Casting Announced for the Royal Ballet's Exclusive QPAC Seasons of WOOLF WORKS and THE WINTER'S TALE

The Royal Ballet arrives in Australia, direct from London, this winter for an exclusive residency at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) from Thursday 29 June to Sunday 9 July 2017.

Bringing with them their two award-winning productions, Wayne McGregor's Woolf Works and Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale, the exclusive season will showcase the extraordinary breadth of the Company's modern repertory, and the virtuosity and theatricality of its dancers.

85 of The Royal Ballet's dancers will travel to Brisbane, with casting for the tour including Principal DancersFederico Bonelli, Alexander Campbell, Lauren Cuthbertson, Francesca Hayward, Ryoichi Hirano, Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, Laura Morera, Marianela Nuñez, Natalia Osipova, Thiago Soares, Akane Takada, Edward Watson and Zenaida Yanowsky.

Alessandra Ferri and Mara Galeazzi will dance the roles of Mrs Dalloway and Virginia Woolf in Woolf Works. Company members originally from Australia include Principals Steven McRae and Alexander Campbell, First Artist Benjamin Ella and Artists Harry Churches and Calvin Richardson. Full cast schedule below and available to download from the Dropbox link.

Kevin O'Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet comments, "It's a real privilege for us to be invited to QPAC as part of its International Series which has welcomed so many wonderful companies in recent years. Everyone in the Company is very much looking forward to performing in Brisbane, especially as it is the first time we have taken these two very exciting works outside of the Royal Opera House".

Woolf Works by Royal Ballet Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor is composed of three acts inspired by three of Virginia Woolf's landmark novels; Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves, as well as a selection of her autobiographical writings that echo aspects of her famously eventful life.

Renowned for his ground-breaking style and cross-discipline collaborations, McGregor's choreography reflects Woolf's modernist rejection of neatly ordered narrative, in favour of heightened, startling and poignant perspectives.

Set to an especially commissioned score by acclaimed British composer Max Richter, the ballet was McGregor's first full-length work for The Royal Ballet and won the 2015 Critics' Circle Award for Best Classical Choreography and the 2016 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.

The Winter's Tale by Royal Ballet Associate Artist Christopher Wheeldon was The Royal Ballet's first three-act adaptation of William Shakespeare's work since Kenneth MacMillan's 1965 production of Romeo and Juliet.

The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret, the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Regarded as one of Wheeldon's finest works and with powerful designs by Bob Crowley and an original score by Joby Talbot, The Winter's Tale was nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance and won the 2015 Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography.

The Company's first visit to Australia took place in 1958 with a six-month tour covering Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. Performances included Swan Lake and Les Sylphides with ballet luminaries, Svetlana Beriosova, Lynn Seymour and Robert Helpmann. The Company's most recent tour was in 2002. Fifteen years on, The Royal Ballet makes a welcome return with two new masterpieces each receiving their Australian premiere exclusively in Brisbane.

The Royal Ballet's Woolf Works and The Winter's Tale arrive at the Lyric Theatre, QPAC, Brisbane for the 2017 QPAC International Series from 29 June to 9 July 2017. Tickets to The Royal Ballet's Woolf Works and The Winter's Tale are on sale now via qpac.com.au or 136 246.

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