BAM launches the 2007 Spring Season with the U.S. premiere of The Ballet’s Death in —an adaptation of ’s classic novella, created by renowned choreographer John Neumeier.

BAM 2007 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg

Death in Venice A Dance of Death by John Neumeier A free adaptation of the novella by Thomas Mann The Hamburg Ballet

Music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Choreography and staging by John Neumeier Scenic design by Peter Schmidt Costume design by John Neumeier and Peter Schmidt Lighting concept by John Neumeier Piano by Elizabeth Cooper

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave) Feb 7–10 at 7:30pm Tickets $20, 40, 60, 70

BAMdialogue with John Neumeier Feb 8 at 6pm, BAM Rose Cinemas Tickets $8 ($4 friends of BAM)

“The danced description of von Aschenbach’s dilemmas, poet or choreographer, added beautifully to my understanding of the literary work. I was spellbound.” – Dancing Times

Brooklyn, NY/January 5, 2007—The Hamburg Ballet and John Neumeier return to BAM for the first time in more than 20 years with an inventive take on Thomas Mann’s classic novella, —a story of passion, loss of dignity, and ultimately death. While Mann conceived his protagonist as a poet, Neumeier re-imagines the aging Gustav von Aschenbach as a successful and honored choreographer, totally immersed in his work. Two male dancers serve as symbols of Ashcenbach’s latent sensuality. Experiencing a professional crisis, the famous choreographer visits Venice where he is stunned by the beauty and innocence of an adolescent boy. Fascination turns to fatal love as Aschenbach turns from art to life—and death in Venice. The large-scale, coolly minimalist sets emphasize his anguish, as does the heartrending score featuring compositions by Bach and Wagner.

Four performances of Death in Venice will take place at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Avenue) from Feb 7–10 at 7:30pm. Tickets, priced at $20, 40, 60, and 70, may be purchased by calling BAM ticket services at 718.636.4100 or by visiting BAM.org.

About the artists

John Neumeier, Hamburg Ballet’s longtime artistic director, crafts roles that distill a character’s essence—be it a swan, prince, or sleeping beauty—while simultaneously capturing the individual qualities of the performer. This profoundly emotional approach frees his dancers to infuse each part with a great depth of feeling and has produced a stellar company whose unrivaled sense of adventure goes hand in hand with a mastery of classical style. The recipient of many awards, most recently the fourth biennial Njinsky Award (2006) for lifetime achievement, Neumeier studied ballet both in Copenhagen and at the Royal Ballet School in , and later went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and theater studies from Marquette University in Wisconsin. In 1963 he was “discovered” in London by Marcia Haydee and Ray Barra, leading John Cranko to engage him at Stuttgart Ballet, where he was often featured as a solo dancer and created his first choreographic works. In 1969 Neumeier was appointed Director of Ballet in Frankfurt where he received many accolades for his interpretations of The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, and Daphnis and Chloe. In 1973 August Everding brought Neumeier to Hamburg, and under his direction The Hamburg Ballet has become one of the world’s leading ballet companies.

The Hamburg Ballet was established in 1678 and focused primarily on theater and opera—with dance considered mainly an adjunct to the opera. Hamburg did not develop enthusiasm for dance until the years after World War II. Following the appointment of Rolf Liebermann as general manager in 1959, and Liebernann’s subsequent collaboration with Peter Van Dyk, the company began to perform George Balanchine’s ballets and many interpretations of Stravinsky’s work. In 1973, current Artistic Director John Neumeier took charge and created a new ballet company with multiple performance centers and its own integrated school of dance. The Hamburg Ballet programming now boasts numerous tours abroad, ballet workshops, and special events such as the annual “Hamburg Ballet Days.”

Peter Schmidt is a minimalist designer. He is the creator of the Peter Schmidt Group, a design company that excels in architectural, corporate, book, and magazine design. Schmidt has worked both nationally and internationally, notably in Japan and the U.S. Schmidt has extensive experience in the performing arts; he redesigned and renovated the entrance hall to the Hamburg State Opera and since the 1990s Schmidt has focused on ballet and opera productions. In 1994 he designed the set and costumes for Zwischenräume, a John Neumeier ballet set to ’s 9th symphony and in 2003, for Neumeier’s Death in Venice. Schmidt served as set and costume designer for Ichiro Nodaira’s opera Madrugada, which premiered at the Schleswig-Holstein music festival in 2005, conducted by . He also designed sets for John Neumeier’s latest ballet, , which premiered in Baden-Baden and was later performed in Hamburg. In December 2006, Peter Schmidt was awarded an Honorary professorship by the City of Hamburg.

Credits

BAM 2007 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg. Programming in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House is supported and endowed by The Howard Gilman Foundation.

Forest City Ratner is the presenting sponsor for Death in Venice.

BAM Dance receives major support from The Harkness Foundation for Dance and Mertz Gilmore Foundation, with additional support from Mary L. Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: Department of Cultural Affairs; The New York City Council; Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council; Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives; Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; New York State Council on the Arts; New York State Assembly Brooklyn Delegation; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; Estate of Richard B. Fisher; New York State Music Fund; Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Starr Foundation; JPMorgan Chase; Cunard Line; Carnegie Corporation of New York; Bank of America; The Ford Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation, Inc.; Time Warner Inc.; The Kovner Foundation; Forest City Ratner Companies; The Florence Gould Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; The SHS Foundation; Skirball Foundation; and The Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation, Inc.; Altman Foundation; The Jerome Robbins Foundation, Inc. CA, Inc. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for the Next Wave Festival. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. R/GA is the sponsor for BAM.org.

General Information

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, is open for dining prior to Howard Gilman Opera House performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live nights on Friday and Saturday with a special BAMcafé Live menu available starting at 8pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.BAM.org

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