Ballets de Monte-Carlo presented by Monaco
Mark February 23 and 24 for a night at the ballet. The traveling company presents Romeo and Juliet at the Mahilia Jackson Center for the Performing Arts, and tickets are available now. With choreography by Jean-Christophe Maillot, the Shakespeare favorite presents music by Sergei Prokofiev and scenography by Ernest Pignon-Ernest. It first premiered during the Christmas season in 1996 at the Salle Garnier Monte-Carlo Opera.
To create the romantic tragedy, Prokofiev reused music in three suites for orchestra and included a piano solo piece. It’s based on the synopsis of Shakespeare’s work as created by Adrian Piotrovsky and Sergey Radlov. Composed by Prokofiev in 1935, following the “drambalet,” it quickly became a favorite. Originally, the ballet had a happy ending (in light of Shakespeare’s work), but it sparked controversy with Soviet cultural leaders. Unable to be produced in Soviet Russia until 1940, eventually it reverted back to the tragic ending.
A Tale of …
Ballet music suites were heard in the U.S. well before the full ballet premiered. In 1955, it was performed at the Royal Danish Ballet and in 1962 at the Stuttgart Ballet. Popular in Europe for decades, it didn’t make it to the U.S. until 2007 when it was performed at the New York City Ballet.
You don’t want to miss the first performance in New Orleans, right on the heels of Valentine’s Day.