Vienna State Ballet – Landgraf on Dance

30. April 2026

Congratulations

“Giselle”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 26, 2026 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2026 by Ilona Landgraf

The Vienna State Ballet’s recent live stream of Giselle was one of those precious events where everything is perfect. Choreographed for Vienna in 1993 by Elena Tchernichova, the piece is the company’s “calling card.” Additionally, perhaps due to the new artistic director, Alessandra Ferri, who passed on her experience studying with Tchernichova herself, the dancers performed especially well. “Elena Tchernichova was the person who first taught me the role of Giselle when I was just twenty-one, dancing with American Ballet Theatre alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov,” Ferri revealed.
“I still vividly remember her notes, her corrections, and the wonderful imagery she gave me to understand each moment of the role. She coached me for many years, and even now I still hear her voice—not only when I danced the ballet, but also when I coach others.”

Laura Fernandez Gromova, who joined the company only this season, danced the title role for the second time. Her fabulous interpretation was consequential given her artistic career. Fernandez Gromova completed her training at the St. Petersburg Vaganova Academy and danced with the Mariinsky Ballet, the Stanislavsky Ballet in Moscow, and the State Ballet of Georgia.
Her Giselle reverberated with life. In a port de bras, for example, her arms not only enjoyed the warm air but even inhaled it. Within seconds, the shock from Albrecht’s betrayal made her hallucinate. Her face seemed to belong to another person, and sudden dark circles under her eyes gave them a sunken look. When entering the realm of the Wilis, her Giselle became gossamer-like. She bent like a delicate branch in the breeze when being carried by Albrecht. Yet her will was as steely as Joan of Arc’s, and her heart’s greatness was infinite. She did everything in her might to protect and save Albrecht.

Compared to the mature and likeable Hilarion (Alessandro Cavallo), António Casalinho’s young, handsome Count Albrecht seemed too eager and smart for a reliable husband-to-be. And indeed, his very first reaction to Giselle’s death was to dodge responsibility and accuse Hilarion and the peasants. Over time, grief chastened him, and the Albrecht who approached the cross that marked Giselle’s grave was humble, more in love than ever, and brimming with regret. Even his dancing seemed more refined. One couldn’t help but empathize with him. Casalhino, a former principal of the Bavarian State Ballet, joined the company this season and is definitely an asset.

The second act’s largely empty stage made the commanding force of Rosa Pierro’s Myrtha particularly evident. Although calm and poised on the surface, the malicious glint in her eyes betrayed her mercilessness. The Wilis did not dare look at her. Their slightly stooped shoulders, bent necks, and downcast eyes expressed absolute obedience. The sight of their billowing white skirts moving in perfect unity in front of a pitch-black backdrop was mesmerizing.

In Act I, a corps of fleet-footed, buoyant peasants multiplied Giselle’s and Albrecht’s bliss. In the pas de quattre, Václav Lamparter combined immaculate tours with quicksilver feet, the cheerful Rinaldo Venuti seemed careful to curb his haste, Margarita Fernandes finished her flawless solo with a disarming smile, and Sinthia Liz delivered a graceful closure. No one was a mere bystander but naturally engaged in the goings-on. Close-up pictures later showed everyone’s different reactions to Giselle’s madness. Her mother, Berthe’s (Franziska Wallner-Hollinek’s), premonition of the Wilis was serious and unambiguous but in vain.
A bright red hunting dress ensured that Albrecht’s fiancée, Bathilde (Elena Bottaro), attracted all the attention. I disliked her the moment she used her riding whip to make Giselle lift her head. The smug face of Albrecht’s companion, Wilfrid (Trevor Hayden), fit the cliché of an aristocrat, but in reality, he was a true friend.

The Vienna State Opera orchestra always delivers quality. Their rendition of Adolphe Adam’s score was played under the baton of Luciano di Martino. It was so colorful that even a concert performance would have been worthwhile.

Links:		Website of the Vienna State Ballet
		Giselle—Trailer
Photos:	1.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	2.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	3.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and ensemble, “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	4.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), Franziska Wallner-Hollinek (Berthe), and ensemble; “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	5.	Margarita Fernandes, Rinaldo Venuti (Giselle’s friends), and ensemble; “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	6.	Sinthia Liz (Giselle’s friend), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	7.	Sinthia Liz and Václav Lamparter (Giselle’s friends), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	8.	Rosa Pierro (Myrtha), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	9.	Rosa Pierro (Myrtha), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	10.	Alessandro Cavallo (Hilarion), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	11.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	12.	Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	13.	Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht) and Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
	14.	Laura Fernandez Gromova (Giselle) and Antonio Casalinho (Count Albrecht), “Giselle” by Elena Tchernichova, Vienna State Ballet 2026
		all photos © Vienna State Ballet/Ashley Taylor
Editing:		Kayla Kauffman

27. December 20253. May 2026

Flimsy

“Marie Antoinette”
Vienna State Ballet & Volksoper Wien
Volksoper Wien
Vienna, Austria
December 20, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Thierry Malandain’s Marie Antoinette was the Vienna State Ballet’s second premiere under Alessandra Ferri’s directorship. The one-act piece, created for the Malandain Ballet Biarritz, received its premiere in 2019 at the Palace of Versailles’s Opéra Royal. Its stage was inaugurated in 1770 during Marie Antoinette’s lavish wedding to Louis Auguste, heir to the throne.
Marie Antoinette follows the life of the then only fourteen-year-old Dauphine of France until her execution by guillotine in 1793. That’s twenty-three years of life (nineteen of which Marie Antoinette was Queen consort) to narrate. But Malandain tells little, and the ninety minutes of Marie Antoinette dragged on. Continue reading “Flimsy”

2. December 202512. December 2025

Adventurous

“Peter Pan”
Vienna State Ballet & Volksoper Wien
Volksoper Wien
Vienna, Austria
November 22, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Vienna’s Volksoper buzzed with excitement shortly before the performance of Vesna Orlić’s dance adaptation of Peter Pan. The great many children in the auditorium fell into eager silence when a rousing fanfare opened the ballet.

Orlić, leading ballet master of the Volksoper ensemble, began choreographing in 2006. For her 2019 Peter Pan, she was justifiably awarded Austria’s music theater prize. The production, which is based on James Matthew Barrie’s 1911 novel Peter and Wendy (known as Peter Pan), is witty, gripping, and great entertainment for the young and the old. I don’t know why the company’s former artistic director, Martin Schläpfer, shelved it. His successor, Alessandra Ferri, instantly decided on a revival. Continue reading “Adventurous”

26. November 20252. December 2025

Mockery

“Die Fledermaus” (“The Bat”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
November 21, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

For Johann Strauss II’s bicentennial, the Vienna State Ballet revived Roland Petit’s 1979 ballet adaptation of Strauss’s famous operetta, Die Fledermaus (The Bat). It’s accompanied by a “best of” selection of compositions by Johann Strauss II, his father, Johann Strauss I, and his brother, Josef. The score’s oomph and gaiety are infectious. Strauss’ music, particularly the Viennese waltzes (of which Die Fledermaus has plenty), is part of the DNA of the Vienna State Opera’s orchestra, and under Luciano Di Martino’s baton, it fizzed like champagne. Melodies rose boisterously to a tipping point, balanced provocatively on the edge, and rippled down with relish as if on a rollercoaster ride. Continue reading “Mockery”

27. October 202514. November 2025

Reborn

“Callirhoe”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
October 19, 2025 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

The title of Martin Schläpfer’s farewell choreography, Pathétique, summarized the condition of the Vienna State Ballet he left behind after five years as its artistic director. His successor, Alessandra Ferri, restructured the company. Some dancers left, and others joined, some of whom were returnees. Last weekend, she presented the first premiere under her reign, Alexei Ratmansky’s Callirhoe (which he choreographed for ABT in 2020 under the title Of Love and Rage). It felt like the rebirth of the company. I cannot remember when I last saw the Vienna State Ballet perform with such force. Congratulations! Continue reading “Reborn”

14. April 202525. April 2025

A Farewell Triplet

“Pathétique” (“Divertimento No. 15”/“Summerspace”/“Pathétique”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 09, 2025 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Triple bills have become a trademark of the Vienna State Ballet since Martin Schläpfer took over as artistic director in 2020. The latest, Pathétique, is titled after Schläpfer’s newest and last creation. As on previous occasions, the program’s safe and well-tested base was a Balanchine followed by Cunningham’s Summerspace. Continue reading “A Farewell Triplet”

1. February 202523. January 2026

As It Should Be

“Peter and the Wolf”
Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera
NEST (Künstlerhaus Vienna)
Vienna, Austria
January 26, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Last December, the Vienna State Opera opened a new venue for its young audience in a side wing of the Künstlerhaus, around 550 yards from the Vienna State Opera. The venue was previously a home for the city’s independent companies but was rebuilt thanks to private funding and a grant from Austria’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Research. The theater’s steep auditorium ensures visibility of the stage for even the shortest audience members. Although I was told that its name, NEST, is an abbreviation of “New State Opera,” it reminded me of a bird’s nest.

Despite sunny early spring weather, last Sunday’s matinee was well attended by both children and grown-ups to see the premiere of Peter and the Wolf, Continue reading “As It Should Be”

30. January 202523. January 2026

Striking Similarities

“kaiserRequiem”
Vienna State Ballet & Volksoper Wien
Volksoper Wien
Vienna, Austria
January 25, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

kaiserRequiem, the Volksoper Wien’s latest premiere, is a joint production of the State Ballet Vienna and the singers, choir, and orchestra of the Volksoper. The piece intertwines the sixty-minute chamber opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis), composed by Viktor Ullmann in 1943/44, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D minor (K. 626). Both pieces feature death, which overtook both composers while working on them. Mozart died in December 1791 before finishing Requiem. Requiem had been commissioned, and when Mozart died, his wife, Constanze, assigned its completion to Franz Xaver Süßmayr, her husband’s former pupil. Being of Jewish parentage, Ullmann and his wife were deported to the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt (in today’s Czech Republic) in September 1942. It was a showpiece ghetto to promote the allegedly successful resettlement of Jews, so Theresienstadt had a department for so-called “leisure activities,” such as sports, theater, lectures, and reading. Ullmann worked there as a composer, music critic, and musical event organizer. The premiere of his opera The Emperor of Atlantis was scheduled for Theresienstadt’s stage but was canceled after the general rehearsal. Perhaps the piece’s highly political sarcasm, though subtle, did not slip the notice of the ruling powers, but that’s only speculation. Continue reading “Striking Similarities”

29. March 202424. April 2024

Incomprehensible

“The Lady of the Camellias”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
March 24, 2024, (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

Shouts of “Bravi!” mingled with enthusiastic applause after the curtain closed on John Neumeier’s The Lady of the Camellias last Sunday at the Vienna State Opera. I, who was following the performance on screen, was less happy. Being familiar with this piece as it was performed by other companies, I felt that this premiere left a lot to be desired.

To begin with, the choreography—almost forty-five years after its creation—suffers from the same mannerisms present in large parts of Neumeier’s oeuvre. The tools that he uses to express his protagonists’ inner life are repetitive. For example, books, confectionery, and bunches of flowers slipped from the dancers’ grip to signal astonishment or absent-mindedness. The number of people who stumbled, fell, barged into one another, and ran around precipitously was remarkable. As in other Neumeier-ballets, the buffoon (in this case, Count N., whom Géraud Wielick turned into an especially silly specimen of jealous lover) wore glasses. That Neumeier intertwined Marguerite and Armand’s fate with that of Manon Lescaut—a connection that is inherent in Alexandre Dumas’s novel—would be ingenious if the relevant scenes were less mawkish and didactic. Continue reading “Incomprehensible”

4. January 202425. January 2026

Rekindled

“Shifting Symmetries” (“Concertante”/”Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
December 23, 2023, (online: December 27, 2023)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

The Vienna State Ballet’s newest triple bill combines pieces by Hans van Manen, William Forsythe, and George Balanchine. As Forsythe doesn’t allow video streaming of his works, his In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated wasn’t part of the online broadcast on December 27^th (which showed a recording of the premiere on December 23^rd).
I’ve often been unhappy about the Viennese performances, but what’s to expect when the choreographies given to them are mediocre? This time though, a meaty dance-diet was on the menu, and the company rose splendidly to the occasion.

Concertante (1994) has the punchy elegance that van Manen is known for. It’s sophisticated (but without frills) and so densely energetic that my eyes stayed glued on the dancers. Van Manen doesn’t choreograph pretty steps. His dancers prance cooly and strongly, throw challenging glances, and are forcefully present on stage. Continue reading “Rekindled”

1. May 202311. May 2023

A Gain

“Goldberg-Variationen” (“Tabula Rasa” / “Goldberg-Variationen”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 27, 2023 (livestream)

Since Martin Schläpfer took over the reins of the Vienna State Ballet in 2020, his pre-existing and new choreographies entered the company’s repertoire. Most of them I wouldn’t call assets. However, the most recent double bill is a gain. It combines Ohad Naharin’s “Tabula Rasa” (1986) and Heinz Spoerli’s “Goldberg-Variationen” (1993). Sadly, the livestream of the premiere began only after the break, omitting “Tabula Rasa”. Hence, I can only comment on “Goldberg-Variationen”.

I should have known better, but I was not prepared to read the name of Horst Koegler (1927 – 2012) in the piece description on the Vienna State Ballet’s website. It quotes Koegler who labeled “the Goldberg-Variationen as one of the works from Spoerli’s Bach ballet cathedral which describes people and life in a series of poetic, choreographed images and scenes (…)”. Koegler, one of Germany’s renowned ballet critics and the author of a book about Spoerli, was very well versed with the latter’s oeuvre. He loved “Goldberg-Variationen” – both Bach’s music and its interpretation through dance. Would he have liked Vienna’s one? Continue reading “A Gain”

31. October 20227. November 2022

Unpalatable

“The Sleeping Beauty”
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
October 24, 2022 (livestream)

A few months before the premiere of his “Sleeping Beauty” with the Vienna State Ballet, artistic director Martin Schläpfer stated that he did not intend to alter Petipa’s original – that he was not creating something “a bit Schläpfer and a bit Petipa”. There are already enough of these blended works in the canon; instead of adding another, he preferred to stick with the original. Back then, though, he did not have a detailed vision for his production. So – how did his version finally turn out?

I’ll make one thing immediately clear: Schläpfer did not deliver a radically new take on the fairy tale. The three-acter still unfolds at court, includes the key characters, and follows the well-known storyline. Florian Etti’s modern and unsophisticated set includes an open yard looking out on a king-sized garden of red roses. Nestled among the twigs is the crib of the newborn Aurora, her birth an airy dream. Continue reading “Unpalatable”

7. May 202213. May 2022

Haydn Makes it Possible

“Die Jahreszeiten” (“The Seasons”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 30, 2022 (livestream)

The third premiere of the Vienna State Ballet in this season – “Die Jahreszeiten” (“The Seasons”) – is entirely by Schläpfer. Past experience with his oeuvre made me skeptical of this new work, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The piece is set to Joseph Haydn’s 1801 oratorio “The Seasons” (which coincidentally also premiered in Vienna), for which Gottfried van Swieten penned lyrics based on extracts from a poem by James Thomson. Thomson’s verses describe the ordinary daily and seasonal life on the countryside: spring thaw and early field work, the lush countryside, harvest time, and a sudden thunderstorm, which cools down the sweltering summer heat. An autumnal hunt is followed by cheers for the new wine. Amidst winter gloom and the coziness of a warm cottage a fleeting romance blossoms. Continue reading “Haydn Makes it Possible”

20. January 20228. March 2022

Absurd

“Liebeslieder” (“Other Dances” / “Concerto” / “Liebeslieder Walzer”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
January 14, 2022 (livestream)

The Vienna State Ballet’s new triple bill is an all-American one, combining works from staple choreographers (Robbins and Balanchine) with a short piece by Lucinda Childs, whose name is less familiar in Europe.

Robbins’s “Other Dances”, a pas de deux set to one waltz and four mazurkas by Chopin, was tailor-made for Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1976. In Vienna, Hyo-Jung Kang and Davide Dato brought folksy playfulness to their roles as the carefree, happy-go-lucky couple. Their encounter is as lighthearted and upbeat as the light blue backdrop and the sheer blue fabric of Kang’s dress suggest (costumes by Santo Loquasto). After swaggering about with macho energy in a solo, Dato attends to Kang’s every step with buttery care. Continue reading “Absurd”

19. November 202110. December 2021

In Seventh Heaven?

“Im Siebten Himmel” (“In Seventh Heaven”): “Marsch, Walzer, Polka” / “Fly Paper Bird” / “Symphony in C”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
November 14, 2021 (live stream)

“Im Siebten Himmel” (“In Seventh Heaven”), the Vienna State Ballet’s second new triple bill this season, follows the formula of the previous one: one piece by Balanchine + one by Martin Schläpfer (the company’s artistic director) + one by a contemporary choreographer. Last time, this third choreographer was Ratmansky; this time, it’s Marco Goecke.

For the music, Schläpfer’s “Marsch, Walzer, Polka” – created for the Ballett Mainz in 2006 – was a fitting choice. What could be more engaging for the Viennese audience than popular melodies by Johann Strauss I and his two sons, Josef and Johann? Schläpfer uses “The Blue Danube”, “Annen- Polka”, “Sphärenklänge”, and “Radetzky March” – and, to expand the existing choreography, draws in the “New Pizzicato-Polka” as well. Continue reading “In Seventh Heaven?”