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Program → Ballet

The Seagull

John Neumeier
As in Anton Chekhov’s drama, John Neumeier’s ballet adaptation brings together people from several generations on a remote country estate. Despite their differing views on life, they are united by the timeless conflict between art and love. Neumeier sets the story in the world of dance, giving each character a representative dance style. The production will be revived in autumn 2025 to mark the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s death.

Work specs

Ballet by John Neumeier based on Anton Chekhov

World Premiere: Hamburg Ballett, Hamburg, Juni 16, 2002

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Cast

  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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  • Die Möwe
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The Production

  • Venue Main Stage
  • Duration 150 m
  • Break 2 intermissions / Act I: 40 min, Act II: 40 min, Act III: 50 min
  • Age recommendation ab 13 Jahren / Klasse 8
On a secluded country estate, people from multiple generations come together, each bringing different views on life and art. Many of them are artists or aspire to be artists, yet none of them are happy. The free-spirited life, detached from conventions, exists only as a symbol, embodied by a seagull that is shot without reason by one of the main characters. In his adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", John Neumeier shifts the action from the world of literature to the world of dance. Instead of literary discussions, the characters express themselves through various dance styles. The young Kostja, searching for new forms of expression, uses the language of expressionist modern dance. His mother Arkadina looks back on an outstanding career as a prima ballerina and represents classical ballet. Nina, on the other hand, dreams of a great theater career, but her relationship with the successful choreographer Trigorin quickly falls apart, and in Moscow, she only manages to secure a job as a revue dancer. Despite these setbacks, Nina gains strength; through her own decisions, she escapes the emptiness of the provincial life she came from.

Neumeier focuses on the central conflict of the piece: the tension between art and love. The characters seek comfort in each other, but love offers no escape: it remains either mere convention or pure illusion. Chekhov’s "The Seagull" is rich in multi-layered dialogues and psychologically complex characters. Neumeier takes up this panorama and, through different forms of expression in his ballet, makes visible what often remains only implied in the drama. On the 50th anniversary of of Dmitri Shostakovich's 50th death, this poignant ballet returns to the Hamburg Ballet repertoire.
Supporting Program
  • Introduction 45 minutes before each performance begins in the foyer, no registration required

  • CLICK in - für junge Menschen (10 – 30 J,)
    BallettTester:innen zu "Die Möwe" am 20. September, 17:00
    Anmeldung: clickin.balletttester@hamburgballett.de

  • CLICK in - für junge Menschen
    (für Schüler:innen, Auszubildende, Studierende, Freiwilligendienstleistende, zw. 10 - 30 Jahren)
    Kantinentalk zu "Die Möwe" am 25. September 2025, 18:15
    Anmeldung: clickin.kantinentalk@hamburgballett.de

  • CLICK in - für junge Menschen
    (für alle zw. 20 - 35 Jahren)
    BallettInsider:innen zu "Die Möwe" am 16. Oktober 2025, 18:45
    Infos und Anmeldung: clickin.ballettinsider@hamburgballett.de

Content − +

FIRST ACT

In the Country
Kostja has built a stage in the garden of his uncle Piotr Sorin's estate. Nina, a girl from the neighbouring farm, arrives to dance the title role in his creation "Soul of the Seagull". 
Kostya loves Nina. Nina loves Kostya.

Kostya's mother, the famous prima ballerina Irina Arkadina arrives with her lover, the choreographer Boris Trigorin. Among the other guests for Kostja's performances are: Ilya Shamrayev, foreman of Sorin's estate, his wife Polina, their daughter Masha, the physician Dr. Dorn, and the village school teacher, Semyon Medvedenko.
Medvedenko loves Masha. Masha loves Kostya. Kostya loves Nina. Nina falls in love with Trigorin. Trigorin loves Arkadina but is fascinated by Nina. Arkadina loves Trigorin. Polina loves Dr. Dorn.

Kostya's Dance Piece "Soul of the Seagull"

Music from across the Lake – Arkadina recalls one of her famous roles

Arkadina speaks with her son Kostya
Trigorin teaches Nina

Card games and Amusement

Jealousy and Decisions
Kostya's Dream Dances

 
SECOND ACT

Moscow
Revue Theatre: Nina is one in a chorus line

Nina meets a changed Trigorin -
The Revue goes on

Kostya's Sketch Book – Dream Dances

Nina's Polka

Imperial Theatre: Trigorin's Ballet "Death of the Seagull"

Masha decides to marry Medvedenko

Nina's letter to Kostya

Autumn Garden: Sorin faints

Arkadina's Visit – A sad Wedding Celebration

Nina's Appearance – Nina's Farewell

Kostya's Dream Dances end ...

Historic Data − +

PREMIERE:
The Hamburg Ballet, Hamburg, June 16, 2002

ORIGINAL CAST:
Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina: Anna Polikarpova
Konstantin (Kostya) Gavrilovich Triplev: Ivan Urban (for Jirí Bubenícek)
Piotr Nikolayevich Sorin: Lloyd Riggins
Boris Alexeyivich Trigorin: Otto Bubenícek
Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya: Heather Jurgensen
Yevgeny Sergeyivich Dorn:Sébastien Thill
Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko: Peter Dingle
Ilya Afanasevich Shamrajev: Yaroslav Ivanenko
Polina Andreyevna: Niurka Moredo
Masha: Joëlle Boulogne

ON TOUR:
2018 Vienna

IN THE REPERTORY:
Finnish National Ballet
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre
The National Ballet of Canada

The Seagull

John Neumeier

  • Duration 150 m
  • Break 2 intermissions / Act I: 40 min, Act II: 40 min, Act III: 50 min
  • Age recommendation ab 13 Jahren / Klasse 8

All Dates