Béjart Ballet Lausanne Venice Tickets 2027

Why see Béjart Ballet Lausanne at Teatro La Fenice

Béjart Ballet Lausanne carries the legacy of Maurice Béjart (1927–2007), the visionary choreographer who tore ballet loose from its drawing-room manners and turned it into a vast, ritual spectacle. Béjart brought dance to stadiums and sports arenas, put men at the centre of the stage, and fused classical technique with the pulse of the twentieth century. His signature works — the mounting hypnosis of Boléro set to Ravel, a primal Rite of Spring, and the choral surge of the Ninth Symphony — remain touchstones of modern choreography.

Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and today led by Julien Favreau, the company keeps Béjart’s language alive with a muscular, ceremonial style: sweeping ensembles, charged solos, and an unashamedly theatrical sense of scale. Teatro La Fenice — Venice’s legendary opera house, whose very name (“the Phoenix”) speaks of rising from the ashes — is a fitting frame for a troupe that has always treated dance as something between rite and revelation.

Teatro La Fenice

Béjart Ballet Lausanne Venice — Frequently Asked Questions

When and where does Béjart Ballet Lausanne perform? The company appears at Teatro La Fenice, Venice’s historic opera house in the San Marco district. Compare the dates above to choose your evening, and see the listing for the start time of that particular performance.

What can I expect, and is there any language barrier? Expect modern and contemporary ballet in the tradition of Maurice Béjart — expressive, large-scale choreography told purely through movement and music, so there is no sung or spoken text to follow. Programmes typically pair signature repertoire with more recent creations; check the listing for the works on the night you attend.

How do I reach Teatro La Fenice? There are no cars in Venice, so you travel on foot or by vaporetto (water-bus). The closest stops are Santa Maria del Giglio and Rialto, each a short stroll from the theatre through the streets of San Marco. Leave a little extra time to find your way among the canals and bridges.

Béjart Ballet Lausanne at La Fenice Tickets 2027

Buy Béjart Ballet Lausanne tickets and experience three landmark works by Maurice Béjart at the historic La Fenice Opera House in Venice.

Five performances are scheduled from January 13 to 17, 2027, bringing together Béjart’s choreography and music by Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky and Maurice Ravel. The dancers will be accompanied by the La Fenice Orchestra under conductor Gavriel Heine.

The programme includes Serait-ce la Mort?, The Firebird and the world-famous Boléro, offering audiences three very different expressions of Béjart’s theatrical and choreographic imagination.

Choose your preferred performance and book your Béjart Ballet Lausanne Venice tickets before the strongest seating categories become limited.

A major tribute to Maurice Béjart

The 2027 performances celebrate the centenary of Maurice Béjart’s birth and the twentieth anniversary of his death.

Born in Marseille in 1927, Béjart became one of the most influential choreographers of the twentieth century. His work expanded the possibilities of modern ballet by combining classical technique with theatre, philosophy, spirituality and contemporary visual imagery.

The Venice programme also coincides with the fortieth anniversary of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, founded in 1987. Rather than presenting a single full-length narrative ballet, the company will perform three contrasting creations that demonstrate the range of Béjart’s artistic language.

Serait-ce la Mort?

Serait-ce la Mort? is set to Richard Strauss’s deeply reflective Vier letzte Lieder, or Four Last Songs, inspired by texts by Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff.

The ballet follows a man approaching the end of his life as he remembers four women who shaped different periods of his existence. Each encounter becomes connected to a particular memory, emotion or stage of his personal journey.

The work has a quieter and more introspective character than the other two ballets in the programme. Strauss’s late orchestral music provides a rich emotional setting for Béjart’s exploration of memory, mortality and the passage of time.

Béjart’s The Firebird

Béjart’s version of The Firebird uses music from Igor Stravinsky’s famous orchestral score but moves away from the traditional Russian fairy-tale setting.

The dancers wear blue unisex costumes inspired by Maoist China, transforming the Firebird into a symbol of revolution, resistance and renewal. At the centre of the choreography stands the Phoenix, representing energy that survives destruction and rises again.

This interpretation gives Stravinsky’s music a political and universal meaning. Instead of presenting an exotic fantasy, Béjart creates a work about collective action, sacrifice and rebirth.

Boléro at La Fenice

Boléro is Maurice Béjart’s most famous choreography and one of the defining dance works of the twentieth century.

A single dancer, known as Melody, performs on a large circular red table. Around the central figure, a group of dancers representing Rhythm initially remains still.

As Ravel’s music repeats and gradually increases in intensity, the surrounding dancers become increasingly involved in the movement. The choreography builds continuously towards a final explosion of collective energy.

The simple visual structure places complete attention on the central performer, the accumulating rhythm and the physical response of the ensemble. Seeing Boléro inside the relatively intimate La Fenice auditorium should make its gradual increase in tension especially powerful.

Live music from the La Fenice Orchestra

The three works will be performed with the La Fenice Orchestra, conducted by Gavriel Heine.

Live orchestral accompaniment is particularly important in this programme. Strauss’s expansive song cycle, Stravinsky’s vivid orchestral colours and Ravel’s relentless rhythmic progression each require a very different musical approach.

The direct relationship between the dancers, conductor and orchestra gives every performance an immediacy that cannot be reproduced with recorded music.

Choosing your performance

Evening performances begin at 7:00 PM on January 13, 14 and 15.

The performances on Saturday, January 16 and Sunday, January 17 begin at 3:30 PM, offering convenient afternoon alternatives for visitors who prefer to keep the evening available.

All five dates present the same triple programme by the Béjart Ballet Lausanne.

Choosing seats at La Fenice

For dance, a clear view of the full stage is especially important. The patterns created by the ensemble in The Firebird and Boléro extend across the entire performance area.

The stalls offer a direct perspective of the stage, while centrally positioned boxes provide a traditional La Fenice experience with a balanced overall view.

Lateral boxes may provide a more angled or partially restricted perspective depending on the precise seat. Central stalls and front seats in central boxes are generally the strongest choices for following the full choreography.

Buy Béjart Ballet Lausanne tickets

Book your Béjart Ballet Lausanne at La Fenice tickets and experience three essential works by one of modern dance’s most influential choreographers.

Select your preferred performance date and seating category before completing your reservation. Advance booking offers a wider choice of seats and sections.

Secure your Béjart Ballet Lausanne tickets and see Boléro, The Firebird and Serait-ce la Mort? live in Venice in January 2027.