The National Ballet of Japan comes to Covent Garden this summer making its Royal Opera House debut.
In what promises to be the most important dance event of London’s cultural calendar this summer, the national ballet company of Japan, one of the world’s great powerhouse ballet nations, will become the first Asian dance company to perform on the main stage of the Royal Opera House (24–27 July), in more than 15 years.
The National Ballet of Japan will give five performances of its acclaimed production of Giselle by the company’s artistic director Miyako Yoshida, who was the first Japanese ballerina ever to be made a Principal dancer in the history of the Birmingham Royal Ballet (1988–1995) and The Royal Ballet (1995–2010). She was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to dance in 2007.
Miyako Yoshida, Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Japan said: ‘It brings me great joy to share the talent of our dancers and the elegance of our corps de ballet with audiences at the Royal Opera House in London, the theatre and the city that gave me everything as a dancer. With our production of Giselle, I hope dance lovers will find in our company a familiar blend of natural lyricism and virtuosic brilliance tempered with our own brand of musicality and refinement.’
The National Ballet of Japan will perform the beloved 19th century classic Giselle in a production by Miyako Yoshida – with staging and additional choreography by British choreographer and former Royal Ballet Principal Character Artist Alastair Marriott. The production features lighting by Rick Fisher and a spectacular set by Dick Bird, providing a backdrop for this evergreen tale of love, betrayal, forgiveness and redemption.
London audiences will have an opportunity to see four different casts over the five performances featuring eight Principal dancers of the company. Casting for the five performances is as follows (Giselle, Albrecht, Hilarion, Myrtha)
Thursday 24 July 7:30PM: Yui Yonezawa, Shun Izawa, Masahiro Nakaya, Akari Yoshida
Friday 25 July 7:30PM: Ayako Ono, Yudai Fukuoka, Yoshito Kinoshita, Yui Negishi
Saturday 26 July 2PM: Saho Shibayama, Shogo Hayami, Takuro Watanabe, Suzu Yamamoto
Saturday 26 July 7:30PM: Yui Yonezawa, Shun Izawa, Masahiro Nakaya, Akari Yoshida
Sunday 27 July 2PM: Yuri Kimura, Takafumi Watanabe, Takuro Watanabe, Yui Negishi
Further Information & Tickets: National Ballet of Japan: Giselle
Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD