Photo credit: Hungarian National Opera
In László Seregi’s highly successful ballet, marriage, money and mayhem take center stage in Shakespeare’s uproarious battle of the sexes. It’s a clash of wits and wills as fortune-hunting Petruchio drags quick-tempered Kate to the altar to become the wife she never imagined she’d be.
László Seregi was a key figure in the history of the Hungarian National Ballet, one who felt completely at home in the worldview of the Renaissance. His work has been widely recognized in Hungary and abroad, having performed and presented performances in theaters and Opera houses all over the world.
Also read
“The taming of the shrew” at Hungarian State Opera! Ballet in two acts not recommended for children under the age of 12
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew has inspired a string of stage and film adaptations. The most important ballet adaptations include Maurice Béjart’s 1954 choreography set to the music of Scarlatti, the Czech Vera Untermüllerov’s 1961 work based on the melodies of a Czech composer, and John Cranko’s 1961 version, likewise based on the music of Scarlatti.
This series continued in 1994 with László Seregi, who chooses the music of Karl Goldmark for his choreography, making the composer (a little under 80 years after his death and with the help of some judicious editing on the part of Frigyes Hidas), a co- creator with Shakespeare. The revised ballet music has the effect of a unified work, as if the long-deceased composer had written it specifically for this choreography.
The Taming of the Shrew is part of László Seregi’s Shakespeare cycle, following the highly successful Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the series. László Seregi was a key figure in the history of the Hungarian National Ballet, one who felt completely at home in the worldview of the Renaissance. This was palpable in these works, but his most important ability as a choreographer was most evident in the outstanding dramaturgical sense with which he was able to convert dramatic works to the language of dance in a manner that was both entertaining and accessible to a wide audience.
Also read
Hungarian National Ballet begins 2021/2022 season with a triple bill featuring Sad Case
László Seregi’s highly successful ballet “The Taming of the Shrew” general cast
Katherine……………………….. Jessica Carulla Leon / Tatiana Melnik / Kristina Balaban / Lea Földi
Petruchio……………………….. Gergely Leblanc / Gergő Ármin Balázsi / Louis Scrivener / Mikalai Radziush
Bianca……………………………. Elena Sharipova / Lili Felméry / Ellina Pokhodnykh / Nutsa Chekurashvili
Lucentio…………………………. Dmitry Timofeev / Taran Dumitru / Raffaello Barbieri / Vince Topolánszky
Baptista………………………….. Gábor Szigeti / Vladyslav Melnyk / György Szirb
Hortensio………………………… Mikalai Radziush / Kóbor Demeter / Léo Lecarpentier
Gremio……………………………. Alekszandr Komarov guest / Maksym Kovtun / András Szegő
Grumio……………………………. Balázs Majoros / Miklós Dávid Kerényi / András Rónai
Court tailor………………………. Kristóf Morvai / Boris Myasnikov / Dmitry Zhukov
The Widow……………………… Olha Skrypchenko / Anastasiia Konstantinova / Zsuzsanna Papp
Servant maid 1………………… Sorokina Nadezhda
Servant maid 2………………… Kateryna Tarasova
Servant maid 3………………… Ágnes Riedl
Servant maid 4………………… Liudmila Mizinova
Servant maid 5………………… Barbara Kerényi
Servant maid 6………………… Remedios Agustín Castaño
Servant 1………………………… Alberto Ortega de Pablos
Servant 2………………………… András Szegő / Kristóf Morvai
Servant 3………………………… Yago Guerra
Servant 4………………………… Francesco Sardella
Conductor: Kálmán Szennai
Authors
Composer: Károly Goldmark
Music revised by: Frigyes Hidas
Company répétiteurs: Marianna Venekei / Ildikó Kaszás / Attila Szakács
Choreographer: László Seregi
Libretto after William Shakespeare by: László Seregi
Assistant to the choreographer: Ildikó Kaszás
Costume designer: Attila Csikós
Costume designer: Nelly Vágó
