Raymonda

Raymonda was Marius Petipa’s last big hit. He was the most important choreographer of nineteenth century tsarist ballet, whose prowess is still extolled today. He created a vast array of great classics such as La Bayadère, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. The ballet Raymonda brings together and showcases all of Petipa's ingenuity, expertise and craftsmanship. Created in 1898 in close collaboration with the composer Alexander Glazunov, Raymonda was Petipa’s magnum opus that would forever shape our definition of classical ballet.

MAKES HER OWN DECISIONS ABOUT HER LOVE LIFE

In this version of Raymonda, Rachel Beaujean wanted to showcase the choreographic jewels Petipa created for this ballet classic in all their glory. Yet, she also wanted these jewels to have ‘a crown and setting that are relevant to the present day’. This meant she made some substantial changes to the original libretto by Lydia Pashkova. Thus, whereas Pashkova’s storyline presents the Hungarian grand duchess as rather submissive – agreeing to wed her predestined marriage partner the crusader Jean de Brienne, Beaujean’s version portrays Raymonda as a young woman who makes her own decisions about her love life.

Dreamy atmosphere

Frenchman Jérôme Kaplan, who has received acclaim ​at Dutch National Ballet for his beautiful sets and costumes for Alexei Ratmansky’s Don Quixote, will take on the role of set and costume designer for this new production of Raymonda. His imaginative sets and elegant, chic and extremely colourful costumes evoke a dreamy atmosphere of mediaeval castles in the Provence and Hungary.