Romeo and Juliet

ROMEO AND JULIET
From the Royal Ballet
Ballet in 3 acts
Estimated running time: 3 hours
Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan
Music by Sergey Prokofiev
With Romeo and Juliet, Kenneth MacMillan’s first full-length work for The Royal Ballet, both he and the Company struck artistic gold. The timeless story, best known from Shakespeare, matched to the fine score by Prokofiev provided the starting point for what has become a 20thcentury ballet classic: an international calling card for the choreographer and a signature work of The Royal Ballet. Starring Lauren Cuthbertson and Sergei Polunin.

Music ~ Sergey Prokofiev
Choreography ~ Kenneth MacMillan
Designer ~ Nicholas Georgiadis
Lighting ~ John B Read
Staging ~ Monica Mason
Conductor ~ Pavel Sorokin

PERFORMERS
Juliet ~ Lauren Cuthbertson
Romeo ~ Sergei Polunin
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Program Note
With Kenneth MacMillan’s first full-length work for The Royal Ballet, both he and the Company struck artistic gold. The timeless story, best known from Shakespeare, matched to the fine score by Prokofiev provided the starting point for what has become a 20th-century ballet classic: an international calling card for the choreographer and a signature work of The Royal Ballet. The two title roles are star ones indeed, reflected especially keenly in the three pas de deux that mark the lovers’ journey from first meeting to consummated love and finally to tragedy in the tomb.

Around them the life of Verona plays out in vivid colour, whether in its bustling market place or a grand ball. There are noble families and their feuds, sword fights and harlots, the informality of youthful friendship and the formality of power and wealth. All these dramatic contrasts are presented through exquisite choreography in rich and colourful designs. Whether for the variety of its drama or the demands of its choreography, Romeo and Juliet has long proved itself one of the most appealing of all ballets to newcomers and fans alike. Nicholas Georgiadis’s earthy Renaissance designs, with some of the original details recently restored, are the perfect backdrop.

Praise
“[Kenneth MacMillan’s] Romeo and Juliet is built on a core of emotional truth, and its choreography does not age. Instead, every cast sees the work born anew.” –The Guardian
“…a heartening, rousing triumph.” –The Telegraph