The Odyssey

One of the most important pieces of poetry is the epic "Odyssey" by the Greek lyricist Homer. John Neumeier decided to dedicate to this comprehensive work about the hero Odysseus and his adventurous journey at the invitation of the Athens opera and concert house Megaron in 1995. For his ballet version his aim was to get as close as possible to the roots of the epic and at the same time translate the literary original onto a level of movement. A prerequisite for this was the commissioning of a work by the Greek composer George Couroupos and the collaboration with the Greek stage and costume designer Yannis Kokkos. ten years of wandering ten years of return ten years of healing after ten years of war The Odyssey is inconceivable without war. For me, the point is that a person has to find his way back to himself after ten years of war. He must return to wholeness journeying back from a macho world of battle and war, defined in a negative sense as male, to rediscover his feminine aspect. Perhaps, this is Penelope. John Neumeier Music: George Couroupos – Commissioned Score by The Hamburg State Opera Choreography and Staging: John Neumeier Set and Costumes: Yannis Kokkos 2 hours 15 minutes | no intermission PREMIERE: Hamburg Ballet, Megaron The Athens Concert Hall, Athens, November 20, 1995 PREMIERE IN HAMBURG: Hamburg Ballet, December 17, 1995 ORIGINAL CAST: Odysseus: Ivan Liska Penelope: Anna Polikarpova Telemachos: Ivan Urban Pallas Athena: Anna Grabka He: Nicolas Musin Calypso: Heather Jurgensen Nausicaa: Bettina Beckmann Circe: Chantal Lefèvre The Sea: Laura Cazzaniga The Suitors / The War: Jirí Bubenícek, Otto Bubenícek Eurycleia: Karen Niles ON TOUR 1995 Athens 1996 Ludwigshafen, Montpellier, Genoa Nervi 1997 Sagami Ono, Osaka, Tokyo IN THE REPERTORY: Royal Danish Ballet