Vienna

The standing ovation after the premiere of Visionary Dances at the Vienna State Opera is a just conclusion to the Staatsballett’s latest triple bill evening. The beginning is set by Justin Peck’s Heatscape, to the music of Bohuslav Martinů’s early work Concert Nr.1 D-Dur H 149. Peck collaborated with artist Shepard Fairey, author of the iconic Obama Hope poster, on this energetic and festive piece. The result is a large, street art-inspired backdrop that combines mandalas with hints of the visual vocabulary of socialist modernism. In front of it, the dancers exuberantly inhabit a mostly sunny world, which, however, remains less enticing than what is to follow.