Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, La Monnaie/Teatro Comunale di Bologna, 2019-20 (detail) View full image

Fernando Melo

Choreographer

Afterimage nevertheless packs an emotional punch. Brazilian choreographer Fernando Melo bisects the stage with a two-way mirror, creating several simmering versions of reality… Music, lighting and movement achieve a mesmerising synchronicity. As well as choreographing for a number of European companies, Melo has worked in opera too, which may explain his sensitivity to all aspects of stagecraft and performance.

Ka Bradley, The Guardian

Fernando Melo is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and resides in Sweden. At the age of sixteen he was awarded a scholarship to train at the Vienna State Opera Ballet; since then he has been in Europe, building his career as a dancer and choreographer and creating works for stages around the world. Among the companies he has choreographed for are Göteborgsoperans Danskompani, Skånes Dansteater, Norrdans, Sweden, National Dance Company Wales, UK, Introdans, Netherlands, Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Munich, Germany, Luzerner Theater, Switzerland, Aterballetto, Italy and Ballet Hispanico New York, USA. Fernando also choreographs and directs dance film; his most recent film Nonstop was screened at Cinedans in the Netherlands. Prior to this, he created Mahjong, which screened at several international film festivals and received the 2010 Audience Award at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival. Future engagements include visits to Balletto di Toscana, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Osnabrück and Nashville, USA among others.

Fernando also choreographs for opera, working extensively with the director Patrick Kinmonth on such projects as Gassmann’s L’Opera seria for La Monnaie, Brussels with René Jacobs, Strauss’ Daphne at Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse with Hartmut Haenchen, and Glanert’s Solaris for Oper Köln with Lothar Zagrosek. Fernando also collaborates with the German team of director Ralf Pleger and sculptor and designer Alexander Polzin, the most recent project was a co- production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde for La Monnaie, Brussels and Teatro Comunale di Bologna conducted by Alain Altinoglu and Juraj Valčuha respectively. Fernando has also previously worked with director Cristina Pezzoli on Puccini’s Le Villi for the Teatro Luciano Pavarotti, Modena and Teatro Valli, Reggio Emilia conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi. Future engagements include a new production of the French version of Verdi’s Macbeth for Teatro Regio di Parma at the Festival Verdi directed by Yannis Kokkos and conducted by Roberto Abbado; Fernando will also return to Teatro Comunale di Bologna among others.