Brodsky / Baryshnikov
Kunstvia presents “BRODSKY/BARYSHNIKOV”, which is a one-man show based on the poems of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky, performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov. Conceived and directed by Alvis Hermanis, noted Latvian director of The New Riga Theatre, BRODSKY/BARYSHNIKOV is an emotional journey deep into the poet’s visceral and complex compositions. Performed in Russian, Brodsky’s mother tongue, with German surtitles.
Baryshnikov recites a selection of his long-time friend’s poignant and eloquent works. His subtle physicality transports the audience into Hermanis’ reverent imagining of Brodsky’s interior world.
Artist
MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV
Born 1948 in Riga, Latvia, Mikhail Baryshnikov is considered one of the greatest dancers of our time. After commencing a spectacular career with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he came to the West in 1974, settling in New York City as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). In 1978 he joined New York City Ballet, where he worked with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. A year later he was appointed artistic director of ABT where, for the next decade, he introduced a new generation of dancers and choreographers. From 1990-2002, Mr. Baryshnikov was director and dancer of the White Oak Dance Project, which he and choreographer Mark Morris co-founded to expand the repertoire and visibility of American modern dance.
As an actor he has performed widely on- and off-Broadway, as well as in television and film, receiving a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award for Metamorphosis, and an Academy Award nomination for The Turning Point. Other theatrical productions include Forbidden Christmas or The Doctor and the Patient, Beckett Shorts, In Paris, Man in a Case, The Old Woman and Letter to a Man. In 2005, he launched Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) in New York City, a creative space designed to support multidisciplinary artists from around the globe.
Among Mr. Baryshnikov’s many awards are the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the Commonwealth Award, the Chubb Fellowship, the Jerome Robbins Award, the Vilcek Award and Japan’s prestigious Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award in Theatre/Film. In 2010, he was given the rank of Officer of the French Legion of Honor, and in October 2018 he received The Arts Arena Award.
ALVIS HERMANIS
Born 1965 in Riga, Latvia, Alvis Hermanis was recently named among the ten most influential European theatre personalities of the last decade by DU Magazine Swiss periodical for arts and culture. Mr. Hermanis currently works with major European theatre companies, including Burgtheater Vienna, Schaubühne Berlin, Münchner Kammerspiele, and Schauspielhaus Zürich; and in opera houses including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper im Schiller Theater in Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, and La Monnaie Brussels. He has staged operas at the Salzburger Festspiele since 2012. His opera stagings include among others Il Trovatore featuring Placido Domingo and Anna Netrebko (2014) and Die Liebe der Danae (2016) at the Salzburger Festspiele, La Damnation de Faust featuring Jonas Kaufman with Opéra National de Paris in 2015, I due Foscari featuring Placido Domingo and Madama Butterfly with Teatro alla Scala in 2016, and Parsifal at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2017. Mr. Hermanis’s theatre productions have been presented at major theatre festivals ranging from Avignon to Edinburgh, and have toured to more than 40 countries. His many accolades include the Europe Prize New Theatre Realities, the Stanislavsky Award, two Golden Mask Awards (Moscow), Max Reinhardt Pen (Salzburger Festspiele), Nestroy Preis (Austria), and the Konrad Wolf Award (Germany). He has been artistic director of The New Riga Theatre since 1997.
The New Riga Theatre
is a state repertory theatre founded in 1992, led by artistic director Alvis Hermanis since 1997. The Company is comprised of 16 actors. The New Riga Theatre has performed at major festivals around the world, including Festival d’Avignon, The Edinburgh International Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Salzburger Festspiele, Holland Festival, BITEF, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, and, to date, has toured to more than 200 towns and cities in 40 countries, both in Europe and overseas. For more information, visit http://www.jrt.lv.
BARYSHNIKOV PRODUCTIONS
Baryshnikov productions is an independent producing company based in New York City, designed to bring the voices of distinctive directors, choreographers and artists to the world’s most respected stages. Under this umbrella, the Company has produced and toured the White Oak Dance Project (1990-2002), Forbidden Christmas or The Doctor and Patient (2004-06), Beckett Shorts (2007), In Paris (2010-12), Man in a Case (2012-14), The Old Woman (2013-15) and Letter to a Man (2015-17). Current touring projects include Brodsky/Baryshnikov and Framing Time.
Reviews
What they said about the project?
Baryschnikow verzaubert Wien
Wenn Gedichte gespieltes Drama werden, liegt Gefahr in der Luft. Auch das Gastspiel des einstigen Ballettstars Michail Baryschnikow mit den Gedichten seines Freundes Joseph Brodsky in Wien war nicht ohne Risiko. Doch die Premiere am Freitag, für die Regisseur Alvis Hermanis ein verfallener Jahrhundertwendepavillon im Bühnendunkel genügte, wurde zur fragilen Sternstunde.
Mag. Gerald Heidegger, Chefredakteur von ORF.at
Tanzlegende Baryshnikov: “New York hat mir eine Heimat gegeben” (Interview)
Als Tänzer war er ein Superstar, als Filmschauspieler wurde er noch populärer. Jetzt interpretiert der 71-jährige Lette Gedichte von Joseph Brodsky in Wien.
Mikhail Baryshnikov ist ein Multitalent. Der heute 71-Jährige war ein begnadeter Ballerino aus bester russischer Schule, als er sich 1974 aus der Sowjetunion absetzte und in den USA politisches Asyl erhielt.
Helmut Ploebst
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tanz – Legende (Interview)
Mikhail Baryshnikov, Der Ausnahmekünstler gastiert drei Tage lang im Wiener MuseumsQuartier.
Der Ausnahmekünstler im Interview über Russland, Wien und Hillary Clinton. Ab heute gastiert Baryshnikov im MuseumsQuartier.
Silvia Kargl
Brodsky / Baryshnikov
Lyrik, gelesen, gesprochen und ganz zart in Bewegung gegossen, die Auseinandersetzung von Mikhail Baryshnikov mit seinem Landsmann und langjährigen Freund Joseph Brodsky ist eine leise, unaufgeregte Sache. Nur ein charismatischer Tänzer wie Baryshnikov kann mit einer derart zurückhaltenden Inszenierung wohl ein Publikum 90 Minuten lang fesseln.
Edith Wolf Perez, Kritiken
Brodsky/Baryshnikov
Baryshnikov, mittlerweile 71, präsentierte also ein 90-minütiges Programm, rezitierte eine Vielzahl an Gedichten auswendig, las andere (aus dramaturgischen Gründen) vor – und traf mit seinen Interpretationen ins Mark. Und seine Bewegungen … allein, wie er den alten Mann markiert, der nicht mehr die Kraft zum Aufstehen von der Sitzbank hat, um ein paar Minuten später herumzuwirbeln …
Renate Publig
Состоялась венская премьера спектакля “Барышников/Бродский” (video)
Большой артист на склоне лет пытается насмотреться своею жизнью на жизнь большого поэта, с которым его связывала многолетняя дружба. На сцене Барышников читает стихи Бродского. На соседней скамье стоит старомодный магнитофон, лента которого доносит голос самого Бродского. «Это просто историческое событие. Оно никогда не повторится. Его нельзя посмотреть в записи. Здесь все ощущение от физического присутствия Барышникова. Он телом присутствует и телом проживает стихи. Это редкое качество. Ты понимаешь, что его телесное присутствие сильнее, чем все остальное», – говорит журналист Алексей Мунипов.
Andrei Zolotov
Baryšnikov elektrizuje telom, Brodskij poéziou
Keď s ňou zavítal do rodnej Rigy, vstupenky sa okamžite rozchytali a stali sa výnosným artiklom na čiernom trhu. V predstavení, s ktorým križuje najlepší baletný a tanečný umelec druhej polovice 20. storočia svetové metropoly, však nehrá prím tanec. Ale – ako naznačuje názov – verše laureáta Nobelove ceny Josifa Brodského.
Jena Opoldusová
Pýtali sa, či tu bude naozaj on. Legenda tanca prichádza na Slovensko
BRATISLAVA. Niektorí sa pýtali, či tu bude naozaj on. Tanečník s najdlhšou tanečnou kariérou na svete, dnes už legenda svetového tanca Michail Baryšnikov sa na Slovensku predstaví po prvý raz.
Jana Alexová
Keď prehovorí ikona
Michail Baryšnikov poskytol bratislavskému divákovi tichý, vnútorný, nádherne intelektuálny zážitok, v ktorom silou svojho generačného nadhľadu a pokory úprimne myslel na svojho priateľa, ktorého vo svojej vlastnej interpretácii ľudsky, dôverne a veľkoryso uprednostnil pred dôležitosťou svojej vlastnej osoby a oslavovanej ikony baletu. Urobil to prirodzene a so všetkou svojou charizmou, energiou ktorej obsiahol sálu približne o deväťsto divákoch a pritom dokázal zasiahnuť každého individuálne. Iste, nájdu sa aj takí, pre ktorých to asi bola nuda. Pre mňa osobne to bol divadelný sviatok. Akési slová z úst anjelov – toho z nebies cez toho pozemského. Tak nejako to vyzerá, keď prehovorí ikona.
Barbara Brathová
