Ballett: Woolf Works

About the event

Wayne McGregor

A triptych of ballets drawn from Virginia Woolf’s landmark novels Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves with elements of her letters, essays and diaries, Woolf Works explores the collision of form and substance in Woolf’s writings – a recreation of the vivid, impressionistic qualities of Woolf’s prose, where emotions and sensations take precedence over plot.

Woolf Works expresses the heart of an artistic life driven to discover a freer, uniquely modern realism, and brings to life Woolf's world of 'granite and rainbow' where human beings are at once both physical body and uncontained essence.

The work sees Wayne McGregor reunited with acclaimed British composer Max Richter who creates a specially commissioned score incorporating electronic and live music, with set designs by architectural practices Ciguë and We Not I alongside costume and lighting designs by long-time collaborators Moritz Junge and Lucy Carter.

Woolf Works marks a turning point in narrative classical ballet. The work has brought the genre of story ballet into the 21st century by combining powerful choreography with innovative technology.

Woolf Works is structured into three acts; ‘I now, I then’, ‘Becomings’ and ‘Tuesday’, each starkly distinct in visual design and choreography. “Woolf Works is not a literal description of Woolf’s writing. It’s very lavish, with new visualisation techniques and a collage structure; a full-on assault and collision of the senses. I think it’s interesting to have choreographed and designed the piece in the spirit of Woolf’s writing, in an unfolding stream of consciousness, rather than as a literal translation of the novels narratives” (Wayne McGregor)

The Oscar-nominated British composer Max Richter is an important artistic collaborator of Wayne McGregor and is considered one of the most influential composers of contemporary music. His work moves between classical, electronic, and minimal music.

For Woolf Works, he created a multi-layered score that combines electronic sounds with orchestral music, translating the atmosphere of Virginia Woolf’s texts into a dense, intensely emotional soundscape. Richter also makes use of the power of the human voice: in the first act, Virginia Woolf herself can be heard reading from her essay On Craftsmanship. In the third act, the voice of actress Gillian Anderson is heard, reciting Woolf’s farewell letter.

Woolf Works premiered in 2015 with The Royal Ballet. Wayne McGregor created the role of Virginia Woolf for ballet director Alessandra Ferri, who was awarded a Laurence Olivier Award for her interpretation.

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(Source: wiener-staatsoper.at)