Who counts the peoples, who names the names? Peoples of all eras dedicated extra creation stories to the first humans, some even mentioning their names. The ancient Greeks did not. But the call of their creator resounds like thunder: Prometheus. Now the Theater Hof dance ensemble brings Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus to life. Ludwig van Beethoven's incidental music (original libretto by Salvatore Viganò) proves to be a solid foundation which conductor Peter Kattermann, with the responsive and tactful symphony orchestra, vividly develops into a walk-in soundscape. The company uses the terrain — smilingly playful and seemingly effortlessly mocking all grounding.
In Igor Kirov's choreography, three plot lines intertwine: the creation of the primal father and mother, the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the pedagogical work of three muses. For this, set designer Frank Albert conceived a cubistically framed open space which, by way of video technology, shimmers with embers, starlight, and billowing clouds. Monstrous in the background: a dark crystal. At best, a story ballet emerges here, not a narrative ballet. In the most legible of the largely abstract scenes, Prometheus (in the acclaimed premiere: Ali San Uzer, an autocrat of decisive, yet selflessly humane intensity) manipulates the still lifeless people like jointed dolls. In the most comical sequence, Terpsichore (Isabella Bartolini) teaches them the elegance of dancing.
