s never been staged like this anywhere else, it makes Joffrey Ballet’s production all that much more exciting to look forward to each year.

Through December 27 at Lyric Opera House. 20 North Wacker Drive. 312-386-8905.

West Side Story is just as exciting, vibrant, and moving today as it was when it was first created in 1957. Filled with timeless songs and choreographed dance numbers that are as original as they are visually stunning, West Side Story continues to delight audiences old and new, and Lyric Opera House’s latest offering of this musical masterpiece checks all the boxes. Conceived by Jerome Robbins with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, music by Leonard Bernstein and book by Arthur Laurents, West Side Story is considered to be one of the best musicals ever created. One cannot help but be pulled in by the production’s engaging story, astounding vocal performances and original dance scenes that incorporate a fusion of ballet and modern dance.

Inspired by William Shakespeare’s tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story turns the feuding Monague and Capulet families and love-stricken teens, Romeo and Juliet, into a New York setting that has the white kid Jets fighting to keep the Puerto Rican Sharks out of their neighborhood. Romeo is replaced by Tony, the former leader of the Jets and Juliet becomes Maria, the sister of Sharks leader Bernardo. When Tony and Maria fall hopelessly in love at a neighborhood dance social, the two are immediately thrust beyond the racial barrier that has caused hate between the rivaling gangs and breaking free from their past will be nothing less than challenging.

The cast of West Side Story. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

In Lyric Opera House’s production of West Side Story we are met with stunning sets designed by Peter J. Davison that take us to a New York City neighborhood that gives us the feel of the musical’s late 1950’s era while implementing many touches of today’s world, as evidenced by the Bad Bunny poster hung on the wall of Maria’s room. Costume Designer Jessica Jahn also sprinkled in a mix of yesterday and today combining the white t-shirts, cuffed jeans, Converse All-Stars and flashy dresses that represented the late 1950’s with today’s skinny jeans, striped basketball pants and hairstyles that include shaved line designs and manbuns. I found the blended sets and costumes a bit confusing at first, but it does work. Perhaps the modern-esque makeover is done to remind theatergoers that racism didn’t just take place way back when but is also present in today’s world and that there is still plenty of work to do.

Brett Thiele as Riff and Yurel Echezarreta as Bernardo in West Side Story at Lyric Opera House. Photo by Todd Rosenberg.

This production has a special cast. Audience members are treated to sensational vocal performances by Ryan McCartan as Tony, Kanisha Feliciano as Maria. Both McCartan and Feliciana have show-stopping moments during their vocal performances and their chemistry feels natural. Lyric hits the jackpot with both and McCartan and Feliciano’s performances. While McCartan’s beautiful rendering of “Maria” is vocally superb and heartfelt, Feliciano’s captivating performance of “Somewhere” also delivers in grand fashion. Both have tremendous range and seem to effortlessly take their voices wherever they need to go.

Maria!
I've just met a girl named Maria,
And suddenly that name
Will never be the same to me
Maria!
I've just kissed a girl named Maria,
And suddenly I found
How wonderful a sound can be
Maria!
Say it loud and there's music playing,
Say it soft and it's almost like praying

Amanda Castro thoroughly embodies the strength of Anita, Bernardo’s girlfriend, and wows us with both her voice and her skilled dancing ability, particularly when leading the Shark Girls in a colorful rendition of “America”. Brett Reile as Jets leader Riff and Yurel Echezarreta as Bernardo also play key roles in making this production as great as it is. Reile’s Riff is edgy and street tough perfectly personifying the “When you’re a Jet you’re a Jet all the way” modus operandi, while Echezarreta gives us a Bernardo who can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Of course, the ensemble is pivotal to the show’s success and this ensemble is just incredible and awes the crowd in one huge dance number after another.

Conducted by James Lowe and directed by Francesca Zambello, Lyric gives us a fresh take on the classic smash hit that audiences have been enjoying for the 60-plus years. West Side Story is a production for everyone. Its message of coming together still resonates today, and its fulgurous dance numbers and song performances will never become dated.

This brilliant production of West Side Story is being performed at the Lyric Opera House (20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago) through June 25^th. The running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes, which includes one intermission. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.

Highly recommended.

The Little Mermaid at Lyric Opera House is an incredibly beautiful and massive production that holds the audience spellbound from the moment it begins until the final magnificent scene of love transcendent. 

This ballet created by John Neumeier for the Royal Danish Ballet in 2005 was way ahead of its time in that it tackles a lot of somber adult themes including surviving assault, struggles with mental health and physical disability when the little Mermaid is confined to a wheelchair and sees all the healthy young people around her dancing through their lives, falling in love and marrying while she is pushed and carried through human life by the adoring Poet who feels everything she feels. This ballet is so wonderfully choreographed and danced, the music and lighting and set design so sumptuous, that the audience is allowed to fill in their own blanks of this timeless tale of unrequited love through the wordless yet completely emotive dancers of the Joffrey Ballet Company, the highest caliber of dancers in the world today.  

The brilliant Neumeier also created fantastic sets that include giant arcs of white light that represent the moving seas, a starry night that descends into their bedroom and carries the lovers into heavenly bliss. Also impactful is a white box shaped room with a ceiling that frighteningly closes in on the Little Mermaid, as she the incredibly expressive Victoria Jaiani literally "climbs the walls" while struggling to maintain her sanity working out her deep grief and anxiety over human love and life in her final transformation to immortality.

According to the program notes, this production has reinterpreted Hans Christian Andersen's dark yet uplifting fairy tale to include the unrequited love of The Poet, played with wonderful intensity and longing by Stefan Goncalvez, for the Prince (Dylan Gutierrez) a gallant, athletic alpha male. However, the Prince, it appears, is actually more suited for the cheerful blonde debutante Princess (Anais Bueno) that he eventually marries than either the Poet or The Little Mermaid who, in this interpretation, both long to win his heart and marry him, but this amazing interpretation represents archetypes of human personalities not genders. 

Again, it is important to mention this is NOT the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, and there is a scene described as violent in her transformation that has sexual assault undertones as she is stripped naked by the Sea Witch and left on the beach alone. In the 1838 original and the Disney film, the moral message or warning to girls and women was more about The Mermaid giving up her VOICE, when she agrees to be made mute by the Sea Witch who cuts off her tongue as payment for the spell to pursue her beloved Prince. Yet, I loved that Neumeier focuses on the disability that crushes her spirit by sacrificing her beautiful, graceful and strong swimmer's tail because even though she is still able to dance better for the Prince than any human, the Sea Witch has ensured that every step she takes for her Prince will hurt her terribly, "filling her shoes with blood". 

From Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid;

"Every footstep felt as if she were walking on the blades and points of sharp knives, just as the witch had foretold, but she gladly endured it. She moved as lightly as a bubble as she walked beside the Prince. He and all who saw her marveled at the grace of her gliding walk. Graceful slaves now began to dance to the most wonderful music. Then the little mermaid lifted her shapely white arms, rose up on the tips of her toes, and skimmed over the floor. No one had ever danced so well. Each movement set off her beauty to better and better advantage, and her eyes spoke more directly to the heart than any of the singing slaves could do." 

Although her name and the other leads, like The Poet and Prince and Princess are only listed in alphabetical order in the program as a member of the company, this ballet is not a true ensemble piece. 

I want to acknowledge the superb dancer, the superstar who brought to life and danced the lead character of the Mermaid, Victoria Jaiani, throughout this two-and-a-half hour long, highly emotionally and physically demanding role. Jaiani is absolutely stunning and heartbreakingly expressive in this sublime role with every single move of her graceful expressive hands, legs and face. 

"The most eager of them all was the youngest, She was an unusual child, quiet and wistful, and when her sisters decorated their gardens with all kinds of odd things they had found in sunken ships, she would allow nothing in hers except flowers as red as the sun, and a pretty marble statue. This figure of a handsome boy, carved in pure white marble, had sunk down to the bottom of the sea from some ship that was wrecked. Beside the statue she planted a rose-colored weeping willow tree, which thrived so well that its graceful branches shaded the statue and hung down to the blue sand, where their shadows took on a violet tint, and swayed as the branches swayed. It looked as if the roots and the tips of the branches were kissing each other in play."

Stefan Goncalvez as The Poet in 'The Little Mermaid'

The choreography was spectacular and modern, like watching a silent movie wherein the actors express everything they are feeling through their faces and bodies without words. 

The costume design also by Neumeier was lush and rich in every scene, especially in its ingenious depiction of the underwater world in which Jaiani appears to swim, float and twist in the water like a real fish, suspended in the air by three black-clothed dancers who disappear in the wake of her beauty like puppeteers. 

A final note from Hans Christian Andersen on the relationship between The Poet who watches The Little Mermaid and literally carries and comforts her emotionally throughout her ordeal on earth is that everyone can identify with the Poets' quest to find his own true self and love through the Little Mermaid, who represents his Everlasting  Soul, which is not truly in his control nor is the Little Mermaid his "Creation". 

“Who are you, toward whom I rise?" she asked, and her voice sounded like those above her, so spiritual that no music on earth could match it.

"We are the daughters of the air," they answered. "A mermaid has no immortal soul and can never get one unless she wins the love of a human being. Her eternal life must depend upon a power outside herself. The daughters of the air do not have an immortal soul either, but they can earn one by their good deeds. We fly to the south, where the hot poisonous air kills human beings unless we bring cool breezes. We carry the scent of flowers through the air, bringing freshness and healing balm wherever we go. When for three hundred years we have tried to do all the good that we can, we are given an immortal soul and a share in mankind's eternal bliss. You, poor little mermaid, have tried with your whole heart to do this too. Your suffering and your loyalty have raised you up into the realm of airy spirits, and now in the course of three hundred years you may earn by your good deeds a soul that will never die."

The little mermaid lifted her clear bright eyes toward God's sun, and for the first time her eyes were wet with tears.

"We may get there even sooner," one spirit whispered.

I was so moved by this piece I will see it again before the short run ends. I highly recommend this explosive, hypnotic and mind-bending extravaganza of superb dancers for everyone over the age of 16. 

Through April 30^th at Lyric Opera House. For tickets and/or more show information, click here.

Happy ballets are alike; every unhappy ballet is unhappy in its own way. Joffrey Ballet brings their haunting production of ‘Anna Karenina’ to the Lyric Opera House for a brief revival. It’s easy to see why this new ballet was such a hit when it held its world premiere in Chicago back in 2019. It’s a remarkably succinct retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel about an unhappy woman’s choice to leave her marriage shortly before the Russian revolution.

Devised and choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, this version of ‘Anna Karenina’ is for both those who have read the novel and those who haven’t. The plot is pared down to the most essential moments. That said, it’s impressive how much is included and how creatively certain scenes are staged, most notably a brutal horse race that closes the first act.

Possokhov’s choreography is sexually evocative and those familiar with the deeply psychological drama will surely recognize the emotions in the dance, especially between Anna and Vronsky, danced by prima ballerina Victoria Jaiani and Alberto Velazquez. Scenes move at a fast clip and are told through a blend of large props, minimalist projections, and soaring vocals. Those who haven’t read the book may miss some of the nuances, but the visuals make the plot clear.

Victoria Jaiani and Alberto Velazquez in 'Anna Karenina" at Lyric Opera House

With live orchestration by the Lyric Opera Orchestra and vocals performed by Jennifer Kosharsky, the original score by Ilya Demutsky leaps off the stage. The music is cinematic but like the choreography, the torment is conveyed through sharp, staccato sequences. In the novel, Anna refers to Vronsky as a murderer after they begin their love affair. Pussokhov’s staging faithfully captures the fact that Anna and Vronsky will never know a moment’s peace. The great irony of Tolstoy’s sweeping love story is that great passion does not always make for a lasting relationship.

‘Anna Karenina’ can be difficult for some readers as large swaths of the book take the focus off Anna and put it onto semi-autobiographical character Levin and his love interest Kitty. A lot of these sections are about the intricacies of Russian farming. Levin is a bit absent from this production as such, but through the contrasting choreography, Anna and Levin’s parallel search for true love is apparent.

This award-winning production returns to Chicago under considerably different political circumstances between Russia and the US. However, Joffrey Ballet honored the Ukrainian people with a moving tribute before the ballet began, demonstrating an awareness and solidarity the Ukrainian people.

Through February 26 at Joffrey Ballet Chicago. 20 N Upper Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606. www.joffrey.org.