Since its legendary first visit to London in 1961, the Mariinsky Ballet, formerly known as the Kirov, has enthralled British audiences, enchanting and delighting with each unique performance. Synonymous with ballet history, the Mariinsky’s legendary dancers have been world-famous names since the company’s inception over 250 years ago. Mention of the Mariinsky never fails to conjure up visions of grace and aristocracy, breathtaking balletic virtuosity and lyrical mobility, with a corps de ballet famed for its celebrated precision and elegance. Now, after a four-year absence, this magnificent company of over 200 returns for a summer season at the Royal Opera House. Four stupendous productions attest to the Mariinsky’s great tradition in well-loved classics and in a homage to the great choreographer George Balanchine.

ROMEO AND JULIET

This Mariinsky Ballet season opens with the return of one of the most cherished and admired of twentieth-century Russian ballets: Leonid Lavrovsky’s celebrated realisation of Romeo and Juliet. Guided by the dramatic force and lyric power of Prokofiev’s score, Lavrovsky’s choreography draws a grandly moving portrait of the star-crossed lovers and the Renaissance society which frames their tragedy. Created for the sublime Galina Ulanova, her successors in the role have included some of the greatest of Russian ballerinas, and the Mariinsky Ballet will show four of today’s leading exponents: Alina Somova, Olesia Novikova, Ekaterina Osmolkina and Evgenia Obrazstova partnered by Vladimir Shklyarov, Igor Kolb, Evgeny Ivanchenko and Anton Korsakov as their Romeos.

HOMAGE TO BALANCHINE

Serenade, Rubies and Symphony in C

The Mariinsky Ballet pays homage to one of the greatest
choreographers in the history of ballet in an exhilarating, revelatory evening of three inspirational works of imagination and originality. Balanchine’s trademark clarity, classicism and athleticism are imbued with the Mariinsky dancers’ celebrated elegance and beauty. Serenade is a magical fusion of Balanchine’s choreographic genius with Tchaikovsky’s poetry and drama. Rubies, the witty central section of Balanchine’s sparkling three-act ballet Jewels, was inspired by Stravinsky’s vibrant, jazzy score. Symphony in C is a superlative realisation of Georges Bizet’s youthful, effervescent symphony, where the dance, like the score, is filled with joyous assurance.

Supported by Mrs Bettina von Siemens.
Serenade, RubiesandSymphony in Care presented by arrangementwith The George Balanchine Trust(SM).

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

‘The greatest of all ballets’. This claim made for the fairy-tale story of the Sleeping Beauty awakened from a spell by a Prince’s kiss is hard to deny. From the first, Petipa’s staging of The Sleeping Beauty for the Mariinsky was revered as the culminating masterpiece of classical ballet, delighting audiences with its spectacular effects and the glories of its sublime dances and its no less sublime music. Konstantin Sergeyev’s superlative production is a visually magnificent realisation of Petipa’s choreography. Interpreters this season include the superb Uliana Lopatkina, Viktoria Tereshkina, Alina Somova and Leonid Sarafanov, heirs in direct line from those very first Petersburg dancers. One cannot ask for better.