Theatres - Royal Opera House

Currently Showing (return to list of shows)

La Bayadere ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

Mariinsky Ballet's magnificent production of La Bayadere is a lavish melodrama of love, betrayal and ultimate redemption set in a legendary India. The tale of the temple dancer Nikiya's doomed love for the warrior Solor unfolds in scenes of exotic spectacle in one of Petipa's greatest works, culminating in the choreographic glory of the 'Kingdom of the Shades', one of the greatest treasures in the company's repertoire. The Mariinsky's matchless ensemble of soloists and corps de ballet captures the soul with its beauty.

Anna Karenina ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

The Mariinsky Ballet's acclaimed staging of Tolstoy's epic novel Anna Karenina receives its British premiere. Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky to Rodion Shchedrin's powerful score, the ballet's extraordinary heroine breaks all moral and social conventions with devastating consequences. Tolstoy's magnificent portrayal of a tormented woman, brought to ruin by the abandonment of her passionless marriage for the dashing Count Vronsky, gives an opportunity for two great ballerinas, Diana Vishneva and Uliana Lopatkina, to display their unparalleled dramatic and expressive gifts.

Don Quixote ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

The excitement, colour and wit of Cervantes' masterpiece are brilliantly conveyed in this sparkling production of Petipa and Gorsky's classic, Don Quixote. In astounding displays of virtuoso dancing, highlighted by Minkus' irresistible music, romantic Spain and classical ballet merge merrily as the love between Kitri and Basil is challenged by the fruitless attempts of Kitri's father to engineer his unwilling daughter into a more lucrative match. Drama, comedy, love and dazzling choreography sparkle in an exquisite blend of exuberance and bravura, making it a perfect vehicle for the brilliance of the Mariinsky dancers.

Scenes De Ballet, Voluntaries, The Rite Of Spring ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

Elegant, moving and thrilling: the last programme of the 2010/11 Season has contrasts to show the wonderful range of The Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton's Scenes de ballet is one of the choreographer's - and the company's -defining works. Sophisticated and stylish, it became one of Ashton's own favourites of his ballets, and has given every generation of Royal Ballet dancers the opportunity to show the distinctive qualities of this world-class company. More reflective in mood is Glen Tetley's Voluntaries. Challenging in technique and profound in feeling, it is a great way to discover Tetley's combination of the classical and contemporary. Kenneth MacMillan's visceral and energetic The Rite of Spring is one of the finest dance interpretations of Stravinsky's 20th-century musical masterpiece -conducted here, as is the whole programme, by Barry Wordsworth, Music Director of The Royal Ballet. This revival is especially distinctive in using MacMillan's own seldom-seen alternative of a male sacrifice. it provides a fabulous chance for the company's male Principals to show the role's athleticism, attack and dramatic significance in a less familiar light.

Tosca ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

Powerful music, a gripping story and a tragic end: Puccini's ever-popular Tosca returns to The Royal Opera with two fabulous casts. Among the star singers in this revival are Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, Martina Serafin, Marcello Giordano and Juha Uusitalo. The Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House are under the batons of Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera, and Paul Wynne Griffiths for a score that includes such great set pieces as the Act I 'Te Deum', 'Vissi d'arte' and 'E lucevan le stelle'. Jonathan Kent's detailed production draws to the full on the historical backdrop of Rome in 1800, a political world of control and suspicion, beautifully evoked in Paul Brown's lavish designs. The pageantry of church ritual, the darkness of a brooding study with its hidden torture chamber and the false optimism of the light of a Roman dawn - all throw into relief the love of the beautiful diva Tosca, the idealism of her lover Cavaradossi and the deadly, destructive obsession of the malevolent Chief of Police, Scarpia. Drama, passion and fabulous music - Tosca is one opera's great nights out.

Peter Grimes ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes is one of the must-see genius works of 20th-century opera. Powerful and haunting music of extraordinary emotional intensity brings alive a disturbing story of prejudice, suspicion and persecution in a small fishing village on the East Anglian coast. The power of the sea and the changing moods of the landscape are famously evoked in rare subtlety by this great music as the background to a drama that requires the richest of musical and dramatic interpretation. Ben Heppner as the outsider fisherman of the title and Amanda Roocroft as the school mistress Ellen Orford - steadfast in her sympathy for Peter - are at the centre of an impressive cast under conductor Andrew Davis making a very welcome return to the royal Opera House. Willy Decker's production has its first revival by the Royal Opera, bringing an intense focus to an introverted and judgemental world, in which intolerance leads to tragedy. The music and the drama are deeply intertwined in a great opera of menace and beauty, threat and compassion.

Madama Butterfly ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

A beautiful staging of a favourite opera brings Puccini's Madama Butterfly back to The Royal Opera repertory. The story of a Japanese geisha's love for an American naval officer moved Puccini to compose music of rare and sensual beauty, but also of heartrending power as the tragedy unfolds to its devastating conclusion. Andris Nelsons conducts one of the most ravishing of scores, which features such wonderfully lyrical passages as Cio-Cio-San's first entrance, Pinkerton's seduction of her, the famous Humming chorus, and of course Butterfly's 'un bel di vedremo'. Patricia Racette appears as the Butterfly of the title, Cio-Cio-San, a role for which she is acclaimed worldwide - and James Valenti makes an especially dashing Pinkerton, whose thoughtless toying with love is the catalyst for this classic tragic story. The second Puccini opera of the summer, this revival offers the drama, the musical richness and the sheer enjoyment of great performance that makes The Royal Opera world class. SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Cendrillon ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

For the first time ever, The Royal Opera presents the story of Cinderella as told in Massenet's opera Cendrillon. The production new to the Royal Opera House is by Laurent Pelly, whose previous work here has included the spectacularly successful La Fille du regiment, a heart-warming L'elisir d'amore and last Season's stylish new Manon. Pelly brings his characteristic lightness of touch, wit and elegance to Massenet's delightfully tuneful score against sets and costumes of fairytale charm. Joyce DiDonato takes the title role, with Alice Coote - just like the Principal Boy familiar from British pantomime - as her Prince charming. And of course there has to be a fairy godmother, played by Eglise Gutierrez, in this version of a tale that gained particular popularity from the published fairytales of Frenchman Charles Perrault. Musical highlights include the fairy godmother's airy coloratura, the orchestral dances of the ball, the March of the Princesses, and of course rapturous duets between the Prince and Cendrillon. French music specialist Bertrand de Billy is the conductor for an opera of radiance and charm to finish the 2010/11 Season on a note of pure pleasure. SUNG IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES

Homage To Fokine ( Royal Opera House ) - Musical

Homage to Fokine opens with Chopiniana, a ballet of ethereal beauty displaying the Company's corps de ballet to stunning effect. In complete contrast, medieval Russia is evoked in the powerful splendour of Mikhael Fokine's The Firebird, created for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes to Stravinsky's brilliant score. The final work in the programme Scheherazade is another extraordinary work created for the Ballet Russes. Fokine's sensual choreography and Rimsky-Korsakov's glittering music create a fantasy of visual extravagance enhanced by the Mariinsky's great stars, Diana Vishneva, Uliana Lopatkina, Igor Kolb and Igor Zelensky.

Royal Opera House

Bow Street
London WC2E 9DD