THE BIBLICAL PARABLES at Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Moniuszko Auditorium

The Old and New Testament - the holy books of European civilization, an extraordinary record of the beliefs and mythical history of humankind, a collection of universal truths, legends, and parables, an endless source of inspiration for creators of culture and the arts, including dance and ballet. This new production by the Polish National Ballet proposes a moment of shared reflection on selected biblical themes. Sergei Prokofiev’s The Prodigal Son takes its story from the parable in the Gospel of St. Luke. The world premiere in Paris with George Balanchine’s choreography (1929) was the last great achievement of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. In this version the work became part of the repertoire canon of contemporary ballet and continues to be staged around the world to this day. It was time for Polish audiences to see it as well. Characters from The Book of Genesis keep returning to the ballet stage. There was once a famous choreographic adaptation of Cain and Abel, staged in West Berlin by Kenneth MacMillan, for which the Polish composer Andrzej Panufnik put together the music from his symphonic works. Our choreographer, Emil Weso?owski, has decided to follow the same path. However, he is proposed his own version of the age-old myth, with a slightly different selection of Panufnik’s music. Another new piece making up the evening is Jacek Przyby?owicz’s ballet Six Wings of Angels in which the choreographer intends to poetically refer to yet another biblical message, with the help of great Baroque music and Prasqual's electronic music.