Arts + Culture

Moscow Theatre Ballet brings Romeo and Juliet to the Riviera

GILLY LLOYD1 November, 20131 Mins read138

The Moscow Theatre Ballet is back in Nice this November with a production of Prokofiev’s emotionally charged ballet, Romeo and Juliet.

Based on Shakespeare’s play of the star-crossed young lovers of 16th century Verona and their feuding families, the ballet was written by Sergei Prokofiev in the spring and summer of 1935, after his return to Russia from a period abroad.

Although it had been commissioned by the Kirov Ballet, the original version of the ballet was premiered in Brno, Czechoslovakia, on December 30, 1938, and only after it had undergone some significant revisions was it performed by the Kirov in Leningrad, on January 11th, 1940. Choreography was by Leonid Lavrovsky, and Konstantin Sergeyev and Galina Ulanova danced the leading roles.

Passionate, dramatic and colourful, Romeo and Juliet is one of the best loved full-length ballets in the repertoire today, its popularity in no small measure due to Prokofiev’s sumptuous score, acknowledged as one of his greatest masterpieces.

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The Moscow Theatre Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet, with the Russian National Opera Orchestra, is presented by France Concert.

The ballet will run for two performances (at 15h00 and 20h00) at the Salle Apollon in the Acropolis in Nice on Wednesday, 27th November, 2013.

Tickets range in price from €37 to €60, and are available from all the usual outlets or may be reserved online. For further information please call 01.43.75.79.75