Tag Archives: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Director: Matthew Bourne Design: Lez Brotherston Reviewer: Lauren Humphreys It isn't hyperbole to say that Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake changed the face of classical dance forever. Retaining Tchaikovsky's original score, the rest of the ballet is turned completely on its head. For all its fantasy, in Bourne's hands the story takes on a ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Reviewer: Geoff Mills Matthew Bourne’s transgressive, homoerotic reinterpretation of Swan Lake has been winning over audiences for more than twenty years. This latest incarnation will continue the tradition. Dominic North's unhappy prince is reticent, faltering, a delicate boy struggling to contend with the stiff realities of royal life. His mother (Nicole Kabera) is ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Reviewer: Katy Roberts Since its world premiere in 1995, Matthew Bourne’s thrilling production of Swan Lake has gone from strength to strength. Plagued by walkouts from male audience members during its first run, Bourne’s decision to take the traditional love story of the white swan, Odette, and her Prince and turn it completely ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Version and Direction: Victor Smirnov-Golovanov Artistic Director: Ludmila Nerubashenko Choreographer: Marius Petipa Reviewer: Janet Jepson There is a certain magic in the air when a ballet is performed, and an evening at the ballet seems to hark back to that previous era of classic theatrical opulence and privilege. To properly partake in the experience, one feels ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Director and Choreographer: Matthew Bourne Reviewer: Sophia Moss “Don’t feed the swans” reads the sign standing next to a park bench where The Prince (Liam Mower) is writing a suicide note. Drunk and despondent, the prince plans to drown himself in Swan Lake, but before he can take his life, smoke starts to engulf the space ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Director: David Nixon Reviewer: Dawn Smallwood To mark the festive season of shows at the Leeds Grand Theatre, Northern Ballet brings its much loved The Nutcracker. This 2007 version has been especially refreshed for one to appreciate and love this classical ballet even more. It certainly has a modern feel but does not compromise at all the classical elements ...

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Peter Wright Company: Birmingham Royal Ballet Reviewer: Tate James Opulence abounds in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s dreamy production of The Sleeping Beauty. This most classic fairytale is more beautiful than ever in Peter Wright’s iconic production, and seems to have lost none of its magic since its premiere in 1984. There isn’t ...

Musicians: Navarra String Quartet, David Adams (viola), Alice Neary (cello) Reviewer: Ron Simpson This excellent concert by the Navarra String Quartet was the second in the monthly series of six making up the Leeds International Chamber Season on the theme of Russia in Revolution. The season places Russian chamber music in its historical and artistic context, in the case of ...