A Night of Romance with Romeo and Juliet
For over 200 years, the world-class Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia have been delighting audiences with their classic renditions of notable ballets such as Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. I’ve seen a couple of their performances over the years and they consistently impress audiences with their beautiful and technical renditions.
The Kirov Ballet returns to the Kennedy Center in mid-January for seven performances of Romeo and Juliet. Paired with a powerful musical score by Sergei Prokofiev, this story of innocent and tragic love has an interesting history.
The ballet Romeo and Juliet was based on William Shakespeare’s 1597 tragedy which was actually adapted several times by other writers from a story/poem written over one hundred years earlier before Shakespeare penned his version. It was composed by Prokofiev in 1935 for the Kirov Ballet, but with a happy ending.
Yet the originally written ballet was never performed, due to fear that the storyline would potentially receive editorial criticism in Pravda, the “official” Soviet newspaper. Pravda had recently condemned any “degenerate modernist” music, art or dance and the Kirov was fearful of any bad publicity. It was not until 1938 that the revised ballet premiered and later underwent additional modification until 1940, when it was first danced at the Kirov Theater in St. Petersburg.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Concert Hall
2700 F Street, NW
Washington DC. 20566
Dates and Times – January 16–20 at 7:30 p.m., January 20 and 21 at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets - $47.00 – $125.00
Nearest Metro subway station – Foggy Bottom/George Washington University station (23rd and I St.) – Blue and Orange lines – then a 3-block walk.
There is also a free Kennedy Center shuttle that runs every 15 minutes Monday – Friday from 9:45 a.m.- Midnight, Saturdays 10:00 a.m.- Midnight, and from Noon – Midnight on Sundays.
Parking – Available at the Kennedy Center for $15.00.
Photo credits: Ballet photo courtesy of The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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