Details

Eugene Ionesco's chilling drama The Lesson was first choreographed for television by the Danish dancer and choreographer Flemming Flindt in 1963 and entered The Royal Ballet's repertory in 2005. In a dimly lit ballet studio an eager young dance student experiences more than she anticipates at the hands of a murderous ballet teacher, while the rehearsal pianist remains frighteningly detached. Voluntaries, premiered in December 1973 by the Stuttgart Ballet, is Glen Tetley's breathtakingly beautiful tribute to John Cranko who had died suddenly earlier that year. The ballet is set to Poulenc's Concerto in G minor for Organ, Strings and Timpani. Voluntaries - by musical definition - are free ranging improvisations, often played before, during and after religious service. The Latin root of the word can also signify flight or desire, and the ballet is conceived as a series of linked voluntaries. A new work from The Royal Ballet's multi award-winning Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor completes the programme.

Creatives/Company

Producer: Royal Ballet
Conductor(s): Daniel Capps, Barry Wordsworth
Music(s): Francis Poulenc (Voluntaries), George Delerue (The Lesson)
Choreographer(s): Glen Tetley (Voluntaries), Flemming Flindt (The Lesson), Wayne McGregor (New McGregor)
Design(s): Rouben Ter-Arutunian (Voluntaries), Flemming Flindt (The Lesson), Bernard Dayde (The Lesson), Julian Opie (New McGregor)
Lighting(s): John B Read (Voluntaries), Simon Bennison (The Lesson), Lucy Carter (New McGregor)
Other: Bronwen Curry (staging - Voluntaries)
Costume(s): Flemming Flindt (The Lesson), Tina Sander (The Lesson), Moritz Junge (New McGregor)