Elizabeth McGorian

Fields of France, during the First World War. A group of young soldiers, united by the indiscriminate brutality of battle, fights to maintain their humanity in an endless cycle of combat and death.

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The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s repertory. It was the ballet with which the Company reopened the Royal Opera House in 1946 after World War II, its first production at its new home in Covent Garden. Margot Fonteyn danced the role of the beautiful Princess Aurora in the first performance, with Robert Helpmann as Prince Florimund. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original 1946 staging was revived by then Director of The Royal Ballet Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage.

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The young Clara creeps downstairs on Christmas Eve to play with her favourite present – a Nutcracker. But the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer is waiting to sweep her off on a magical adventure. After defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker and Clara travel through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy treats them to a wonderful display of dances. Back home, Clara thinks she must have been dreaming – but doesn’t she recognize Drosselmeyer’s nephew?

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Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein is the world premiere of Liam Scarlett’s new full-length ballet. A story of betrayal, curiosity, life, death and, above all, love, exploring the very depths of human nature. Federico Bonelli dances the role of Victor Frankenstein, Laura Morera is his Elizabeth, and Steven McRae is the creature. Koen Kessels conducts Lowell Liebermann’s newly commissioned score in this co-production between The Royal Ballet and San Francisco Ballet.

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The peasant girl Giselle discovers the true identity of her lover Albrecht – and that he is promised to another. Giselle kills herself. Her soul enters the ranks of the Wilis – shades of young women who died before their wedding day. All men that come across their path are compelled to dance themselves to death, and Albrecht falls into their trap. Giselle’s intercession saves Albrecht and releases her soul from the Wilis’ power.

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Kenneth MacMillan’s passionate choreography for Romeo and Juliet shows The Royal Ballet at its dramatic finest. Sergey Prokofiev’s famously evocative score is the driver for some of the most ardent pas de deux and powerful set pieces in ballet history. The vibrant crowd scenes with magnificent designs by Nicholas Georgiadis vividly recreate the color and bustle of 16th-century Verona in this Royal Ballet classic. “Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball will hug their first Romeo and Juliet their whole lives. What a dream debut for these two youngsters…” (The Spectator) “Kenneth MacMillan was a consummate storyteller, and in Romeo and Juliet he came as close to perfection as it’s possible to get.” (Culture Whisper) “From the quarrelling townsfolk to the stately ball guests, this is a Romeo packed with life, the whole company caught up in the ballet’s unfolding tragedy.” (The Independent)

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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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Yolanda Sonnabend's Faberge'-inspired designs evoke a world of Imperial Russia in Anthony Dowell's acclaimed production for The Royal Ballet of 'Swan Lake', one of the world's best-loved ballets. Marianela Nunez as Odette/Odile and Thiago Soares as Prince Siegfried bring new vitality to a compelling story of tragic romance. Valeriy Ovsyanikov conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Tchaikovsky's glorious romantic score.

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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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The Sleeping Beauty unites Petipa's demanding but enchanting choreography with Tchaikovsky's wonderful score in one of the best-loved of all classical ballets. This recording of Anthony Dowell's 1994 production for The Royal Ballet, with designs by Maria Björnson, features an outstanding cast led by Viviana Durante as a radiant Princess Aurora. She is partnered by Zoltán Solymosi as Prince Florimund and Anthony Dowell himself is a glitteringly elegant embodiment of evil as the wicked fairy Carabosse. The Royal Ballet, exceptional as ever, is accompanied by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, deftly conducted by Barry Wordsworth.

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Riverside was a TV series broadcast on BBC2 in the United Kingdom featuring musicians, bands, actors, fashion designers, artists and comedians. It consisted of sketches, interviews and live performances. Guests included Alice Cooper, Steve Strange, Martin Rushent, Alan Adler, Clare Grogan, Paul Weller, Martin Fry, The Cure, The Smiths, New Order and Pauline Black.

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