Zurich Opera House 7 June 2020 - Faust - The Ballet | GoComGo.com

Faust - The Ballet

Zurich Opera House, Zurich, Switzerland
All photos (1)
Select date and time
2 PM
Request for Tickets
Important Info
Type: Ballet
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 14:00
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Overview

The legend of the scholar Faust, the devil Mephisto and the innocent, seduced Gretchen is one of the most influential stories in drama. Based on a book of folk tales dating from the 16th century and shaped by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe into a major work of western literature, the story of Faust has inspired countless artists to adaptations.

In 2018, the Slovenian choreographer Edward Clug staged the Faust drama for the Ballett Zürich together with the composer Milko Lazar. In the interaction between music, choreography and the literary original, their interpretation relies primarily on atmospheric images. Clug’s choreography brings the central scenes of Goethe’s work on stage, but develops a narrative style that undermines the burden of interpretation borne by this dramatic heavyweight with tongue-in-cheek irony, lightness and surprising theatrical solutions. When Faust signs the pact with the devil, for example, the scene is portrayed as a breakneck, acrobatic pas de deux in a glass chamber, and includes the wheelchair in which Faust is sitting. Clug sketches Mephisto not so much as a diabolical adversary, but rather as Faust’s split personality: the two are closely, at times even erotically connected by the choreography.

History
Premiere of this production: 12 February 1848, Milan, Italy

Faust is a ballet in three acts and seven scenes, with choreography and libretto by Jules Perrot and music by Giacomo Panizza, Michael Andrew Costa, and Niccolò Bajetti, first presented by the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala on 12 February 1848 in Milan, with Fanny Elssler (as Marguerite), Jules Perrot (as Mephistophelis), Effisio Catte (as Faust), and Ekaterina Costantini (as Bambo, Queen of the Demons).

Venue Info

Zurich Opera House - Zurich
Location   Sechseläutenplatz 1

Zürich Opera House is a main opera house in Zürich and Switzerland. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zürich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to the Zürich Ballet. The Opera House also holds concerts by its Philharmonia orchestra, matinees, Lieder evenings and events for children. The Zürich Opera Ball is organised every year in March, and is usually attended by prominent names.

The first permanent theatre, the Aktientheater, was built in 1834 and it became the focus of Richard Wagner’s activities during his period of exile from Germany.

The Aktientheater burnt down in 1890. The new Stadttheater Zürich (municipal theatre) was built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer, who changed their previous design for the theatre in Wiesbaden only slightly. It was opened in 1891. It was the city's main performance space for drama, opera, and musical events until 1925, when it was renamed Opernhaus Zürich and a separate theatre for plays was built: The Bernhard Theater opened in 1941, in May 1981 the Esplanada building was demolished, and the present adjoint building opened on 27/28 December 1984 after three years of transition in the Kaufhaus building nearby Schanzengraben.

By the 1970s, the opera house was badly in need of major renovations; when some considered it not worth restoring, a new theatre was proposed for the site. However, between 1982 and 1984, rebuilding took place but not without huge local opposition which was expressed in street riots. The rebuilt theatre was inaugurated with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and the world première of Rudolf Kelterborn’s Chekhov opera Der Kirschgarten.

As restored, the theatre is an ornate building with a neo-classical façade of white and grey stone adorned with busts of Weber, Wagner, and Mozart. Additionally, busts of Schiller, Shakespeare, and Goethe are to be found. The auditorium is built in the neo-rococo style and seats approximately 1200 people. During the refurbishment, the issue of sightlines was not adequately addressed. As a result, the theatre has a high number of seats with a limited view, or no view, of the stage. This is unusual in international comparison, where sightlines in historic opera houses have been typically enhanced over time.

Corporate archives and historical library collections are held at the music department of the Predigerkirche Zürich.

The Zürich Opera House is also home of the International Opera Studio (in German: Internationales Opernstudio IOS) which is a educational program for young singers and pianists. The studio was created in 1961 and has renowned artists currently teaching such as Brigitte Fassbaender, Hedwig Fassbender, Andreas Homocki, Rosemary Joshua, Adrian Kelly, Fabio Luisi, Jetske Mijnssen, Ann Murray, Eytan Pessen or Edith Wiens.

Important Info
Type: Ballet
City: Zurich, Switzerland
Starts at: 14:00
Intervals: 1
Duration: 2h
Top of page