This will be Michael Corder's third new work for English National Ballet. His acclaimed production of Cinderella was premiered in 1996 and won the 1997 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and the 1996 Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Production. He created Melody on the Move in 2003, which is to be performed again by English National Ballet as part of the Spring Tour 2007. Melody on the Move was received with standing ovations and critical acclaim at its World Premiere at Sadler's Wells and received the 2003 Critics' Circle Award for best choreography.
The music for The Snow Queen will be arranged by Julian Philips from Prokofiev's ballet The Stone Flower and other Prokofiev works. Julian's other original works include Strange Seas, commissioned by the Britten Sinfonia and later performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Out of Light commissioned by BBC Proms and premièred at the Royal Albert Hall in 2001. In the summer of 2006, Julian was appointed Composer in Residence at Glyndebourne Opera.
The Snow Queen will be designed by Mark Bailey whose previous collaborations with Corder include Melody on the Move in 2003. Mark's recent projects include Hamlet for Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and An Ideal Husband for Theatr Clwyd.
The Snow Queen is a touching, gothic fairytale which will be lavishly retold by English National Ballet's full Company of dancers with live music from the full Orchestra of English National Ballet.
Wayne Eagling, English National Ballet's Artistic Director says:
"It is a rare privilege to announce a ballet commission in Britain, indeed anywhere in the world. To then also do so with an entirely British creative team is an especially gratifying moment in the artistic life of English National Ballet. I look forward to working with Michael and his team on this significant new work. The Snow Queen will stand proudly alongside our historical repertoire and show the vivacity of ballet in the 21st Century. This commission will also continue to reinforce the mission of English National Ballet to present classical ballet of the highest quality to audiences around Britain."Â
Anderson's fairytales have inspired plays, ballets, films and works of sculpture and painting. The Snow Queen was first published in 1844 and has since been translated into more than 80 languages.
Story of The Snow Queen
The Snow Queen is a tale about two young friends Kay and Gerda. Eternal winter descends on their land and Kay catches a sliver of the Snow Queen's shattered magic mirror in his eye. As a result he sees everything in the world as bad and twisted.
Mesmerised by the beauty of the Snow Queen, he goes with her to her palace in the far frozen north. Gerda searches the world over to find her friend and with the help of the Gypsies and their reindeer, she makes her way to the Snow Queen's Palace. Her love for Kay releases him from his spell. The sliver of mirror falls from his eye and the curse of eternal winter is broken. -- www.ballet.org.uk
Posted January 27th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik
