Christmas Oratorio by John Neumeier, music by J.S. Bach
Lloyd Riggins (A Man), Anna Laudere (The Mother), Carsten Jung (The Husband)...— The Hamburg Ballett
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Cast
John Neumeier — Choreographer, costume designer, lighting designer
Ferdinand Wögerbauer — Stage design
Lloyd Riggins — A Man
Anna Laudere — The Mother
Carsten Jung — The Husband
Karen Azatyan — The Shepherd
Silvia Azzoni — An Angel
Alexandr Trusch — An Angel
The Hamburg Ballet — Ballet
The Hamburg State Opera Chorus — Chorus
Eberhard Friedrich — Chorus Master
Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra — Orchestra
Alessandro de Marchi — Conductor
Program notes
Depicting the three main winter holidays of Christmas, New Year's, and Epiphany, J.S. Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio) is composed of six cantatas — one of the composer’s grandest scores, lasting almost two and a half hours in its entirety. Rediscover this exalting work in an entirely new form, choreographed at the Staatsoper Hamburg by the legendary John Neumeier, available for you to watch again and again on medici.tv!
An evening of glorious dance set to gripping recitatives, stunning arias, and powerful chorales, Neumeier's adaptation reimagines a 2000 year old tale, following the Virgin Mary and her husband in their journey to the nativity celebration. For Neumeier, "the basic human values expressed through the choreography are always the most important thing" — and in his cross-cultural, cross-faith adaptation, Anna Laudere and Carsten Jung play the roles of "the Mother" and "the Husband" alongside the great Lloyd Riggins, whose character watches over the couple during their voyage before ultimately joining them in the dance.
