On November 19, the world premiere of the ballet by Teet Kask "Louis XIV – Sun King" will take place at the Estonian National Opera. The production is based on the original music of Timo Steiner and Sander Möldri and the libretto of Tõnu Õnnepalu. The decorations were created by Ülar Mark, costumes by Kristian Steinberg. The music director is Arvo Volmer.
According to Teet Kask, the idea to create a ballet about Louis XIV has matured for years. "Louis was a great fan of ballet, dancing himself more than ninety roles in more than forty ballets that Moliére once wrote for him. As a co-creation, a new form of performance was born, the so-called ballet comedie, where both text and dance and music are on stage together."
For Louis, however, ballet was not only a form of performance, but also a system of power management. The best way to control the body at that time was ballet training, which also became the control mechanism of Louis' court, which he himself led in the main role as a dancer.
Louis was born in turbulent times when royal power was in danger. Upon the throne, he laid the foundation for absolute power, and dance became one of the best expressions of his glory and power. Tõnu Õnnepalu: “The state is a theatre. Power is a theatre. But theatre is a vanishing art, the performance has to start again every day, just as the sun rises every morning. That's why the courtiers named Louis Roi-Soleil, the King Sun."
Louis was on the throne for 72 years, making it the longest reigning monarch in Europe to this day, having succeeded many times in his life. The inner fire that inspired him and the memory of the birth of ballet as a modern art form can now be experienced in the performance of Estonian National Ballet dancers.
In the title role William Newton, Ali Urata or Andrea Fabbri.