HANSEL AND GRETEL, the Royal Ballet’s controversial new production

Posted on May 10, 2013 by lebrecht

We have received images of the Royal Ballet’s controversial new production of Hansel and Gretel from Lebrecht photographer, Laurie Lewis. The Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel gets a sinister update in the first full length ballet choreographed by Royal Ballet’s Artist-in-Residence Liam Scarlett. The ballet opened to mixed reactions. Read audience tweets from the opening night here: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/your-reaction-hansel-and-gretel. James Hay stars as Hansel, Leanne Cope as Gretel, Brian Moloney as the Witch and Steve McRae as the Sandman.

May 07

Frederic Franklin obituary photos from Lebrecht Music & Arts

Posted on May 7, 2013 by lebrecht

Frederic Franklin, British-American ballet dancer born 13 June 1914. He died on 4th May 2013 aged 98, having continued to dance even in his 90s.

Photos by Maurice Seymour.

Apr 03

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Posted on April 3, 2013 by lebrecht

Royal Ballet Coppelia Royal Opera House 11 Oct 06. Roberta Marquez as Swanilda, Luke Heydon as Dr Coppelius. Photo By Dee Conway.

Mar 01

Lebrecht Pix of Two world premieres to be performed by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, opening 7 March 2013

Posted on March 1, 2013 by lebrecht

PREVIEW of Two world premieres to be performed by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, opening 7 March 2013

World premiere photos of the Royal Ballet’s production of Aeternum by Christopher Wheeldon with Marianela Nunez and Federico Bonelli
plus premiere by the Royal Ballet of Alexei Ratmansky’s ’24 Preludes’ with Zenaida Yanowsky and Rupert Pennefather.

Photos by Laurie Lewis

Jan 21

NEW images of the ballet Giselle, performed by the Latvian National Ballet.

Posted on January 21, 2013 by lebrecht

Adam’s Giselle performed by the Latvian National Ballet at the Maestranza Theater, Seville, Spain, 8 january 2013. New images by Daniel González Acuña.

Jan 18

Bolshoi chief injured in acid attack

Posted on January 18, 2013 by lebrecht

Sergei Filin, artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, is being treated in hospital after an attack outside his Moscow home around midnight last night.
A man approached and flung acid in his face, before running off. Motive and identity are unknown. Filin, 43, suffered third-degree burns and doctors are working to save his eyesight. A former stage star, he was promoted to artistic director in March 2011. Read more here.

Bolshoi Ballet in ‘Cinderella’ Royal Opera House, London, UK, 7 August 2006. Svetlana Zakharova, Sergei Filin.
© Dee Conway / Lebrecht Music & Arts

Dec 18

Dance to the music of Tchaikovsky for the 120th Anniversary of the Nutcracker ballet

Posted on December 18, 2012 by lebrecht

The 120 th anniversary of the world famous ballet ‘Casse-Noisette’ or ‘The Nutcracker ‘ is celebrated on 18th December. The music was composed by Russian composer Tchaikovsky and choreography was arranged by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The premiere took place at the Mariinsky theatre on a wintry Sunday in St Petersburg. Unfortunately, the story drawn from ETA Hoffmann’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ was not an immediate success – although the twenty-minute Nutcracker Suite did strike the right chord with the audience . By the 1960s the whole Nutcracker ballet had become an essential part of popular repertoire, particularly during the Christmas season.

Lebrecht Music & Arts carries photos from the original 1892 production and also many famous Sugar Plum Fairies such as Margot Fonteyn, Tamara Karsavina and Daria Klimentova. Irek Mukhamedov and Harold Turner are dancers remembered for their performances in this ballet. And, of course photographs of many of the great Bolshoi productions and with a more modern twist, the Matthew Bourne dance company.

Andy Durante as ‘Sugarplum Fairy’, Peter Mallek as ‘Nutcracker’. Vienna Festival Ballet, 26/10/1981
© Peter Mares/Lebrecht Music & Arts