1914

NEVERMORE...?
World premiere
Concept and choreography: Robert Bondara
Music: Prasqual (new work), Paweł Szymański (Lux Aeterna), Steve Reich (Clapping Music)
Instrumental solo (percussion): Katarzyna Bojaryn, Jan Smoczyński
Recorded music
World premiere: 15 November 2014, Polish National Ballet, Warsaw

SOLDIERS' MASS
Polish premiere
Concept and choreography: Jiří Kylián
Music: Bohuslav Martinů (Polní mše)
Conductor: Marcin Nałęcz-Niesiołowski
Text: Jiří Mucha based on liturgical texts
Vocal solo: Adam Szerszeń
Male Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera
World premiere: 13 June 1980, Nederlands Dans Theater, Circustheater, Scheveningen, The Hague 
World premiere

THE GREEN TABLE
Warsaw premiere
Choreography: Kurt Jooss
Music: Friedrich A. Cohen
Pianists: Anna Marchwińska, Marcin Mazurek
World premiere: 3 July 1932, Folkwang Tanzbühne, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris
Polish premiere: 20 May 1972, Ballet of the Grand Theatre in Łódź

It has been exactly 100 years since World War I broke out. What conclusions did we draw from those four years of fighting and millions of casualties? New armed conflicts are breaking out all the time, in defiance of peace declarations, common sense and repeated warnings. We remember, and also encourage you to reflect on this as you watch the works of three choreographers representing different nations, times and generations.

In his new ballet Nevermore...? Robert Bondara touches upon the causes, nature and effects of wars from the viewpoint of the always helpless individual. Leading Czech choreographer Jiří Kylián pays homage to the young soldiers dying on the front lines with his poignant Soldiers’ Mass (1980). Kurt Jooss’ legendary The Green Table (1932) is a revealing political satire referring directly to the origins and tragic consequences of the Great War and at the same time one of the greatest works of German expressionism and 20th-century art.

Polish National Ballet