About the work
Winterreise is a ballet by Christian Spuck to the music of Hans Zender — his "composed interpretation" of Franz Schubert's song cycle of the same name (1827), set to poems by Wilhelm Müller. It premiered in October 2018 at Ballett Zürich and was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2019; in 2025 Spuck took the work into the repertoire of the Staatsballett Berlin, of which he has been director since 2023.
Plot
Like Zender, Spuck is concerned less with retelling the outward stations of the lonely wanderer than with engaging, in sweeping abstraction, with the inner mood of the cycle. In an alternation of large ensemble scenes and intimate solos, the piece explores timeless themes such as love, longing, alienation and abandonment. Cold and solitude, melancholy and the encounter with one's own "I" become tangible in symbolically powerful images marked by dark romanticism; a tenor sings the songs live on stage.
Cultural significance
Spuck's Winterreise gained international recognition and is regarded as one of his most important works. The award of the Prix Benois de la Danse underscored its standing. By transferring Schubert's romantic masterpiece, in Zender's modern refraction, to the dance stage, the choreography unites the depth of the German art song with the expressive means of contemporary ballet.