| April 15, 2025 (BOSTON, MA) – Boston Ballet’s 61st season concludes with the Boston premiere of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, a fresh adaptation of the timeless Shakespearean tale. Featuring minimal sets and costumes, the contemporary choreography and emotionality of the dancers is on full display. The Boston Ballet Orchestra will perform the iconic score by Sergei Prokofiev.
“Maillot’s production of Roméo et Juliette is masterful blend of emotional depth, innovative choreography, and stunning live music that showcases audiences a groundbreaking reimagining of the timeless Shakespearean tragedy,” said Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen. “The many roles in this tale are tremendously powerful, including Juliet, a quintessential role for a dancer, and an honor to portray. I am thrilled our dancers have the opportunity to be immersed in Maillot’s work, and for this special ballet to be seen for the first time in Boston.”
Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette premiered in December 1996 with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. Celebrated for focusing on the bare truths of the classic tale, Maillot’s rendition is told through the layered perspective of Friar Laurence, a well-intentioned cleric who despite his attempts to aid Romeo and Juliet, dooms the pair in the end. By depicting the story from the flashback-like perspective of Friar Laurence, viewers are offered a new way of understanding the events that led to the tragic fate of the couple through a vantage point that deepens the audience’s connection to the inevitability of the story. Balancing its famed classical elegance with a contemporary sensitivity, Maillot’s choreography infuses humor into moments of lightness while preserving the intensity and urgency of the pair’s love.
Maillot portrays the lovestruck teenagers with dynamic depth and emotion, and the costuming and scenic design are kept light and uncomplicated.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was first adapted into a ballet in 1940 by Kirov (Mariinsky) Ballet in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). The score was composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1935 and was heavily revised for its premiere in 1940. Initially dismissed for its lightness and alternative happy ending, a deviation from Shakespeare’s original story, the score was first rejected by the Bolshoi theatre, then reworked in collaboration with choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky to lend itself to the musical needs of the ballet itself. After its premiere, the ballet was deemed a success and was quickly sought after and further adapted. Since then, it has been reimagined by several choreographers, including Maillot’s modern take on this tragic love story.
Jean-Christophe Maillot is the Choreographer-Director of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. His repertoire of 80 ballets (40 created in Monaco) draws from the world of art in the broadest sense and each ballet is a sketch book which feeds the following work. Thus, over 30 years, Jean-Christophe Maillot has created an ensemble of 60 pieces ranging from great narrative ballets to shorter formats, and where multiple connections reflect a work which forms part of the history and diversity. Neither classical nor contemporary, not even between the two, Maillot refuses to adhere to one style and designs dance like a dialogue where tradition on pointes and the avant-garde are no longer mutually exclusive. Maillot studied dance and piano at the Conservatoire National de Région de Tours, before joining the Rosella Hightower International School of Dance in Cannes until winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1977. He was then hired by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet, where he danced in principal roles as a soloist for five years. An accident brought his dancing career to an abrupt end. In 1983, he was appointed choreographer and director of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Tours, which later became a National Centre of Choreography. He created around 20 ballets for this company and in 1985, founded the Dance Festival, “Le Chorégraphique”. In 1987, he created Le Mandarin Merveilleux for the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, which was a great success. He became the company’s Artistic Advisor for the 1992–1993 season and was then appointed Director-Choreographer by H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover in September 1993.
All 12 performances of Roméo et Juliette will take place at Citizens Opera House (539 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111):
Thursday, May 29 at 7:30 pm
Friday, May 30 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 31 at 1:30 and 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 1 at 1:30 pm
Tuesday, June 3 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, June 4 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 pm
Friday, June 6 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, June 7 at 1:30 and 7:30 pm
Sunday, June 8 at 1:30 pm
Tickets start at $25. For more information, visit bostonballet.org or call 617.695.6955.
Roméo et Juliette is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Music: Sergei Prokofiev Op. 64, 1935–1936
Scenic Design: Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Costume Design: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Dominique Drillot
Staging: Noelani Pantastico, Bruno Roque, Taisha Barton-Rowledge |
