Daniel Kramer's Pictures from an Exhibition
Sadler's Wells and the Young Vic present Modest Mussorgsky's classic piano suite Pictures from an Exhibition, brought to life in a brand new dance theatre collaboration between theatre and opera director Daniel Kramer (creator of the South Bank Show Award-winning Punch and Judy) and choreographer Frauke Requardt (former Associate Artist at The Place and regular "Chums and Fans" collaborator).
- "The music itself is so utterly irresistible and the production is fulfilled and finished to a very high degree indeed. One thing's for sure: you'll see nothing else like it all year" *****
- Michael Coveney, WHAT'S ON STAGE
- "Requardt creates superb effects with her eight dancer-actors. The frustrations of Mussorgsky's private life, and the fervour of his political and musical beliefs, are evoked with compelling pathos"
- Judith Mackrell, THE GUARDIAN
Generally acknowledged to be his greatest solo piano composition, Mussorgsky composed Pictures from an Exhibition in commemoration of his friend, the artist and architect Viktor Hartmann in 1874. Consisting of ten piano pieces each inspired by a different painting or design, the work lay neglected until Ravel’s brilliant orchestration secured it a popular place in the classical repertoire.
But Mussorgsky was a visceral and instinctive composer, and it is possible to recapture that sense of brutal bereavement as reflected in objects, in vistas and in legends. Love and loss, possessiveness and hero worship, death and commemoration – great themes are encrypted in in these musical sketches, or arise from a contemplation of Mussorgsky's life and his continually elusive pursuit of ideal love.
- "There's a great deal of intellectual stimulation and visual fun to be had from this hybrid treat"
- METRO
- "A dazzling mixture of movement, music and poetry"
- THE OBSERVER
Please note this performances is not suitable for children under 15.
youngvic.org
