New McGregor / The Age of Anxiety / New Wheeldon
ROH Ballet
This programme includes two world premieres by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon, marking each artist’s first foray into Bernstein, including a dance version of the Chichester Psalms.
Leonard Bernstein was one of the first classical composers in America to achieve both popular and critical acclaim. He was eclectic in his sources – drawing on jazz and modernism, the traditions of Jewish music and the Broadway musical – and many of Bernstein’s scores are remarkably well suited to dance. He was particularly associated with Jerome Robbins, their credits together including ‘Fancy Free’ and ‘West Side Story’. To celebrate the centenary year of the composer’s birth, The Royal Ballet united all three of its associate choreographers to celebrate the dynamic range and danceability of Bernstein’s music. At the heart of the programme is the first revival of Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett’s ‘The Age of Anxiety’, created in 2014 to Bernstein’s soul-searching Second Symphony. Both symphony and ballet are inspired by W.H. Auden’s masterful modernist poem, itself written in response to the atmosphere of disillusionment and uncertainty that followed the end of World War II.
180m inc 2 intervals
We are delighted to be able to screen this incredibly rare programme to complement Chichester Cathedral’s 950th Anniversary celebrations and the accompanying visit of the Bernstein family.
Tickets £19.50