On the first anniversary of the première of The Cellist, alongside Dances at a Gathering, a recording of this mixed programme is available to pre-order on DVD and Blu-ray ahead of its release on 26 February.
The Cellist, Cathy Marston's first ballet for the Royal Opera House’s main stage, is inspired by the life and career of Jacqueline du Pré, from her discovery of the cello, through her celebrity, to her struggle with multiple sclerosis. Philip Feeney's score incorporates cello music by Elgar, Beethoven, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert performed by solo cellist Hetty Snell. Lauren Cuthbertson stars as The Cellist alongside Matthew Ball as The Conductor, Daniel Barenboim, and Marcelino Sambé as The Instrument.
The Cellist is complemented by Jerome Robbins’s Dances at a Gathering for five couples set to music by Chopin, created for New York City Ballet in 1969 and first performed by The Royal Ballet the following year. This recording features Marianela Nuñez, Francesca Hayward, Fumi Kaneko, Alexander Campbell and William Bracewell, with Robert Clark as solo pianist.