Current language: English

Fearful Symmetries

Date details

Book tickets for this date

Order online

Map

A visual map representation follows. Skip map

Show on map

End of map.

Public transportation

15 more dates

Part of:

Fearful Symmetries

Symphony in C /

Fearful Symmetries

Fearful Symmetries

© Promo

George Balanchine’s ballet Symphony in C is one of his masterpieces, celebrated for its technical precision, artistic virtuosity, and breath-taking complexity. Balanchine was introduced to Georges Bizet’s composition by his long-time collaborator Igor Stravinsky. He choreographed the piece as Le Palais de Cristal (The Crystal Palace) in 1947 within just two weeks for the Paris Opera Ballet, where he served as ballet master. When he revived the work for the New York City Ballet on October 11, 1948, he simplified the sets and costumes and renamed it Symphony in C, after Bizet’s score. The music itself was composed in 1855 when Bizet was just 17 years old and a student at the Paris Conservatoire. However, it was not performed until 1935, long after the composer’s death. In Symphony in C, Balanchine structures the music into four movements, each featuring a different pair of soloists alongside the corps de ballet. Each movement functions almost as an independent ballet, demanding both soloistic brilliance and ensemble unity. The ballet embodies the heritage of classical dance traditions while the dancers’ versatility and energy infuse the performance with a unique vibrancy and dynamism. Christian Spuck’s dance piece Fearful Symmetries explores the composition with the same name by John Adams, channelling its rhythmic intensity, bringing the music’s energy visually to life. John Adams, one of the most significant figures in contemporary classical music, titled his work after the phrase «fearful symmetry» from William Blake’s 1794 poem The Tyger. However, Adams was not inspired by the poem’s content but rather by the evocative phrase, reflecting his composition’s repetitive, melodic and harmonic structures, which he intentionally exaggerates to heighten their impact. Adams is known for his operas, which often draw from recent historical events. Notable works include his first opera Nixon in China (1987), based on President Nixon’s 1972 visit to Mao Tse Tung, and Doctor Atomic (2005), centered on physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the «father of the atomic bomb.» Adams described Fearful Symmetries as closely linked to his first opera. Suitable for ages 6 and above

01h 40m inkl. einer Pause

Artists/Collaborators: George Balanchine (Choreographie), Georges Bizet (Musik), Elsie Lindström (Kostüme), Irene Selka (Licht), Sandra Jennings (Einstudierung), Staatskapelle Berlin, Christian Spuck (Choreographie), John Adams (Musik), Rufus Didwiszus (Bühne), Emma Ryott (Kostüme), Irene Selka (Licht), Staatskapelle Berlin

Runtime: Sat, 13/06/2026 to Thu, 15/04/2027

Alternative events

William Forsythe II

© Peter Kaaden

William Forsythe II

This evening brings together two key works by the choreographer William Forsythe, which conceive of ballet not exclusively as a kinesthetic event but as a product of aggregated semiotic fields. In the enigmatic duet Of Any If And (1995), the stage becomes... moreabout: William Forsythe II

Date:
Friday, 19/March/2027 19:30 (11 more dates)
Venue:
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Address:
Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg
Price:
from €37.60
Order online

Show more events in the category "Tanz"…

The help page for the event calendar answers common questions.. Information about coperations and imprint can be found on our page about partners and terms and conditions.

Zum Seitenanfang