Royal Ballet and Opera Unveil New Stage Curtains at Special Gala Performance

On Thursday 14 May, following almost three decades of service and tens of thousands of performances, the Royal Ballet and Opera will unveil its new stage curtains as part of a landmark Gala performance. 

This evening brings together the two resident Companies alongside the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Royal Opera Chorus and Jette Parker Artists. Curated by Kevin O'Hare and Oliver Mears the programme includes works that span the history of both Companies, celebrating the shared artistry and legacy that define the Royal Ballet and Opera.

Installed in 1997, the previous curtains bore the unmistakable marks of a life at the heart of performance - shaped by countless curtain rises and falls, and carrying the faint traces left by generations of dancers and singers as they rushed on stage for their final bows. The curtains will feature the personal cipher of His Majesty King Charles III, Patron of the Royal Ballet and Opera, The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, symbolising the enduring relationship between the monarchy and the arts. Celebrating the organisation's rich heritage while representing a vital investment in the future of the stage, the new commission has been made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Julia Rausing Trust. Created through hundreds of hours of skilled craftsmanship by the Royal School of Needlework and Gerriets, the curtains preserve a rare and specialist art form, standing alongside ballet and opera themselves as an essential part of theatrical tradition. 

The Programme

In celebration of the occasion, The Royal Ballet presents highlights from its repertory past and present. Included is Kenneth MacMillan's Poulenc pas de deux, originally created for Royal Ballet dancers Alessandra Ferri and David Wall for a gala performance in 1984 and since assumed lost. Recently a tape containing a video of the pas de deux was found, and the duet has been restaged especially for this Gala with Royal Ballet dancers Marianna Tsembenhoi and Harris Bell.

The Royal Ballet also presents two new works. Leading choreographer Akram Khan presents his first work for the Company with Hunting a Whisper in the Wind, performed by Principal Francesca Hayward and Boston Ballet Principal Jeffrey Cirio, who makes his House debut performance.

Royal Ballet First Soloist and choreographer Valentino Zucchetti premieres As One, set to the third movement of Karl Jenkins' Palladio. Combining dynamism and technical precision, the work is an exhilarating showcase for the virtuosity of the younger male dancers in the Company.

Marianela Nuñez performs the Rose Adage from Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, the ballet that reopened the Royal Opera House after the war in 1946. Another 19th century ballet classic, the pas de deux from Le Corsaire, features Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov. Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Ball perform Frederick Ashton's ravishing Méditation from Thaïs and the evening also includes excerpts from Wayne McGregor's energy-driven ballet Chroma and Justin Peck's dazzling Everywhere We Go. All Royal Ballet performances are conducted by Martin Georgiev.

Led by Music Director of The Royal Opera Jakub Hrůša, the operatic programme features an exceptional line‑up of artists. Freddie De Tommaso pays homage to Puccini, the composer whose works he has performed most frequently at the RBO, with a performance of ‘Ch'ella mi creda' from La fanciulla del West. Bryn Terfel will also celebrate his long history of Wagnerian roles with ‘Was duftet doch der Flieder' from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Aigul Akhmetshina performs ‘Da, chas nastal! Prostite vy, kholmy' from Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans, an opera which has never been staged before at Covent Garden. Pretty Yende performs 'Je veux vivre' from Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, Simon Keenlyside performs the Prologue from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci whilst SeokJong Baek performs the ever-popular 'Nessun dorma' from Puccini's Turandot. The Finale from Verdi's Falstaff will close the evening featuring soloists, members of the Jette Parker Artists Programme and the Royal Opera Chorus. 

This year, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House celebrates its 80th birthday. Showing the breadth and depth of their talent, they play Dvořák's Carnival Overture and The Sleeping Beauty Overture by Tchaikovsky. The ever-popular Anvil Chorus from Il trovatore shines the spotlight on the musical skills of the Royal Opera Chorus.