Landmarks: Unmissable Ashton - Royal Ballet and Opera
Royal Opera House
- Opens: Monday, 25 January 2027 -
Booking until: Friday, 19 March 2027 - Running time: 2hr 45min. Including two intervals.
Landmarks: Unmissable Ashton - Royal Ballet and Opera description
Landmarks: Unmissable Ashton is a mixed programme of three ballets by Frederick Ashton, created across three decades and performed by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House.
The evening opens with Les Rendezvous, a sequence of light, sociable dances for a group of friends who meet in a park. Symphonic Variations follows, a plotless work for six dancers set to César Franck's score. The programme closes with Daphnis and Chloé, a retelling of the ancient Greek romance between a goatherd and a shepherdess, in which Chloé is carried off by pirates before the lovers are reunited.
Created in 1933, Les Rendezvous was Ashton's first major ballet for the Vic-Wells company, the forerunner of The Royal Ballet. Symphonic Variations (1946) marked his turn towards abstract dance, while Daphnis and Chloé (1951) returned to storytelling, set to Maurice Ravel's full score, with the Royal Opera Chorus joining the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The programme is part of Ashton Worldwide, the Frederick Ashton Foundation's international festival running from 2024 to 2028.
Frederick Ashton (1904-88) was Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet and is credited with shaping its distinctive English style; his other ballets include La Fille mal gardée and Marguerite and Armand. Les Rendezvous is danced to music by Daniel Auber arranged by Constant Lambert, with designs by Jasper Conran after an original concept by William Chappell. Sophie Fedorovitch designed Symphonic Variations and John Craxton designed Daphnis and Chloé. Jonathan Lo conducts.
Casting announced by Royal Ballet and Opera includes Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov, while the title roles in Daphnis and Chloé are shared by Marcelino Sambé and Francesca Hayward, Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri, Cesar Corrales and Sarah Lamb, and Patricio Revé and Akane Takada.
Book now to see three of Ashton's landmark ballets in a single evening, danced by the company whose style he shaped.
Playing at Royal Opera House
Age restrictions
Ages 5+. Children aged 5–14 need their own ticket and must sit next to an accompanying adult.
Important information
Daphnis and Chloë contains stylised depictions of sexual harassment.