Carmen / Rosa / Boléro
Carmen / Rosa / Boléro
© SLT / Tobias Witzgall

Carmen / Rosa / Boléro

Valentina Turcu / Reginaldo Oliveira / Yonggeol Kim

Premiere: October 25, 2025 / Salzburg State Theatre

Synopsis

Audiences will feel transported to the Iberian Peninsula on this ballet night. For the first time, the grand stage of the Salzburg State Theatre presents three different choreographic styles in one evening, enabling our ballet ensemble to showcase the great variety of their dancing skills and their full powers of interpretation.

Using the memorable melodies of Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, composer Rodion Shchedrin wrote a ballet for strings and percussion for the prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. According to the composer, the ballet is intended to “always sound a few degrees hotter than the opera”. Valentina Turcu’s choreography focuses on the contradictory psychological makeup of the protagonist.

The central performance of the ballet night is Reginaldo Oliveira’s ballet “Rosa”, an exploration of Spanish pop in combination with modern flamenco, based on the songs of pop legend Rosalía and her unconventional interpretation of this passionate music. After “Frida’s World”, his immensely successful tribute to the spirit of Latin America, the Salzburg State Theatre’s principal choreographer will now stage an exciting choreography inspired by Spanish rhythms and popular music.

Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein commissioned Maurice Ravel to write “Boléro” in 1928. Bronislava Nijinska, sister of the legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, created the choreography, and together they staged the world premiere of the work at the Paris Opera. Rubinstein danced on a table, circled by 20 men whose seemingly lascivious movements increased with the music’s crescendo until the tension was released orgiastically in the final chord – a veritable scandal at the time!

Award-winning Croatian choreographer and director Valentina Turcu is internationally renowned for her expertise in narrative performances and received her artistic education from Maurice Béjart. Yonggeol Kim danced at the ballet of the Paris Opera and is now a celebrated choreographer in his native Korea.

Reginaldo Oliveira has presented many facets of his choreographic work as the Salzburg State Theatre’s principal choreographer. After “Tanto… Tango!” and “Frida’s World”, his latest work “Rosa” pays homage to the temperamental rhythms of the Iberian Peninsula in the modern interpretation of Spanish artist Rosalía.

We offer introductory talks 45 and 30 minutes ahead of each performance.

Cast