Cleveland Ballet: “In Vino Veritas”

The Cleveland Museum of Art

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• Date Friday, September 26, 2025
• Time 7:00PM - 8:30PM
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While the exhibition In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth) celebrates the presence and meaning of wine in prints, drawings, textiles, and objects, Cleveland Ballet interprets the exhibition’s subject through movement with its performance of Walpurgisnacht.

Walpurgisnacht, a celebration on the eve of May Day, April 30, marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The night known for its debauchery involves celebrations, as well as rituals and bonfires to ward off evil spirits. Although the ballet does not directly depict the Walpurgis Night holiday, it does build on a sense of joyful revelry.

Cleveland Ballet continues the celebration with Picnic, a collection of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s dances for piano and violin choreographed by Artistic Director Timour Bourtasenkov, as well as the lively and energetic “Dance of the Toreadors” from Don Quixote.

In the spirit of In Vino Veritas, join Cleveland Ballet for a glass of wine before the performance at 6:00 p.m. outside Gartner Auditorium. Then at 6:20 p.m., Bourtasenkov gives a Behind the Curtain artist talk to share insights into the performance, accompanied by Emily Peters, curator of prints and drawings.

The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.