Ballet
Der Steppenwolf
Friday, 21/02/2025
08.00 PM - 09.30 PM
Opernhaus
Choreography and production by Goyo Montero
Music by Owen Belton (new composition)
Ballet Director Goyo Montero’s latest work is inspired by Hermann Hesse’s 1927 work Steppenwolf, which is being brought to the stage as a dance production for the first time. Hesse’s hit novel explores the profound strife of an artist’s personality. Lead choreographer Goyo Montero has crafted an immersive work that turns the audience into part of the happenings on stage, turning every performance into a unique, captivating and individual experience.
Video recording of the performance
Please note that Bayerischer Rundfunk will be recording video of both performances of Steppenwolf on 31/1/2025, 1/2/2025 and 7/2/2025 for a television production. The dance production was designed as an immersive theatre experience, with dancers entering into the spectators’ seating area to interact with the audience. Live recordings will be made of this performance and the audience.
The recordings will be saved and published as a ballet film, with intended broadcasting on the BR-KLASSIK website, the ARD media library, BR-Fernsehen, ARD alpha and arte.
By participating in the event, you declare your consent to the creation, public use and broadcasting of these video recordings on television, the Internet or media libraries.
The respective legal guardians consent to the publishing and television/Internet/media library broadcasting of video recordings that include children and adolescents.
We look forward to seeing you!
GOYO MONTERO'S FAREWELL SEASON AT STAATSTHEATER NÜRNBERG
DIGITAL Introduction (in German)
In his oeuvre, Goyo Montero has already dealt many times with works of world literature classics. He created dance pieces inspired by Goethe’s "Faust", Rostand’s "Cyrano de Bergerac", Cervantes’ "Don Quixote" and Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night's Dream". With "Der Steppenwolf", Montero continues his line of multidisciplinary choreographies. He once again invests in the diverse talents of his various ensembles, which are also showcased in the context of acting and live singing.
For his latest dance piece, Goyo Montero was significantly inspired by the work and personality of the German performance artist Joseph Beuys. The influences from this special artistic cosmos can be traced throughout the entire decor concept. They range from the materials that characterise the multifunctional mobile stage set by Curt Allen Wilmer and Leticia Gañán to the artistic masks and costumes designed by Salvador Mateu Andujar for the ensemble. Live recordings are part of the artistic spectacle and, in conjunction with the video design by Álvaro Luna and the sophisticated lighting design by Martin Gebhardt, turn the audience into participants.
Composer Owen Belton, a recognised expert in contemporary dance composition and Montero's artistic partner for many years, created a multi-layered new composition especially for this production. The music is a fascinating mixture of electronics, vocals, sounds and classical-orchestral instrumentation, which further intensifies the mesmerising atmosphere of the piece.
Konzept, Choreografie und Inszenierung
Musikalische Leitung (Zuspielung)
Bühne
Video
Lichtdesign
Licht
Neukomposition
Ballett-Dramaturg
Cast on 21/02/2025
Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett
Ballettensemble
January 2025
February 2025
Information on buying Tickets
"A furious dance piece. (...) Neither Haller nor Beuys are drawn as continuous figures, rather they rush through the action in multiple incarnations, which is mirrored and refracted on the text, dance and sound levels. The more sensual the scene, the more beguiling the effect. (...) The dance company shines as a multi-limbed organism, as an alliance of expressive personalities who have internalised Montero's gripping movement idiom from the tips of their feet to the tips of their fingers."
Dr. Dorion Weickmann, Süddeutsche Zeitung
"The choreographer only needs a few minutes at the beginning to introduce his convincing arsenal of characters. (...) Nuremberg's ballet director's choreographic work with these set elements alone is worth a visit to his new production, which runs without intermission. With an incredible attention to detail, Montero has ventured into new territory and, with his fantastic ensemble, has brought a splendidly dense, imaginative dance theatre show in high-end multimedia quality to the stage. (...) What the multinational ballet company achieves in this staging combination of dance, drama, music, sound and video, over and above the complex purely choreographic challenges, is remarkable."
Vesna Mlakar, Die Deutsche Bühne
"In terms of dance, Montero's piece is a very intense, mercurial mixture of longing solos, fugitive pas de deux and, in particular, suggestively atmospheric group scenes. The company's 27 dancers move in the complex, fast-paced multimedia setting like fish in water, taking on every challenge, playful and otherwise. (...) In 'The Steppenwolf', Goyo Montero impressively proves that he and his team know how to use multi-media means to condense dance into a confusing and fascinating journey into the inner world of an artificial individual. (...) In its many reflections, 'Der Steppenwolf' is nothing less than the fascinating endoscopy of a psyche."
Thomas Heinold, Nürnberger Nachrichten
"Montero's 'Steppenwolf' condenses the hustle and bustle of instincts, the human being between abyss and longing, convention and breaking taboos. (...) The majority of the premiere audience found the 'Steppenwolf' version overwhelming and applauded extensively."
Andreas Radlmaier, Curt
„Die Anforderung von Montero, der bereits seine Fähigkeit und sein Talent unter Beweis gestellt hat, große Werke mit zeitgenössischer Optik zu schaffen, ist dieses Mal noch ein wenig weiter gegangen, indem er Bedeutungsebenen und szenische Elemente von großem Niveau hinzugefügt hat, um eine immersive Erfahrung zu erzeugen. (...) Neben den vielfältigen, manchmal feinen, manchmal entfesselten Bewegungselementen, die die Qualität ihrer Form und die der Tänzer*innen, die sie umsetzen, zeigen, wollte Montero den Zuschauer „herausfordern“, der durch die Nähe zum Tanz und durch den Einsatz einer Live-Kamera, die ihn in einigen Szenen spiegelt, zur Mitwirkung aufgefordert wird.“
Sara Esteller, susyQ
"In the guise of an immersive Gesamtkunstwerk, the like of which is not often experienced on a stage at a state theatre, it figuratively challenges the audience to think for itself. (...) And the audience laughs along until the laughter gets stuck in your throat. Wow!" Alexandra Karabelas, Tanznetz
"Goyo Montero's 'The Steppenwolf' combines various art forms and attempts to leave many interpretative spaces open. And this concept is effective: after a multitude of surprises, the audience is left stunned and somewhat disturbed after the final lowering of the curtain. The wild ride through the various atmospheric images is affecting and shows the emotions of the torn main character more clearly than many other text-heavy film or theatre plays. The production is demanding and doesn't let the audience rest for a moment - but if you're not expecting a classical ballet and want to get involved with the special art form of performance art, the Nuremberg State Theatre is the place to be these days."
Nina Schäfer und Theresia Seisenberger, Rezensöhnchen
"The experience is an effective multimedia performance with magical moments that also reveal the choreographer's affinity for film. (...) Once again, the trip to Bavaria's second-largest metropolis was worthwhile, where a visually stunning evening in the sold-out Staatstheater sometimes irritated (...), sometimes captivated and always proactively encouraged the audience to engage in a concentrated and open excursion into Hesse's enigmatic universe. (...) It is an aesthetically complex "hell" play."
Renate Baumiller-Guggenberger, a3
"80 minutes of dance at the highest level."
Henrik Hölsch, V-Das Studimagazin
"Goyo Montero has taken a giant leap outside of his comfort zone, creating something very much more than just an evening of dance (...), a rather unorthodox yet strangely remarkable piece of tanztheater."
Alison Kent, Dance Europe
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