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The Saga of King Arthur
| Choreographer |
Neumeier, John |
| First Performance | 12.12.1982 |
| Place of First Performance | Hamburgische Staatsoper, Germany |
| Finnish premiere | 13.1.1995 |
| Place of Premiere | Finnish National Opera |
| Style | Classic Ballet |
| Duration (min) | 120 |
| Scenography | John Neumeier |
| Costume designer | Silvia Strahammer |
| Lighting Designer | John Neumeier |
| Performers of the premiere | Merlin: Sami Saikkonen, Uter Pendragon: Henrikki Heikkilä, Ygerne: Maija Hänninen, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall: Antti Honkanen; King Loth: Karl Hedman, King Arthur: Sampo Kivelä, Sir Lancelot: Kare Länsivuori, Sir Tristan: Tomi Blåberg, Sir Gawain: Timo Kokkonen, Sir Agravain: Javier Torres, Sir Geheris: Henrik Burman, Sir Gareth: Petri Toivanen, Sir Kay: Kimmo Sandell, Sir Segramur: Jonas Lundqvist, Sir Beauface: Jarkko Niininen, Sir Bohort: Klaus Vesala, Sir Parzival: Henrikki Heikkilä, Morgane le Fay: Francis Guardia, Mordred: Maksim Lukjanov, Queen Ginevra: Anu Sistonen, Elaine: Tuuli Tuominen, Galahad: Asla Jääskeläinen, Ladies-in-Waiting: Kirsi Heino, Katja Frank, Jessica Kellgren, Anu Koskinen, Riina Laurila, Anneke Lönnroth, Virve Olsson, Arja Tervo, Armi Tihtonen, Leena Virtanen; 1. sea: Katja Frank, Kirsi Heino, Jessica Kellgren, Anu Koskinen, Maarika Kärkkäinen, Riina Laurila, Riina-Kaisa Lehto, Anandah Lehtonen, Tuija Lindholm, Sini Länsivuori, Anneke Lönnroth, Kirsi Mansnerus, Mari Mäkelä, Ulla-Mari Mäkelä, Virve Olsson, Marjo Räisälä, Ritva Räsänen, Minna Strömberg, Arja Tervo, Armi Tihtonen, Leena Virtanen, Tiina Väänänen; 2. sea: Marilena Fontoura, Katja Frank, Kirsi Heino, Jessica Kellgren, Anu Koskinen, Maarika Kärkkäinen, Riina Laurila, Riina-Kaisa Lehto, Anandah Lehtonen, Tuija Lindholm, Sini Länsivuori, Anneke Lönnroth, Kirsi Mansnerus, Mari Mäkelä, Ulla-Mari Mäkelä, Virve Olsson, Camilla Rajalin, Marjo Räisälä, Ritva Räsänen, Minna Strömberg, Arja Tervo, Armi Tihtonen, Eeva Tikka, Leena Virtanen, Tiina Väänänen; warriors: Tomi Blåberg, Henrik Burman, Henrikki Heikkilä, Asla Jääskeläinen, Timo Kokkonen, Valeri Kononen, Jonas Lundqvist, Igor Martinez Elizalde, Maksim Lukjanov, Juha-Pekka Myllymäki, Jarkko Niininen, Dan-Eje Olsson, Thomas Rydberg, Kimmo Sandell, Jani Talo, Petri Toivanen, Javier Torres, Klaus Vesala, Heikki Vienola, Pekka Yli-Marttila; Scherzo: Juha-Pekka Myllymäki, Thomas Rydberg, Pekka Yli-Marttila, Igor Martinez Elizalde, Dan-Eje Olsson. |
| Description |
This ballet to the music of Jean Sibelius is based on the English middle ages saga of King Arthur. The story's structure does not unfold chronologically, but takes autonomous turns where the imaginary is just as important as the real. The exposition of this myth and its archetypes centers on King Arthur, who wishes to bring a just and peaceful order to the world beset by violence, but is able to maintain this for only a short period. His Kingdom falls into ruins as he is overthrown by his son Mordred. |
| Other Information |
Conductor: Petri Sakari, clarinet solo: Anna-Maija Korsimaa, english horn solo: Aino Porra, harp solo: Riitta Paavola, flute solo: Timo Pulakka. The world premiere: Hamburg Ballet. |
| Companies |
Finnish National Ballet |
| Dancers |
Tuominen, Tuuli: Elaine (1995) Jääskeläinen, Asla: Galahad (1995) Honkanen, Antti: Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall (1995) Hedman, Karl: King Loth (1995) Sistonen, Anu: Queen Ginevra (1995) Lukjanov, Maksim: Mordred (1995) Guardia, Francis: Morgane le Fay (1995) Torres, Javier: Sir Agravain (1995) Niininen, Jarkko: Sir Beauface (1995) Vesala, Klaus: Sir Bohort (1995) Toivanen, Petri: Sir Gareth (1995) Kokkonen, Timo: Sir Gawain (1995) Burman, Henrik: Sir Geheris (1995) Sandell, Kimmo: Sir Kay (1995) Länsivuori, Kare: Sir Lancelot (1995) Heikkilä, Henrikki: Sir Parzival (1995) Lundqvist, Jonas: Sir Segramur (1995) Blåberg, Tomi: Sir Tristan (1995) Heikkilä, Henrikki: Uter Pendragon (1995) Hänninen, Maija: Ygerne (1995) Kivelä, Sampo: King Arthur (1995) Saikkonen, Sami: Merlin (1995) |