The St. John Passion
An absolute monument of western music, The St. John Passion is a pinnacle of dramatic emotion. For the 300th anniversary of the work’s premiere, the choreographer Sasha Waltz, adept at choreographic adaptation of opera, proposes a staged performance under the musical direction of Leonardo García Alarcón.
When Johann Sebastian Bach premiered his Passion in Leipzig in 1724, the score sparked a firestorm over the composer’s many revolutionary innovations, An Evangelist narrates the story of the Christ, singers incarnate the great moments of his Passion and a choir performs the crowd and chorals. Known for his radical choices and gestural power, Sasha Waltz seizes upon this unique music where the most inspired fervour merges with exceptional theatricality, to recount the ultimate suffering of the Son of Man.
Important : This show is being filmed by Arte and will be broadcast at a later date.
We would be grateful if you could remain silent as far as possible.
Due to the filming, the entry on Saturday 30 March will be only until 7.50pm.
Thank you for your understanding.
Musical director Leonardo García Alarcón
Stage director, choreography Sasha Waltz
Costumes Bernd Skodzig
Stage sets Heike Schuppelius
Lighting David Finn
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Ensemble Cappella Mediterranea
Namur Chamber Choir
Dijon Opera Choir
Vocal soloists Valerio Contaldo (Évangéliste), Georg Nigl (Pilate), Christian Immler (Jésus), Benno Schachtner (contre-ténor), Sophie Junker (soprano), Mark Milhofer (ténor), Estelle Lefort* (Ancilla), Augustin Laudet* (Servus), Rafael Galaz Ramirez* (Pierre)
Soloist dancers Rosa Dicuonzo, Yuya Fujinami, Tian Gao, Eva Georgitsopoulou, Hwanhee Hwang, Annapaola Leso, Jaan Männima, Margaux Marielle-Tréhoüart, Virgis Puodziunas, Orlando Rodriguez, Joel Suárez Gómez**
Electroacoustic sound intervention Diego Noguera Berger
* lyric artists of the Namur Chamber Choir
** dancers from Sasha Waltz & Guests company
New production of the Dijon Opera
Coproduction Sasha Waltz & Guests, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Stage sets produced by the Dijon Opera workshops and the Sasha Waltz & Guests company
Costumes produced by the Dijon Opera workshops and Manja Beneke
The Dijon Opera thanks the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar for the right to reproduce the following work :
Issenheim Altarpiece - Annunciation, Concert of Angels, Nativity, Resurrection, Matthias Grünewald, 88.RP. 139
Illustration © Lorenzo Mattotti
