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Opus

“… a revolution in the spectacle of circus.”- Les Echos, France

Opus is a work of stunning power, virtuosity and poetry.

Fourteen acrobats and a string quartet celebrate the music of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.
Shostakovich’s quartets are by turns intimate, passionate, lyrical, ironic and deeply moving personal testimonies by one of the 20th Century’s greatest composers. In Opus, three of his quartets form the musical and dramatic spine of a red-hot fusion of extreme acrobatics, lyrical movement and group choreography.

Opus begins from a solo performer suspended on a rope serenaded by musicians, then moves through rapidly alternating scenes of dislocated stillness and violent explosions into geometries of acrobats intersected by extreme physicality to arrive at exquisitely detailed and nuanced choreographies of acrobats flying, balancing and landing.

Opus explores the complex relationships between the individual and the group, between the march of history and the dictates of the heart and between the tragic and the comic. This is groundbreaking work of intense power. A melding of music and bodies at the highest level.

About

World Premiere Lyon, France 2013
Performers 18 (14 acrobats, 4 musicians)
Duration 85 minutes

Reviews

★★★★★ “…an evening so remarkable as almost to defy description… extraordinarily moving.”– The Guardian, UK // View

”It is breathtaking, it is beautiful, it is epic.”– The Australian, AUS | View

“A spectacle not to be missed under any circumstances.”– Lyon Magazine, France | View

an exceptional show in the history of circus… a masterpiece of circus art.”- La Presse, Canada | View

“…a work of extraordinary strength, virtuosity and poetry.” – Ysarka, Spain | View

Acknowledgments

Created by Yaron Lifschitz with the Debussy Quartet and the Circa Ensemble

A Nuits de Fourvière production/ Département du Rhône, coproduced with Les Théâtres de la ville de Luxembourg, GREC Festival of Barcelona, Le Cirque-Théâtre d’Elbeuf, Dusseldorf Festival, Barbican Theatre, CACCV Espace Jean Legendre-Compiegne. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Brisbane Festival, Perth International Arts Festival and Melbourne Festival.

Director Yaron Lifschitz
Technical Director/Lighting Designer Jason Organ
Costume Design Libby McDonnell
Set Design Yaron Lifschitz and Jason Organ
Debussy Sound Engineer Christophe Germanique
Producer Danielle Kellie

International Representation
Allen Moon / David Lieberman Artists’ Representatives USA, Canada, Central & South America
Antonin Coutouly / Book Your Show France
Danielle Kellie / Circa Australia & New Zealand
Shaun Comerford / Circa Commercial Projects
Wolfgang Hoffmann / Aurora Nova Worldwide booking & coordination
Yaron Lifschitz / Circa New creations & big dreams

Circa acknowledges the assistance of the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. This project has been assisted by the Australian government through the Ministry for the Arts’ Catalyst—Australian Arts and Culture Fund. Quatuor Debussy acknowledge the support of the French Ministry of Arts, Région Rhône-Alpes, City of Lyon and SPEDIDAM

Tour Dates

Past Dates

Date City Venue
25th April 2018 Iowa, USA Hancher Auditorium, University of Iowa
28th April 2018 Vancouver, Canada Chan Centre, University of British Columbia
5th May 2018 Ottawa, Canada National Arts Centre
18th May 2018 Pamplona, Spain Pamplona Baluarte
19th - 20th May 2018 Bilbao, Spain Teatro Arriaga Antzokia
22nd May 2018 Valladolid, Spain Teatro Calderón de Valladolid
25th - 26th May 2018 Barcelona, Spain Teatre Lliure de Barcelona
12th May 2019 Paris, France Grande salle Pierre Boulez - Philharmonie
17th - 19th May 2019 Guadalajara, Mexico Festival de Mayo - Teatro Degollado

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