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Kallirhoe
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October 2025  | ||||||
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Kallirhoe | Ballet
Act 1 approx.: 65 mins
Break approx.: 25 mins
Act 2 approx.: 50 mins
Synopsis
Act 1
In 400 BCE in the Greek city of Syracuse, a chorus of women celebrate Aphrodite, the goddess of love. They are joined by Callirhoe, a woman who is so beautiful that everyone compares her to Aphrodite. A group of young athletes, led by Chaereas and his friend Polycharmus, then arrive. Callirhoe and Chaereas lock eyes and instantly fall in love.
Callirhoe’s envious suitors bring in her father Hermocrates and Chaereas’s father Ariston, bitter enemies, in the hopes that they will break up the young lovers. However, the fathers are convinced to put aside their feud and allow their children to marry. Callirhoe and Chaereas exchange bracelets as a sign of their devotion, and wedding celebrations ensue.
Undeterred, the suitors devise a new scheme. One secretly gives Callirhoe’s maid a bracelet identical to the wedding bracelets, which they use to trick Chaereas into thinking Callirhoe is unfaithful. In a jealous rage he rushes to confront her. Although she pleads her innocence, he does not listen. She collapses in frustration and appears lifeless. Her remorseful maid reveals the plot to Chaereas and he despairs, as he believes he killed Callirhoe.
The mourning citizens bury Callirhoe. After everyone leaves, she awakens and is horrified to find herself buried alive. The pirate Theron and his crew come to loot the tomb, and they abduct her along with the treasure.
In grief, Chaereas returns to Callirhoe’s resting place with Polycharmus and is shocked to find the tomb entirely empty. They realize she must be alive and hasten off to find her.
Across the sea in Miletus, the nobleman Dionysius laments his wife’s death. The pirates arrive and sell Callirhoe to Dionysius. As soon as he sees her, he forgets his sorrow and falls madly in love. Meanwhile, his servant Plangon suspects that Callirhoe is pregnant. Callirhoe explains that it is Chaereas’s child. Plangon advises her to marry Dionysius to protect herself and her baby, and Callirhoe reluctantly agrees to her proposal. As the wedding begins, Chaereas arrives. Plangon sees his bracelet and deduces that he is Callirhoe’s husband. Loyal to Dionysius and seeking to preserve his newfound happiness, she has Chaereas and Polycharmus arrested.
Act 2
Now captives, Chaereas and Polycharmus are carted off to the palace of the powerful Mithridates. Mithridates sees Chaereas’s fine bracelet and asks him who he is. As Chaereas narrates his past, it unfolds before him in a vision. Mithridates wants Callirhoe for himself and orders his guards to find her. When she arrives, Dionysius and Mithridates fight over her. However, they are stopped and reminded that, by law, all disputes between noblemen must be settled by the King of Babylon.
In Babylon, Dionysius and Mithridates present their case to the King. Dionysius states that Mithridates tried to seduce his wife, but Mithridates argues that Callirhoe is not Dionysius’s wife because she was already married to Chaereas. Callirhoe and Chaereas are summoned and their bracelets prove that they are married. Although they want to reunite, they are stopped by the King, who now also lusts after Callirhoe. Refusing to listen to everyone’s protests, he forces her to dance with him.
Suddenly, the palace is thrown into chaos when Egypt declares war on Babylon. The King whisks his court to safety, taking Callirhoe with him and appointing Dionysius general of his army. A vengeful Chaereas enlists in the Egyptian army. In battle, the Egyptian General is wounded, and Chaereas’s resolve to fight for his love is doubled. He leads the Egyptian forces to victory.
After their harrowing ordeal, Callirhoe and Chaereas are reunited. A remorseful Chaereas begs her for forgiveness, and she is torn. Although she is grateful for Dionysius’s kindness, she realizes that she has only ever loved Chaereas.
She chooses to forgive.
Dionysius accepts her decision and, as a gesture of his love, has Plangon bring Callirhoe her son. The mistakes of the past are understood with compassion. Callirhoe, Chaereas, and their son start the journey home.
Program and cast
Musical direction: Paul Connelly
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Dramaturgies & Libretto: Guillaume Gallienne on the novel "Kallirhoe" by Chariton of Aphrodisias
Music: Aram Chatschaturjan
arranged by: Philip Feeney
Stage & Costumes: Jean-Marc Puissant
Implementation of costumes: Sukie Kirk
Light: Duane Schuler
Rehearsal: Nancy Raffa, Eric Tamm
Vienna State Opera
Public Transport
Subway lines: U1, U2, U4
Trams: 1, 2, D, J, 62, 65
Buses: 59A
Local Railway: Badner Bahn
Stops: Karlsplatz / Opera
Taxi stands are available nearby.
Parking
Parking is only € 6, - for eight hours!
The Wiener Staatsoper and the ÖPARK Kärntner Ring Garage on Mahlerstraße 8, under the “Ringstraßengalerien”, offer the patrons of the Vienna State Opera a new, reduced parking fee. You can park in the Kärntner Ring Garage for up to 8 hours and pay only a flat fee of € 6, -. Just validate your ticket at one of the discount machines inside the Wiener Staatsoper. The normal rate will be charged for parking time greater than 8 hours. The validation machines can be found at the following coat checks: Operngasse, Herbert von Karajan-Platz, and the right and left and balcony galleries.
Important: In order to get the discount, please draw a ticket and do not use your credit card when entering the garage!
After devaluing your ticket in the Wiener Staatsoper you can pay comfortably by credit card or cash at the vending machines.
The machines accept coins and bills up to 50.- Euro. Parking time longer than 8 hours will be charged at the normal rate.
History
The structure of the opera house was planned by the Viennese architect August Sicard von Sicardsburg, while the inside was designed by interior decorator Eduard van der Nüll. It was also impacted by other major artists such as Moritz von Schwind, who painted the frescoes in the foyer, and the famous "Zauberflöten" (“Magic Flute”) series of frescoes on the veranda. Neither of the architects survived to see the opening of ‘their’ opera house: the sensitive van der Nüll committed suicide, and his friend Sicardsburg died of a stroke soon afterwards.
On May 25, 1869, the opera house solemnly opened with Mozart's Don Giovanni in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth.
The popularity of the building grew under the artistic influence of the first directors: Franz von Dingelstedt, Johann Herbeck, Franz Jauner, and Wilhelm Jahn. The Vienna opera experienced its first high point under the direction of Gustav Mahler. He completely transformed the outdated performance system, increased the precision and timing of the performances, and also utilized the experience of other noteworthy artists, such as Alfred Roller, for the formation of new stage aesthetics.
The years 1938 to 1945 were a dark chapter in the history of the opera house. Under the Nazis, many members of the house were driven out, pursued, and killed, and many works were not allowed to be played.
On March 12, 1945, the opera house was devastated during a bombing, but on May 1, 1945, the “State Opera in the Volksoper” opened with a performance of Mozart's THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO. On October 6, 1945, the hastily restored “Theaters an der Wien” reopened with Beethoven's FIDELIO. For the next ten years the Vienna State Opera operated in two venues while the true headquarters was being rebuilt at a great expense.
The Secretary of State for Public Works, Julius Raab, announced on May 24, 1945, that reconstruction of the Vienna State Opera would begin immediately. Only the main facade, the grand staircase, and the Schwind Foyer had been spared from the bombs. On November 5, 1955, the Vienna State Opera reopened with a new auditorium and modernized technology. Under the direction of Karl Böhm, Beethoven’s FIDELIO was brilliantly performed, and the opening ceremonies were broadcast by Austrian television. The whole world understood that life was beginning again for this country that had just regained its independence.
Today, the Vienna State Opera is considered one of the most important opera houses in the world; in particular, it is the house with the largest repertoire. It has been under the direction of Dominique Meyer since September 1, 2010.
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