A world premiere and two comic masterpieces make this a delightful evening of exuberant humour and flights of fancy.
Background
This Royal Ballet mixed programme opens with a
classic by Frederick Ashton, based on Mendelssohn’s delicate score and
the plot of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream. In a
magical nocturnal world, Oberon and Titania play games with unwitting
mortals, while the mischievous Puck intensifies love’s comic confusions.
The ballet’s fleet footwork and gentle humour show Ashton at his
brilliant best.
A new work for The Royal Ballet by Alastair Marriott is at the heart
of the evening. Following last year’s successful ‘Trespass’ – with
Christopher Wheeldon as part of Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 –
Marriott’s fifth work for the Company on the main stage is an exciting
collaboration with acclaimed designer Es Devlin and lighting designer
Bruno Poet.
The programme ends in superb style with The Concert. This
humorous, beautifully crafted ballet by Jerome Robbins is a superbly
witty spoof of a classical music concert. As a pianist performs Chopin,
the audience allow their minds to wander and their resulting fantasies
take flight.