Debuts in Romeo and Juliet

Scene from the ballet Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a gem in the Mariinsky Theatre’s repertoire. The tremendous success of the production created in 1940 in Leningrad by the choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky and stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Sergei Prokofiev has led to the creation of numerous dance versions of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Today, the repertoires of every major ballet company feature a choreographic version of this story. In one of them, John Cranko’s ballet for the Wiener Staatsoper, the lead female role is danced by Olga Esina. Currently a Guest Principal Dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, Esina is learning the St Petersburg version and her debut as Juliet will take place on 19 October. Olga Esina’s partner Konstantin Zverev will also be making his debut in the lead male role. Xander Parish will make his debut as Romeo on 18 October in St Petersburg. Both male dancers have previously appeared in the production as Paris. This minor role will also see several debuts: on 18 October Paris will be danced by Yevgeny Deryabin followed by Roman Belyakov on 19 October in a matinee. In the same performance Alexei Popov will be making his debut as Mercutio and Kamil Yangurazov will be appearing as Tybalt for the first time. On 18 October the performance will feature Anastasia Nikitina as Juliet’s companion, while Ernest Latypov will also be performing the Troubadour for the first time. In the St Petersburg performances, the Italian families will see new performers and the ballet – recently transferred to the new Mariinsky Theatre – will continue to delight audiences with its timeless plot and the emotionality of the dance which presents all the famous peripeteia and turmoil.