Caravaggio

Caravaggio, born Michelangelo Merisi, has entered history due to his paintings of dramatic intensity. Caravaggio used to venture the threshold beyond the pale throughout his life. He was seen for admiration of his work and harsh opposition towards his extraordinary realism in painting human beings. Due to his passionate personality, he encountered more than several conflicts with people around him, sponsors, and the law. One of his foremost artistic twists was the extreme contrast between brightness and darkness, light and shadow.

Mauro Bigonzetti is one of the leading choreographers of the Italian ballet which freed itself from the predominance of mainly classical opera companies in the 80’s. He created his choreographies mainly for the Aterballetto in Reggio Emilia that helped him to fame and worldwide attention. “When I think of Caravaggio, I think of the artist and the human being at the same time. These are the two sides of the human existence that interest me in particular. The relations of these two worlds are the inspiration for this work: the inner world on the one hand – and how it evolves artistically on the other.”

Mauro Bigonzetti has developed the piece CARAVAGGIO in collaboration with the Staatsballett Berlin.


45 minutes before each performance (except premieres), there is an introduction in the opera house (in German).
It is prepared and moderated by students of the institute of dance studies (Institut für Tanzwissenschaft) of Freie Universität Berlin.