Bolshoi Ballet – 50th Anniversary Season

Monday 29 July – Saturday 17 August 2013

Friends booking opens 12 March 2013

General booking opens 9 April 2013

The Bolshoi Ballet returns to the Royal Opera House with the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre for an exciting three-week season of spectacular new ballet productions, marking the 50th anniversary of its first visit to Covent Garden under the banner of Victor Hochhauser.

Bolshoi Ballet – 50th Anniversary Season

Swan Lake

29 | 30 | 31 July 7.30pm

1 | 10 | 14 | 15 August 7.30pm

10 August 2pm

Tickets: £8–£120

The season opens with Swan Lake, one of the most famous of all ballets, in which the love of Prince Siegfried and his Swan Queen, Odette, is imperilled by sinister supernatural forces. Set to Tchaikovsky’s lyrical score, the magic and drama of this timeless story unfold in a memorable production by renowned choreographer Yuri Grigorovich.

La Bayadère

2 | 3 August 7.30pm

3 August 2pm

Tickets: £8–£110

Petipa’s masterpiece of passion, betrayal and redemption, culminating in the breathtaking ‘Kingdom of the Shades’, is danced to perfection by the Bolshoi’s incomparable corps de ballet. Dazzling new sets by Nikolai Sharonov and costumes by Nikolai Sviridchikov illuminate the tragic tale of the temple dancer Nikiya’s doomed love for the warrior Solor.

The Sleeping Beauty

5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 August 7.30pm

Tickets: £8–£120

The first performances outside Russia of Yuri Grigorovich’s magnificent new revival of Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty. Tchaikovsky’s incomparable music, sumptuous costumes by Franca Squarciapino and spectacular sets by the celebrated Italian art director Ezio Frigerio provide a brilliant visual feast. The Bolshoi’s production imbues Perrault’s beloved fairytale with wonder and excitement.

Jewels – Emeralds, Rubies, Diamonds

12 | 13 August 7.30pm

Tickets: £8–£110

The Bolshoi performs the UK premiere of its acclaimed new production of Balanchine’s Jewels, inspired by the brilliance and colour of gemstones. Fauré’s music perfectly complements the romantic elegance of Emeralds, followed by the jazzy, witty Rubies set to Stravinsky’s vibrant score; Diamonds, a glittering evocation of Russian imperialism to Tchaikovsky’s sublime music, ends the ballet in a spectacular tribute to the great Russian ballet tradition.

The Flames of Paris

16 | 17 August 7.30pm

17 August 2pm

Tickets: £8–£110

The Bolshoi presents the first UK performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s highly acclaimed new version of Vasily Vainonen’s The Flames of Paris. Set to Boris Asafiev’s powerfully evocative music, the ballet depicts the tumultuous era of the French Revolution and astounds with one of the most exciting pas de deux in the whole of the ballet repertory.

Principal Dancers Include

Maria Alexandrova, Kristina Kretova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Anna Nikulina, Evgenia Obraztsova, Natalia Osipova, Ekaterina Shipulina, Anastasia Stashkevich, Olga Smirnova, Svetlana Zakharova. Semyon Chudin, Dmitry Gudanov, David Hallberg, Vladislav Lantratov, Mikhail Lobukhin, Vyacheslav Lopatin, Andrei Merkuriev, Artem Ovcharenko, Ruslan Skvortsov, Ivan Vasiliev, Alexander Volchkov.

**Production of George Balanchine Ballet © Jewels prepared in cooperation with the George Balanchine Fund © and executed in accordance with the standards of Balanchine style© and Balanchine Technique ©, as stipulated and made available by the Fund.