The Royal Opera House will reopen its doors to the public on 17 May 2021. Public booking opens on 7 May at 10am (UK time).
Online programming will continue, while La clemenza di Tito will be the first public performance on 17 May with four performances until 23 May in a new production by Richard Jones.
Current, Rising runs from 18 May until 10 June at the Linbury Theatre. It is a 15-minute hyper-reality opera experience, “combining virtual reality with a multisensory set, blending historic stagecraft with cutting-edge technology”. Current, Rising is a shared experience for groups of four at regular timed slots throughout the day. Audiences are able to socially distance (1m+) within the experience at all times.
The Royal Ballet returns for 21st-Century Choreographers with eight performances from 18 to 30 May, and a livestream of the performance on 28 May. The programme consists of Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour; a new duet from American choreographer Kyle Abraham ahead of his commission by The Royal Ballet for the 2021/22 Season; and Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite will present two works created for Nederlands Dans Theater and performed for the first time by The Royal Ballet: The Statement and Solo Echo.
A Balanchine and Robbins programme opens on 3 June with George Balanchine's Apollo and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, together with Jerome Robbins' 1969 ballet Dances at a Gathering, which was revived in 2020 just before lockdown.
Next Generation: Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance on 16 and 17 June sees students from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in the Linbury Theatre.
La bohème runs from 19 June–6 July 2021 in Richard Jones's recent production for The Royal Opera, adapted to accommodate safety regulations.
Next Generation: The Royal Ballet School has students from The Royal Ballet Upper School at the Linbury Theatre from 23–26 June 2021.
The Royal Ballet celebrates its 90th Anniversary with Beauty Mixed Programme from 26 June–11 July 2021 with a varied programme of classics and new work, including The Sleeping Beauty Act III. The programme opens with the world premiere of Anemoi by First Soloist Valentino Zucchetti who develops his ballet Scherzo created especially for the youngest members of the Company which was streamed last autumn. It is inspired by Greek mythology where Anemoi gods personify the winds. The programme also has a selection of short works by choreographers who have shaped The Royal Ballet's history.
Summer Draft Works from 1–3 July 2021 gives an opportunity to discover new works from promising choreographers in this continuation of The Royal Ballet's series of Draft Works.
Don Giovanni runs from 5–18 July 2021 with seven performances of Kasper Holten's inventive and visually stunning production.
The annual showcase of young talent from The Royal Ballet School can be seen on 10 July with The Royal Ballet School Summer Performance.
The season concludes on 17 July with the Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Performance – a chance to discover the opera stars of tomorrow.
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.
