Dresden

Since the coronavirus pandemic, audience reactions are no longer a measure of artistic success: no performance is complete without enthusiastic standing ovations. This is no different at the double bill Vice Versa at the Semperoper Dresden. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Noetic (2014) is as devoid of emotion as possible: Using long, flat plastic strips, the space is measured, first two-dimensionally, then in arcs, rings, and finally with a sphere. There are also mechanical movements in a clean, white setting, while the dark costumes of Les Hommes transform the ensemble into building blocks. It's about space and time, about understanding things; a vocal part provides an intellectual superstructure with Latin passages from Plato and Horace. The beauty of mathematics becomes visible, with mechanical, ...