Wings of Time
From 29 May to 14 June, the Oslo Opera House will host a unique event in the international dance world. The Norwegian National ballet celebrates the artistry of Jiří Kylián, the world’s greatest living choreographer, as he summarizes his life's work through a parade of ballets, installations, films and photographic art.
– Such an extensive display of my work has never been presented before and will certainly never take place again! – Jiří Kylián
The festival will affect the entire Oslo Opera House, with sculptures on the glass facade, a photo exhibition on the studio stage, dancing on the roof of the Opera House, and the world premiere of the installation Ensō on the side stage. On the Main Stage, seven of the world’s most beautiful and most profound ballets ever made will be performed, and the audience is invited to special screenings of Kylián’s films, accompanied by dancers and acknowledged trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær. Jiří Kylián has personally curated the festival and has chosen to present this grand retrospective of his life's work at the Oslo Opera House.
– We are overwhelmed that Jiří Kylián chose to make such a festival here in Oslo. Wings of Time will embody all of what has made the world's foremost dance poet what he is, and it underlines his unique relationship with Norway, the Oslo Opera House and the Norwegian National Ballet.– Ingrid Lorentzen, Artistic Director of the Norwegian National Ballet.
Ballet:
Day before Tomorrow: Bella Figura / Wings of Wax / Gods and Dogs
Three timeless ballets from the later period of Kylián's artistry.
Day after Yesterday: Forgotten Land / No more Play / Petite Mort / Symphony of Palms
Four of Kylián's early classics, performed with a full orchestra – and one of them with a choir.
Film
Emotion Pictures | Still Moving
Four of Jiří Kylián's short films put together into one programme – with dance by the Norwegian National Ballet and live music by Nils Petter Molvær between the films.
Between Entrance and Exit
A short film inspired by Kylián's youth in Prague. A man and a woman meet in a labyrinth of an abandoned apartment, filled with antique furniture and long-forgotten love letters. Their emotional encounter is commanded by one thing only: the realization that all their desires and unfulfilled dreams are only here for a short while, and will soon be snuffed out like a candle ...
Schwarzfahrer
Two passengers meet aboard a tram in Prague, which takes them on a nostalgic journey through time and space – and through memories that may never have happened.
Schwarzfahrer is a German word for people who take the tram without paying for the fare. None of us have ever bought a ticket for the journey through life. No one ever told us which tram to take. As a result, we have to change trams often. But whichever tram we take, one thing is certain – sooner or later we will arrive at our final destination.
Scalamare
A married couple celebrates the 40th anniversary of their honeymoon, which began on the steps of the Monumento ai Caduti in Ancona. Here they are again, forty years later, in the same place, looking back on their lives – and the celebration turns into a hallucination and illusion where the line between reality and fantasy no longer exists.
Car-Men
A short film with Bizet's Carmen as its theme, with former dancers from Nederlands Dans Theater III.
Installations
Experience Jiří Kylián's sculptures on the glass facade, a photo exhibition backstage, and the world premiere of the installation Ensō!
Moving Still
Sculptural installation depicting eight dancer bodies on the facade of the Opera House, accompanied live by trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær after selected performances.
Free Fall
En installasjon og en fotografisk studie med bilder av danser Sabine Kupferberg, satt til musikk av Bach.
Ensō
World premiere of a large installation with a rotating mirror, set to music by Arvo Pärt.
Moving On
A mirrored corridor, Moving On, leads the audience to the installations set to music by Nils Petter Molvær
Outreach programme
Chapeau
70 young dance students from upper secondary school perform excerpts from one of Kylián's works on the Opera roof.
In addition, in the period 2-13 June, special tours are arranged for secondary school students with a focus on the installations.
- The outreach programme is made possible with generous support from the DNB Savings Bank Foundation.