Tuhkvalge

Ash White
/Tuhkvalge/
A Ballet on the music of Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst

Director and choreographer Jevgeni Grib (Estonian National Opera)
Musical director and conductor Risto Joost
Conductors Martin Sildos, Taavi Kull
Dramaturge and librettist Siret Campbell
Set designer Kristjan Suits
Costume designer Liisi Eesmaa
Lighting designer Priidu Adlas (Estonian Drama Theatre)
Director’s assistant Marta Navasardyan (Estonian National Opera)

Cast Raminta Rudžionytė-Jordan, Caroline Maquignon, Gus Upchurch, Bradley Howell, Maria Engel, Georgia Toni Hyrkäs, Alexander Germain Drew, William Halton, Alain Divoux, Gerardo Avelar, Sayaka Nagahiro, Selma Strandberg, Benjamin Newman
Vocal soloists Maria Listra (guest) or Pauline Vähi (guest) or Grete Oolberg
Vanemuine Ballet Company and Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra


The audience of the Vanemuine Theatre knows Jevgeni Grib for his mythology-inspired short ballet Metamorphoses. In Ash White, Grib once again delves into deep and enthralling topics such as life, death and yearning for the unattainable. This production in cooperation with dramaturge and librettist Siret Campbell is inspired by the short story The Sandman (Der Sandmann) written by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1815.

Protagonist Aale’s father died in a fire when she was a child. Years later, when her boyfriend dies the same way, loneliness and horrific memories draw Aale further and further from the external world. The events unravel in an enchanting black-and-white place where the world of the living and the world beyond intertwine. One cannot be sure where reality ends and imagination starts. The audience is confronted with the question: is it possible to let go of fears? Or will our childhood memories haunt us even as adults?

Premiere on October 14th 2023 at the Vanemuine Theatre Grand Building.