Alongside his work in dance, Paul Julius has created choreography for major cross-disciplinary productions, bringing movement into dialogue with opera, musical theatre, drama and live music. These projects have brought together artists and ensembles from different disciplines in productions of exceptional scale and artistic scope.
SURROGATE CITIES
Heiner Goebbels
Stadttheater Gießen · 2018
Choreography by Paul Julius
Scenic direction by Tarek Assam
Created for a unique one-night performance in Gießen, Surrogate Cities transformed the city’s Osthalle into an immense stage for Heiner Goebbels’ powerful urban soundscape.
The large-scale interdisciplinary production brought together the Philharmonic Orchestra Gießen, professional dancers and choreographers, vocalists, a speaker, breakdancers and around 300 students from the Gesamtschule Gießen-Ost. Under the scenic direction of Tarek Assam, the young performers worked alongside professional artists to create a constantly evolving image of the city through movement, sound and space.
Paul Julius was one of the contributing choreographers to this extraordinary production, which brought together approximately 400 performers and more than 2,000 audience members for a single performance in Gießen.
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Ein Sommernachtstraum
William Shakespeare · Music by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin · 2011
Choreography by Paul Julius
Directed by Peter Dehler
Created as a major production for the 125th anniversary of the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, this large-scale interdisciplinary staging brought together all five artistic divisions of the theatre.
Around 120 performers from the Staatskapelle, Music Theatre, Opera Chorus, Ballet Company, Schauspiel, Puppentheater and Fritz-Reuter-Bühne came together for this special anniversary production.
The production was conceived as a contemporary celebration of the theatre’s history, echoing the fact that Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Mendelssohn’s music, had been performed on the stage of the Schweriner Hoftheater during its opening celebrations in 1886.
CARMEN
Georges Bizet
Teatr Wielki · Poznań · 2014
Choreography by Paul Julius
Directed, designed and lit by Denis Krief
Denis Krief’s production of Bizet’s Carmen brought together the opera’s soloists, chorus, ballet and orchestra on the stage of the Teatr Wielki in Poznań.
Paul Julius created the choreography for the ballet ensemble as an integral part of the production, working within Krief’s overall scenic concept.
The production premiered on 24 May 2014 and remained part of the theatre’s repertoire for several years.
SPAMALOT
Monty Python’s Spamalot
Eric Idle · John Du Prez
Theater Altenburg Gera · 2019
Choreography by Paul Julius
Directed by Manuel Kressin
Based on the cult film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, this large-scale musical production brought together the Schauspielensemble, Opera Chorus, Thüringer Staatsballett and Philharmonic Orchestra Altenburg Gera.
Directed by Manuel Kressin, the production embraced the anarchic humour and absurdity of the Monty Python original, combining acting, singing, live music and dance in a highly physical stage production.
Paul Julius created the choreography for both the Thüringer Staatsballett and the actors, developing movement and choreographic material across the different performing disciplines.
The production premiered at the Großes Haus in Gera on 11 October 2019 and subsequently continued in the repertoire of Theater Altenburg Gera, including performances in Altenburg.