The tragedy of good intentions

With high impact staging and costumes of dazzling beauty, The Monte Carlo Ballet dances the story of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare to the throbbing score of Sergueï Prokofiev. This overwhelmingly visual production in a youthful, stylized version shifts the reference point of the drama: instead of retracing the rift which separates the Capulets from the Montagues, the story centres on the tormented soul of Fray Lorenzo, a man whose good intentions ultimately provoke the death of the young lovers.

The choreography of Jean-Christophe Maillot, acclaimed internationally as “extraordinarily beautiful, elegant and refined” or “youthful and energetic”, has made it -with more than 400 performances- an emblematic work of the Ballet of Monte Carlo, a company that Maillot has transformed into one of the best dance troupes of Europe.

The Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra (Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla - ROSS) performs the brilliant score of Prokofiev in a choreography of exceptional cinematographic drive that alternates the socio-political conflict of two opposing clans with the passion of two adolescents and their own conflicting feelings.

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo is presided over by H.R.H. Princess of Hannover

Premiere at Opéra Monte Carlo, 23 December, 1996