O2 Arena in London on June 17, 18 and 19. Since it’s opening in 2007, the O2, which has 20,000 seats, has presented Paul McCartney, Beyonce, the Royal Philharmonic, The Boss, The Stones, Streisand, Disney on Ice, church services, film screenings, the Boston Celtics, opera stars and much more.
Carlos Acosta, Tamara Rojo, Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg will dance the principal roles in the production of Romeo and Juliet.
Up to 2,000 tickets for each performance will be available for £10 on a first-come-first-served basis.
The rest of the tickets will sell for £60 and £95 and will be available from 5 December.
A filmed introduction will be shown on giant screens in the venue at the beginning of each act.
Director of the ballet company, Dame Monica Mason, said she was "thrilled" about the production being shown in such a huge venue as it would "introduce our work to so many new people".
Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House added: "This opportunity fits perfectly with our commitment to ensuring that as wide an audience as possible is able to enjoy live performances by The Royal Ballet at affordable prices."
The June 17-19 performances are being staged in association with impresario Raymond Gubbay, who staged the first opera at the London arena earlier this year.
We'll be following the Ballet Bag in London as they report on this story throughout the year. Tickets go on sale December 5th.
It's a deal! Here in London we are having too tame a ballet season (we've been pining for some meaty MacMillan, and Bag Lady L has been threatening to move to Copenhagen in search of balletic excitement...) so this was just the kind of news to brighten up our year-end!
Hoping home team can prove to O2 audiences that ballet rocks!
Posted by: The Ballet Bag | November 27, 2010 at 08:17 PM
Argentina, Italy, Cuba have all had super-successful "arena ballet" and you will, too. Do you have any idea why the RB chose R&J instead of something like Don Q or an evening blast of virtuoso repertory? It would be so-o-o cool if Opus Arte live-streamed it!
Haglund was about to send the Bag Ladies his recommendations for the February performances of ABT, but then they changed the casting, deleting Gomes and Abrera from Known by Heart and also Abrera from Millepied's E.D.H.A.O. Hopefully that's an indicator that she'll be doing something more meaningful in London. But as of now, you'll get to see Simkin in T&V. That will be a huge challenge for him and we're jealous that you get to see his first effort. Julie Kent in Jardin, Sarah Lane in T&V for the softer, more elegant version, and Cornejo in everything are not to be missed.
- Haglund
Posted by: Haglund | November 28, 2010 at 08:00 PM
Many thanks, we have begun to fill our Xmas stockings with ABT tickets and will keep your recommendations in mind!
Romeo & Juliet is the most popular ballet in the RB rep (legend has it that the company doesn't have to advertise revivals at ROH... this baby just sells itself) and its mix of dance & drama is what perfectly defines the company. And besides... it's Shakespeare : )
Posted by: The Ballet Bag | November 29, 2010 at 11:54 AM