The Kabuki
Cast 02.07.2019
Details
“Among the existent performing arts possible to be seen in the 20th century those of Japan, the Noh, the Kabuki and the Bunraku are the oldest. The Kabuki, a unique phenomenon among the performing arts, came into being during the 17th century and developed widely in the 18th century. Today it remains for us working in the theatre a beacon and an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
"Chushingura", the tale of the 47 Ronins, is one of the theatrical masterpieces, not only of Japan, but of the entire world.
Creating a ballet based on this narrative enables us to perceive that throughout the ages the unchanging quality of human truth.
In this piece the ballet, a symbolic art, embraces the Kabuki, an art form supreme a ritual where myth immerses itself in the everyday life, thus transcending it, subliming it and thereby freeing us of our existential anxiety through the medium of the actor.
Time no longer exists; we are all Ronins, orphans of time. I realised on coming to terms with this magnificent tale the necessity of under standing the sacred and religious aspects of the piece; moreover, the final ceremony of "Seppuku" of the Samurais was an incantation to the emperor, a hymn to the Buddha and the great Nothingness.”
Maurice Béjart
“Among the existent performing arts possible to be seen in the 20th century those of Japan, the Noh, the Kabuki and the Bunraku are the oldest. The Kabuki, a unique phenomenon among the performing arts, came into being during the 17th century and developed widely in the 18th century. Today it remains for us working in the theatre a beacon and an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
"Chushingura", the tale of the 47 Ronins, is one of the theatrical masterpieces, not only of Japan, but of the entire world.
Creating a ballet based on this narrative enables us to perceive that throughout the ages the unchanging quality of human truth.
In this piece the ballet, a symbolic art, embraces the Kabuki, an art form supreme a ritual where myth immerses itself in the everyday life, thus transcending it, subliming it and thereby freeing us of our existential anxiety through the medium of the actor.
Time no longer exists; we are all Ronins, orphans of time. I realised on coming to terms with this magnificent tale the necessity of under standing the sacred and religious aspects of the piece; moreover, the final ceremony of "Seppuku" of the Samurais was an incantation to the emperor, a hymn to the Buddha and the great Nothingness.”
Maurice Béjart