The Royal Ballet is Back on Stage, returning for a live-streamed performance from the stage of Covent Garden on Friday 9 October at 7.30pm.
Wayne McGregor
[Interview] The Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi: a time to reflect
I’ve interviewed The Royal Ballet’s principal ballerina Yasmine Naghdi several times over the past five years. The first time, she was a soloist and preparing to debut as Juliet with Matthew Ball as Romeo. The last time was 18-months ago, a few months after her debut in Swan Lake, a role she was scheduled to reprise this spring, but then The Royal Opera House closed its doors.
She is currently on holiday in my adopted homeland, Italy. However, while I’m in the north by the Ligurian Sea, Yasmine and her Italian boyfriend are in Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot. I spoke to her via Skype in early May and asked her whether she was with him in lockdown.
“We’re in quarantine in our flat. I think when we last spoke, it must have been early on in our relationship. We’re now coming up to two years together
#OurHouseToYourHouse: tonight’s Royal Opera House’s 2nd live concert and next week’s programme
Tonight is the second of the Live from Covent Garden concerts at 7.30pm BST which will be broadcast via the Royal Opera House website from Covent Garden. These are the first live performances at the Royal Opera House since the building closed its doors to the public on 17 March.
Tonight’s concert includes a performance of Albert Schönberg’s reduction of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with tenor David Butt Philip, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and soloists of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Principal dancer of The Royal Ballet Vadim Muntagirov will perform Frederick Ashton’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits. The solo was initially created in 1978 for Anthony Dowell and is a showcase of balance and poise.
Royal Opera House announces its first live performances since lockdown
The Royal Opera House has announced its ‘Live from Covent Garden’ project: a series of three unique performances to be broadcast live via YouTube and Facebook from Covent Garden.
The first concert, on 13 June at 7.30 pm, will be hosted by the BBC’s Anita Rani and the Royal Opera House’s Director of Music, Antonio Pappano. A select group of musicians, artists and performers will be part of the first live concerts since the theatre closed its doors to the public on 17 March.
Karen Kain to Retire as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada
Karen Kain will retire as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada in January 2021 and will be named Artistic Director Emeritus. She has been the company’s Artistic Director since 2005. Toronto Life once said, Under the reign of Karen Kain, The National Ballet of Canada has flowered into one of the most thrilling […]
Dancing Times, September edition – with Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column including Woolf Works at La Scala and a Glass triple bill in Rome
The latest issue of Dancing Times is out tomorrow. In September’s issue, I cover Wayne McGregor’s “amazing” Woolf Works at La Scala with Alessandra Ferri giving a “frighteningly intense” performance alongside an excellent cast from La Scala Ballet including “powerful and touching” performances from Timofej Andrijashenko as Septimus and Claudio Coviello as Evans, and Gioacchino […]
The Royal Ballet in Japan and Los Angeles – dates and casting
The Royal Ballet tours to Japan and Los Angeles this summer, presenting signature work from the Company’s repertory, a world premiere by Wayne McGregor and community engagement projects. Tokyo, Bunka Kaikan Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote, 21 – 26 June Yokohama, Kanagawa Kenwin Hall Royal Ballet Gala, 29 – 30 June Los Angeles, The Music Center […]
McGregor’s Woolf Works thrills and enthralls at La Scala
The La Scala Ballet usually fields a first cast, and several alternative casts, but not with Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works – here it was very much a case of a first cast and a second cast. The first featured two guests from the original Royal Opera House production from 2015 – Alessandra Ferri and Federico […]
La Scala’s Timofej Andrijashenko to guest as Romeo with The Royal Ballet
La Scala Principal Dancer Timofej Andrijashenko will dance Romeo at The Royal Opera House in London on 27 April and 4 May alongside Melissa Hamilton. The director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare, was present at La Scala’s opening of Wayne McGregor’s ballet Woolf Works earlier this month on 7 April and saw Andrijashenko dancing […]
First photos of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works at La Scala with Alessandra Ferri, Federico Bonelli and Company dancers
These are the first photos of La Scala’s restaging of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works created for The Royal Ballet in 2015. The work was seen again in London in 2017, and in Milan, two of the original interpreters- Alessandra Ferri and Federico Bonelli – reprise their roles. The photos are accompanied by extracts of a […]