Kurt Cobain and AI: what to expect from the new Royal Opera and Ballet season

The Royal Ballet and Opera have announced the start of a new season. Afisha.London shares what audiences can expect: Anna Netrebko in Tosca and Turandot, a ballet about the final days of Kurt Cobain, a program by Royal Ballet principal dancer Natalia Osipova and much more.

The New Season of the Royal Opera

This will be the first season for the Royal Opera under its new music director Jakub Hrůša. Eight new opera productions will be presented, including Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca with Anna Netrebko opening the season. The singer will also appear in a revival of Turandot, and give a solo recital accompanied by pianist Pavel Nebolsin. 

Telegram канал

Also the return of Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov is expected with Bryn Terfel in the title role, as well as the production of Samson et Dalila featuring Aigul Akhmetshina in the title role.

For the first time on the stage of the Royal Opera House a new production of Czech composer Leoš Janáček’s The Makropulos Case will be presented.

царевна лягушка

This season the third opera in Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle Siegfried will be brought to life in a production by Barrie Kosky, as well as the multi-award-winning production of I puritani by Richard Jones.

But the season isn’t all about the classics: Last Days, an opera based on the cult 2005 film that reimagines the final days of grunge legend Kurt Cobain returns on stage. 

Anna Netrebko. Photo: Simon Wedege Petersen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A new four-day festival, RBO/Shift, will take over the Linbury Theatre this year, focusing on the intersection of opera and technology. Lectures, discussions, and performances will explain how artists and producers interact with artificial intelligence and what new experiences this can unlock to audiences.

lady gaga

Ballet: premieres and timeless classics

Wayne McGregor’s brand-new Alchemies will have its world premiere, alongside abstract work by Cathy Marston inspired by Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto – Perspectives: Balanchine, Marston, Peck. 

Choreographer Akram Khan presents his new ballet Carnage and the Divine, inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. The production explores themes of innocence, desire, hope and memory through the distinctive dance language.

Also premiering is STANDBY, a ballet born during lockdown as a film, now reimagined for the stage with music by composer Ilya Demutsky.

1140х300 museumcat.london

For the first time, the Royal Ballet will also stage a work by American choreographer Justin Peck Everywhere We Go.

Of course, there’s still room for the timeless classics: Mayerling, Giselle, and La Fille mal gardée will return to the stage, and The Nutcracker in Peter Wright’s production will be performed once again this Christmas.

дима зицер

One of the season’s standout events is Osipova/Linbury – a production blending classical ballet with contemporary choreography, performed by Royal Ballet principal dancer Natalia Osipova.

Tickets for the entire season go on sale from July 2.

Cover photoе: The Royal Ballet and Opera on Facebook

шекспир (1)

 Read more:

Boarding the myths: how London is reconsidering pirates

Fabergé masterpieces at Christie’s auction in London

Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo