Fathom Events and the Royal Opera House are partnering again to present
the “The
2014/15 Royal Ballet Cinema Season.” Fathom will offer
five specially curated titles from October through May, four of which
will be captured live from London and include: “Manon”
on Thursday, Oct. 16; “Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland” on Tuesday, Dec. 16; “Swan
Lake” on Thursday, March 19; and “La
Fille Mal Gardee” on Tuesday, May 5. Rounding out the
season is the beloved Christopher Wheeldon’s “The
Winter’s Tale” on Tuesday, Feb. 17, which was recorded
earlier in the season. Each event in the series will also feature 15
minutes of behind-the-scenes footage including interviews with the
performers and specially captured rehearsal elements.
Tickets for the “The 2014/15 Royal Ballet Cinema Season” will go
on sale immediately and are available at participating theater box
offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com.
The event will be presented in more than 360 select movie theaters
around the country through Fathom’s Digital
Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations and
prices, visit the Fathom Events website
(theaters and participants are subject to change).
“We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Fathom Events
into a second full season,” Alastair Roberts, MD (Managing Director) of
Royal Opera House Enterprises said. “Last Season saw world-class
performances from The Royal Ballet relayed into hundreds of cinemas
across the USA and we are excited about building on this success.
2014-15 is an important Season for the Company: as well as relaying live
performances into cinemas, The Royal Ballet is coming to the USA on tour
to give live performances in Chicago, Washington and New York next
summer. Extending our partnership with Fathom Events is the ideal way to
mark the start of this important Season for us.”
“Bringing Great Britain’s most prestigious ballet company back to
cinemas across the U.S. is an exciting opportunity for fans of all
ages,” said Fathom Events Senior Vice President Dan Diamond. “The
audiences from our first season wanted to experience more of these
magical performances in cinemas and we are thrilled to partner again
with the Royal Opera House to meet their demand.”
“Manon” – Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014 at 7 p.m. local time
Manon Lescaut is a beautiful young woman who falls prey to the moral
corruption of 18th century Paris. Kenneth MacMillan brings
Manon’s story vividly to life, with his ballet, which evokes the
brutality and decadence described in Abbé Prévost’s infamous novel, as
well as the feckless character of Manon herself – torn between love for
the poet Des Grieux and her desire for money and attention. The cast of
complex characters includes the callous Monsieur GM, the swaggering
Jailer, Manon’s roguish brother Lescaut and his coquettish Mistress, but
at the ballet’s heart are the duets MacMillan created for Manon and Des
Grieux, which are among the most emotionally intense and erotically
charged ever choreographed.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” – Tuesday, Dec. 16,
2014 at 7 p.m. local time
Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet based on Lewis Carroll’s book
is an exuberant piece of storytelling featuring an instantly
recognizable cast of characters, among them a tap-dancing Mad Hatter, a
tetchy White Rabbit and a raucously bad-tempered Queen of Hearts.
Wheeldon, along with composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley, have
created a genuine family ballet in the spirit of Carroll’s beloved
children’s classic. While regular ballet goers can appreciate nods to
other famous works – there’s a parody of the Rose Adagio from “The
Sleeping Beauty,” with jam tarts instead of flowers – the ballet is
above all a brilliant realization of Carroll’s zany dream-world
featuring stunning choreography, a colorful score and ingenious stage
magic.
“The Winter’s Tale” (Pre-recorded) – Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015 at
7 p.m. local time
Following his delightful full-length ballet “Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland,” Christopher Wheeldon continues his highly successful
collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot to
create his first ballet based on a Shakespeare play, the late romance
“The Winter’s Tale.” The story follows the destruction of 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 story is one of forgiveness and
reconciliation. It is powerful material for ballet, with a narrative
that allows for the portrayal of intense emotions between and within the
characters, and the opportunity for the Company to create not just new
central characters but the whole world around them.
“Swan Lake” – Thursday, March 19, 2015 at 7 p.m. local time
Swan Lake, surely the greatest of all Romantic ballets, is the
captivating story of a beautiful woman transformed into a swan, and a
heart-rending tribute to the power of love. Swan Lake is a perfect
synthesis of choreography and music and, though Tchaikovsky did not live
to see it become a success, his first ballet score is now synonymous
with ballet itself, inspiring generations of dancers and crossing over
into popular culture. From The Royal Ballet’s earliest days, “Swan Lake”
has been one of the company’s signature works. In creating this
production, Anthony Dowell aimed to return to an authentic version of
the choreography created by the great Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov for
St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in 1895. Yolanda Sonnabend’s designs
draw on the Russian Imperial Court of that period with an inspired blend
of historical accuracy and gothic fantasy. The court scenes of Acts I
and III have a dark glamor rooted in the opulent style of Carl Fabergé,
while the famous lakeside ‘white’ acts are rich with mist, shadow and
moonlight.
“La Fille Mal Gardee”– Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7 p.m. local
time
Frederick Ashton's final full-length ballet is one of his most joyous
creations, inspired by his love for the Suffolk countryside. It is based
on an 1828 French ballet and the music was adapted by John Lanchbery
from Ferdinand Hérold's original score. “La Fille mal gardée” was a
resounding success on its premiere in 1960 and has remained a firm
favorite in The Royal Ballet's repertory. The ballet, whose title
translates as “The Wayward Daughter,” displays some of Ashton's most
virtuosic choreography – the youthful passion of Lise and her lover,
Colas, is expressed in a series of energetic pas de deux. The ballet is
laced with good humor and a whirl of dancing chickens, grouchy guardians
and halfwit suitors take to the stage. Ashton affectionately
incorporated elements of national folk dance into his choreography, from
a Lancashire clog dance to a maypole dance, making “La Fille mal gardée”
(despite its title) The Royal Ballet's most emphatically English work.
Osbert Lancaster's colorful designs reinforce the robust wit of the
production.
For more information about Royal Opera House and the ballet series,
please visit www.roh.org.uk.
About AC JV, LLC
Fathom Events is owned by a newly formed entity called AC JV,
LLC. Fathom is the recognized leader in the alternative entertainment
industry, offering a variety of one-of-a-kind entertainment events in
movie theaters nationwide that include live, high-definition
performances of the Metropolitan Opera, the performing arts, major
sporting events, music concerts, comedy series, Broadway shows, original
programming featuring entertainment’s biggest stars, socially relevant
documentaries with audience Q&A and much more. Additionally, Fathom
events take audiences behind-the-scenes and offer unique extras –
creating the ultimate entertainment experience for fans of all ages.
Co-owned by the three largest movie theater circuits in the United
States, AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), Fathom’s live
digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is the largest cinema broadcast
network in North America, bringing live events to more than 750
locations in 171 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50).
For more information, visit www.fathomevents.com.
About The Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music
and dance in cinema both 2D and 3D and the many platforms available
including digital downloads, CD, DVD and BLU-ray all distributed through
Opus Arte and the new partnership with Digital Theatre, which allows ROH
productions to be accessed on all of Digital Theatre’s platforms
including its apps for the iPhone, iPad and Samsung Smart TV as well as
being available for streaming from the internet. Each year the number of
cinema sites in the UK alone that carry Royal Opera House screenings is
steadily increasing with more than 350 sites in the UK taking the entire
Royal Opera House Cinema Season and over 1000 sites worldwide.
For artwork/photos related to the “Royal Opera House Ballet Series,” click
here.
Copyright Business Wire 2014