Evening of ballets by George Balanchine, Sol León & Paul Lightfoot Tickets

Oslo Opera House, Oslo, Norway

Scene 1 from the ballet "Diamonds" (the third section of the three-part ballet "Jewels")

Scene 2 from the ballet "Diamonds" (the third section of the three-part ballet "Jewels")

Scene 3 from the ballet "Diamonds" (the third section of the three-part ballet "Jewels")

Scene 4 from the ballet "Diamonds" (the third section of the three-part ballet "Jewels")

Scene 5 from the ballet "Diamonds" (the third section of the three-part ballet "Jewels")

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Important Info

Type: Ballet

City: Oslo, Norway

Duration: 2h 30min with 1 interval

Intervals: 1

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

Can I choose my seats?

You can only select the category, and not the exact seats.
If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Cast

Performers

Choose the date to see the peformers

Overview

An evening of contrast-rich ballet. Want to be impressed by technical brilliance in three completely different but equally as riveting ballets? If so, this is the performance for you! The three choreographers behind these works have opened the eyes of many an audience member as to the possibilities of dance.

Three Norwegian premieres
The one is performed on tiptoes, with diamonds and to the music of Tchaikovsky, while the other two feature supple, modern ballet to the music of Richter and Schubert. For the very first time in Norway, you can see Diamonds by George Balanchine and Stop Motion and Schubert by the choreographer duo Sol León and Paul Lightfoot.

A flicker of Swan Lake
Is it possible to create a ballet about jewels? That is exactly what master choreographer George Balanchine has done in the three-part ballet Jewels. Oslo Opera House is performing the final part, Diamonds, in which the expression, colors, and musical selection are inspired by diamonds. As always with Balanchine, the underlying theme is how movement and music are two sides of the same coin – and are danced here too much of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 3 in D Major. By the time Tchaikovsky had finished writing the symphony, he had already been commissioned to create Swan Lake. Can you hear this in the music?

Audience favorites return
With humor, striking scenes, and innovative steps, Sol León and Paul Lightfoot have spellbound Norwegian audiences in the past. Now they are back again! And bringing with them the duet Schubert, which revolves around a love story, and the ballet Stop Motion, in which the themes are leave-taking and change. This critically acclaimed work has been described as a visual poem, with the dancers suddenly appearing, only to disappear again after a while.

Works for large ensembles
Although these ballets differ in many ways, what they all have in common is that they are technically demanding, showcase nearly all company dancers on stage and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra performs from the orchestra pit.

History

Premiere of this production: 13 April 1967, New York State Theater

Jewels is a three-act ballet created for the New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday, 13 April 1967 at the New York State Theater, with sets designed by Peter Harvey and lighting by Ronald Bates.

Venue Info

Oslo Opera House - Oslo
Kirsten Flagstads Plass 1

The Oslo Opera House is the home of The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by Statsbygg, the government agency which manages property for the Norwegian government. The structure contains 1,100 rooms in a total area of 38,500 m2 (414,000 sq ft). The main auditorium seats 1,364 and two other performance spaces can seat 200 and 400. The main stage is 16 m (52 ft) wide and 40 m (130 ft) deep. The angled exterior surfaces of the building are covered with marble from Carrara, Italy and white granite and make it appear to rise from the water. It is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since Nidarosdomen was completed circa 1300.

In 1999, after a long national debate, the Norwegian legislature decided to construct a new opera house in the city. A design competition was held and, of the 350 entries received, the judges chose that of Snøhetta. Construction started in 2003 and was completed in 2007, ahead of schedule and 300 million NOK (~US$52 million) under its budget of 4.4 billion NOK (~US$760 million). The gala opening on 12 April 2008 was attended by His Majesty King Harald, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and President Tarja Halonen of Finland and other leaders. During the first year of operation, 1.3 million people passed through the building's doors.

The Opera House won the culture award at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in October 2008 and the 2009 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.

The roof of the building angles to ground level, creating a large plaza that invites pedestrians to walk up and enjoy the panoramic views of Oslo. While much of the building is covered in white granite and La Facciata, a white Italian carrara marble, the stage tower is clad in white aluminium, in a design by Løvaas & Wagle that evokes old weaving patterns.

The lobby is surrounded by 15 m (49 ft) tall windows with minimal framing and special glass that allows maximum views of the water. The roof is supported by thin angled columns also designed not to interfere with views.

Interior surfaces are covered in oak to bring warmth to spaces in contrast to the coolness of the white exterior. The main auditorium is a horseshoe shape and illuminated by an oval chandelier containing 5,800 handmade crystals. Seats include monitors for the electronic libretto system, allowing audiences to follow opera libretti in Norwegian and English in addition to the original language.

Several art projects were commissioned for the interior and exterior of the Opera House. The most notable is She Lies, a sculpture constructed of stainless steel and glass panels by Monica Bonvicini. It is permanently installed on a concrete platform in the fjord adjacent to Opera House and floats on the water moving in response to tides and wind to create an ever-changing face to viewers. The work was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Sonja on 11 May 2010.

A perforated wall panel which covers roof supports in the lobby was designed by Olafur Eliasson. It features hexagonal opening and is illuminated from below and behind to create the illusion of melting ice. Other artists involved in the construction include Kristian Blystad, Jorunn Sannes and Kalle Grude, who designed the shape of the pavers on the forecourt and roof; Bodil Furu and Trine Lise Nedreaas, who created a film and video project; Marte Aas, Talleiv Taro Manum, Tom Sandberg, Gerd Tinglum and Nina Witoszek Fitzpatrick, who created the art book Site Seeing; and Linus Elmes and Ludvig Löfgren, who created the foundation stone.

The main stage curtain is the work of Pae White who designed it to look like crumpled aluminum foil. White scanned a crumpled piece of foil into a computer which translated the information to a loom that wove the curtain from wool, cotton and polyester to create a three-dimensional effect. The curtain was manufactured by the German-based theatrical equipment company Gerriets GmbH. The finished curtain measures 74 ft (23 m) wide and 36 ft (11 m) and weighs 1,100 lb (500 kg).