Stravinsky: The Firebird and Les Noces

A full-length ballet created by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The ballet is based on Lewis Carroll's famous story of Alice, an ordinary girl who one summer afternoon falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself on an extraordinary adventure. The music is by Joby Talbot, with designs by the internationally acclaimed Bob Crowley. Alice is danced by the Royal Ballet's Lauren Cuthbertson, and actor Simon Russell-Beale plays the cameo role of the Duchess.

A ballet dancer struggles with his homosexuality and the increasing allure of a young ballerina who seeks to draw him away from his domineering lover.

‘Ondine’, a ballet by Frederick Ashton, premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 27 October 1958, with Margot Fonteyn in the title role of the water nymph. In this 2009 revival (27 May 2009 to 8 June 2009) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, the role of Ondine is performed by Miyako Yoshida, in the spellbinding underwater world of Ondine, staged by the Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton’s shimmering choreography, Lila de Nobili’s impressionistic sets and Hans Werner Henze’s vibrant and inventive score, composed especially for the occasion, combine in an unforgettable way to evoke the myriad moods and colours of the sea.

The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a statue comes miraculously to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, the team behind Alice, in one of the highlights of The Royal Ballet Season.

Nikiya, a temple dancer, is in love with the warrior Solor. The High Brahmin also desires Nikiya, and when she rejects him, he plans to take revenge on Solor. When the High Brahmin tells the Rajah about Solor’s secret love, the Rajah decides that Nikiya, not Solor, should be killed. Princess Gamzatti is to be married to Solor. She overhears and tries to bribe Nikiya to give up Solor, but Nikiya refuses. The Rajah and Gamzatti arrange for Nikiya to be killed by a snake bite during the engagement festivities. Despondent, Solor is filled with remorse and haunted by visions of Nikiya. He cannot complete the wedding ceremony. The gods are angered and destroy the temple with all inside it. In the afterlife, Solor and Nikiya are finally united.

Coppélia, a mechanical doll made by the toy-maker Dr. Coppelius, is so life-like that some believe she is his daughter. The mistake leads to intrigue and jealousy in love. Directed by Ross MacGibbon, with Leanne Benjamin and Carlos Acosta.

Commissioned by Opera North, the Brothers Quay created the installation and film 'She, So Beloved' inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem ‘Orpheus. Eurydice. Hermes.’ The Orfeo myth is re-told through a combination of art forms; film, dance, music and visual art contained within a contemporary staged installation to provide an intimate sensory experience.

Kenneth MacMillan’s passionate choreography for Romeo and Juliet shows The Royal Ballet at its dramatic finest. Sergey Prokofiev’s famously evocative score is the driver for some of the most ardent pas de deux and powerful set pieces in ballet history. The vibrant crowd scenes with magnificent designs by Nicholas Georgiadis vividly recreate the color and bustle of 16th-century Verona in this Royal Ballet classic. “Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball will hug their first Romeo and Juliet their whole lives. What a dream debut for these two youngsters…” (The Spectator) “Kenneth MacMillan was a consummate storyteller, and in Romeo and Juliet he came as close to perfection as it’s possible to get.” (Culture Whisper) “From the quarrelling townsfolk to the stately ball guests, this is a Romeo packed with life, the whole company caught up in the ballet’s unfolding tragedy.” (The Independent)

At a garden party on a sunny afternoon, Alice is surprised to see her parents’ friend Lewis Carroll transform into a white rabbit. When she follows him down a rabbit hole events become curiouser and curiouser.

"MacMillan's vision has been vital in shaping The Royal Ballet's style and repertory, and what better way to appreciate his art than with this rare chance to experience three contrasting works in a single performance. Abstract, dramatic, humorous - this programme gives a wonderfully varied introduction not just to MacMillan's work but to the beauty and dramatic power of ballet itself. Concerto, to Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, contrasts moments of exuberance and elegiac reflection. The Judas Tree places a single woman among 13 men to enact a harrowing event that is recognizably contemporary but with biblical overtones. Elite Syncopations completes the programme with a sparkling evocation of a dance hall that brings ragtime rhythms to the dance, and a ragtime band to the stage.

All-time classical favourites from the first ever public concert held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Broadcast live on BBC Television, 1st June 2002. Opera fans are in for a particular treat with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (singing Bizet and Gershwin), Sir Thomas Allen (Rossini and Sir Edward German), and Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu (Puccini and Verdi) sharing the honours. Maestro Mstislav Rostropovich also makes a rare guest appearance with the cello section of the London Symphony Orchestra playing Villa-Lobos.

The Dream: Frederick Ashton’s delightful interpretation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a classic of The Royal Ballet’s repertory. Symphonic Variations: Ashton was inspired to create a ballet on the four seasons – but as he began to choreograph he refined and purified until the ballet shook off its original meaning, emerging as an abstract celebration of movement and physicality. Marguerite and Armand: Marguerite, a Parisian courtesan, lies on her deathbed. She recalls her tragic love affair with Armand in a series of feverish flashbacks.

Ever since its triumphant premiere in 1960, Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardee has been treasured as one of his happiest creations - his artistic tribute to nature, and an expression of his feelings for his beloved Suffolk countryside. Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta perfectly portray the young lovers Lise and Colas, determined to thwart the plans of Widow Simone to marry off her wayward daughter to Alain, the simple son of wealthy Farmer Thomas. Osbert Lancaster's colourful, picture-book designs, along with Ferdinand Herold's tuneful score, arranged by John Lanchbery, provide the perfect setting for Ashton's blissfully bucolic ballet, complete with haywain, pony, maypole and ribbons, a cockrel and his chickens and, of course, the famous clog dance, here wonderfully led by William Tuckett as the irascible but lovable Widow Simone.

Ballet performance by The Royal Ballet, recorded at Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom, July 1984.

Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin and Claire Calvert star in this true gem from the classical ballet repertory, set to Tchaikovsky's glorious music.

The closing ceremony of the games of the XXXth Olympiad.

The diversity of Wayne McGregor's astonishing talent is demonstrated through Chroma, Infra and Limen, each created for The Royal Ballet, for whom he is resident choreographer. Intimate yet universal, light yet dark, frenetic yet lyrical, McGregor pursues his passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, his many-layered and beautiful dances providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer. Works: Chroma (Talbot; White III); Infra (Richter); Limen (Saariaho).

In the spring of 1913, Parisian businessman Gabriel Astruc opens a new theater on the Champs Elysées. The first performance is the premiere of Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring', danced by the Ballet Russes. The rehearsal process is extremely fraught: the orchestra dislike Stravinsky's harsh, atonal music; the dancers dislike the 'ugly' choreography of Vaslav Nijinsky. The volatile, bisexual Nijinsky is in a strained relationship with the much older Sergei Diaghilev, the Ballet Russes' charismatic but manipulative impresario. Public expectation is extremely high after Nijinsky's success in 'L'apres-midi d'un faune'. Finally, 'The Rite of Spring' premieres to a gossip-loving, febrile, fashion-conscious Parisian audience sharply divided as to its merits.

Regulars gather at The Blue Jay, a gay bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, to celebrate Christmas Eve 1971 with people they consider family.

A portrait of the day-to-day operations of the National Gallery of London, that reveals the role of the employees and the experiences of the Gallery's visitors. The film portrays the role of the curators and conservators; the education, scientific, and conservation departments; and the audience of all kinds of people who come to experience it.

A re-staging of the Royal Ballet's 1985 production, with Anthony Dowell - this time as Drosselmeyer - and a new supporting cast. This Royal Ballet production of The Nutcracker (staged by Peter Wright) is a mix of the Balanchine and Vainonen schools of the Nutcracker. The Balanchine version of the Nutcracker emphasizes the child s fantasy: a land of sweets, with comic relief. The Vainonen Nutcracker emphasizes the romantic dreams of an adolescent.

Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty is one of the best loved of classical ballets, combining in a single work all the enchantment and virtuosity that ballet has to offer. The royal court, the panoramic journey of the Prince to the overgrown castle, and the great celebratory dances of the happy ending (in which other famous fairy-tale figures appear) are all brought to life by the luscious designs of this celebrated production, created in 1946 for The Royal Ballet. The inspired performances of its revival for the 75th anniversary of the Company in 2006, together with a magnificent High Definition recording, make this a superb tribute to The Royal Ballet's unique style and visual splendour.

One of several collaborative dance films by the Brothers Quay & (dancer, choreographer) William Tuckett. Little enough info around on line, but there's briefly by way of Wikipedia entry. Adapted rather loosely from the works of the E.T.A. Hoffman. Familiar Quays' tropes, much in evidence: automata, trompe l'oeil effects, etc. No credit on the sound design (which is fairly elaborate), tho' that is possibly Larry Sider.

The Prince of the Pagodas is a ballet created for The Royal Ballet by choreographer John Cranko with music commissioned from Benjamin Britten. Its premiere took place on 1 January 1957 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, conducted by Britten

This special program, performed at the Royal Opera House to mark the 25th anniversary of Frederick Ashton's death, presents five works that showcase his astonishing versatility, from compelling abstract ballets - such as the exuberant Voices of Spring and the radically modernist Monotones - to the tragic love story Marguerite and Armand, brought to life with 'performances of heart-wrenching intensity' (The Observer) by Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin.