Alberta Ballet brings acclaimed Romanian choreographer Edward Clug's Peer Gynt to Calgary this fall

Alberta Ballet is bringing Romanian choreographer Edward Clug to direct the Canadian premiere of his acclaimed 2015 interpretation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, one of the highlights of the company's 60th season.

The production debuts in Edmonton on October 23 and 24 before moving to Calgary from October 29 to 31. Clug's version of the epic about an arrogant peasant seeking his fortune has received celebrated runs at the Vienna State Opera, The Polish National Ballet, and La Scala Ballet in Milan, where it was performed last year.

Alberta Ballet artistic director Francesco Ventriglia attended that Milan performance and immediately felt compelled to bring it home. "As a choreographer, I admire Edward Clug very much. He is an extraordinary colleague. He is a genius," Ventriglia said. "When Edward presented Peer Gynt in La Scala, I went to the show of course and thought 'this is a genius piece, this is a masterpiece.' I thought this would be fantastic for our public. I need to bring this to Canada. So I called Edward and, on top of being a genius, he is an extraordinary person. I said 'Edward, let's do this.' He immediately said yes."

Clug's path to prominence began at age 10, when he enrolled in a dance academy to escape Nicolae Ceausescu's repressive regime in Romania. He graduated from the National Ballet School in Cluj-Napoca in 1991 and became one of the world's most acclaimed choreographers following the 2015 premiere of Peer Gynt. He will oversee the performance in Alberta.

Ventriglia, who trained at La Scala Ballet School and joined that company in 1997, sees the project as a gift to Alberta audiences. "What I want to give to our public is the opportunity through our company, through our artists, to see works that otherwise they would need to take an airplane to Europe to see. Instead we are bringing it here, we are bringing it home."

Peer Gynt is the second production of Alberta Ballet's 60th season. The season opens in Edmonton on September 18 and 19 with a new staging of the Romantic-era classic Giselle, choreographed by Ventriglia. That production moves to Calgary September 24 to 26. Ventriglia is building the sets and costumes in-house, involving the entire crew in a modernized take on the classical structure.

The company will also present Ventriglia's staging of The Nutcracker, which debuted in 2025, running December 3 to 6 in Edmonton and December 11 to 24 in Calgary, in collaboration with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2027, Alberta Ballet will celebrate its 60 years with a gala mixing highlights from past decades with new creations, running February 11–13 in Calgary and February 19–20 in Edmonton. In April, the company will premiere Beethoven 200, commemorating 200 years since the composer's death, beginning in Calgary April 1–3 before moving to Edmonton April 9–10.