‘What did you love most in Russia?’
‘The violent Russian spring that seemed to begin in an hour and was like the whole Earth cracking.’ IGOR STRAVINSKY

Commissioned by russian impresario Diaghilev, with revolutionary choreography by Nijinsky, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring premièred in Paris in 1913. The performance sparked a riot in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, ushered in a new kind of popular art and music, and ultimately became one of the defining moments of 20th century culture.

One hundred years after its cataclysmic debut, this radical work will receive a dramatic reworking for MIF13. Teodor Currentzis, Artistic Director of Perm Opera, and his virtuoso orchestra MusicAeterna, who hail from Diaghilev’s home town, have teamed up with the renowned theatre director Romeo Castellucci to create a vital new Rite that will be presented in Manchester and Perm to celebrate the work’s centenary.

Castellucci’s staging remakes what is conventionally a dance piece into an extraordinary theatre and art installation, creating choreography from falling bone powder. In a show without actors or dancers, the 100-piece orchestra will become part of the staging, which will take place in the dramatic, soaring industrial spaces of Manchester’s Mayfield Depot.

The Rite of Spring will be preceded by a slate of work in Mayfield Depot by artists Tino Sehgal, Dan Graham, Mette Ingvartsen, Eszter Salamon and Mårten Spångberg.

‘The bone powder is the main character on the stage. It looks as if the dancers dissolved in the air, turning into a cloud of dust, powder… the dance of dust particles the endless dance of the Universe.’
ROMEO CASTELLUCCI

STAGED BY
Romeo Castellucci

PERFORMED BY
MusicAeterna

CONDUCTOR
Teodor Currentzis

SOUND SCORE
Scott Gibbons

STRAVINSKY
The Rite of Spring


CREDIT
Commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre and Ruhrtriennale International Festival of the Arts.
Produced by Manchester International Festival and Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre.