The Dream (2017)
19 March–17 April 2021
£3
The high-spirited misadventures of the two pairs of mortal lovers from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream combine with the humorous cavorting of Bottom, played by a male dancer who dances en pointe after his ludicrous transformation. The ballet culminates in a powerful pas de deux for Oberon and Titania, which moves through a stormy conflict of wills to a harmonious union. Felix Mendelssohn’s witty, gossamer-light music for the play provides a perfect partner to Frederick Ashton's inventive choreography.
Synopsis
Oberon, King of the Fairies, has quarrelled with his Queen, Titania. He longs to humiliate her, and orders Puck to make her fall in love with a monster. Meanwhile, he and Puck meddle with the lives of four mortal lovers who wander across their path.
Much confusion ensues, between the four mortals as their loves entangle, and within a troupe of actors, one of whose number is transformed into an ass to become Titania’s paramour. Finally, Oberon makes peace with Titania, and returns things to their natural order.
Cast
Conductor: Emmanuel Plasson
Titania: Akane Takada
Oberon: Steven McRae
Changeling Indian Boy: Ambrose Bartlett
Puck: Valentino Zucchetti
Bottom: Bennet Gartside
Rustics: Benjamin Ella, Kevin Emerton, Solomon Golding, Erico Montes, Calvin Richardson
Helena: Itziar Mendizabal
Demetrius: Tomas Mock
Hermia: Claire Calvert
Lysander: Matthew Ball
Peaseblossom: Gemma Pitchley-Gale
Cobweb: Emma Maguire
Moth: Elizabeth Harrod
Mustardseed: Romany Pajdak
Choir: London Oratory Junior Choir
Concert Master: Vasko Vassilev
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Creatives
ChoreographyFrederick Ashton
MusicFelix Mendelssohn
Musical arrangementJohn Lanchbery
DesignerDavid Walker
Lighting designerJohn B. Read
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