Romeo e Giulietta

With its debut at La Fenice John Neumeier’s Romeo and Juliet confirms the long friendship that binds the Hamburg Ballet to the Venetian Theatre, where the German dance company – one of the most important on the world scene – made its first appearance in 1975, returning five more times, the last in 2023 with the ballet La Dame aux camélias, also by Neumeier. The famous story of the two unfortunate lovers, immortalised by Shakespeare and at the origin of the extraordinary music of Sergei Prokov’ev, inspired the American master to choreograph his first great complete ballet, presented in Frankfurt – where he was then directing the Ballet Frankfurt – on February 14, 1971. The ballet highlights in particular the human side of the characters: their inner world, their psychological evolution, during a story set in the sumptuous setting of the scenes by Jürgen Rose – also the author of the costumes – which evoke a medieval Verona, the scene of an exciting choreographic action, inspired by the desire for life and love

photo © Kiran West