Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 and Les Troyens nominated for South Bank Sky Arts Awards
Works by both Royal Opera and Royal Ballet shortlisted.
Works by both The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet have been nominated at this year’s South Bank Sky Arts Awards. The awards, now in their third year, celebrate the very best of British culture and achievement across the arts.
Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 has been nominated in the Dance category, alongside Scottish Ballet’s A Streetcar Named Desire and English National Ballet’s Jeux.
Inspired by the work of Renaissance painter Titian, Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 was part of the London 2012 Festival. A unique collaboration between The Royal Ballet and the National Gallery, it brought together some of the world’s finest artists in contemporary choreography, art, poetry and music and featured an unprecedented number of Royal Ballet Principals. A book chronicling the production is now available.
David McVicar’s epic production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens has been nominated in the Opera category. Created on a truly Olympic scale, the production transformed the Main Stage into both war-torn Troy and beautiful Carthage. The new production featured an acclaimed performance by Bryan Hymel. Stuart MacRae and Louise Welsh’s Ghost Patrol, performed by Scottish Opera in the Linbury Studio last September, has also been nominated as has Netia Jones’s Where The Wild Things Are, staged at the Barbican.
Following the Olympic Games and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the awards panel said that 2012 was particularly strong across all categories. Melvyn Bragg, who will act as Master of Ceremonies and editor, said:
“2012 was a remarkably fine year for British achievement not least in British art, by British artists. Arriving at this shortlist was a tough job for our judges. We are proud of this world class list of nominees which recognize and honour the best talent at work in the UK today.”
The judges of this year’s South Bank Sky Arts Awards include Peter Aspden, Arts Correspondent of the Financial Times; Richard Brooks, Arts Editor of the Sunday Times; and Sarah Donaldson, Arts Editor of the Observer. The winners will be announced in an awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel. The ceremony will be broadcast on Sky Arts 1 HD at 9.30pm on 14 March.
Last year, Arthur Pita’s The Metamorphosis won in the Dance category. A powerful dance-theatre piece based on the famous Kafka novella, it recently won a prize for Best Modern Choreography in the National Dance Awards. Ed Watson, who last year performed the lead role of Gregor Samsa to critical acclaim, will reprise the role this March when the production returns to the Linbury Studio.
