Peter I. Tschaikowski by Cayetano Soto and Dario Suša, music by Tchaikovsky

Get to know one of classical music's most compelling figures in the striking contemporary masterpiece Peter I. Tschaikowski, choreographed for the Leipzig Ballet by Cayetano Soto and Dario Suša. Against the sonic backdrop of the Russian composer’s greatest works set to texts taken from his letters, the dancers explore the most intimate and mysterious sides of an all-time master of ballet music. Traversing emotions of vulnerability, passion, sadness, and repressed frustration, Soto paints a poignant portrait of a homosexual man who could not live the life he desired. The dancers' sharp, angular, almost mechanical movements contrast with the energy and expressiveness of the main character, together representing the solitude of a man burdened by the societal pressures of 19th-century Russia. Under the baton of Christoph-Mathias Müller, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra performs a selection of Tchaikovsky’s works, from the most famous — such as Eugene Onegin and the Pathétique Symphony No. 6 — to lesser-known pieces like The All-Night Vigil for choir. Meanwhile, the choreography plays mischievously with the traditional conventions of classical dance. This imaginative, original work will shake up what you think you know about one of the ballet’s greatest legends!

Photo © Milagro Elstak