Costume Designer

Set Designer

Choreographer

Ballet Dancer

The Semperoper Ballett company performs John Neumeier's full-length homage to dance legend Vaslav Nijinsky.

Nijinsky

Semperoper Dresden

The city itself is mythical: Venice, with its undulating shores, where the aging writer Gustav von Aschenbach abandons his previous life’s concept. In John Neumeier’s adaptation of the famous Thomas Mann novella, Aschenbach becomes a master choreographer who finds himself in the midst of a deep creative crisis.

Death in Venice 

Ballettzentrum Hamburg – John Neumeier

It has become a tradition for ballet companies all over the world to perform Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" at Christmas time. John Neumeier's version of "The Nutcracker", however, avoids direct reference to Christmas. In his ballet, the central character Marie celebrates her twelfth birthday and is drawn by the mysterious ballet master Drosselmeier into the fascinating world of dance. It is, in fact, a ballet about ballet itself.

The Nutcracker

Paris in the 19th century: extravagant balls, visits to the theater, sparkling diamonds, and champagne. Here, Armand Duval, a young man from high society, falls head over heels in love with the courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Marguerite gives up her former life to be with Armand, but his father rejects their relationship as unsuitable and pressures her until sheagrees to give Armand up, which she does out of love for him. Soon after,, Marguerite dies, lonely and destitute. Only after her death does Armand learn the true reason behind their separation.

EPSG:4326

Lady of the Camellias

Staatsoper Hamburg

"THE LITTLE MERMAID" REPLACES "SURROGATE CITIES"
John Neumeier's "The Little Mermaid" replaces the production "Surrogate Cities" in the current and upcoming seasons, thus also opening the 50th Hamburg Ballet Days.

The Little Mermaid

Hamburg State Opera

Ballet by John Neumeier based on Anton Chekhov | Introduction at 5.15 pm

On a secluded country estate, people from multiple generations come together, each bringing different views on life and art. Many of them are artists or aspire to be artists, yet none of them are happy. The free-spirited life, detached from conventions, exists only as a symbol, embodied by a seagull that is shot without reason by one of the main characters. In his adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", John Neumeier shifts the action from the world of literature to the world of dance. Instead of literary discussions, the characters express themselves through various dance styles. 

The Seagull

What better way to celebrate the 200th birthday of the Semperoper Ballett than with a tribute to the genius of Vaslav Nijinsky? His name and that of the Ballets Russes are closely associated with the history of dance in Dresden.

Alexandre Dumas fils in his La Dame aux Camélias describes a refined variant of personal love for a Parisian courtesan. Love, let us add, quite brief in duration and cut short by Alexandre Dumas père, and ultimately by his beloved’s death of consumption. It began with a novel, later a play appeared, followed by a migration of the tragic heroine to Verdi’s La traviata, for the story to finally become the theme of the famous ballet by the remarkable choreographer John Neumeier. He opted to use Chopin’s music (although initially he considered Verdi). I do not know if he knew at the time that Dumas fils ended up in Mysłowice in 1851 while searching for another paramour of his (a daughter-in-law of the Russian Chancellor), where he took up the case of a mysterious murder to while away the time. He never got to see his mistress, never found the murderer, but he did stumble upon George Sand’s letters to Frédéric Chopin instead. The paths of Dumas and Chopin crossed once in Silesia, and now they do yet again in Warsaw, in Neumeier’s exceptional La Dame aux Camélias. The power of modern classics on stage and historical flavours off stage.

The Lady Of The Camellias

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

Thomas Mann’s (1875–1955) famous short story about the author Aschenbach and his fascination with the young Tadzio, set in Venice plagued by cholera, garnered much attention as it was published in 1912. John Neumeier’s work portrays the author as a choreographer dedicated to his art. In Venice, he unravels both a hidden side of himself as well as pure love within. The ballet, which had its world premiere in Hamburg Ballet in 2003, features music by Bach and Wagner, played both live on piano on stage and from recordings.

Death in Venice

Finnish National Opera and Ballet

As we continue our efforts to enrich our repertoire with a diverse range of ballets and both esteemed and emerging choreographers, we are excited to open our 2024-2025 season with the Company premiere of John Neumeier’s coveted production of The Little Mermaid. This beautifully haunting interpretation of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairytale follows the troubled mermaid heroine on a journey between the divergent worlds of land and sea—one utterly complex, the other magnificently serene. With sets and costumes of grand scale displayed in a captivating blend of colors and shadows, complemented by an original score by composer Lera Auerbach, this intricate love story, deeply rooted in Andersen’s 1837 fairytale follows the mysterious mermaid heroine, makes its long-awaited debut in Houston.

Wortham Theater Center

Ghosts of the past continue to haunt in Williams seminal play The Glass Menagerie. Amanda Wingfield is a faded remnant of Southern gentility who now lives in a cramped St. Louis apartment with her aimless son, Tom, and her debilitatingly shy daughter, Laura. With their father absent and the Great Depression in motion, the siblings find comfort in their distractions — alcohol, movies and writing for Tom and a collection of glass animals for Laura. When a gentleman caller arrives for dinner, the Wingfield family is flooded with hope. But it’s uncertain if this mysterious visitor will change things for the better or shatter a family’s fragile illusions.

The Glass Menagerie

San Francisco Playhouse

This poetic drama, about the choices in the life of a young artist, made the yet-unknown playwright an overnight sensation. It’s an American classic: envisioned for our world today and our unique theatre in the round.

Ualbany Performing Arts Center

Based on Shakespeare’s joyous romantic comedy, John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the hijinks and hilarity that occur when a well-intentioned plan with a love potion goes awry. Following the thread of interwoven romances, the ballet travels from the Court of Athens to the Fairy Realm, where mayhem ensues. By cleverly combining the music of Mendelssohn, Ligeti and traditional organ music, the score transports the audience into a fantasy world through choreography that demonstrates the narrative power of ballet. Created in 1977 on Hamburg Ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Neumeier’s most famous works performed by companies around the globe. Houston Ballet was the first North American company to perform the distinguished work in 2014. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Based on Shakespeare's joyous romantic comedy, John Neumeier's A Midsummer Night's Dream follows the hijinks and hilarity that occur when a well-intentioned plan with a love potion goes awry. Following the thread of interwoven romances, the ballet travels from the Court of Athens to the Fairy Realm, where mayhem ensues. By cleverly combining the music of Mendelssohn, Ligeti, and traditional organ music, the score transports the audience into a fantasy world through choreography that demonstrates the narrative power of ballet. Created in 1977 on Hamburg Ballet, A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Neumeier's most famous works performed by companies around the globe. Houston Ballet was the first North American company to perform distinguished work in 2014.

Tennessee Williams called his drama a “Memory Play”. With The Glass Menagerie, he laid the foundation for his success and fame as one of the most important authors of the 20th century. John Neumeier applied this written masterpiece to the ballet stage, in a full length ballet with music by the American composers Charles Ives, Philip Glass and Ned Rorem.
In The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams deals with issues that he struggled with throughout his life: family and the decline of the middle class. In his interpretation, John Neumeier stresses the biographical elements of the play, which subtly mold his piece. In many ways, he feels connected with Tennessee Williams; different levels of the plot flow into each other and happen simultaneously. Emotions and inner conflicts become visible and tangible. In John Neumeiers ballet, the dancers give feelings a physical shape. The Glass Menagerie is full of suggestions of the past, longings of the present and possibilities of the future.

John Neumeier's The Glass Menagerie

Harris Theater

Awe-inspiring in its complexity, universal in its appeal, Bach's St. Matthew Passion is considered by many to be the single greatest masterpiece of western sacred music, a profoundly moving depiction of the final days of the life of Jesus. John Neumeier, the celebrated choreographer who made his LAO debut with Orpheus and Eurydice in 2018, returns to Los Angeles with one of his signature creations, a ballet that has been cheered by audiences throughout the world.  Marrying the powerful music and narrative with dance in complete harmony, Neumeier fills the stage with unforgettable movement and images. The extraordinary dancers of the Hamburg Ballet join forces with James Conlon, a team of brilliant vocal soloists, and LA Opera's formidable orchestra and chorus for a spellbinding, deeply meaningful performance you'll never forget.

St. Matthew Passion

Los Angeles Music Center

The Young Conservatory Middle School Actors Ensemble presents an abridged version of Tennessee Williams's classic play, The Glass Menagerie. We follow the trials and tribulations of the Wingfield family as the matriarch, Amanda, desperately tries to carve out a future for her children—one at odds with the changing world around them. The young cast of The Glass Menagerie explores the conflict between personal dreams and familial duties, made more resonant as they take their first steps towards shaping their futures and creating the world they want to see.

YC Actors Ensemble The Glass Menagerie Project

Geary Theater

The impoverished southern belle Blanche DuBois has experienced the downfall of her wealthy family and numerous setbacks and now seeks refuge with her younger sister in New Orleans. In a cramped and aggressive environment, she loses touch with reality, driven by an all-consuming longing and the belief that she is truly special. This tragic story of loss, love and violence awarded American writer Tennessee Williams the coveted Pulitzer Prize in 1948.

End­station Sehn­sucht

German Oper am Rhein

John Neumeier's Illusions – like Swan Lake combines motifs from Tchaikovsky's ballet with the biography of the Bavarian "Fairy Tale King" Ludwig II. In a mixture of classical reconstruction and psychological drama, Swan Lake becomes a canvas for inner conflicts. Neumeier addresses loneliness, longing, and the border between reality and illusion – integrating parts of the original choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa.

Illusions – like Swan Lake

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

John Neumeier's version of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker presents the ballet as a coming-of-age story. The focus is on Marie, who is introduced by ballet master Drosselmeier to the world of theater. Neumeier combines classic Petipa quotations with autobiographical elements, creating a poetic work about artistic awakening – a modern classic since its premiere in 1971.

The Kammerballett Hamburger debuts in Venice. Founded in 2022 by Edvin Revazov, with the valuable support of Isabelle Rohlfs and John Neumeier, to react to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and welcome displaced Ukrainian dancers with the language of art, the ensemble aims to connect its repertoire of classical and contemporary dance to socially relevant themes. Eight dancers will be performing at the Malibran Theatre, – accompanied on piano by Michal Bialk – in two choreographies by John Neumeier, a master at combining classical tradition and modern forms in his creations and expressing himself with a highly personal language. The first is Hamlet Connotations, to the music of Aaron Copland, testimony to Neumeier’s interest in the famous Shakespearean tragedy which was a source of inspiration to him for various dance performances over the years: starting with Hamlet Connotations (1976) up to the most recent Hamlet 21 in 2021. The second is Petruška Variations, a ballet, also from 1976, modelled on Igor Stravinsky’s Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

Hamburger Kammerballett

Teatro Malibran

John Neumeier’s ballet Nijinsky paints a powerful choreographic portrait of the legendary dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.

Costume Designer, Set Designer, Choreographer, Ballet Dancer

John Neumeier

Events

Upcoming events

May 4 - Jul 9, 2026

Endstation Sehnsucht · Deutsche Oper am Rhein

2 - 4 Oct, 2026

Illusions – like Swan Lake · Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

9 - 11 Oct, 2026

The Nutcracker · Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

16 - 17 Oct, 2026

Hamburger Kammerballett · Teatro La Fenice

Oct 19 - Nov 9, 2026

Nijinsky · Wiener Staatsoper

Past events

Jan 18 - Feb 10, 2026

Nijinsky · Semperoper Dresden

14 - 24 Jan, 2026

Death in Venice · Staatsoper Hamburg

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