Mozart / Concert Arias. Un moto di gioia.

A lustful dancer seeks the favours of a soprano but in vain. This coquettish and playful opening dance sets the tone for a light-footed series of danced declarations of love. The music of Mozart’s concert arias let us hear a sigh, a sensual squeal. The dancers compete for each other’s attention on a parquet floor, which, with its view of an enclosed garden, conjures up a world of salons and orangeries, boudoirs and bedrooms. Even so the more painful aspects of love are now and then apparent. Despairing dancers humiliate themselves at the feet of the beloved, broken bodies stumble across the stage. Abandoned lovers give way to helpless despair. Conventional dance patterns are crisscrossed by disruptive movements and in this way tell the story of the by turns yearning and languishing game of love.

Choreography
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker

Director
Jean-Luc Ducourt

Concept
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Jean-Luc Ducourt

Dancers and creative Artists
Nordine Benchorf, Mark Bruce, Bruce Campbell, Vincent Dunoyer, Thomas Hauert, Muriel Hérault, Marion Levy, Cynthia Loemij, Nathalie Million, Anne Mousselet, Johanne Saunier, Eduardo Torroja, Samantha Van Wissen

Retakes
Marion Ballester, Philipp Egli, Joanne Fong, Kosi Hidama, Suman Hsu, Oliver Koch, Mark Lorimer, and Sarah Ludi

Music
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Un moto di gioia mi sento K 579, Cassation in B dur K 99/63 - menuet 2, Vado ma dove? Oh, Dei K 583, Cassation in B dur K 99/63 - allegro 1, Serenade in c moll K 388 – andante, Cassation in B dur K 99/63 - menuet 1, Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia K 582, Serenade in c moll K 388 – menuet, Cassation in B dur K 99/63 - allegro 2, Per pietà, bell'idol mio K 78/73, Cassation in B dur K 99/63 - andante 2, Alma grande e nobil core K 578, Rondo für Klavier in a moll K 511, Bella mia fiamma, addio - resta, oh cara K 528, Gigue für Klavier in G dur K 574, Vorei spiegarvi, oh Dio! K 418, Ch'io mi scordi di te? - non temer, amato bene K 505, Serenade in c moll K 388, allegro final, Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gönner! K 383)

Music performed live by
Orchestre des Champs Elysées conducted by Philippe Herreweghe (creation); De Munt/La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra conducted by Philippe Herreweghe (retakes); Anima Eterna conducted by Jos Van Immerseel (retakes)

Soloists
Charlotte Margiono, Isolde Siebert, Janet Williams (creation); Henriette Bonde-Hansen, Patricia Biccire, Ursula Hesse, Lena Lootens, Sandrine Piau, Elzbieta Smytka (retakes)

Decor
Herman Sorgeloos

Lighting
Jean-Luc Ducourt

Costume
Rudy Sabounghi

Musical Advisor
Georges-Elie Octors

Production
Rosas, De Munt/La Monnaie

Coproduction
Sevilla Expo '92, Festival of Flanders, Octobre en Normandie

Premiere
30.071992, Cour d’Honneur du Palais des Papes, Festival d'Avignon