Petrushka

Known the world over for his astonishingly innovative puppet shows, master puppeteer and Guggenheim Fellow Basil Twist spins new magic around the legendary Ballets Russes production. Set to Stravinsky’s classic score, Petrushka tells of a tragic love triangle between the clown Petrushka, the alluring Ballerina, and the dashing Moor, three magical creatures whose stories emerge amidst the swirl of the Russian carnival.

The program opens with an abstract fantasia of puppetry set to Stravinsky’s Sonata for Two Pianos, performed by Russian identical twin pianists, Julia and Irina Elkina. Nine hidden puppeteers combine Czech and Japanese traditions in a tour de force of music, movement, design and storytelling.