The legendary Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest American modern dance company, takes to the stage of La Fenice – fifty-one years after its last appearance in the lagoon city – to celebrate the centenary of its foundation. Acclaimed for their exceptional technique and expressive depth, the dancers present three of Graham’s creations, all of which have gone down in the history of modern ballet, offering the rare opportunity to enter the visionary world of the great choreographer, whose legacy continues to fascinate audiences around the world. Diversion of Angels (1948), to the music of Norman Dello Joio, investigates – through three pairs of dancers – three different modes of love: romantic, mature and adolescent. Lamentation (1930), to the gloomy notes of Zoltán Kodály, is a choreographed solo, during which, with stylised movements, the dancer’s body expresses the very essence of pain. Chronicle (1936), to music by Wallingford Riegger, depicts the reaction to the threat of fascism in Europe by Martha Graham, who had previously refused to participate in the Olympics in Nazi Germany. In addition to these historic choreographies is Imagine, a new production by the American choreographer Hope Boykin, with music by Leonard Bernstein, proposed in an arrangement by Christopher Rountree.

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Martha Graham Dance Company

Teatro La Fenice

"The history of American composition at the beginning of the 20th century revolves around an absent center," states Alex Ross, music critic for the New Yorker, and even titles the corresponding chapter in his bestseller "The Rest is Noise" "The Invisibles." This refers to composers such as Charles Ives, Wallingford Riegger, Carl Ruggles and others who had to work hard to establish an identity as American composers. Barbara Hannigan has made it her mission to bring these "invisibles" back to light. After intensive research in the Library of Congress, she presents a program that is probably unique in its form. It shows American music between 1900 and 1945 as if through a magnifying glass: from radical simplicity to radical dissonance to the fusion of classical and popular music, which reached its peak on Broadway. A picture of musical diversity that must necessarily remain incomplete, but even in this form allows fascinating and surprising insights. Hannigan's particular focus is on the individual, edgy, rebellious voices that sought their own expression and broke new ground.

Ives Crawford Seeger Riegger Ruggles Rodgers Gershwin

Gasteig HP8

The Brass Ensemble performs a variety of virtuoso compositions and arrangements for brass, including works by Gustav Holst and Dutch composer Jan Koetsier.

Brass Ensemble

Northwestern University

Trailblazing soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan guides us through the musical landscape of America at a defining point in its history, from concert hall to musical theatre.

Wallingford Riegger

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 13, 2026

Brass Ensemble · Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Apr 8, 2027

America's Voice · London Symphony Orchestra

Past events

6 - 10 May, 2026

Martha Graham Dance Company · Teatro La Fenice

24 - 25 Jan, 2025

Ives Crawford Seeger Riegger Ruggles Rodgers Gershwin · Munich Philharmonic

About

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