Classical ballet's most powerful tale of love, treachery and forgiveness returns to the Royal Opera House stage. Out hunting, Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans. One among them transforms into the beautiful human Odette and he is immediately enamoured. But Odette is bound by a spell which keeps her captive as a swan during the day. Can Siegfried free her? Tchaikovsky's sensational score combines with the evocative imagination of choreographer Liam Scarlett and designer John Macfarlane to heighten the dramatic pathos of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's quintessential ballet classic. Swan Lake remains to this day one of the best-loved works in the classical ballet canon.

From a kaleidoscopic abstract ballet to a poignant elegy, celebrate Kenneth MacMillan's endless invention in three works. Kenneth MacMillan (1929-92) was the leading choreographer of his generation. Renowned for his full-length dramatic works which dug deep into the human psyche, MacMillan's creativity knew no bounds. His one-act works also reshaped the collective identity of The Royal Ballet, challenging the art form to reflect real-life emotions, passions and human frailty. In three varied works, this mixed programme offers a taster of MacMillan's exceptional craft.

From a mysterious Cheshire Cat and a tap-dancing tea party, to frogs acting as footmen and unknown potions that turn you tiny, many treats and eccentricities await in this weird and wonderful world. You never know what you might find when you fall down the rabbit hole. Christopher Wheeldon's?Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?burst onto the stage in 2011 in an explosion of colour, stage magic and inventive, sophisticated choreography. Joby Talbot's score combines contemporary soundworlds with sweeping melodies that gesture to ballet scores of the 19th century. Bob Crowley's wildly imaginative, eye-popping designs draw on everything from puppetry to projections to make Wonderland wonderfully real. The result shows The Royal Ballet at it's best, bringing together world-class dance with enchanting family entertainment and ingenious music and design.

Rusalka, a water spirit, lives with her family in the pure waters of the forest lake. When she falls in love with a Prince, she sacrifices her voice and leaves her home in the hope of finding true love in a new world - a world that does not love her back.�Natalie Abrahami and Ann Yee create a poetic, contemporary new staging of Dvorak's lyric fairy tale, revealing our uneasy relationship with the natural world and humanity's attempts to own and tame it. Semyon Bychkov conducts an all-star cast featuring Asmik Grigorian in the title role.

Country boy Nemorino is determined to win the haughty Adina's heart, but she refuses to give him the time of day. Can Doctor Dulcamara's so-called 'elixir of love' work it's magic? Conductor Sesto Quatrini makes his house debut, as does soprano Nadine Sierra in the role of Adina. She is joined by Liparit Avetisyan, Boris Pinkhasovich and the incomparable Bryn Terfel as the genial wheeler-dealer Doctor Dulcamara.

Love and duty collide and nations clash in Verdi's political drama, starring Elena Stikhina. In this new production, director Robert Carsen situates Verdi's large-scale drama within a contemporary world, framing it's power struggles and toxic jealousies in the apparatus of a modern, totalitarian state. Antonio Pappano conducts Verdi's glorious, monumental score.

In a showcase for the genius of The Royal Ballet's Resident Choreographer, this collection brings together some of Wayne McGregor's most outstanding and internationally acclaimed works, comprising Three Ballets: Chroma, Infra, Limen (recorded 2008), Woolf Works (2017) and The Dante Project (2021). The diversity of Wayne McGregor's astonishing invention is demonstrated first through Chroma, Infra and Limen. Intimate yet universal, both light and dark, vigorous and lyrical, these three ballets reveal McGregor's passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer. In Woolf Works, McGregor's first full-length work for The Royal Ballet, the distinctive stream-of-consciousness writing of Virginia Woolf takes new form in a work of luminous beauty. Inspired by another celebrated literary figure, The Dante Project follows an epic journey through the afterlife, a monumental reinvention of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, by turns terrifying, poetic and dazzling. McGregor's gift for collaboration lies at the heart of his practice and is demonstrated here with an extraordinary team of trailblazing artistic minds, including Thomas Ades, Tacita Dean, Max Richter, Julian Opie and John Pawson. This collection also affords viewers a prized opportunity to admire the remarkable artistry of Royal Ballet dancers past and present.

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) plays the title role in Shakespeare’s thrilling study of nationalism, war and the psychology of power. Captured live from the Donmar Warehouse in London. Fresh to the throne, King Henry V launches England into a bloody war with France. When his campaign encounters resistance, this inexperienced new ruler must prove he is fit to guide a country into war. Directed by Max Webster (Life of Pi), this exciting modern production explores what it means to be English and our relationship to Europe, asking: do we ever get the leaders we deserve?

Benjamin Britten’s comic opera, which is gently laced with moments of farce, is a jocular parody on life in East Suffolk at the turn of the 20th century. Albert Herring is a quaint, nostalgic journey to a bygone England and the journey has come full circle back to Glyndebourne where this piece was premiered in 1947. The ensuing antics are brilliantly characterised by a strong British cast in this production, which is infused with freshness and limitless charm. Expertly conducted by Bernard Haitink, this archive recording showcases some of Britain’s finest singers in this landmark production by Peter Hall.

Glyndebourne’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is pure magic. Brilliantly adapted from Shakespeare’s play, the opera follows the adventures of four lovers and a group of naïve rustics who, in a wood on a moonstruck midsummer night, fall foul of Oberon and Tytania, the quarrelling king and queen of the fairies. In Peter Hall’s remarkable staging, the very wood comes alive as logs and trees move and rustle, creating ambiguous silhouettes in the dark mysterious woodland, lit only by designer John Bury’s wonderful rising sun and moon.

Recorded 1983.

British mezzo-soprano, Dame Janet Baker, chose to retire from the operatic stage singing the title role in Sir Peter Hall's acclaimed production of Orfeo ed Euridice. This 1982 recording from Glyndebourne, where Dame Janet appropriately began her professional career, proved a suitable crowning glory to the career of one of the great singing actresses of our age. Dame Janet's realisation of Orfeo, the grieving musician from Greek mythology, who follows his beloved wife Euridice to the depths of Hades in an attempt to bring her back from the dead, is totally convincing “… a quite staggering performance …” (MusicWeb International)

Experience the thrill of rebellion, the brutality of battle, and ambition without boundaries in Shakespeare’s epic trilogy about one of the most turbulent periods in English history. This box set trilogy, available together for the first time on DVD, includes: Henry VI: Part One Filmed as a rehearsal run through performance during the Covid 19 pandemic, Henry VI: Part One introduces us to a young and reclusive Henry, who is proclaimed King of England after the death of his father, Henry V. Directed by Gregory Doran and Owen Horsley. Henry VI: Rebellion: As fighting and division in the corridors of power continues, and Henry’s hold on the English throne wavers, ordinary men and women start to speak out. But as the people rise in protest, who is behind their rebellion? Directed by Owen Horsley. Henry VI: Wars of the Roses: In this thrilling climax, the tussle for the English crown escalates to the battlefield as the families of Lancaster and York drench their brutal conflict in sweat and blood. Directed by Owen Horsley.

Witness The Wedding of the Year, filmed at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand. Handel’s Baroque masterpiece Semele is an exciting mix of opera and oratorio. Unlike his much more famous Messiah, this work scandalized audiences when first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London in 1774. Drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the sensual story explores a love triangle between Jupiter, King of the Gods, his wife, the goddess Juno, and his lover, the mortal princess Semele. “A remarkable production... a brilliant theatrical phenomenon, surprising, amusing and utterly engrossing” (Opera Magazine)

The world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company presents the most complete collection of Shakespeare's plays to be captured in widescreen. Filmed onstage in Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, this collection of contains 35 unforgettable dramas, with iconic performances by leading actors. From David Tennant's "mesmerising" Richard II (Guardian) and Paapa Essiedu's "utterly engaging performance" as Hamlet (Times), to Josette Simon delivering "a Cleopatra to die for" (Observer), and Sir Antony Sher's King Lear being hailed as "a crowning achievement in a major career" (Telegraph), this special collection showcases British theatre at it's finest.

When Leontes, Sicilian king, becomes convinced his pregnant wife Hermione is conducting an affair with his closest friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia, he is so enraged he banishes her newborn child, while Hermione apparently dies of grief. Sixteen years later, the child, Perdita, having been raised in Bohemia by shepherds, is in love with Florizel, son of Polixenes, who forbids their marriage. The lovers travel to Leontes’ court seeking happiness, which they find – in ways nobody expected. Blanche McIntyre directs a new version of Shakespeare’s great play of the irrational and inexplicable. Set in a world of monsters, gods and natural disasters, travel from the stifling atmosphere of the Sicilian court to the unbuttoned joy of a Bohemian festival.

REVIEWS:

A show for the die-hard Shakespeare fans, certainly, but also an excellent introduction to those less familiar with his work. It's a theatrical experience only the Globe could offer, and one that should be grabbed with both hands[.]

-- Broadway World

Director Sean Holmes has pulled off a coup: the first director to use both of the Globe’s theatres in a single evening. It’s an obvious response to The Winter’s Tale’s two contrasting kingdoms, and – in practical terms – it works brilliantly. The claustrophobic interiors of Sicilia in the Wanamaker Playhouse (pitch perfect from designer Grace Smart) give way to the breezy openness (those “winds of March” right on cue) of the Globe itself, and Bohemia’s riotous sheep-shearing celebrations.

-- The Arts Desk

Teeming with comedy, wit and an abundance of bravura choreography, Carlos Acosta's production brings the Spanish heat and romance of Miguel de Cervantes' classic novel Don Quixote to life. Often regarded as the first modern novel, Cervantes' epic regales the chivalrous adventures of the eccentric nobleman Don Quixote (Gary Avis) and his faithful squire Sancho Panza (Liam Boswell). The ballet focuses on one of their adventures, where they help to bring a vivacious young couple, Kitri (Mayara Magri) and Basilio (Matthew Ball), together.

The English musical Renaissance reached it's apogee with Henry Purcell. Inspired by French pomp and Italian melodies, he forged a unique style, blending royal splendour with an authentic British spirit. His masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas, is a timeless lyrical gem, exploring the eternal tragedy of love and abandonment. The majestic Sonya Yoncheva plays Dido, the queen in love betrayed by fate, while Halidou Nombre gives voice to the passions of Aeneas, torn between his love and the call of Rome, who is caught up in an intrigue hatched by dark forces. At the Opera Royal of Versailles, the music of the Orpheus britannicus resonates with eternal splendour, magnified by the dreamlike staging of Cecile Roussat and Julien Lubek. Their masterful approach, combining mime, dance and acrobatics, transforms every moment into a magical tableau, sublimated by the fervour of the young soloists from the Academie de l'Opera Royal.

For his ballet Tchaikovsky Overtures, Alexei Ratmansky chose overtures by Pyotr Tchaikovsky which the composer had created in various stages of his life for concert performance. Content-wise, these musical works draw on the dramas of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Although Alexei Ratmansky clearly has not created a narrative ballet, the narrative motifs from these three of Shakespeare's plays appear on the surface of the choreographic structure time and again, thus, Shakespeare's 'voice' serves as the foundation for both the dance action on stage and the music resonating from the orchestra pit. Traditionally, overtures are heard at the beginning of an opera or a ballet and carry over into a plot. In Alexei Ratmansky's Tchaikovsky Overtures, however, overture follows on overture, whereby a new beginning is truly followed by another one. Interwoven into this is a fundamental pledge of the theatre to have a new world appear with every opening of the curtains and to set a beginning that opens in the future. With the devices and resources of classical and neo-classical ballet, Alexei Ratmansky continuously refers in his choreography to the history of dance art. We should not forget here that ballet literally had to fight to survive in different epochs. The hope that factual reality would dissolve into something dance-like also constantly resonates here. Opalescent in character, the "Fantasy Overtures", the generic name of the orchestral pieces chosen from Tchaikovsky's oeuvre to be performed in the ballet program, become ideal templates for a ballet, which must also be understood as fantasizing. They represent a fantasy about the role of classical ballet today, the memories it carries, and how it might shape it's future.

For his ballet Tchaikovsky Overtures, Alexei Ratmansky chose overtures by Pyotr Tchaikovsky which the composer had created in various stages of his life for concert performance. Content-wise, these musical works draw on the dramas of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. Although Alexei Ratmansky clearly has not created a narrative ballet, the narrative motifs from these three of Shakespeare's plays appear on the surface of the choreographic structure time and again, thus, Shakespeare's 'voice' serves as the foundation for both the dance action on stage and the music resonating from the orchestra pit. Traditionally, overtures are heard at the beginning of an opera or a ballet and carry over into a plot. In Alexei Ratmansky's Tchaikovsky Overtures, however, overture follows on overture, whereby a new beginning is truly followed by another one. Interwoven into this is a fundamental pledge of the theatre to have a new world appear with every opening of the curtains and to set a beginning that opens in the future. With the devices and resources of classical and neo-classical ballet, Alexei Ratmansky continuously refers in his choreography to the history of dance art. We should not forget here that ballet literally had to fight to survive in different epochs. The hope that factual reality would dissolve into something dance-like also constantly resonates here. Opalescent in character, the "Fantasy Overtures", the generic name of the orchestral pieces chosen from Tchaikovsky's oeuvre to be performed in the ballet program, become ideal templates for a ballet, which must also be understood as fantasizing. They represent a fantasy about the role of classical ballet today, the memories it carries, and how it might shape it's future.

Marked by a profound dramatic and spiritual intensity, the St John Passion was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1724. Based on the Gospel according to St John, it recounts the last moments of Christ's life, from his arrest to his burial in the tomb. The Cantor's Passion is one of the most sublime works in his repertoire, drawing the listener into a mystical and contemplative reflection. Ga�tan Jarry conducts the Orchestre de l'Op�ra Royal and the child singers of the T�lzer Knabenchor, to restore this treasure of sacred music to it's rightful place.

A colossal work that defies all boundaries: Prokofiev's monumental setting of Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace. The story, set during Napoleon's Russian campaign between 1809 and 1812, is condensed by the composer into a powerful sequence of scenes in which the love story between Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky alternates in striking contrast with the depiction of the Russian army's battle against the French invasion-interwoven yet deeply connected. The music narrates how the aristocracy's rigid social hierarchy stands in the way of two young people's happiness, how seduction succeeds while an abduction fails, how some renounce their love while others fall as heroes-all while people, amidst the grandeur, search for true connection. With a wealth of magnificent themes and poignant moments, Prokofiev's operatic masterpiece merges social drama and historical chronicle into a sweeping panorama. Dmitri Tcherniakov's staging presents a gathering of people in a historically charged setting: the famous Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions in Moscow. Forced into an indefinite coexistence, they instinctively begin to embody characters, reenact conversations, scenes, and celebrations, as if drawing from a vast collective memory. What starts as an impromptu role-play soon turns into an emotional experience where the lines between assumed and genuine feelings blur. An outstanding ensemble performs under the musical direction of General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski.

A colossal work that defies all boundaries: Prokofiev's monumental setting of Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace. The story, set during Napoleon's Russian campaign between 1809 and 1812, is condensed by the composer into a powerful sequence of scenes in which the love story between Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky alternates in striking contrast with the depiction of the Russian army's battle against the French invasion-interwoven yet deeply connected. The music narrates how the aristocracy's rigid social hierarchy stands in the way of two young people's happiness, how seduction succeeds while an abduction fails, how some renounce their love while others fall as heroes-all while people, amidst the grandeur, search for true connection. With a wealth of magnificent themes and poignant moments, Prokofiev's operatic masterpiece merges social drama and historical chronicle into a sweeping panorama. Dmitri Tcherniakov's staging presents a gathering of people in a historically charged setting: the famous Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions in Moscow. Forced into an indefinite coexistence, they instinctively begin to embody characters, reenact conversations, scenes, and celebrations, as if drawing from a vast collective memory. What starts as an impromptu role-play soon turns into an emotional experience where the lines between assumed and genuine feelings blur. An outstanding ensemble performs under the musical direction of General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski.

Johann Strau�'s Die Fledermaus (The Bat) has been part of the Bayerische Staatsoper's repertoire since 1895 and has always been performed there by star-studded casts. In December 2023, the curtain rose on a spectacular new production of this piece. Director Barrie Kosky gave the "operetta of all operettas" a new look: a society, an entire city dances towards the abyss in a colourful, lavish set (stage design: Rebecca Ringst, costumes: Klaus Bruns). The setting is Vienna, the city of the golden operetta era, where Die Fledermaus premiered in 1874. A volcano boils beneath the glamour of feather boas and tutus. Not only for Gabriel von Eisenstein, the bat's revenge becomes a nightmare when, during a glittering masked ball at the residence of Prince Orlofsky, a fake marquis and a fake chevalier, an alleged Hungarian countess and plenty of budding artists meet for a raucous party. Glasses are clinking, relationships are shaken, there are lies, there is love, and dancing (choreography: Otto Pichler). The people celebrate while they still can, true to the motto: "Happy is the one who forgets...". General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski - in his third new Munich production together with Barrie Kosky - brings new aspects of the score to the fore. Diana Damrau makes her role debut as Rosalinde, Georg Nigl interprets her husband Gabriel von Eisenstein, Katharina Konradi appears as Adele and Martin Winkler as Frank; other roles feature Markus Bruck (Dr. Falke), Sean Panikkar (Alfred), Kevin Conners (Dr. Blind) and Miriam Neumaier (Ida). The actor Franz Josef Strohmeier and the tap dancer Max Pollak, among others, play the six-fold frog.

Johann Strau's Die Fledermaus (The Bat) has been part of the Bayerische Staatsoper's repertoire since 1895 and has always been performed there by star-studded casts. In December 2023, the curtain rose on a spectacular new production of this piece. Director Barrie Kosky gave the "operetta of all operettas" a new look: a society, an entire city dances towards the abyss in a colourful, lavish set (stage design: Rebecca Ringst, costumes: Klaus Bruns). The setting is Vienna, the city of the golden operetta era, where Die Fledermaus premiered in 1874. A volcano boils beneath the glamour of feather boas and tutus. Not only for Gabriel von Eisenstein, the bat's revenge becomes a nightmare when, during a glittering masked ball at the residence of Prince Orlofsky, a fake marquis and a fake chevalier, an alleged Hungarian countess and plenty of budding artists meet for a raucous party. Glasses are clinking, relationships are shaken, there are lies, there is love, and dancing (choreography: Otto Pichler). The people celebrate while they still can, true to the motto: "Happy is the one who forgets". General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski - in his third new Munich production together with Barrie Kosky - brings new aspects of the score to the fore. Diana Damrau makes her role debut as Rosalinde, Georg Nigl interprets her husband Gabriel von Eisenstein, Katharina Konradi appears as Adele and Martin Winkler as Frank; other roles feature Markus Bruck (Dr. Falke), Sean Panikkar (Alfred), Kevin Conners (Dr. Blind) and Miriam Neumaier (Ida). The actor Franz Josef Strohmeier and the tap dancer Max Pollak, among others, play the six-fold frog.

In an intrigue-filled Verona, Giulietta and her beloved Romeo struggle to live out their love in the face of conflicts between their families... Inspired by Luigi Da Porto's original 16th-century novella, Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli breathed new life into this iconic tale: from it's premiere in 1796, this flamboyant opera seria became Napoleon I's favourite opera. Gilles Rico chooses to set the play at the dawn of the 19th century, and skilfully stages the torments of the two young heroes, torn between their family duty and the violent passion that seizes them, all underlined by Roland Fontaine's grandiose sets and Christian Lacroix's splendid costumes.