Twilight Houses

Ballet by Tiit Härm to the music of Gustav Mahler

NB! Since the extension of  our opera house and the larger theatre hall have not yet been completed and the orchestra of the size required to play Mahler's music cannot fit in the orchestra pit of the current theatre hall, the music will be performed from a recording – Estonian National Opera uses 22 special amplifiers to achieve a natural and dynamic sound in the theatre hall.

After Eduard von Keyserling’s eponymous novel

World premiere in the Estonian National Opera on March 18, 2022

Tiit Härm’s creative credo has always been inspired by his faith in the comforting power of beauty, and for him, ballet is one of the most sincere forms of that beauty. The wish to reach beyond the real, everyday, sometimes even banal world, aspire to intense feelings and supreme beauty, has characterised Härm as both a dancer and a stage director.

“Twilight Houses” speaks of the elegiac beauty of Baltic German manors at the turn of the previous century. The ballet talks about emotions, their beauty and pain, and of soulful, sensual love. It is a story of two young people with a passion for life, who, yearning for each other, wish to overcome the stuffy inertia of the way of thinking and living of the Baltic German nobility and to live proudly and freely.

Young Baroness Fastrade of the Paduren manor arrives home after a long period of time spent away. Home is exactly what it used to be, abiding by established traditions and an old way of life. Young Baron Dietz of the neighbouring manor entertains himself with parties, hunting, card games, and an affair with Lydia, wife of Baron Dachhausen, finding no lasting satisfaction from anything. He organises entertaining events for the young people in the surrounding manors to shake up their life of dull vegetation. Fastrade unexpectedly shows up at one of those events. Both find themselves hoping that if they stay together, a significant change might occur in their lives. Dietz makes a spontaneous decision to align his life around Fastrade. Their relationship brings together self-sacrificing love and an unbridled energy...

The works of Mahler and Keyserling are connected through their shared years of life and activity as well as their deep dedication to expressing their perception of the world perfectly in their art. The dramatic passion of Mahler’s music brings deep emotions, passion, and love to the ballet stage.

Recommended for ages 12+

Cast:

Dietz von Egloff: Jevgeni Grib, William Newton, Ali Urata, Cristiano Principato, Marcus Nilson
Fastrade: Ketlin Oja, Laura Maya, Nanae Maruyama 
Lydia: Marta Navasardyan, Anna Roberta, Madeline Skelly, Ana Gergely, Ami Morita
Baron Warthe: Vitali Nikolajev, Marcus Nilson, Andri Havrõljuk
Baroness Arabella: Triinu Leppik-Upkin, Nadežda Antipenko, Ksenia Seletskaja
Baroness Arabella accompanist: Ellinor Piirimäe, Maarja Praks, Phillipa McCann
Baron Dachhausen: Marcus Nilson, Ali Urata, Erik Thordal - Christensen, Andri Havrõljuk
Baron Port: Joel Calstar-Fisher,Benjamin Pierce, Anatole Blaineau
Baroness Carolina: Abigail Mattox, Kim Jana Hügi, Anete Obolenski
Count Šutov: Nikos Gkentsef, Francesco Piccinin, Sacha Barber
Countess Adine: Ksenia Seletskaja, Ashley Chiu, Nattalia Tiemi, Lisbeth Schellbach
Count Bützow: Finn Adams, Samuel Parham, Connor Williams, Oscar Pouchoulin
Countess Rosalje: Nadežda Antipenko, Marjana Fazullina, Karina Laura Leškin, Triinu Leppik - Upkin, Karolina Bart, Dayne Collins
Three Chefs: Antonio Gallo, Luca Giovanetti, Leonardo Celegato, Samuel Parham, Hidetora Tabe, Jan Trninic, Pol Monsech
Grandmother: Karolina Bart, Karina Laura Leškin, Kim Jana Hügi, Nattalia Tiemi
The Gipsy: Marjana Fazullina, Nadežda Antipenko, Ana Gergely