Current | 21.03.2024
“Love, wherever it comes from, makes people better…” …writes Alexandre Dumas the Elder. In his novel published in 1848, J Chameleon Lady And with the tragic love story of the courtesan Marguerite Gautier and the young Armand Duval created the basis for various artistic interpretations – be it opera, film or ballet. In 1978, John Neumeyer in his ed We are camels The creation of one of the most important story ballets of the 20th century, it will now celebrate its premiere with the Vienna State Ballet.
NF: What inspired you to create a ballet from Alexandre Dumas the Elder? J. La dame aux camellias?
JN: For a novel written in the mid-19th century, is The Lady of the Camellias Incredibly modern – especially since we're not experiencing the story chronologically, but from different perspectives. For example, first by Armand, who Manon Lescot-He wants to buy from the narrator the book he once gave Marguerite at auction. He narrates his story as he falls ill and recovers. Another part is told by Armand's father. From Marguerite's diary we find the end of the story. These changes of perspective really appealed to me because I was looking – and still looking – for new possibilities in the design of full-length ballets. Although the subject is from the 19th century, I did not want to choose the classic form of the 19th century story ballet, but rather a different approach. The difficult thing about ballet is that there is no way to elucidate the past or the future through pure movement. Although we share the body, the non-verbal tool that makes possible direct communication with our audience, some subtleties in written text, for example playing with grammatical patterns and the possibility of three-dimensional live images, are difficult to achieve. In choreography. So I looked for layers so that the characters weren't portrayed boldly, but instead had a deeply human dimension. To do this, I used some tricks, in which you put different times on each other and compare them to each other. The production is highly poetic and reminiscent of the art form of film in its rapid scene changes. An important starting point for me was the establishment of Manon as a character suggested in the novel.
NF: You chose only Frederic Chopin's music for the ballet—the second piano concerto in the first act and the Largo of the B minor sonata, the ever-repeating leitmotif “love theme,” is especially important. What do these two songs mean to you in Lady of the Camellias?
JN: The Largo is central to the piece and is repeated many times in the ballet. We listen to fragments in the prologue and conclusion. The biggest turning point occurs when Marguerite confesses her love for Armand. The Largo is heard in its entirety for the first time in the pas de deux “in the country”. As the combination begins, everything around them disappears in the introduction, love is separated from time and space. Largo is important and represents the only happy, short period in his life. The Piano Concerto combines two essential features of Chopin: first, the composition for the salons typical of the 19th century. The music itself is fun, exciting and musically describes the society of the time. On the other hand, dealing with his illness. There is an intimacy and underlying melancholy in the second movement that reflects this perspective and is part of Marguerite's subtext.
NF: When the ballet is rehearsed, as it is now in Vienna, do you still change things?
JN: I always change my pieces. But change is usually a form of clarification. As you get older, you have to learn from experience and be able to say better and more clearly what you wanted to say for 45 years. So these aren't essential changes, the concept of ballet is always the same, it's about subtleties. Working with different dancers also influences me. The Viennese actors of Marguerite and Armand are very different, both personally and physically, and I will mention that. It's like working on a text, you don't have to change it to give it a different color, it just depends on how you speak it. I will look critically at my work as long as I live. Is the work still relevant and authentic? Or is there another way? If I feel like yes, I should change it.
NF: What do you look for in a dancer when playing the roles of Marguerite and Armand?
JN: To dance Marguerite, the dancer must be able to see a form of vulnerability. It has nothing to do with size or age, but with attractiveness. Can I believe that no matter what she does, she's going to die? Can I read it in her movement and expression? Also, I need to feel a dialogue, a chemistry between Marguerite and Armand. Armand is dedicated, and at the same time – you can read this in Dumas' text – he knows what he does and what he wants. This strength should be obvious to Marguerite. The externalities of the relationship can be interpreted in different ways. The age difference is also interesting. Historical Model for Dumas the Elder J., Marie Duplessis, 23 years old. So there are different readings, but the human conflict between Marguerite and Armand is important. That's why I went to Vienna a few times for actors. I made couples and changed them again because the chemistry was better or the physical contact was more harmonious or exciting. This is my work and it excites me to continue to be involved with a ballet like this Chameleon Lady: There are many possibilities.
NF: More than fifty years later, you will end your directorship at the Hamburg Ballet next summer. Do you already have plans for what you will do after that?
JN: I freelance and work for many companies. I am 51 and have worked as a ballet director with other companies. Also festival The World of John Neumeier I continue in Baden-Baden. I am more or less fully booked till the end of 2027.
NF: How will your legacy continue to be maintained in Hamburg?
JN: Lloyd Riggins, my associate ballet director, curator of my works. He suggests which pieces can be revived, at what time, and in what form. Time will tell how this works out. Some of the ballet masters who worked with me stayed. These are mostly dancers who portray roles in my works. If I can, I will work with new actors in Hamburg.
NF: You have made ballet in Hamburg part of the city's society and its infrastructure. What importance should there be in developing dance in a city culture?
JN: When I came to Hamburg, I had a part-time secretary and a small office that I shared with my ballet master. I never said it wasn't enough for me. My first goal is to create something. As an artist you have to honestly create something and believe that people want to see it. In dance it's about the question: What do I learn about myself as a person when I watch a ballet set to Mahler's 3rd Symphony? Matthew Passion or the Odyssey Looking for Homer? For me, dance is an art that is very close to people. It is an object and a tool. I think you should start here. I'm not a politician, a sociologist or an urban planner, I just make ballets and try to make them as good as possible. Then if God wills they will also get a place in the society.
The interview was conducted by Nastassja Fischer.
