From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Petipa, to the home-grown choreographers who put British ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarized in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of the Company’s heritage.
Manon’s brother Lescaut is offering her to the highest bidder when she meets Des Grieux and falls in love. They elope to Paris, but when Monsieur G.M. offers Manon a life of luxury as his mistress she can’t resist.
Christopher Wheeldon draws on ancient Greece and reflects on love in Bernstein’s Serenade, after Plato’s ‘Symposium’.
With atmospheric music by Joby Talbot and powerful designs by Bob Crowley, The Winter’s Tale is a masterful modern narrative ballet. The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a seemingly miraculous return to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Winter's Tale received ecstatic praise at its premiere for its intelligent, distinctive and emotionally powerful story, told through exquisite dance. It is now widely judged to be a modern ballet classic.
Two Frederick Ashton ballets in one exquisite evening performance. Principals Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae dance Ashton's Rhapsody, created for The Royal Ballet in 1980 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier, with spectacular choreography to suit the dancers' star reputations. Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov lead a charismatic cast in Ashton's poignant and heart-warming reflection on Love, The Two Pigeons, based on an old French folk tale and first performed on Valentine's Day 1961. These two ballets by the Company's Founder Choreographer capture The Royal Ballet's famous skill and distinctive style. Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in the rapturous Rachmaninoff and Messager scores.
Carlos Acosta's first venture directing one of ballet's 19th century classics was eagerly anticipated, as was his own starring role in the production (as Basilio), opposite the Argentinian Royal Ballet principal Marianella Nuñez (Kitri). Still built on Petipa's original choreography, Acosta's clear dramatic structure and vivid stage action gave the ‘boy gets girl despite her father’ story a more convincing air than usual, with Don Quixote's parallel obsession with Dulcinea-Kitri coherently woven into the plot.
This special program, performed at the Royal Opera House to mark the 25th anniversary of Frederick Ashton's death, presents five works that showcase his astonishing versatility, from compelling abstract ballets - such as the exuberant Voices of Spring and the radically modernist Monotones - to the tragic love story Marguerite and Armand, brought to life with 'performances of heart-wrenching intensity' (The Observer) by Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin.
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