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Romeo et Juliette


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Tonight, Monday, 1 February, PNB will live stream tonight's rehearsal from 5:30-7:00pm Pacific Time, 8:30-10pm Eastern Time.

https://www.facebook.com/PNBallet/photos/a.439537898951.224264.21358443951/10153560516138952/?type=3&theater

From the press release:

Romeo et Juliette

A CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATION OF SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDY
Choreography by Jean-Christophe Maillot
Music by Sergei Prokofiev (Op. 64, 1935-36)

February 5 – 14, 2016
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
321 Mercer Street at Seattle Center
Seattle, WA 98109

February 5 at 7:30 pm
February 6 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm
February 11 – 13 at 7:30 pm
February 14 at 1:00 and 6:30 pm

"A remarkable work...this is like no Romeo and Juliet ballet you’ve seen before: It's intricate, often achingly beautiful, and never simply pretty." —The Seattle Times

“A tour-de-force requiring not only high-quality dancing but committed acting in this symbolic, abstract version of the Shakespearean love story. Maillot’s choreography is exciting and energizing, a feast of styles densely packed together, and the PNB dancers revel in it.” —Tacoma News Tribune


SEATTLE, WA – In January 2008, Pacific Northwest Ballet brought Jean-Christophe Maillot’s masterful Roméo et Juliette to Seattle for its west coast premiere, making PNB the first American company to perform the work. This three-act interpretation of Shakespeare's great love story was premiered in 1996 by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, where Maillot is resident choreographer and artistic director. His contemporary interpretation has been hailed throughout the world as "one of the most beautiful ballets adapted from Shakespeare's masterpiece that can be seen today" (Scènes Magazine), and instantly became an audience favorite and a signature work in PNB’s repertory. Now, eight years after its Seattle debut, this unforgettable three-act interpretation of Shakespeare’s great love story returns as PNB continues its 2015-2016 Season. (Audience Advisory: Content may not be appropriate for young children.)

Roméo et Juliette runs for eight performances only, February 5 through 14 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Showtimes are 7:30 pm February 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13, with matinees at 2:00 pm on February 6 and 1:00 pm on February 14, and a final 6:30 pm performance on February 14. Tickets start at $30 and may be purchased by calling the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, online at www.PNB.org, or in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer St.


ABOUT THE BALLET

Roméo et Juliette
Music: Sergei Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, 1935-1936)
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Staging: Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, and Giovanna Lorenzoni
Scenic Design: Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Costume Design: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Dominique Drillot
Premiere: December 23, 1996: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Pacific Northwest Ballet Premiere: January 31, 2008
Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes

From West Side Story to Twilight, Shakespeare’s great romance seems always to find new interpretation, and its tale of forbidden love has been especially enticing to the dance world. Peter Boal was so mesmerized by Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette when he attended its New York debut in 1999, that it became his first full-length acquisition for PNB as artistic director. Though Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette is firmly grounded in classical ballet, his choreography is imbued with natural and intuitive movement that feels progressive and expands margins of expression. As the famous story of star-crossed lovers unfolds, the dancers' swimming hands, flying arms, and off-kilter balances speak for racing hearts, reckless impulses, and inner turmoil. Stage action is brought into high relief by the ballet’s spare and elegant design. Great washes of blue and gold light reflect the magnitude of Prokofiev's dramatic score, and the piercing elation and lament of young love project like Hollywood close-ups.

Sergei Prokofiev's glorious ballet score is frequently called his masterpiece. Its thematic melodies—by turns sweetly tender, sweepingly passionate, hotly fierce and chillingly eerie—provide counterpoint and impart eloquent support to the narrative. In his version of Roméo et Juliette, choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot has taken formal inspiration from the episodic character of Prokofiev's classic score, structuring the action in a manner akin to cinematic narrative. Rather than focusing on themes of political-social opposition between the two feuding clans, this Romeo and Juliet highlights the dualities and ambiguities of adolescence. Torn between contradictory impulses, between tenderness and violence, fear and pride, the lovers are caught in the throes of a tragedy that exemplifies their youth and the extreme emotions and internal conflicts that characterize that time of life—a time of life when destiny, more than at any other moment, seems to escape conscious control, and when the inner turmoil occasioned by passions and ideals can sometimes have disproportionate—even fatal—consequences. In evoking this fragile and volatile state of being, scenic designer Ernest Pignon-Ernest has created a decor marked by transparency and lightness: a play of simple forms that reveals an underlying complexity of meaning. [Notes reprinted by permission of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo.]


ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jean-Christophe Maillot was born in 1960 in Tours, France. He studied dance and piano at the Conservatoire National in Tours before joining Rosella Hightower’s International School of Dance in Cannes. In 1977, he won the Prix de Lausanne, and in 1978, he was invited to join the Hamburg Ballet, where director John Neumeier created principal roles for him in many works. In 1983, Maillot was appointed choreographer and director of the Ballet du Grand Theatre in Tours, subsequently one of France’s National Choreographic Centres. He choreographed some twenty ballets for this company, and in 1985, he founded the festival Le Chorégraphique. In 1992, he was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang. In 1993, H.R.H. the Princess of Hannover invited Maillot to become director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. As principal choreographer for a company of fifty dancers, he has created more than 28 ballets, such as Vers un pays sage (1995), Roméo and Juliet (1996), Cinderella (1999) La Belle (2001), Le Songe (2005), Altro Canto (2006), Faust (2007) and LAC (2011). Several of these works are now included in the repertoires of major international ballet companies. In 2009, he developed the content and coordinated the Centenary of the Ballets Russes in Monaco, which would see over 50 companies and choreographers pass through the Principality in one year, providing entertainment for 60,000 audience members. Roméo et Juliette is the first ballet by Jean-Christophe Maillot to enter Pacific Northwest Ballet’s repertory.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) was a leading Soviet composer and brilliant pianist. He left Russia in 1918 and lived in Germany and Paris for the next sixteen years, with frequent trips to America for concert appearances. In 1934 he settled in Moscow and composed prolifically until his death. Among his best known works are the ballet scores Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella and Prodigal Son; the opera The Love for Three Oranges; the children's classic, Peter and the Wolf; the film score and cantata for Alexander Nevsky; and the Classical Symphony.

The first Soviet performance of Romeo and Juliet was given at the Kirov Theater on January 11, 1940. Preceding the first performance there were many disagreements between the choreographer, Leonid Lavrovsky, and Prokofiev. The dancers failed to understand the music; and the orchestra, in a last-ditch effort to avoid a disaster, tried to cancel the performance. Despite so little hope for success, the ballet was well received and has been popular ever since. The Lavrovsky ballet was finally presented by the Bolshoi Ballet on December 28, 1946.

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Remaining SPECIAL EVENTS:


ROMÉO ET JULIETTE COACHING REHEARSAL

Monday, February 1, 5:30 pm

The Phelps Center, 301 Mercer St., Seattle


Join us for this rare opportunity to see Bernice Coppieters, Jean-Christophe Maillot’s muse and original Juliet, coach PNB dancers in Maillot’s signature staging of Roméo et Juliette. Tickets ($25) are available through the PNB Box Office. This event will be live-streamed.




BALLET PREVIEW — FREE

Tuesday, February 2, 12:00 noon

Central Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Avenue, Seattle


Join PNB for a free lunch-hour preview lecture at the Central Seattle Public Library. Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington will offer insights about Roméo et Juliette, complete with video excerpts.



LECTURE SERIES & DRESS REHEARSAL

Thursday, February 4


Lecture 6:00 pm, Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall

Dress Rehearsal 7:00 pm, McCaw Hall


Join PNB Artistic Director Peter Boal in conversation with a panel of Roméo et Juliette artists, during the hour preceding the dress rehearsal. Attend the lecture only or stay for the rehearsal. Tickets are $12 for the lecture, or $30 for the lecture and dress rehearsal. Tickets may be purchased through the PNB Box Office.



PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURES


Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall


Join Audience Education Manager Doug Fullington for a 30-minute introduction to each performance, including discussions of choreography, music, history, design and the process of bringing Roméo et Juliette to the stage. One hour before performances. FREE for ticketholders.



POST-PERFORMANCE Q&A


Nesholm Family Lecture Hall at McCaw Hall


Skip the post-show traffic and enjoy a Q&A with Artistic Director Peter Boal and PNB dancers, immediately following each performance. FREE for ticketholders.



LISTEN TO THE BALLET!


Saturday, February 6, 7:30 pm


PNB partners with Classical KING FM 98.1 to bring listeners some of the world’s most popular ballet scores, featuring the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra direct from McCaw Hall. Tune in to KING FM for a live broadcast performance of Roméo et Juliette conducted by Emil de Cou on Saturday, February 6 at 7:30 pm. Only on 98.1 fm or online at king.org/listen.



YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE NIGHT


Friday, February 12, 7:30 pm


Join members of PNB’s Young Patrons Circle (YPC) in an exclusive lounge for complimentary wine and coffee before the show and at intermission. YPC is PNB’s social and educational group for ballet patrons ages 21 through 39. YPC members save up to 40% off their tickets. For more information, visit PNB.org and search for “YPC.”

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I'm very surprised at the casting. I thought Rachel Butler Foster would get a shot at Juliette. She understudied the role back when the ballet premiered. She isn't one of my favorites, but she has gotten other opportunities, and I did like her Giselle. I figured soloist Leta Biasucci would get a shot as she is a wonderful dance-actress. Or even corps member Angelica Generosa. And no Seth Orza as Romeo? No new Romeos? I figured Ben Griffiths might get a shot. Or Matthew Renko or Ryan Cardea.

I have lovely memories of Ms. Pantastico, but this is completely overboard casting and does no favors for PNB's long term development of future Juliettes & Romeos.

How much of this casting is controlled by Peter Boal instead of the stagers from Monte Carlo?

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Rachel Butler Foster who did Nurse in the last run, had been out with an injury, and there has been no official news about when she's returning, nor of how much control the stagers have over casting.

Frustrating on both counts: I think Foster would make a terrific Juliette.

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At the pre-dress lecture tonight the stagers suggested that they have a great deal (near total was my impression) of control over casting. They also indicated that in Monte Carlo there are never more than two casts and that to have more than two wouldn't allow for the kind of detail and depth that Maillot requires. Boal, on the other hand, did indicate that a couple more casts learned R+J, even if they don't have the opportunity to perform.

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PNB invested a lot of money in the sets and costumes for "Romeo et Juliette," and the stagers don't come cheap. It's clearly a work dear to Peter Boal's heart.

I don't share his enthusiasm or think it's a good enough work to warrant those kind of restrictions for 1/6 of the season every two-three years.

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Hi, y'all--

If a Ballettalk-er were rather tall, likes to see faces, temporarily impecunious, and wanted to catch PNB's R+J, where would you suggest that he sit?

(I've heard that the sets for this production are spare but bulky, so I wanted to check on sightlines before I bought a cheap seat in orchestra.)

Thanks!

Ben

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Hi, y'all--

If a Ballettalk-er were rather tall, likes to see faces, temporarily impecunious, and wanted to catch PNB's R+J, where would you suggest that he sit?

(I've heard that the sets for this production are spare but bulky, so I wanted to check on sightlines before I bought a cheap seat in orchestra.)

Thanks!

Ben

Rows B - F are the cheapest orchestra seats because there is no rise in the floor, but if you're tall you might be fine.

I also like to sit close for the same reasons as you. For this production you will miss out on some interesting lighting on the floor and the white moving panels block a lot of the starry nighttime sky toward the end, not anything major. But due to the acting and emotional nuances and a lot of details, if you only see one show I would sit close.

An alternative to those orchestra seats are Gallery. You can't tell on the seating chart, but they are raised, like stadium seating. Row H or J and below are Lower Gallery and are cheaper, however the angle to center more severe. I personally like J - M as you are above the stage but close enough to see faces well. For this production I only recommend Gallery 5, or audience left. You will miss a bit of the beginning of the funeral procession, in the upstage right corner, but will have a clear shot of major action that happens stage left.

Happy to answer more questions if you have them. Are you coming from NYC? I think I usually see you post in those forums.

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Rows B - F are the cheapest orchestra seats because there is no rise in the floor, but if you're tall you might be fine.

I also like to sit close for the same reasons as you. For this production you will miss out on some interesting lighting on the floor and the white moving panels block a lot of the starry nighttime sky toward the end, not anything major. But due to the acting and emotional nuances and a lot of details, if you only see one show I would sit close.

An alternative to those orchestra seats are Gallery. You can't tell on the seating chart, but they are raised, like stadium seating. Row H or J and below are Lower Gallery and are cheaper, however the angle to center more severe. I personally like J - M as you are above the stage but close enough to see faces well. For this production I only recommend Gallery 5, or audience left. You will miss a bit of the beginning of the funeral procession, in the upstage right corner, but will have a clear shot of major action that happens stage left.

Happy to answer more questions if you have them. Are you coming from NYC? I think I usually see you post in those forums.

Thank you for all of your help, seattle_dancer: Gallery 5 sounds like my spot, too! :)

(I'm an itinerant Web/mobile site designer, hence the coastal hopscotching. I mostly work in NYC, but have recently returned to Seattle for my second project in two years. It's been fascinating to revisit PNB...the last time I was here before then was a decade ago!)

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Glad to help. Also, per the website the Thursday and Sunday evening shows have the best availability and hence lower prices.

I'll be at the Thursday show. If you happen to go that day and want to meet up, send me a PM.

Enjoy R&J! I must have seen it at least 15 times and I am still fascinated and see new things.

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Last night at the post-performance chat Peter Boal said Karel is out due to injury.

That's not what I heard said at the Q&A. To be fair, there was some hemming and hawing, but in the end, what I thought I heard was that Cruz was taken out of the cast primarily, if not solely, due to the recent birth of his and Lindsi's child................YMMV

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