Three new Friday premières from Royal Opera House

Published: 6 July 2020
Reporter: Vera Liber

Faust Credit: Tristram Kenton
The Sleeping Beauty Credit: Bill Cooper
Fumi Kaneko as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty Credit: Helen Maybanks
Matthew Ball as Romeo and Yasmine Naghdi as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet Credit: Helen Maybanks
Vadim Muntagirov in Dance of the Blessed Spirits Live from Covent Garden Credit: Tristram Kenton
Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri in Within the Golden Hour Credit: Ruairi Watson
Reece Clarke and Fumi Kaneko in Concerto Credit: Ruairi Watson
Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales in Morgen Credit: Lara Cappelli

The Royal Opera House continues its #OurHouseToYourHouse programme on Facebook and YouTube with three new productions: Romeo and Juliet (The Royal Ballet, 2019) on 10 July, Faust (The Royal Opera, 2019) on 17 July and The Sleeping Beauty (The Royal Ballet, 2020) on 24 July, all available from 7PM.

Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet celebrates its 55th anniversary this year and has been performed more than four hundred times by The Royal Ballet. The 2019 recording stars Yasmine Naghdias Juliet, Matthew Ball as Romeo, Valentino Zucchetti as Mercutio, Benjamin Ella as Benvolio, Gary Avis as Tybalt and Nicol Edmonds as Paris. Pavel Sorokin conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

David McVicar’s production of Gounod’s Faust tells the story of the aged philosopher who makes a bargain with the devil in return for youth and the love of Marguerite. The 2019 recording stars Michael Fabiano as Faust, Erwin Schrott as Méphistophélès and Irina Lungu as Marguerite. The Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House are conducted by Dan Ettinger.

The Royal Ballet’s production of The Sleeping Beauty reopened the Royal Opera House in 1946 after World War II and in 2006 Monica Mason and Christopher Newton restored the original staging. With choreography by Marius Petipa, additional choreography by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon and a score by Tchaikovsky, the 2020 recording stars Fumi Kaneko as Princess Aurora, Federico Bonelli as Prince Florimund, Kristen McNally as Carabosse and Gina Storm-Jensen as the Lilac Fairy. Simon Hewett conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

On Friday 10 July at 7PM, BBC Four will screen Royal Opera House: The Reopening in which Anita Rani, Katie Derham and Antonio Pappano will introduce highlights from the three Live from Covent Garden concerts. The 90-minute programme will include the world premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Morgen performed by Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales, Vadim Muntagirov’s performance of Frederick Ashton’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits, the central pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto performed by Fumi Kaneko and Reece Clarke and a pas de deux from Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour performed by Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball. Also featured are performances of classic opera arias and songs by Gerald Finley, Louise Alder, Toby Spence, David Butt Philip, Sarah Connolly and the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Young Artists, alongside musicians from the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

The Royal Opera House’s Create and Learn series continues, this week’s theme being ‘Transformations’ inviting children and young people to make their own potion bottle, inspired by The Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

As part of its Opera on 3 series, BBC Radio 3 will broadcast The Royal Opera’s performance of Richard Strauss’s Elektra (2013) with Christine Goerke in the title role on Saturday 4 July, followed by The Royal Opera’s performance of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (2016) as the Opera Matinee on Thursday 9 July. Currently available on demand on BBC Sounds are The Royal Opera’s performances of Szymanowski's King Roger (2015), Dvořák’s Rusalka (2012), Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (2013) and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (2014).

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