Birmingham Royal Ballet will present the London premiere performances of The Prince of the Pagodas at the London Coliseum from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 March 2014.
Choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet's Director David Bintley to Benjamin Britten’s only ballet score, The Prince of the Pagodas will be one of the closing highlights of the Britten 100 celebrations.
Bintley's new choreography for The Prince of the Pagodas received its world première in Japan in October 2011, performed by National Ballet of Japan and Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Bintley took a Japanese fairytale and combined the restructured plot with inspiration drawn from Kuniyoshi, one of the last great masters of Japanese ukiyo-e paintings.
Complementing Britten’s score, Bintley brings together British and Japanese culture and mythologies in this production, including the use of the gestural language of Noh theatre in his choreography.
David Bintley explains: 'In the original there’s a Beauty and the Beast-type premise where a Princess falls in love with a Salamander, but there really isn’t a struggle towards love; there are very few romantic moments in the action.
"I thought it was far better to make it a different type of love story. Not a man for a woman, but a sister for a brother, and a father for a son—a love for the family.'
Rae Smith (War Horse) is the set and costume designer. Lighting is by Birmingham Royal Ballet's lighting consultant Peter Teigen.
For more information, see the BRB web site.