Ballet director Michal Sedláček presents his version of the myth, which focuses on Medea as a human being. The fascinating soundscapes of Samuel Barber and the cello quartet Apocalyptica form the musical foundation of this ballet version of the still-modern classic.
Medea is one of the most elusive characters in literary history. Like almost no other female character, she leaves an unprecedented trail of blood in her wake: betrayal of her father, murder of her brother, murder of the king of Iolkos—and that's not all. Seeking protection, she flees with her family to the royal court of Corinth. Superior to those around her in her sense of justice, her intellectuality, her rhetorical power, and her combative determination, Medea is rejected there as a stranger and humiliated again and again. Finally, she goes to extremes to harm her opponents and take revenge for her lover's betrayal: she kills her own children and destroys the ruling house of Corinth.
The complexity and ambivalence of the character Medea mean that her actions and motives defy simple explanations. She is neither victim nor perpetrator, but both at the same time. Euripides, the youngest and most modern of the three great tragic poets of ancient Greece, freed his main character from mythological distance and revealed the disturbingly human side of Medea.
Premiere March 14,
Further performances: March 21 and 27, April 6, 12, and 18, May 10, 16, and 25, 2026
