Jurgita Dronina Makes Company Debut As Juliet in Romeo and Juliet Principal Casting Announced
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Jurgita Dronina Makes Company Debut as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet Principal Casting Announced February 25, 2020… Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the principal casting for Romeo and Juliet by acclaimed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky. Principal Dancer Jurgita Dronina will make her company debut in the title role of Juliet this season. Romeo and Juliet is onstage March 11 – 22, 2020 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and concludes the Winter Season. #RomeoandJulietNBC Following a triumphant debut with New York City Ballet in Swan Lake earlier this month, Principal Dancer Guillaume Côté will reprise the role of Romeo opposite Principal Dancer Elena Lobsanova as Juliet. The pair will perform on opening night in the roles that were created on them in 2011. Mr. Côté will also partner Ms. Dronina. Subsequent performances will feature Principal Dancers Naoya Ebe, Harrison James and Brendan Saye as Romeo and Principal Dancers Svetlana Lunkina, Heather Ogden and Sonia Rodriguez and First Soloist Chelsy Meiss as Juliet. Also making debuts this season are First Soloist Donald Thom as Mercutio and Principal Dancer Piotr Stanczyk as Tybalt. Mr. Thom and Second Soloist Christopher Gerty make their debuts as Paris. Debuting in the role of Benvolio are Principal Dancer Skylar Campbell and Second Soloists Spencer Hack and Siphesihle November. Commissioned by Ms. Kain to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary, Mr. Ratmansky’s version has been hailed a “Romeo and Juliet for our time” (Los Angeles Register) and “rich in dramatic and choreographic insights" (The Guardian). Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s glorious score, Romeo and Juliet features costumes and sets by Richard Hudson and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Principal Character Artist Tomas Schramek, who will perform the roles of Lord Montague and Friar Laurence, celebrates his 50th anniversary with the National Ballet this season. He will be honoured by the company on March 13. Lorna Geddes, Principal Character Artist, reprises her signature role as the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet. After a career that spanned six decades, Ms. Geddes will be celebrated on March 22 as she says farewell. On Thursday, March 19, the National Ballet’s popular event, See the Music, Hear the Dance, returns. The 25-minute pre-performance talk led by Music Director and Principal Conductor David Briskin will give audiences a deeper understanding of Prokofiev’s music for Romeo and Juliet, often hailed as one of the greatest ballet scores of all time. Musical selections will be performed by The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra. Principal Casting Juliet Elena Lobsanova (March 11, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm) Chelsy Meiss (March 12 at 2:00 pm/March 21 at 7:30 pm) Heather Ogden (March 12 at 7:30 pm/March 14 at 2:00 pm) Sonia Rodriguez (March 13 at 7:30 pm/March 15 at 2:00 pm) Jurgita Dronina+ (March 14 at 7:30 pm/March 22 at 2:00 pm) Svetlana Lunkina (March 19 at 7:30 pm/March 21 at 2:00 pm) Romeo Guillaume Côté (March 11, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 22 at 2:00 pm) Brendan Saye (March 12 at 2:00 pm/March 21 at 7:30 pm) Harrison James (March 12, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 21 at 2:00 pm) Naoya Ebe (March 13 at 7:30 pm/March 15 at 2:00 pm) Mercutio Jack Bertinshaw (March 11, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm) Donald Thom* (March 12, 15 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 21 at 7:30 pm) Skylar Campbell (March 12, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 21 at 2:00 pm) Piotr Stanczyk (March 22 at 2:00 pm) Tybalt Piotr Stanczyk* (March 11, 12, 14, 18, 20, 21 at 7:30 pm/ March 12, 21 at 2:00 pm) Brendan Saye (March 14, 15, 22 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 19 at 7:30 pm) Nurse Lorna Geddes (March 11, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 22 at 2:00 pm) Rebekah Rimsay (March 12, 15 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 21 at 7:30 pm) Alejandra Perez-Gomez (March 12, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 21 at 2:00 pm) Friar Laurence Peter Ottmann† (March 11, 12, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 22 at 2:00 pm) Tomas Schramek (March 12, 15, 21 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 19, 21 at 7:30 pm) Lord Capulet Etienne Lavigne (March 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 21, 22 at 2:00 pm) Jonathan Renna (March 12, 15 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 21 at 7:30 pm) Lady Capulet Stephanie Hutchison (March 11, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 22 at 2:00 pm) Alejandra Perez-Gomez (March 12, 15 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 21 at 7:30 pm) Joanna Ivey† (March 12, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 21 at 2:00 pm) Lord Montague Tomas Schramek (March 11, 12, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 14 at 2:00 pm) Brent Parolin (March 12, 15, 21, 22 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 14, 19, 21 at 7:30 pm) Lady Montague Chelsy Meiss (March 11, 12, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 14 at 2:00 pm) Alexandra MacDonald (March 12, 15, 21, 22 at 2:00 pm/March 13, 14, 19, 21 at 7:30 pm) Duke of Verona Jonathan Renna (March 11, 12, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 22 at 2:00 pm) Etienne Lavigne (March 12 at 2:00 pm/March 21 at 7:30 pm) Peter Ottmann† (March 13, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 15, 21 at 2:00 pm) Paris Ben Rudisin (March 11, 18, 20, 21 at 7:30 pm/March 12 at 2:00 pm) Christopher Gerty* (March 12, 13 at 7:30 pm/March 14, 15 at 2:00 pm) Donald Thom* (March 14, 19 at 7:30 pm/March 21, 22 at 2:00 pm) Benvolio Skylar Campbell* (March 11, 14, 18, 20 at 7:30 pm/March 22 at 2:00 pm) Siphesihle November* (March 12, 15 at 2:00 pm/March 12, 13 at 7:30 pm) Spencer Hack* (March 14, 21 at 2:00 pm/March 19, 21 at 7:30 pm) *Debut +Company Debut †Guest Artist Casting subject to change. More Information About Romeo and Juliet > – 30 – BMO Financial Group presents the 2019/20 Season. Lead philanthropic support for Romeo and Juliet is provided by Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., with additional generous support from Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and Walter Carsen, O.C. Skylar Campbell is sponsored through Dancers First by Tricia Younger. Guillaume Côté is sponsored through Dancers First by Emmanuelle Gattuso, C.M. and Allan Slaight, C.M. Naoya Ebe is sponsored through Dancers First by Gretchen Ross. Harrison James is sponsored through Dancers First by Lucy White. Svetlana Lunkina is sponsored through Dancers First by Anna McCowan Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C. Heather Ogden is sponsored through Dancers First by Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin. Brendan Saye is sponsored through Dancers First by Robin Vaile Robinson. Chelsy Meiss is sponsored through Dancers First by Diana St. B. Weatherall. Ben Rudisin is sponsored through Dancers First by an anonymous donor. Christopher Gerty is sponsored through Dancers First by Ms. Nancy Viner & Dr. Raymond Stein. Siphesihle November is sponsored through Dancers First by Jerry & Joan Lozinski. The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through the Economic Development & Culture Department; the Government of Canada – Department of Canadian Heritage, through the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism; and the Government of Ontario through The Honourable Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. For more information, please contact: Catherine Chang Francine Labelle Senior Communications Manager Publicist 416 345 9686 x302 416 345 9686 x312 [email protected] [email protected] national.ballet.ca national.ballet.ca Romeo and Juliet Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky Music: Sergei Prokofiev Set, Costume and Properties Design: Richard Hudson Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Premiere: The National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, November 16, 2011 Lead philanthropic support for Romeo and Juliet is provided by Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M., with additional generous support from Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, an anonymous friend of the National Ballet and Walter Carsen, O.C. The company’s Canadian tours are made possible with the generous support of The John and Margaret Bahen Fund of The National Ballet of Canada, Endowment Foundation. Performance Dates: March 11 – 22, 2020 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts April 2 – 4, 2020 National Arts Centre, Ottawa Few of the many Shakespeare works that have been re-imagined for ballet have had the lasting impact and been embraced with as much affection as Romeo and Juliet. The story of two young lovers whose passion is tragically thwarted by the enmity of their respective families has inspired numerous choreographers over the decades, attracted by the enduring power of its themes and narrative and by its potential for dramatic and evocative dancing. Celebrated Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, in his adaptation of the play, has given the familiar story a fresh and compelling re-telling. Created for The National Ballet of Canada in 2011, his version stays true to the play’s theatricality, romance and tragedy, plumbing the characters’ emotional depths and complexity with rare sensitivity.