Romeo & Juliet

By Ivan Cavallari

Neoclassical Ballet

From March 23rd To 27th, 2022 At 2 P.M. and 8 P.M.

At Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts

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iPhoto : Sasha Onyshchenko | Dancers : Kiara DeNae Felder & Hamilton Nieh

Choreography: Ivan Cavallari
Music: Sergueï Prokofiev
Set and Costume Design: Ivan Cavallari
Lighting Design: Marc Parent
With Les Grands Ballets Orchestra conducted by Jean-Claude Picard

Running Time - 2 h 20 with intermission

Two young lovers, two rival families. In Verona, as the Montaigues and Capulets wage war against each other, Romeo and Juliet meet. As is born a dream that their love may overcome the hatred of the two clans, their ill-fated destiny looms on the horizon.
The tragedy of the lovers of Verona has endured through the centuries and comes back to the stage of Les Grands Ballets in a new version, signed by Ivan Cavallari. On the famous notes of Prokofiev, the purity of Romeo and Juliet’s love comes to life in a breathtaking show that will let the company’s 43 dancers shine.
*Some scenes may offend the sensibilities of a young audience.

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Synopsis

The story of those star-crossed lovers

Inspired by Prokofiev’s timeless score, and faithful to the neo-classical choreographic tradition, Ivan Cavallari centers his retelling of this love story on the characters Romeo and Juliet, whose names represent both the idealism and fatality of love at first sight. Drawing on Italian literature from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, Cavallari takes the liberty to reframe the Shakespearian story with context and brings a new twist to the original mythical drama. He bases himself namely on Paolo Malatesta and Francesca Da Rimini, Dante Alighieri's tormented lovers. Two characters who truly did live in the Middle Ages and appear in the Canto V of Hell of his Divine Comedy. In his work, Dante also offers us the first literary mentions of the Cappelletti and Montecchi, who will later on become the Capulets and Montagues, respective families of Juliet and Romeo. The resulting setting in Cavallari's ballet is equally uncluttered and full of references to ignite the spectators’ imagination, transporting them to a place beyond time where our eternal lovers’ plight plays out across the eras. Cavallari preserves the tragic and humorous dimensions of Shakespeare's play while reappropriating the dramaturgy in his own way. He namely introduces a new character, Lady Guelfi, and develops the storylines of the parents with rich intrigue and dangerous liaisons. All the ingredients of a tragedy are present: innocence, passion, games of power. His work is a portrait of the disorder of the world and the fragility of existence, mirroring Shakespearean themes of death and the quest for redemption.

Cast

Casting is subject to changes.

Ballet Masters: Marina Villanueva and Hervé Courtain

First Cast: March 23 , 24, 25 and 26 at 8 p.m.
Romeo Montague: Hamilton NIEH
Juliet Capulet: Kiara FELDER
Mercutio (Romeo's friend): Célestin BOUTIN
Benvolio (Romeo's cousin): André SANTOS
Tybalt (House of Capulet): Esnel RAMOS
Rosaline (House of Capulet): Myriam SIMON
Lady Montague: Rachele BURIASSI
Lord Montague: Roddy DOBLE
Lady Guelfi (Lord Montague's mistress): Maude SABOURIN
Pâris (son of Lady Guelfi and Juliet's fiancé): José LOSADA
Lord Capulet: Graeme FUHRMAN
Lady Capulet: Vanesa G.R. MONTOYA
Sabrina (Juliet's friend): Sahra MAIRA

Second Cast : March 26 and 27 at 2 p.m.
Romeo Montague : Enno KLEINEHANDING
Juliet Capulet : Emma GARAU CIMA
Mercutio (Romeo's friend) : Bernard DUBOIS II
Benvolio (Romeo's friend) : Angel VIZCAINO
Tybalt Capulet: Melih MERTEL
Rosaline Capulet: Anna ISHII
Lady Montague: Yui SUGAWARA
Lord Montague: Felixovich MORANTE
Lady Guelfi (Lord Montague mistress): Anya NESVITAYLO
Pâris (son of Lady Guelfi et Juliet's fiancé): José LOSADA
Lady Capulet: Tetyana MARTYANOVA
Lord Capulet : Étienne DELORME
Sabrina (Juliet's friend): Kiara FLAVIN

All performances
Friar Lawrence: James LYTTLE
Black horse : Quentin NABOR
White horses: Elias ROLDAN, Justin CÔTÉ, Arnaud MONGEON, Tao Stone LEDUC, Zao DINEL, Mathieu HERARD
The Ball scene:
Alexandra ECCLES, Kiara FLAVIN, Catherine TOUPIN, Éline MALÈGUE, Maude FLEURY, Carrigan MACDONALD, Rose TRAHAN, Tuesday RAIN, Mikaela MILIC
Stephen SATTERFIELD, James LYTTLE, Stefano RUSSIELLO, Antoine BERTRAN, Théodore POUBEAU, Étienne DELORME, Giuseppe CANALE, Jean-Sébastien COUTURE
The people of Verona:
Angel VIZCAINO, Stephen SATTERFIELD, Quentin NABOR, Stefano RUSSIELLO, Étienne DELORME, Théodore POUBEAU, Giuseppe CANALE
Maude FLEURY, Kiara FLAVIN, Carrigan MACDONALD, Rose TRAHAN, Alexandra ECCLES, Catherine TOUPIN

Conductor: Jean-Claude Picard
Musician's Manager: Richard Capolla

First Violons: Veronica Thomas (solo), Céline Arcand, Pascale Frenette, Jean Ai Seow, Daniel Godin, Frédéric Lefebvre, Valérie Belzile, Natalia Kononova
Second Violons : Marie-Josée Arpin, solo Élise Lortie, assistant Ragnhild Hettema Anne Saint-Cyr Émilie Rabaraona Line Deneault
Violas: Véronique Potvin (solo), Mihaela Tistu, Martine Gagné, Jean-Marc Martel
Cellos: Jeanne de Chantal Marcil (solo), Laurence Leclerc, Monika Risi, Auclair-Fortier, Jacob
Double Basses: Richard Capolla (solo), Pierre Pépin:
Flutes: Myriam Genest-Denis (solo), Jean-Philippe Tanguay;
Oboes: David Jomphe and Josée Marchand (English Horn);
Clarinets: Zaven Zakarian, solo François Martel;
Bassoons: Lise Millet (solo), Françoise Henri;
Horns: Jocelyn Veilleux (solo) Maude Lussier;
Trumpettes: Frédéric Gagnon (solo), Pascal Leprohon;
Trombones: Renaud Gratton (solo);
Tuba: Scott Cheyne (solo);
Timpani: François St-Jean (solo);
Percussion: Robert Slapcoff (solo), Catherine Meunier;
Harp: Annabelle Renzo (solo);
Piano: Rosalie Asselin (solo);

Teaser and excerpts

Videos

About the work

Romeo and Juliet Costumes

Enter Les Grands Ballets' workshop and follow the creation of the costumes for this ballet.

Romeo and Juliet by Ivan Cavallari

Ivan Cavallari shares his interpretation of Romeo and Juliet

Behind the Scenes of Romeo and Juliet

See our dancers incarnate Romeo & Juliet for the first time behind the lens

The music of Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev

Discover how Sergei Prokofiev appropriated Shakespeare's play to create the most successful three-act ballet score of the 20th century.

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Romeo & Juliet in Photos

Romeo and Juliet performing one of the impressive figures of the pas de deux

Photos

News from the Romeo & Juliet Youth Project

We’re pleased to inform you that the Romeo & Juliet youth project, to which you contributed in 2021 and which had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, is finally going to be rolled out in the coming weeks!

Thanks to the support of numerous partners, and in collaboration with the Politique de l’enfant de la Ville de Montréal as part of its Diversity and Social Inclusion Fund, our program will offer dance and costume workshops in schools in March and April, as well as three educational matinées – on March 18, 19 and 25 – for 2,500 youngsters.

DISCOVER THE ROMEO & JULIET YOUTH PROJECT

News from the Romeo & Juliet Youth Project

With Les Grands Ballets Orchestra

Our orchestra features 43 musicians and superior soloists, and has been playing a major role in the success of Les Grands Ballets for more than 30 years.

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"Romeo and Juliet is a universal love story that has inspired many generations of artists from Dante to Shakespeare, who brought to this story a world wide popularity. I like to think that Romeo and Juliet shouldn’t be connected to a specific period as I believe love inhabits an ageless space."
Ivan Cavallari, Artistic Director

Biographies

Romeo & Juliet

The Artists

Les Grands Ballets

Board of directors