Edward Watson

Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova dances the title role in Kenneth MacMillan’s haunting ballet, to atmospheric music by Tchaikovsky and Martinů. Anastasia tells the story of Anna Anderson who, following the Russian Revolution and the murder of the royal family, claimed she was the surviving Grand Duchess Anastasia. Many believed her to be an imposter; others hoped she was Anastasia, a remnant of a lost world. A powerful, psychological challenge for the lead dancer, Anastasia explores one of the great historical mysteries of the 20th century, only recently solved, and the distorting mirror of memory, time and place.

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The first revival of Wayne McGregor’s critically acclaimed ballet triptych to music by Max Richter, inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf.

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60-minute film in which ballet star Darcey Bussell undertakes a very personal journey to meet the heroes and dancers who transformed male ballet.

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A portrait of the day-to-day operations of the National Gallery of London, that reveals the role of the employees and the experiences of the Gallery's visitors. The film portrays the role of the curators and conservators; the education, scientific, and conservation departments; and the audience of all kinds of people who come to experience it.

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The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a statue comes miraculously to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, the team behind Alice, in one of the highlights of The Royal Ballet Season.

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The Royal Ballet present Arthur Pita's adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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The closing ceremony of the games of the XXXth Olympiad.

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The diversity of Wayne McGregor's astonishing talent is demonstrated through Chroma, Infra and Limen, each created for The Royal Ballet, for whom he is resident choreographer. Intimate yet universal, light yet dark, frenetic yet lyrical, McGregor pursues his passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, his many-layered and beautiful dances providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer. Works: Chroma (Talbot; White III); Infra (Richter); Limen (Saariaho).

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A full-length ballet created by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The ballet is based on Lewis Carroll's famous story of Alice, an ordinary girl who one summer afternoon falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself on an extraordinary adventure. The music is by Joby Talbot, with designs by the internationally acclaimed Bob Crowley. Alice is danced by the Royal Ballet's Lauren Cuthbertson, and actor Simon Russell-Beale plays the cameo role of the Duchess.

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Edward Watson takes the role of Crown Prince Rudolf in Kenneth MacMillan's compelling ballet which lives out the final eight years of Rudolf's life with its relentless downward spiral of political intrigue, drugs and murder. It culminates with the suicide pact at the hunting lodge - known as Mayerling - between Rudolf and his 17-year-old mistress, Mary Vetsera (Mara Galeazzi). Filmed in high definition and recorded in true surround sound.

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Inspired by dark and gripping real life events, this Royal Ballet classic depicts the sexual and morbid obsessions of Crown Prince Rudolf leading to the murder-suicide scandal with his mistress Mary Vetsera. The oppressive glamour of the Austro-Hungarian court in the 1880s sets the scene for a suspenseful drama of psychological and political intrigue as Rudolf fixates on his mortality.

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"MacMillan's vision has been vital in shaping The Royal Ballet's style and repertory, and what better way to appreciate his art than with this rare chance to experience three contrasting works in a single performance. Abstract, dramatic, humorous - this programme gives a wonderfully varied introduction not just to MacMillan's work but to the beauty and dramatic power of ballet itself. Concerto, to Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto, contrasts moments of exuberance and elegiac reflection. The Judas Tree places a single woman among 13 men to enact a harrowing event that is recognizably contemporary but with biblical overtones. Elite Syncopations completes the programme with a sparkling evocation of a dance hall that brings ragtime rhythms to the dance, and a ragtime band to the stage.

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‘Ondine’, a ballet by Frederick Ashton, premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 27 October 1958, with Margot Fonteyn in the title role of the water nymph. In this 2009 revival (27 May 2009 to 8 June 2009) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, the role of Ondine is performed by Miyako Yoshida, in the spellbinding underwater world of Ondine, staged by the Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton’s shimmering choreography, Lila de Nobili’s impressionistic sets and Hans Werner Henze’s vibrant and inventive score, composed especially for the occasion, combine in an unforgettable way to evoke the myriad moods and colours of the sea.

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The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera collaborate in Wayne McGregor's production of Handel and Gay's classic opera, in which the nymph Galatea falls in love with a shepherd named Acis.

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Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty is one of the best loved of classical ballets, combining in a single work all the enchantment and virtuosity that ballet has to offer. The royal court, the panoramic journey of the Prince to the overgrown castle, and the great celebratory dances of the happy ending (in which other famous fairy-tale figures appear) are all brought to life by the luscious designs of this celebrated production, created in 1946 for The Royal Ballet. The inspired performances of its revival for the 75th anniversary of the Company in 2006, together with a magnificent High Definition recording, make this a superb tribute to The Royal Ballet's unique style and visual splendour.

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Coppélia, a mechanical doll made by the toy-maker Dr. Coppelius, is so life-like that some believe she is his daughter. The mistake leads to intrigue and jealousy in love. Directed by Ross MacGibbon, with Leanne Benjamin and Carlos Acosta.

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