Thirteen years after its last performance by the CNB, the classic with choreography by John Cranko and music by Sergei Prokofiev returns to the stage for a total of ten performances until December 28, according to the national company.
More than 40 dancers are part of the cast, with Francisco Gomes, Lourenço Ferreira, and João Costa performing the lead role of Romeo, and Emma Sicilia, Raquel Fidalgo, and Miyu Matsui playing Juliet.
Prior to the premiere, a charity dress rehearsal is planned, and the parallel program includes discussions about the show and dance workshops for families, as stated by the CNB.
In CNB’s version, this three-act ballet based on William Shakespeare’s work features set design by João Mendes Ribeiro, images by visual artist Daniel Blaufuks, costumes, props, car decorations, fabric draping, and Juliet’s room designed by António Lagarto, with lighting design by Cristina Piedade.
Originally created in 1962 for the Stuttgart Ballet, Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet” choreography is acclaimed by critics as one of the great works of classical ballet for its “combination of technical precision with strong theatrical expressiveness, exploring the characters’ emotional conflicts and the tragic weight of destiny,” the national company notes in a statement.
Prokofiev’s music, composed between 1935 and 1936, “enhances the narrative with moments of great dramatic intensity, alternating with passages of tenderness and intimacy to accompany the tragic love story between two young people,” considered a masterpiece by playwright William Shakespeare.
At the heart of the choreography’s storyline are two rival families – the Montagues and Capulets in Verona, Italy – exploring themes such as intense and forbidden love, violence, fate, and courage in the face of intolerance, using dance to express overwhelming passion and family rivalry.
The version presented by the CNB was first staged by the company in 2001.
On Wednesday, the CNB will hold the Charity Dress Rehearsal, an initiative aimed at supporting social welfare institutions, with proceeds entirely benefiting the organizations Soroptimist Portugal, Re-Food Penha de França, and the Associação Mais Proximidade.
Created in 2011 by Luís Moreira, a former dancer of the company, the CNB’s charity dress rehearsal held before each premiere has supported over a hundred institutions.
