Romeo and Juliet - Royal Opera House - Live

Showing on Thursday 22nd March at 20:15

Kenneth MacMillan's hugely popular production of Prokofiev's ballet - live from the Royal Opera House

Premiered in 1965 with Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn dancing the lead roles, Kenneth McMillan's first full-evening ballet has become one of the Royal Ballet's signature works, enjoying great popularity around the world. It's not hard to see why. From the outset, MacMillan's production teems with life and colour as the townspeople, market traders and servants of the rival Montagues and Capulets go about their daily business in vibrant crowd scenes. But they all melt into the background once Romeo and Juliet take centre stage for those great pas de deux: the meeting in the ballroom, the balcony scene, the morning after the wedding and the final devastating tomb scene. Although the Royal Ballet has performed 'Romeo and Juliet' more than 400 times, each performance and pairing is subtly different, bringing fresh nuances to the young lovers' characters.

Ballet in three acts

Music Sergey Prokofiev