2023 with Circa
It’s been a brutal year – tempers, conflicts, costs and temperatures rising.
At Circa, we were lucky enough to create and present work we love for audiences around the world. Increasingly this is precarious, precious and privileged. It shouldn’t be. The right to experience human creativity, to relish the possibilities of human body and to thrill at the deep connections between an ensemble of artists is increasingly necessary. Especially right now. Together we can move the world.
Our last performance of the year is Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Anthem for Humanity) in the Grand Theatre of Luxembourg with the Luxembourg Philharmonic on New Year’s Eve. Ushering in the new year with the radical, revolutionary fire of Beethoven’s setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy is omen for a fresh, hopeful year to come. As Beethoven ripped the classical symphonic form asunder when he had the human voice break into song over the orchestra; in our production, the stage is flooded with acrobats and choir members mingling in a sea of togetherness. This most magnificent of symphonies speaks directly – let’s change the tune. Let’s change course and create a better future. Its first words are:
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,
Und freudenvollere.
O friends, not these tones!
But let’s strike up more agreeable ones,asun
And more joyful.
Yaron Lifschitz
Artistic Director, Circa