The second of three Birmingham-focused commissions for Birmingham Royal Ballet is Black Sabbath—The Ballet.
It will feature full orchestrations of famous Black Sabbath tracks such as "Paranoid" and "Iron Man", as well as new orchestral works inspired by their music, all performed live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
This full-evening ballet has three composers and three choreographers, led by choreographer Pontus Lidberg (whose work has been performed by the Swedish Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet) and composer Chris Austin (whose work includes orchestrating the White Stripes music for Wayne McGregor’s Chroma) working alongside writer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer, The Opera) to create a metal symphony over three acts. Black Sabbath themselves have been closely involved.
Black Sabbath—The Ballet opens at Birmingham Hippodrome (23–30 September) before heading to Plymouth (12–14 October) and London’s Sadler’s Wells (18–21 October).