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$35 ticket offer - Hamburg Ballet Offer from Kennedy Center


lmspear

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For today and tomorrow 

The Kennedy Center is offering tickets at the special price of $35.00 for orchestra seating for the performance of the Hamburg Ballet: John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid in the Opera House for Tues., and Wed., March 28th & 29th at 7:30 PM.

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You can click the link below, scroll down to Hamburg Ballet, click “buy tickets” and your discount will appear automatically. If you call or stop by the Box Office for the discount, be sure to mention Offer Number "255778." See you at the Kennedy Center!

 Hamburg Ballet

 Hamburg Ballet: John Neumeier's The Little Mermaid

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - Sunday, April 2, 2017

Returning for the first time in 13 years, the company performs the D.C. premiere of John Neumeier's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fable. This stunning production is a darker meditation on love, loss, and alienation.

About 
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Music by Lera Auerbach
Choreography, staging, set, costumes, and light design by John Neumeier with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra 
conducted by Luciano Di Martino
 
"Scenic sumptuousness… magnificent lighting, set, and costume designs"
--Los Angeles Times
 
"Vividly striking… the Mermaid is a unique role for a ballerina."
--The Financial Times
 
Hans Christian Andersen's beloved tale of love and loss comes to life in this bold retelling. Following its auspicious 2004 Kennedy Center debut with the mesmerizing Nijinsky, Germany's Hamburg Ballet returns with the D.C. premiere of another ambitious work by John Neumeier, the company's American artistic director who is internationally renowned for creating psychologically complex stories that straddle the worlds of drama and dance.
 
Neumeier's modern vision for The Little Mermaid is a dark, probing exploration of a young woman who risks everything--rejection, alienation, even physical pain--to follow her heart. Contrasting her fanciful underwater world with the challenges of life on dry land, the ballet also masterfully interweaves elements of Andersen's own biography, making the writer a figure in the narrative. Inspired in part by traditional Japanese theater, the expressionistic sets and costumes, angular choreography, and evocative score by acclaimed contemporary Russian composer Lera Auerbach put the finishing touches on this daring production. 
 
Recommended for age 10 and up.

Performance Timing: Act One - 80 min.; Intermission - 25 min.; Act Two - 50 min.

Note: Composer Lera Auerbach will sign copies of her book Excess of Being in front of the Opera House following the 7:30 p.m. performances on Tuesday, Mar. 28.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRINCIPAL CASTING    (subject to change)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mar. 28, and 29 at 7:30 p.m. & 
The Poet: Lloyd Riggins
The Little Mermaid/His Creation: Silvia Azzoni
Edvard/The Prince: Carsten Jung
Henriette/The Princess: Carolina Agüero
The Sea Witch: Karen Azatyan

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Yes, it is indeed "dark" and emotionally wrenching. I don't really see TLM as being appropriate for a 10 year old, imo. The themes explored are not themes of childhood, but adulthood.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k27lDDj07Z4&list=RDk27lDDj07Z4&spfreload=10#t=3

"From the Director's Perspective"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI3Huw6jkzs&spfreload=10

 

And a trailer of the Hamburg Ballet's version -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zxtpRpXkmE

 

 

Edited by pherank
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Interesting that this isn't selling. Colorado Ballet is finishing its season this weekend with the version by ". . .Lynne Taylor-Corbett and original music by composer Michael Moricz.  The score includes narration and lyrics with the music to enhance the telling of the story.  Carolina Ballet premiered this version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story in 2012." They originally had four performances scheduled, but they sold out right away and added a fifth Sunday night, which also sold out quickly. They have also added some clever embellishments -- a program for the Junior group with a scientist, followed by a rehearsal at the black box theater, and a brunch for kids and parents Sunday before the matinee. I suppose this is a good example of the programming needed for smaller regional companies, but if it means they end the year in black and attract some new audiences to ballet, that's fine with me. Fortunately, it's paired with Tippet's Bruch Violin Concerto, which I enjoy.

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21 minutes ago, pherank said:

 

What have you heard/read? The review of the Hamburg Ballet in DC is positive (not surprising, I suppose - they are a very good company). I wonder if DC isn't the right place right now, for this particular production.

I just found it interesting that this children's story hadn't sold well in DC, but apparently they have a "grown-up" version that doesn't appeal directly to kids. The Colorado Ballet version this coming weekend actually sold out last October!

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15 minutes ago, California said:

I just found it interesting that this children's story hadn't sold well in DC, but apparently they have a "grown-up" version that doesn't appeal directly to kids. The Colorado Ballet version this coming weekend actually sold out last October!

 

Yes, the Neumeier version is strictly adult in its themes: there's the "meta" story involving the mermaid character as stand-in for the "Poet"/writer figure (perhaps Hans Christian Andersen). The Poet (a man) feels unrequited love for the Prince character, and the Mermaid interacts with the Prince as a substitute for the Poet. (San Francisco is obviously not going to have any issues with a reference to homosexuality, but DC?) The Mermaid goes through a physically torturous transformation to be on the land with the Prince, but she is ultimately rebuffed, and this is emotionally shattering for the Mermaid (and the Poet overseeing this narrative). The final scene depicts the Poet achieving immortality through his Mermaid character - they are bound together for all eternity.

 

I've only seen the SFB version, with Yuan Yuan Tan - and this is considered to be one of her seminal roles. The physical/emotional struggles of the Mermaid can be difficult to watch. I would say the effect is quite similar to watching Tan in Possokhov's RAkU - not for the faint of heart. Most of the audience probably feels like having a good stiff drink afterwards.  ;)
 

Edited by pherank
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The offer has been extended for all remaining performances.

 

You can click the link below, scroll down to Hamburg Ballet, click “buy tickets” and your discount will appear automatically. If you call or stop by the Box Office for the discount, be sure to mention Offer Number "255778." 

 Hamburg Ballet

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15 hours ago, pherank said:

 

Yes, the Neumeier version is strictly adult in its themes: there's the "meta" story involving the mermaid character as stand-in for the "Poet"/writer figure (perhaps Hans Christian Andersen). The Poet (a man) feels unrequited love for the Prince character, and the Mermaid interacts with the Prince as a substitute for the Poet. (San Francisco is obviously not going to have any issues with a reference to homosexuality, but DC?) The Mermaid goes through a physically torturous transformation to be on the land with the Prince, but she is ultimately rebuffed, and this is emotionally shattering for the Mermaid (and the Poet overseeing this narrative). The final scene depicts the Poet achieving immortality through his Mermaid character - they are bound together for all eternity.

 

I've only seen the SFB version, with Yuan Yuan Tan - and this is considered to be one of her seminal roles. The physical/emotional struggles of the Mermaid can be difficult to watch. I would say the effect is quite similar to watching Tan in Possokhov's RAkU - not for the faint of heart. Most of the audience probably feels like having a good stiff drink afterwards.  ;)
 

My childhood was pre-VCR and I learned the story from a collection of Andersen tales.  Before her transformation the witch tells the little mermaid that every step will feel like she is walking on sharp knives.  She wanted the human experience and agreed to suffer for it even though her desire for the prince's love might never be satisfied.  I was in second or third grade and my heart ached for her. "The Princess and the Pea" and "Thumbelina" provided lighter moments and then there was "The Little Match Girl" . . .  

 

By the way, Pherank, the Trocks played to near capacity houses with a very enthusiastic reception in the same theater last week.?

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1 hour ago, lmspear said:

My childhood was pre-VCR and I learned the story from a collection of Andersen tales.  Before her transformation the witch tells the little mermaid that every step will feel like she is walking on sharp knives.  She wanted the human experience and agreed to suffer for it even though her desire for the prince's love might never be satisfied.  I was in second or third grade and my heart ached for her. "The Princess and the Pea" and "Thumbelina" provided lighter moments and then there was "The Little Match Girl" . . .  

 

By the way, Pherank, the Trocks played to near capacity houses with a very enthusiastic reception in the same theater last week.?

 

I'm too far away from DC to guess why Hamburg Ballet wouldn't be selling as well. The production values are high for The Little Mermaid. And the Lera Auerbach music is certainly listenable. It may well be that the DC dance audience is looking for something lighter, and more humorous to pay money for.

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You read my mind. :thumbsup:  I think the audience was ready for humor.  ABT was here with Swan Lake a little while ago and people may be cried out and not willing to spend more on a tragedy.

Edited by lmspear
Clarity
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2 minutes ago, lmspear said:

You read my mind. :thumbsup:  I think the audience was ready for humor.  ABT was here with Swan Lake a little while ago and people may be cried out and not willing to spend more on a tragedy.

 

Unfortunately, these tours have to be planned way in advance, and Neumeier probably thought he was bringing a sure winner - but the "climate" in Washington has changed a lot over the last couple of months.

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The Kennedy Center would have chosen the company and repertoire, and presumably its staff thought it would be a sure winner. I myself considered making a trip and stopping in DC along the way to see The Little Mermaid, but the second half of March in particular is a tourist high season: flights are expensive, school groups are making all sorts of spring-break trips, the cherry blossoms hit their peak a few days ago, and hotels in Washington are exorbitantly expensive under any circumstances. :speechless-smiley-003: No doubt the subscribers are attending, but I, for example, realized that such an excursion would be far too expensive, discounted KC seats notwithstanding.

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On 4/1/2017 at 0:40 AM, cantdance said:

Lighter audience maybe due to the Washington Ballet performing at the same time at the Harmon Center.

 

The Washington Ballet also isn't selling that well. I think that it has more to do with the unfamiliarity with the work. ABT's Swan Lake sold out weeks in advance, but ticket sales for the Mariinsky Ballet's The Little Hump-backed Horse were so-so (despite the very high quality of the Mariinksy's performance) the following week.

 

My initial take on The Little Mermaid is that while it contains some really interesting ideas, it drags along, especially in the first "part" ("part" != "act"?). The percentage of the performance time spent actually dancing is a little too low for my taste. This opinion is based on a single viewing, and unfortunately it looks distressingly unlikely that I will get to see it a second time.

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