Alexei Ratmansky's KALLIRHOE Comes to Wiener Staatsoper
An Audience Introduction will take place 30 Minutes before the performance starts at the Gustav Mahler Hall.
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 06, 2026
Alexei Ratmansky's Kallirhoe comes to Wiener Staatsoper this week. The ballet will be performed on Wednesday 7 January 2026 on the Main Stage. An Audience Introduction (in German) will take place 30 Minutes before the performance starts at the Gustav Mahler Hall.
"Her beauty was not earthly but divine, yet not just like that of a nereid or mountain nymph, but like that of Aphrodite herself. Word of her overwhelming beauty spread everywhere, and suitors flocked to Syracuse."
With these words about his title heroine Kallirhoe, the author Chariton of Aphrodisias, who calls himself the "secretary of the lawyer Athenagoras", begins the prose story about the lovers Kallirhoe and Chaireas, whose happy wedding is followed by all kinds of conflicts, disasters, involuntary journeys and dangers before they are reunited in the end.
Kallirhoe, the earliest completely surviving ancient romance novel, probably written in the 1st century AD, is about the "jealousy of men and the whims of the gods" and describes great emotions such as love, envy, loss and forgiveness. Star choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, who has always been fascinated by ancient art and culture, premiered it in 2020 as a narrative ballet with the American Ballet Theatre and created a work that presents a choreographic, contemporary portrait of an ancient world. The European premiere of Kallirhoe with the Vienna State Ballet promises epic drama and great dancing to the magnificent and poetic music of Aram Khachaturian.
“It's about a great love and adventures. A first love, which then returns as mature emotion, cemented by the experience of horrible misfortunes.” -Alexei Ratmansky
Erhalten Sie Broadway-News auf WhatsApp
Erhalten Sie aktuelle Nachrichten, exklusive Berichte und Theaterupdates direkt in der App.
Videos