Opus 40

The choreographer was forty years old in July 2000, when he created this ode to Youth. Without a narrative framework, dance follows the main theme of pleasure. We are invited to return to the imaginative world of our childhood, to recapture lost sensations, the first emotions of our flesh. The guttural, though familiar voice of Meredith Monk accompanies this intimist odyssey, beating time to the dancers’ evocation of the tastes of our youth. Bird songs, coffee smells, first love… For, when we reach a turning point, it is suitable to return to these simple charms of life. This way, the choreographic theme ventures into regions of secret joys, to climax in languid duos, symbolising the return to adulthood, accepted and acceptable, because it is sublimated by love that soothes and provides the tranquil fullness of an intense existence.

Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Music: Meredith Monk
Scenography and costumes : George Condo
Lighting: Dominique Drillot
Duration: 28 min

Premiere held on April 22nd 2000, Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo