September 2019

The Royal Ballet’s enchanting classic, The Sleeping Beauty returns to the Royal Opera House for Christmas

Thursday 7 November 2019 – Thursday 16 January 2020 | #ROHbeauty | Tickets £8 - £145 | ROH Live Cinema 16 January

The Sleeping Beauty. Artists of . ©ROH, 2017. Photographed by Bill Cooper.

 The Royal Ballet’s signature production is revived more than 70 years after it was first performed at the Royal Opera House.

 Run features debuts from Fumi Kaneko and Anna Rose O’Sullivan as Princess Aurora.

 ROH Live Cinema Thursday 16 January 2020.

For all Royal Opera House press releases visit www.roh.org.uk/for/press-and-media

This festive season, The Royal Ballet’s signature production of The Sleeping Beauty returns to the Royal Opera House. First presented at Covent Garden in 1946 after the post-war re-opening of the Royal Opera House, ’s three-act ballet was fully restored to the Company’s repertory by and Christopher Newton in 2006, incorporating original designs by Oliver Messel and Tchaikovsky’s ground-breaking score. With additional choreography by , Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon, the production includes an array of virtuoso sequences, including the Rose Adage, celebrated as one of the most testing challenges for a classical dancer and made famous by The Royal Ballet’s Prima Ballerina Assoluta, Dame .

During this revival, Royal Ballet First Soloists Fumi Kaneko and Anna Rose O’Sullivan make their debuts as Princess Aurora. David Hallberg makes his debut in The Royal Ballet production of The Sleeping Beauty as Prince Florimund.

Director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare, comments: ‘It’s wonderful to be reviving The Sleeping Beauty this festive season. This much-loved classic has been synonymous with The Royal Ballet since 1946, and is a work from our repertory that is very special, both in terms of the heritage of the Company, and the multitude of technical and storytelling opportunities it offers to every dancer performing on stage.

The Sleeping Beauty will be broadcast live to cinemas on Thursday 16 January as part of ROH Live Cinema.

Alongside this revival, Le Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin perform Les Beaux dormants, Hélène Blackburn’s family ballet inspired by The Sleeping Beauty, in the Linbury Theatre. Featuring a cast of 12 dancers, the ballet focuses on the rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood- and offers an alternative, comedic look at this classic fairy tale for audiences of all ages.

NOTES TO EDITORS THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Thursday 7 November 2019 – Thursday 16 January 2020 | Tickets £8 - £145 | ROH Live Cinema Thursday 16 January Royal Opera House Box Office: +44 (0)20 7304 4000 roh.org.uk

Production sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels.

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Generous philanthropic support from Kenneth and Susan Green, Sir Lloyd and Lady Dorfman, Rena and Sandro Lavery and The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund

Original production (2006) made possible by The Linbury Trust, Sir Simon and Lady Robertson and Marina Hobson OBE

PRODUCTION CREDITS Choreography Marius Petipa

Additional choreography Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon

Production Monica Mason and Christopher Newton after Ninette de Valois and Nicholas Sergeyev

Music Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Original designs Oliver Messel

Additional designs Peter Farmer

Lighting designer Mark Jonathan

Conducted by Simon Hewitt / Tom Seligman

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

CASTING Princess Aurora, Prince Florimund

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Thursday 7 November, 7.30pm / Thursday 14 November, 7.30pm / Saturday 7 December, 7pm , Matthew Ball

Saturday 9 November, 1.30pm Fumi Kaneko*, Reece Clarke

Saturday 9 November, 7pm / Wednesday 13 November, 7.30pm / Tuesday 19 November, 7.30pm Francesca Hayward, Alexander Campbell

Monday 11 November, 7.30pm / Friday 15 November, 7.30pm / Saturday 23 November, 7.30pm , Steven McRae

Wednesday 20 November, 7.30pm / Monday 2 December, 7.30pm , David Hallberg*

Thursday 5 December, 2pm / Thursday 12 December, 7.30pm Anna Rose O’Sullivan*, James Hay

Thursday 5 December, 7.30pm / Wednesday 11 December, 7.30pm / Saturday 14 December, 7pm Sarah Lamb, Ryoichi Hirano

Saturday 14 December, 1.30pm / Saturday 11 January, 7.30pm / Thursday 16 January, 7.30pm (ROH Live Cinema) Lauren Cuthbertson, Federico Bonelli

Thursday 9 January, 7.30pm / Saturday 11 January, 1.30pm / Wednesday 15 January, 7.30pm Marianela Nuñez,

*role debut

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LES BEAUX DORMANTS Thursday 21 November – Sunday 24 November| Tickets £7 - £35 Royal Opera House Box Office: +44 (0)20 7304 4000 roh.org.uk In collaboration with Le Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin

Company Le Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin

Choreography Hélène Blackburn

Choreography assistant Cai Glover

Music Martin Tétreault

Lighting designers Emilie B-Beaulieu and Hélène Blackburn

1. For further information or interview requests please contact Sarah Farrell / [email protected] / 020 7212 9241 2. To request tickets, please contact Hannah Last. 3. Images are available to download here.

About the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House’s aim is for many more people to enjoy and engage in exceptional ballet and opera. As The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, we bring together the world’s most extraordinary ballet and opera artists in more than 500 performances every year: live events that thrill, move and excite, and that transport people to other worlds though music, dance and theatre.

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About The Royal Ballet Under the directorship of Kevin O’Hare, The Royal Ballet unites tradition and innovation in world-class performances, and is a driving force in the development of ballet as an art form. Based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, it brings together today’s most dynamic and versatile dancers with a world-class orchestra and leading choreographers, composers, conductors, directors and creative teams to share awe-inspiring theatrical experiences with diverse audiences worldwide.

The Company’s extensive repertory embraces 19th-century classics, the singular legacy of works by Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan and the compelling new canon of work including pieces by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon and Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett.

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