As the success of director Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella film demonstrated earlier this year, some tales endure the test of time and countless adaptations. The stories both of Cinderella and of Romeo and Juliet are two such classics, which have been depicted countless times in literature, art, music, dance, theatre, and film. Beginning this summer, Chicagoans can look forward to experiencing multiple interpretations of these classic tales over the next artistic season. Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet are coming to Lyric next season, while Prokofiev’s ballets of the same stories are coming to both concert and ballet stages.
The residential orchestra of the Grant Park Music Festival at Millennium Park will perform Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (1938), along with Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, on July 14, 11-1:30PM and July 15, 11-1:30PM and 6:30-8PM. Prokofiev’s ballet offers a modern flare to the time-tested classic, including a saxophone in its orchestration. Meanwhile, next spring Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet will grace the stage of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Meanwhile, the story of Cinderella will also come to life as both opera and ballet. Lyric Opera audiences can witness coloratura mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard’s vocal gymnastics in the title role of Rossini’s La Cenerentola in October while anticipating the physical aerobics of Prokofiev’s Cinderella as performed by the Joffrey Ballet in April 2016.
Find out more about upcoming performances at the Grant Music Festival (www.grantparkmusicfestival.com), the Lyric Opera of Chicago (www.lyricopera.org), and the Joffrey Ballet (www.joffrey.org) at their respective websites.
