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.
Musical director Leonardo García Alarcón
Ensemble Cappella Mediterranea
Namur Chamber Choir
Dijon Opera Choir
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Stage director, choreography Sasha Waltz
Costumes Bernd Skodzig
Stage sets Heike Schuppelius
Lighting David Finn
Soprano Sophie Junker
Pilate Georg Nigl
Jesus Christian Immler
Counter-tenor Benno Schachtner
Evangeliste Valerio Contaldo
Tenor Mark Milhofer
Ancilla Estelle Lefort*
Servus Augustin Laudet*
Pierre Rafaël Galaz Ramirez*
* lyric artists of the Namur Chamber Choir
New production of the Dijon Opera
Coproduction Sasha Waltz & Guests, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Stage sets produced by the Dijon Opera workshops
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
Jean-Sébastien Bach
The St. John Passion
scenic version
