Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Joby Talbot
Genus
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
World premiere choreography by Wayne McGregor (2007) for the Paris Opera Ballet.
Programme Note
Genus, a ballet for 24 dancers, was inspired by Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species which was published in 1859. Chroeographer Wayne McGregor went to visit Darwin's vast collection on display at London's Natural History Museum, and much of what he saw is shown on a film projected onstage which takes the place of décor in his ballet. Among a horde of objects that flash past one's eyes almost too quickly to be identified, one can recognize an eagle flying, a lion, and, pell-mell, an elderly naked man, someone running, a snake in a jar, and pages of writing with a drawing of "the tree of life" taken from his notebooks. McGregor commisiosned the score for Genus from Joby Talbot. It is a recorded score comprising choral music and music for string quartet and solo violin by Joby Talbot. The music has been remixed and electronically treated by Talbot's collaborator Deru.