Bolshoi Ballet In Cinema 2017-18 Season Announced

The 2017/18 Bolshoi Ballet in cinema season showcases some of ballet's greatest classical works performed by the world's finest dancers and restaged by today's most celebrated choreographers to create a unique cinematic experience.

Three historical ballets recreated by Alexei Ratmansky (Le Corsaire, Romeo and Juliet and The Flames of Paris) will be shown on the big screen along with John Neumeier's The Lady of the Camellias and Jean-Christophe Maillot's riveting The Taming of the Shrew. Three timeless classics and audience-favourites will complete the season: Giselle, The Nutcracker and Coppélia.

The season opens on 22 October 2017 with the Bolshoi's lavish production of Le Corsaire, live from Moscow. Staged by one of ballet's foremost choreographers Alexei Ratmansky, after Petipa's nineteenth century classic, Le Corsaire tells the story of the pirate Conrad and his love for Medora. When she is sold by the slave merchant Lankedem to the Pasha, Conrad kidnaps her. Performed by almost the entire Bolshoi Ballet Company, this romantic ballet features stunning scenery and a magnificent ship-wreck with music by Adolphe Adam.

Acclaimed French choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot's The Taming of the Shrew follows on 12 November 2017, based on Shakespeare's comedy. Baptista struggles to marry off his tempestuous daughter Katharina, a shrew who denies that any man is worthy of her. But has she met her match in Petruchio? Bolshoi Principal dancers Ekaterina Krysanova (Katharina) and Vladislav Lantratov (Petruchio) clash, challenge and eventually give themselves to one another in a wonderfully witty, fast paced and entertaining production. Set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich, the production also stars Olga Smirnova (Bianca), Semyon Chudin (Lucentio), Anna Tikhomirova (the Housekeeper), Igor Tsvirko (Hortensio), Vyacheslav Lopatin (Gremio) and Artemy Belyakov (Baptista).

A festive tradition for the whole family, The Nutcracker sweeps the Bolshoi stage for two hours of enchantment and magic on 3 December 2017. Along with Tchaikovsky's cherished score, Yuri Grigorovich's choreography and some of the Bolshoi's greatest artists including Denis Rodkin (the Nutcracker Prince), Anna Nikulina (Marie) , Andrei Merkuriev (Drosselmeyer), Vitaly Biktimirov (the Mouse King) and the accomplished Bolshoi Corps de Ballet this promises to be the perfect pre-Christmas treat.

21 January 2018 sees a new production live from Moscow of the Shakespearean tragedy Romeo and Juliet staged by Alexei Ratmansky, offering a fresh take on this classic love story. In Verona, Romeo and Juliet fall madly in love while their respective families, the Montagues and the Capulets, are caught in a bitter rivalry ending in heart-wrenching tragedy. Ratmansky's brilliant and detailed adaptation set to Prokofiev's romantic and cinematic score, features the Bolshoi's Principals, Soloists and Corp de Ballet.

John Neumeier's work of rare beauty The Lady of the Camillas, based on Alexandre Dumas fils's novel comes to life on 4 February 2018. Set in Paris, it tells the story of the young and naive Armand, who is utterly captivated after meeting the ravishing and desirable courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Their encounter gives birth to a passionate yet doomed love. Bolshoi prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova is the ailing Marguerite seeking love and redemption from her life as a courtesan. Edvin Revazov (Armand Duval), Anna Tikhomirova (Manon Lescaut), Semyon Chudin (Des Grieux), Kristina Kretova (Prudence Duvernoy), Mikhail Lobukhin (Gaston Rieux), Anna Antropova (Nanina), Andrei Merkuriev (Monsieur Duval) and Daria Khokhlova (Olympia) also star, accompanied by Chopin's romantic piano score.

Alexei Ratmansky's captivating revival of Vasily Vainonen's The Flames of Paris comes to the screen on 4 March 2018. In the era of the French Revolution, Jeanne and her brother Jérôme leave Marseille for Paris in support of the revolutionary effort that is taking over the capital. While fighting for freedom, they both encounter love along the way. With powerful virtuosity and some of the most stunning pas de deux to music by Boris Asafiev, this ballet features the Bolshoi Ballet Principals, Soloists and Corp de Ballet.

On screen on 8 April 2018 is classic romantic ballet Giselle choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich. When Giselle learns that her beloved Albrecht is promised to another woman, she dies of a broken heart in his arms. While Albrecht grieves, she returns from the dead as a Wili, a vengeful spirit meant to make unfaithful men dance until death. Prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova personifies the title role alongside the sensational Sergei Polunin as Albrecht, it also stars Ekaterina Shipulina (Myrtha), Denis Savin (Hans) and the Bolshoi Corps de Ballet. With music by Adolphe Adam this chilling, yet luminous ballet has continued to captivate audiences for over 150 years at the Bolshoi.

The final screening is of Coppélia on 10 June 2018. The Bolshoi's unique version of this ebullient comedy by Sergei Vikharev exhibits a fascinating reconstruction of the original 19th century choreography, featuring feisty heroine Swanhilda, her boyish fiancee Franz with a wandering eye, and an old dollmaker. Swanhilda notices her fiancee Franz is infatuated with the beautiful Coppélia who sits reading on her balcony each day. Nearly breaking up the two sweethearts, Coppelia is not what she seems and Swanhilda decides to teach Franz a lesson. The company's stunning Corps de Ballet shines in the divertissements and famous "dance of the hours," and its Principal dancers abound in youthful energy and irresistible humor in this effervescent production, live from Moscow.

To discover where you can experience the magic of the Bolshoi in your local cinema go to www.bolshoiballetcinema.co.uk.

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