A double-bill combining the emotional world premiere of a new narrative ballet and an abstract revival.

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, Rachmaninov and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello.

Jerome Robbins’s 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.

“A hugely anticipated world premiere… There is much to admire… This piece truly shines…” – Sunday Express ★★★★ (The Cellist)

“…Francesca Hayward, Laura Morera and a drop-dead-magnificent Alexander Campbell the first among excellent equals in this first-rate work.” – The Telegraph ★★★★★ (Dances at a Gathering)

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

“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 ★★★★★ (Dances at a Gathering)

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

Extra features:
- Why The Royal Ballet love performing The Cellist
- Why The Royal Ballet love performing Dances at a Gathering
- Cast Galleries

Casts:

Dances at a Gathering
- Marianela Nuñez
- Francesca Hayward
- Yasmine Naghdi
- Laura Morera
- Fumi Kaneko
- Alexander Campbell
- Federico Bonelli
- William Bracewell
- Luca Acri
- Valentino Zucchetti

The Cellist
- The Cellist: Lauren Cuthbertson
- The Instrument: Marcelino Sambé
- The Conductor: Matthew Ball
- The Cellist (as a Young Girl): Emma Lucano
- Her Sister (as a Young Girl): Lauren Godfrey
- Her Mother: Kristen McNally
- Her Father: Thomas Whitehead
- Her Sister: Anna Rose O’Sullivan
- Her Cello Teachers: Gary Avis, Nicol Edmonds, Benjamin Ella
- Her Musical Friends: Luca Acri, Paul Kay, Joseph Sissens
- A Chorus of Narrators: Artists of The Royal Ballet

Duration: approx. 138 minutes
Audio: LPCM 2.0 + DTS Digital Surround 5.1
Subtitles (extra features only): EN, FR, DE, JP, KO