Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale premiered 10 years ago to general acclaim, with some hailing it as the first classic of the 21st century. Commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Wheeldon's inspired, eloquent choreography, Jody Talbot's vibrant score and Bob Crowley's atmospheric designs come together harmoniously to tell Shakespeare's convoluted tale of love, pathological jealousy, loss and forgiveness in entrancing manner.
Moving from the stony and dark interiors of the Sicilian court of King Leontes to the sunlit, colourful countryside of Bohemia and back again, the plot is triggered by Leontes's ungrounded suspicion that the baby his wife Hermione is expecting is not his, but his best friend's, the visiting Polixenes, King of Bohemia. He orders the baby be disappeared, and Hermione is presumed dead of grief. However, the courtier charged with disposing of the baby can't quite kill her; he abandons the child across the water in Bohemia, where she is found and brought up by a shepherd who names her Perdita.
Act II takes place 16 years later in Bohemia, where Perdita is in love with Polixenes's son Prince Florizel, whom she wrongly assumes to be a peasant. Polixenes, of course, doesn't approve, and the lovers elope ending up in Leontes's Sicilia, where Act III takes place bringing about a succession of major reveals and a happy ending.
The ballet has a number of meaty roles for the main characters, and it's likely principal Lauren Cuthbertson will reprise the role of Hermione, originally created on her and surely one of the best of her career. The original Leontes and Polixenes, respectively Edward Watson and Federico Bonelli, have both retired from the stage; but The Royal Ballet has a number of very good dance actors who will easily step into the roles; in fact, Ryoichi Hirano is sure to return as the anguished, paranoid Leontes.
Sarah Lamb will most likely return in the role of Perdita, which she created; and it will be interesting to see who takes on the secondary, though crucial role of Hermione's companion and confidante Paulina, in past performances moving and cogently danced by Zenaida Yanowski and Laura Morera, both also retired.
Full casts will be announced in due course - Watch this space
What | The Royal Ballet, The Winter's Tale (2024), ROH |
Where | Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD | MAP |
Nearest tube | Covent Garden (underground) |
When |
03 May 24 – 01 Jun 24, 19:30 Mat 27 May at 13:00. Dur.: 3 hours inc two intervals |
Price | £8-£140 (TBC) |
Website | Click here to book |