Genre:

Ballet

Release Date:

Feb 2021

Regions:

All Regions

Sound Formats:

Dolby Digital Stereo / DTS Digital Surround

Ratio:

16:9 Anamorphic

Display:

NTSC

Subtitles (extra features only):

EN, FR, DE, JP, KO

Catalog Number:

OA1318D

Marston: The Cellist / Robbins: Dances at a Gathering (The Royal Ballet)

Lauren Cuthbertson (The Cellist); Marcelino Sambé (The Instrument (The Cellist)); Matthew Ball (The Conductor (The Cellist)); Marianela Nuñez (Dances at a Gathering); Francesca Hayward (Dances at a Gathering); Yasmine Naghdi (Dances at a Gathering); Laura Morera (Dances at a Gathering); Fumi Kaneko (Dances at a Gathering); Alexander Campbell (Dances at a Gathering); Federico Bonelli (Dances at a Gathering); William Bracewell (Dances at a Gathering); Luca Acri (Dances at a Gathering); Valentino Zucchetti (Dances at a Gathering);

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Cathy Marston, previously Associate Artist of The Royal Ballet and Director of Bern Ballett, created The Cellist for The Royal Ballet in 2020. The inspiration for her first work for the Royal Opera House Main Stage is the momentous life and career of cellist Jacqueline du Pré – from her discovery of the cello and her celebrity as one of its most extraordinary players, to her pain, frustration and struggle with multiple sclerosis. Composer Philip Feeney incorporates some of the most moving and powerful music for cello by Elgar, Beethoven Fauré, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello.

Jerome Robbins’ elegant and elegiac classic, Dances at a Gathering, is the other work in the programme.’ pure dance for five couples, set to music by Chopin, is a masterpiece of subtlety and invention.

Reviews

"…Francesca Hayward, Laura Morera and a dropdead- magnificent Alexander Campbell the first among excellent equals in this first-rate work." (The Telegraph ★★★★★)

"Jacqueline du Pré’s life story is translated into a powerfully affecting ballet by Cathy Marston" (The Guardian ★★★★)

"Robbins’ choreography, unforced, flowing, at times like the finest lace, as fleet-footed dancers cross each other’s paths creating dazzling patterns, is a delight. Watching it you feel, in a mysterious way, truly blessed." (Culture Whisper ★★★★★)

"The relationship between a great musician and her instrument, vividly imagined in dance." (The Arts Desk ★★★★)

"A hugely anticipated world premiere… There is much to admire… This piece truly shines…" (Sunday Express ★★★★)

Extra features

Why The Royal Ballet love performing Dances at a Gathering; Why the Royal Ballet love performing The Cellist; Cast Galleries