Following the success of January’s world premiere, San Francisco Ballet has announced the return of “Mere Mortals” for seven encore performances at War Memorial Opera House in April.
Instead of Pandora letting loose the evil and misery of the world when she opens the infamous jar — a 16th-century mistranslation changed the jar to the box most often associated with Pandora — she releases artificial intelligence. Flashing strobe lights, a thick ground-based mist and floating particles meant to represent the character “Hope” — the only thing left in the jar after Pandora opens it — are the first palpable forces the senses experience when the curtain rises.
Ex // Top Stories Ballot measure to spur housing conversions downtown passes Majority of voters supported Mayor London Breed’s ballot measure to boost the downtown economy The fire that Prometheus stole from the gods flares from multiple projection screens, as does the displeasure of an unseen, metaphorically depicted Zeus. The latter seemingly stirs the corps de ballet — dressed in uniformly black gender-neutral costumes designed by Barton’s frequent collaborator Michelle Jank — into a marching frenzy that’s matched by a distinctly martial part of the score.
Pandora, who is a new, savvy human species, is often at the center of the more moving passages of “Mere Mortals,” and principal dancer Jennifer Stahl offers a lithe, winning performance in that role. Pandora represents progress and learning, and Stahl celebrates the possibilities of AI with stylish exuberance.
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