Yuri Vámos
Scene photo Le sacre du printemps 1
© Eduard Straub
Scene photo Le sacre du printemps 2
© Eduard Straub
Scene photo Le sacre du printemps 3
© Eduard Straub
Scene photo Le sacre du printemps 4
© Eduard Straub

Le sacre du printemps

Ballet by Youri Vámos
Music by Igor Strawinsky (1882–1971)
Choreographical assistance: Joyce Cuoco
Stage and costumes: Michael Scott
Lightdesign: Klaus Gärditz
Duration: 1 ¾ hours

World premiere 2002 Deutsche Oper am Rhein

Igor Stravinsky's "Le sacre du printemps" teems with unshackling rhythms and harmonies originating fully in the concept of ritual dance and embracing the vision of a great heathen ceremony. Youri Vámos interprets the pagan spring sacrifice as an awakening of Spring, as the maturing of young people in their discovery of love and desire, their first experience of approach and estrangement, and he conceives Stravinsky's score as a power which traces the outbreak of Spring with primeval vigour.


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Press reviews

Vámos' passionate interpretation sharply contrasts youth and age and thus opens up a new way of understanding. [...] The contents of the work translated into motion does not imply a sacral ritual of fertility any longer, but displays adolescent conflicts of gender, enviously watched by the adult world. Due to the agility of the company and the soloists, we are presented with tempo , tension and energy. [...] The horizon - changing the colours of its lights from violet to pale according to moods and atmosphere that are presented – is one major emphasising effect in the heavy affects of the marvellously rhythmical «Spring-sacrifice”.

Süddeutsche Zeitung

In his choreography at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Youri Vámos has left behind the work's traditional contents of the spring-sacrifice. His choreography sensitively interprets the play as an unsure notion of forbidden erotic adventures waiting to be discovered by the group of young dancers. [...] Without any fuss or pantomimic approaches to transfer meaning, Vámos manages to creatively express the play only by the motion of dance.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

The audience was totally fascinated by the marvelous performance of the company.

Ruhr Nachrichten

Fortunately, Vamòs shows great distance from an all too easy display of adolescents' psychology as well as from the archaic issue of the virgin's sacrifice in Stravinsky's work. He rather trusts the powerful and moving music of Stravinsky and creates an almost abstract ballet-evening. The dancers arouse breathless tempo and fascinatingly build up human mass-pictures and towers as well as edgy formations.

Neue Rhein Zeitung