When to see it
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This work is being performed as part of a mixed programme:
Ceremony of Innocence / The Age of Anxiety / Aeternum
A Scarlett world premiere and two recent works by Brandstrup and Wheeldon: contemporary ballet at its finest.
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Friday 7 November 2014, 7.30pm | Main Stage
100+ tickets
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Saturday 8 November 2014, 7pm | Main Stage
100+ tickets
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Friday 14 November 2014, 7.30pm | Main Stage
100+ tickets
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Monday 17 November 2014, 7.30pm | Main Stage
100+ tickets
Introduction
Prompted by a chance encounter, a man remembers his past.
News and features
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Autumn Season 2014/15
31 March 2014Helpful links and information on booking for forthcoming performances.
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Ballet and Dance 2014/15
31 March 2014Details of The Royal Ballet's 2014/15 Season have been announced.
Background
The corruption of innocence is at the heart of Kim Brandstrup's Ceremony of Innocence – a major theme in the work of composer Benjamin Britten. The ballet was created as part of the celebrations of the composer's centenary. Brandstrup chose Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge (1937), a brilliant early work that shows the young composer just on the cusp of his maturity. Britten wrote the work a few months after the sudden death of his mother, and dedicated it to his old teacher, Bridge. From this context of loss and reminiscence Brandstrup creates a haunting narrative work on age and memories of youth.
Ceremony of Innocence was first performed in 2013 at the Aldeburgh Festival, as part of the global celebrations of the centenary of Britten's birth. Video designs by Leo Warner of 59 Productions (The Royal Opera's Salome and The Minotaur) create an impressionistic, shadowy world permeated by joy and loss.