Fri, Dec. 12, 2025, 7.30 pm - 11.00 pm | Main Stage
no advance ticket sale yet 
Hamburg New Version
Surrogate Cities
Introduction at 6.45 pm
The music cycle "Surrogate Cities" was created by the German composer and music theater innovator Heiner Goebbels (*1952) in 1994 and is considered one of his most momentous projects. The work is an examination of the urban cosmos in all its complexity, its positive and negative ramifications, its past and present. It is about dynamics and power, about the forces between people and cities which intensify and influence each other. The composition is visceral and fascinating; its individual sections can be put together in variable order, resulting in ever new synergies.
In 2024, Demis Volpi was inspired by this unique and differentiated composition to create a large-scale, full-length work for the Ballett am Rhein. In 2025 he will create a new version for the Hamburg Ballet. For his piece, Volpi uses almost the entire ensemble: large group scenes alternate with intimate pas de deux, tender or humorous moments are interspersed with turbulent episodes. The choreography is just as varied as the music; Goebbels' powerful multi-layered score continuously drives the action forward and literally whirls and sweeps the dancers across the stage. With his finger precisely on the pulse of the music and our times, Volpi captures the urban attitude of life in a big city and translates it into insightful dance.
Choreography: Demis Volpi
Music: Heiner Goebbels
Set: Katharina Schlipf
Costumes: Thomas Lempertz
Dramaturgy: Julia Schinke
2 hours | 1 intermission
WORLD PREMIERE:
Ballett am Rhein, Dusseldorf, April 26, 2024
HAMBURG NEW VERSION:
Hamburg Ballet, Hamburg, December 7, 2025
Supported by the Foundation for the Patronage of the Hamburg State Opera
