The Royal Ballet’s La Bayadère will be broadcast live to cinemas from the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden on Tuesday 13 November.
This is also the tenth anniversary of the Royal Opera House’s live cinema broadcasts, which reach audiences across the UK and around the globe.
The ballet will transport audiences to a world of temple dancers, vengeful gods, jealous princesses and noble warriors.
The cast will feature the incredible Royal Ballet Principals Marianela Nuñez as Nikiya, Vadim Muntagirov as Solor and Natalia Osipova as Gamzatti.
La Bayadère – The Story
La Bayadère tells a story of love, passion and vengeance. Nikiya, a temple dancer, is in love with the warrior Solor but the High Brahmin desires her for himself. When Nikiya spurns him, the furious High Brahmin tells Princess Gamzatti, Solor’s fiancée, that Solor and Nikiya are in love.
In revenge, Gamzatti orders Nikiya to be killed. Solor is haunted by Nikiya’s spirit and dreams of being reunited with her. At his wedding to Gamzatti he finally achieves his desire: the angry gods take vengeance for the death of Nikiya by destroying the temple, killing the whole wedding party. Solor and Nikiya’s spirits are reunited.
Choreographer Natalia Makarova brings the 19th-century Russian classic La Bayadère to life in her adaptation of Marius Petipa’s original choreography.
La Bayadère was practically unknown to audiences outside Russia until Makarova bought her production to The Royal Ballet in 1989. It has since become a core work in the Company’s repertory.
Particular highlights include the Kingdom of Shades scene in Act III, a showcase for the corps de ballet as they perform arabesques across the moonlit stage.
The Royal Opera House cinema broadcasts offer audiences the best seats in the house, and include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and incredibly detailed close-ups of performers. Audiences are never far from a performance at the Royal Opera House, with most UK viewers located within 30 miles of a cinema screening.
In 2017/18 more than one million people globally saw a production of world-class opera or ballet from the Royal Opera House at one of more than 1,500 cinemas in 51 countries.
La Bayadère starts at 7.15pm, lasts approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes and includes two intervals. The next Royal Ballet live cinema relay will be our magical Christmas production of The Nutcracker, on Monday 3 December.
The Royal Ballet’s La Bayadère will be shown in UK cinemas and worldwide on 13 November 2018 with an encore screening on 18 November 2018. Further details on dates and venues are available here: roh.org.uk/cinemas