Mark Morris’s new—what to call it?—opera, dance, Gesamtkunstwerk, which had its New York premiere last weekend at the White Light Festival, strikes me as his best work of the decade. I hesitate to go out on a limb like this, because Morris is so notoriously eager to violate expectations that he may well come up with something better next week, just to put me in the wrong. But I have to say that, at least since about 2010, I have not seen any new piece, by any choreographer, that moved me more than Layla and Majnun.
Financial Times: Mark Morris gets to the heart of the story of Layla and Majnun at the White Light Festival, New York
San Francisco Classical Voice: Mark Morris and Silk Road Delight with Layla and Majnun
Layla and Majnun, choreographer Mark Morris’s 13th work to have its world premiere at Cal Performances, is a delight. The piece, slightly over an hour long, combines — with concision, precision, heart and brio — all the qualities that are best in Morris’ aesthetic.
This classic tale...gives us a new lens through which to delight in a superb dance maker, with a company to match.