The love story of Romeo and Juliet has enchanted and motivated artists of every stripe since its publication in the late 16th century. The opposition of the Capulet clan to the Montagues along with the pure and intense feelings of the young lovers have moved and inspired hundreds of versions of Shakespeare’s masterly work over the centuries. In 1940, Leonid Lavrovsky presented the first version of the ballet to the entrancing music of Sergei Prokofiev, at the Mariinsky Theatre (known then as the Kirov) in Saint Petersburg. Success was immediate!

The State Ballet of Georgia, under the artistic direction of Nina Ananiashvili, will take to a Montreal theatre for the first time when they stage a version of Romeo and Juliet revisited by Lavrovsky’s son himself, Mikhail Lavrovsky. The ageless love story and the power of Prokofiev’s music have made this poignant ballet a pillar of the classical repertoire.