Ballet berlin caravaggio biography

Caravaggio, born Michelangelo Merisi, has entered history due to his paintings of dramatic intensity. This ballet by Mauro Bigonzetti aims at picturing in his choreography the specific atmosphere of Il Caravaggio's works.

Caravaggio used to venture the threshold beyond the pale throughout his life. He was admired for his work and particularly the harsh his realism in painting human beings. Due to his passionate personality, he encountered more than several conflicts with people around him, sponsors, and the law. One of his foremost artistic twists was the extreme contrast between brightness and darkness, light and shadow.

Mauro Bigonzetti is one of the leading choreographers of the Italian ballet which freed itself from the predominance of mainly classical opera companies in the 80s. He created his choreographies mainly for the Aterballetto in Reggio Emilia that helped him to fame and worldwide attention. "When I think of Caravaggio, I think of the artist and the human being at the same time. These are the two sides of the human existence that interest me in particular. The relations of these two worlds are the inspiration for this work: the inner world on the one hand – and how it evolves artistically on the other."

Mauro Bigonzetti has developed the piece Caravaggio in collaboration with the Staatsballett Berlin. This film follows the choreographer and the company in the rehearsals and features exclusive interviews of the dancers.

• By Diane Baker / Staff reporter

The Staatsballett Berlin (Berlin State Ballet) will be taking over the National Theater next week for two Taiwan premieres — its own debut and two performances of its stunning production of Mauro Bigonzetti’s 2008 two-act ballet Caravaggio.

Though it will not be celebrating its 10th anniversary until next year, the Staatsballett Berlin can boast of a long and gloried history. The company was formed in 2004 by the merger, triggered by the city’s financial crisis, of the ballet companies of the German capital’s three opera houses: the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Komische Oper Berlin. The company continues to perform on all three stages. The history of ballet in Berlin goes back to 1742, when Fredrich the Great founded the Royal Opera House Unter den Linden and the first ballet company.

Ukraine-born, Bolshoi Ballet-trained Vladimir Malakhov became artistic director and first soloist of the Staatsballett Berlin in 2004, after a stint at the Moscow Classical Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theater and guest artist appearances with a number of other companies. His main job was to forge a united identity for the survivors of the disparate troupes, who like most ballet companies worldwide, have dancers from many countries.

The Staatsballett Berlin is one of the largest companies in Europe, with 88 dancers and two apprentices hailing from about 25 nations. It is a classical ballet company, though its repertoire includes modern works from many of the best choreographers working today.

The 45-year-old Malakhov, who announced earlier this year that he will step down as artistic director next year, will dance the lead in Caravaggio on both Thursday and Friday, as well as perform Maura de Candia’s Dying Swan and another piece at the two gala performances on Saturday (mo

Italian painter (1571–1610)

For other uses, see Caravaggio (disambiguation).

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; , ; Italian:[mikeˈlandʒelomeˈriːzida(k)karaˈvaddʒo]; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life, he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.

Caravaggio employed close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that came to be known as tenebrism. He made the technique a dominant stylistic element, transfixing subjects in bright shafts of light and darkening shadows. Caravaggio vividly expressed crucial moments and scenes, often featuring violent struggles, torture, and death. He worked rapidly with live models, preferring to forgo drawings and work directly onto the canvas. His inspiring effect on the new Baroque style that emerged from Mannerism was profound. His influence can be seen directly or indirectly in the work of Peter Paul Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and Rembrandt. Artists heavily under his influence were called the "Caravaggisti" (or "Caravagesques"), as well as tenebrists or tenebrosi ("shadowists").

Caravaggio trained as a painter in Milan before moving to Rome when he was in his twenties. He developed a considerable name as an artist and as a violent, touchy and provocative man. He killed Ranuccio Tommasoni in a brawl, which led to a death sentence for murder and forced him to flee to Naples. There he again established himself as one of the most prominent Italian painters of his generation. He trav