English National Ballet will perform a new in-the-round version of Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella at the Royal Albert Hall from 6-16 June 2019.
Working from the dark Brothers Grimm version of the story, Wheeldon created Cinderella for Dutch National Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. Now he and his creative team reunite for the in-the-round re-staging. The production includes striking set designs by Julian Crouch – founder of the influential theatre company, Improbable – puppetry from Basil Twist (whose credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and projections designed by Daniel Brodie.
English National Ballet has presented grand-scale in-the-round productions at the Royal Albert Hall since 1997 starting with Derek Deane's well-known Swan Lake – with its 60 swans – as well as re-workings of Romeo & Juliet and Sleeping Beauty.
Tamara Rojo, ENB's Artistic Director, said,
I'm so thrilled that Christopher is re-staging his magical Cinderella for English National Ballet. I can't wait to see this production take shape in the magnificent space of the Royal Albert Hall, a venue we are always so pleased to return to.
The production is being Co-produced by English National Ballet and the Royal Albert Hall. Lucy Noble, Artistic Director for the Royal Albert Hall, added,
Nothing can compare to the epic spectacle of a ballet at the Royal Albert Hall, and this extraordinary re-staging of Cinderella will bring the immortal story to life on a grand scale. We're thrilled to be working once more with English National Ballet and can't wait to see what Christopher does with the world's most famous stage.
English National Ballet
Cinderella in-the-round
Royal Albert Hall
Thursday 6 June – Sunday 16 June 2019
ballet.org.uk/cinderella / royalalberthall.com/cinderella
Credits:
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Libretto: Craig Lucas
Design: Julian Crouch
Lighting design: Natasha Katz
Puppetry design: Basil Twist
Projection design: Daniel Brodie
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
