NOTTE MORRICONE
An ordinary night in the life of an artist
The night – a space for dreams and creativity
A special time begins with darkness: it is a setting for dreams, but also for fears. It is a time when thoughts unfold freely and the imagination takes over. It is not without reason that many artists draw their inspiration from the quiet hours of the night.
Notte Morricone – a choreography by Spanish artist Marcos Morau – also immerses you in such an atmosphere. Inspired by the music of legendary composer Ennio Morricone, Morau stages his works in a new and fascinating way. The Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under the direction of Maurizio Billi lends the performance a special depth with its sound. Together with 16 dancers from the Italian dance company CCN/Aterballetto, an artistic journey through the nocturnal world is created in which dance, theater, music and film merge into an impressive unity.
Moving memories – a tribute to Morricone
Notte Morricone creates a space in which past and present merge. The audience follows various stages of the composer’s life, presented on a stage that is constantly changing. A large wall filled with sketches and sheet music serves as the starting point for the production – sometimes it becomes Morricone’s home, sometimes a recording studio or a movie screen. The scenery is complemented by numerous symbolic objects: sheet music, metronomes, movable chairs and huge spotlights interact with the performers, while puppets with Morricone’s facial features add a special visual touch.
The 16 dancers from CCN/Aterballetto slip into different roles: They are simultaneously mirror images of the composer, movie guests and filmmakers. Their movements paint an intimate portrait of Morricone by bringing his emotions and creative imagination to the stage. The choreography combines precise, almost sculptural elements with flowing, spontaneous transitions, allowing surreal, sometimes dark scenes to unfold. Morau forms the ensemble into a collective body in which each individual person embodies a part of Morricone’s inner world – his thoughts, his fears, his artistic vision.
This impressive combination of dance and narrative art creates a performance that repeatedly refers to the medium of film. The dancers’ movements tell a story – a vivid portrait of a great composer, captured in a nocturnal dream world.
Biographies
Marcos Morau (*1982, Valencia) studied photography, choreography, theater theory and dramaturgy between Barcelona and New York. Since 2004, Marcos Morau has directed his dance company La Veronal, with which he has performed in more than thirty countries at leading theaters and festivals such as the Festival d’Avignon, the Romaeuropa Festival and Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London.
In addition to his work with La Veronal, Marcos Morau has created choreographies for companies such as the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Lyon Opera Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Royal Danish Ballet and
The Royal Ballet of Flanders.
The artist has already received numerous awards, including being named Choreographer of the Year in 2023 by the magazine tanz, and in Spain he was the youngest artist ever to receive the
youngest artist ever to receive the National Dance Prize, the highest award for dance professionals in Spain. With La Veronal, Morau is striving for a future in dance
with new formats and languages, in which opera, dance and physical theater are in closer dialogue than ever before, constantly seeking new ways to express and communicate in our constantly evolving present. As of this season, Marcos Morau is also an associated artist at the Staatsballett Berlin.
Maurizio Billi studied literature at La Sapienza University in Rome and at the Santa Cecilia School of Music, graduating in composition, choral music and orchestral conducting.
composition, choral music, choral conducting and orchestral conducting. He then continued his studies at Santa Cecilia in the master class for composition under the direction of Franco Donatoni.
under the direction of Franco Donatoni.
Maurizio Billi has received numerous prizes and awards as a composer, including the prestigious Premio Personalità Europea in 2000 and 2009.
Since 1992 he has been the director and conductor of the
Banda Musicale della Polizia di Stato, with which he has already given more than 500 concerts in Italy and abroad. With the group, which is considered one of the best wind orchestras in the world, Billi is actively involved in the promotion and advertising of contemporary and historical original music for wind instruments.
He is also a member of the W.E.M.A. (Wind
European Music Association) and artistic director of the Romualdo Marenco International Festival and Competition for Composers.
CCN/ATERBALLETTO & TONKÜNSTLER-ORCHESTER
CCN/
ATERBALLETTO
The Centro Coreografico Nazionale/Aterballetto goes back to the Compagnie Aterballetto, founded in Reggio Emilia in 1977, which was transformed into the Fondazione Nazionale della Danza in 2003.
In 2022, the CCN/Aterballetto was named the first national choreographic center in Italy by the Ministry of Culture. Today, the company comprises 16 dancers for an entire season, working primarily on new productions by internationally recognized choreographers (such as Johan Inger (such as Johan Inger, Angelin Preljocaj, Marcos Morau, Philippe Kratz, Francesca Lattuada, Iratxe Ansa, Igor Bacovich, Eyal Dadon, Diego Tortelli) as well as on the revival of a selected repertoire of masterpieces by choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Hofesh Shechter and Crystal Pite.
The CCN/Aterballetto embodies a diversity of dance styles and always strives to remain cosmopolitan, curious and dynamic. The productions
The company’s productions are regularly performed at the most important dance houses and festivals in Italy and around the world.
Founding members: Regione Emilia-Romagna, Comune di Reggio Emilia
With the support of the Ministero della Cultura
TONKÜNSTLER-ORCHESTER
NIEDERÖSTERREICH
The Tonkünstler Orchestra with its residencies at the Musikverein Vienna, the Festspielhaus St. Pölten and in Grafenegg is one of Austria’s largest and most important musical ambassadors.
The orchestra has a 75-year tradition of Sunday afternoon concerts at the Vienna Musikverein. The St. Pölten Festival Hall was opened by the Tonkunstler in 1997; they also perform in Grafenegg as the resident orchestra.
The core area of the orchestra’s artistic work is the traditional orchestral repertoire, ranging from classical to romantic and 20th century music.
the Romantic period to the music of the 20th century. Musical personalities such as Walter Weller, Heinz Wallberg, Miltiades Caridis, Fabio Luisi, Kristjan Järvi and Andrés Orozco Estrada have been chief conductors of the orchestra.
Since the 2015/16 season, it has been conducted by Yutaka Sado, who will be succeeded by Fabien Gabel in 2025. Tours have taken the
Tonkünstler have recently toured Great Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, Japan and the Baltic states. Numerous CD recordings reflect the orchestra’s versatile artistic profile. Founded in 2016, the orchestra’s own label releases up to four CDs per year as studio productions and live recordings, mostly from the
Musikverein Vienna.
IMPRESSIONS
Photo Credit: Christophe Bernard
