Der Zwerg / Le Sacre du Printemps - Double Bill with Music by Alexander von Zemlinsky and Igor Stravinsky

Opera libretto by Georg C. Klaren based on Oscar Wilde's story "The Birthday of the Infanta" (1889) | Ballet music by Igor Stravinsky

Two modernist classics exploring a timeless theme: in "Der Zwerg" (1922) and "Le Sacre du Printemps" (1913), the images imposed by society are ruthlessly instrumentalized.

A court dwarf falls in love with the Spanish infanta, unaware of his own ugliness. The court and the princess toy with his feelings, and when he first sees himself in a large mirror, he dies of shock and shame. Zemlinsky's finely orchestrated music, with its rich woodwind section, celesta, glockenspiel, and mandolins, paints a vivid sonic portrait of the Spanish court in its golden age.

The magic of spring becomes sinister when a young woman is to be sacrificed in a fertility ritual. This is what unfolds in Vaslav Nijinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps", one of the iconic works in dance history. Guido Markowitz transposes the narrative to the 21st century, crafting a dark yet profoundly illuminating portrait of society that asks why people elevate themselves above others and what role our understanding of "sacrifice" plays in this dynamic.