PRESS RELEASE - BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET’S SWAN LAKE TO TOUR THE UK IN SPRING 2023

[Jan McNulty]

PRESS RELEASE

9 January 2023
 

 

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET’S SWAN LAKE TO TOUR THE UK IN SPRING 2023

 

 

 

For spring 2023, ballet’s greatest love story returns in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s revival of Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova’s glorious journey into Swan Lake, a lavish production in which the Royal Ballet Sinfonia performs Tchaikovsky’s superb music live alongside BRB’s spectacular dancers. This romantic fable of ill-fated passion has bewitched audiences for generations and will tour to the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton; Birmingham Hippodrome; The Lowry, Salford; Sunderland Empire, Theatre Royal Plymouth and, for the first time, Edinburgh Festival Theatre from January - March 2023.

 

This treasured production of Swan Lake is the third in a trio of Sir Peter Wright’s exquisite ballets performed by the company this season, following the first revival in five years of the joyous classic Coppélia in October, and the world-famous production of The Nutcracker at the Birmingham Hippodrome, following a million-pound refurbishment, for Christmas.

 

 

The tour will also include guest performances from two of the world’s greatest dancers. Vadim Muntagirov, Principal Dancer with The Royal Ballet, will perform the role of Prince Siegfried at Theatre Royal Plymouth on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th March and Polina Semionova, Resident Guest Principal Artist with the Berlin State Ballet and former Principal Artist with The American Ballet Theatre in New York, will guest perform the iconic dual lead role of Odette and Odile at the Birmingham Hippodrome on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 February. 

 

Prince Siegfried is out hunting one night when he happens upon a flock of graceful swans. When one of them turns into a beautiful woman, the Prince is utterly smitten – but Odette explains that she has fallen under an evil spell cast by the evil Baron von Rothbart, which keeps her in swan form from dawn to dusk. Can Siegfried's love break the spell? Find out in this exquisite production of a true ballet classic.

 

Swan Lake will visit the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (2-4 February); Birmingham Hippodrome (15-25 February); The Lowry, Salford (2-4 March); Sunderland Empire (9-11 March); Theatre Royal Plymouth (15-18 March) and Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (30 March-1 April).

 

 

Notes to Editors

Choreography: Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Production: Peter Wright, Galina Samsova
Designs: Philip Prowse
Lighting: Peter Teigen

 

Principal Casting:

 

Southampton

Thurs Eve 02 Feb Gittens Lawrence Ito

Fri Eve 03 Feb Shang Maslen Feng

Sat Mat 04 Feb Kurihara Singleton Payne

Sat Eve 04 Feb Gittens Lawrence Ito

 

Birmingham Week One

Weds Eve 15 Feb Mizutani Morales Feng

Thurs Mat 16 Feb Kurihara Monaghan Bejarano

Thurs Eve 16 Feb Shang Maslen Payne

Fri Eve 17 Feb Semionova* Lawrence* Ito*

Sat Mat 18 Feb Shang Maslen Feng

Sat Eve 18 Feb Semionova* Lawrence* Ito*

Sun Mat 19 Feb Kurihara* Monaghan* Bejarano*

 

*Casting subject to change*

 

Birmingham Week two

Tues Eve 21 Feb Mizutani Morales Payne

Weds Eve 22 Feb Hirata Dingman Bejarano

Thurs Mat 23 Feb Shang Maslen Feng

Thurs Eve 23 Feb Gittens Lawrence Ito

Fri Eve 24 Feb Downs Singleton Payne

Sat Mat 25 Feb Mizutani Morales Bejarano

Sat Eve 25 Feb Hirata Dingman Feng

 

Salford

Thurs Eve 02 Mar Hirata Dingman Bejarano

Fri Eve 03 Mar Mizutani Morales Feng

Sat Mat 04 Mar Parma Chou Payne

Sat Eve 04 Mar Downs Singleton Ito

 

Sunderland

Thurs Eve 09 Mar Parma Chou Ito

Fri Mat 10 Mar Zhang Feng Bejarano

Fri Eve 10 Mar Kurihara Monaghan Payne

Sat Mat 11 Mar Downs Singleton Ito

 

Plymouth

Weds Eve 15 Mar Hirata Dingman Payne

Thurs Mat 16 Mar Zhang Feng Bejarano

Thurs Eve 16 Mar Parma Chou Payne

Fri Eve 17 Mar Gittens Muntagirov Ito

Sat Mat 18 Mar Kurihara Monaghan Feng

Sat Eve 18 Mar Gittens Muntagirov Ito

 

Edinburgh

Thurs Eve 30 Mar Gittens Lawrence Ito

Fri Eve 31 Mar Hirata Dingman Feng

Sat Mat 01 April Mizutani Morales Payne

 

Listings:

 

Southampton Mayflower Theatre: 2–4 February 2023

Birmingham Hippodrome: 15–25 February 2023

The Lowry, Salford: 2–4 March 2023

Sunderland Empire: 9–11 March 2023

Theatre Royal Plymouth: 15–18 March 2023

Edinburgh Festival Theatre: 30 March–1 April 2023

 

Notes to Editors: 

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Based at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Royal Ballet is the United Kingdom’s leading touring ballet company performing a range of traditional, classical and heritage ballets as well as ground-breaking new works with the aim of encouraging choreographers of the future.

 

The Company’s Director since January 2020 is the internationally renowned Carlos Acosta.

Birmingham Royal Ballet standardly performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks of the year and the remainder of the year tours throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. On average, the Company performs 175 shows a year nationally and internationally.

 

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Birmingham Royal Ballet’s permanent orchestra, it is also Britain's busiest ballet orchestra. The Sinfonia also plays frequently for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies, including performances withParis Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Kirov, Norwegian Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and La Scala Ballet.

[FionaM]

I see Celine Gittens and Vadim Muntagirov are cast together.  Is this their first time?    

I do love a circle that comes around … these two were in the same Prix de Lausanne competition.  

[alison]

Impressive to see how well the Southampton performances have sold - perhaps BRB could do more than just 3 days next time?!

 

But odd to see that what I assume are restricted-view tickets are £12 for two days and £24 for the other.  I mean, the view doesn't suddenly get better for one performance, does it?