Renowned composer Joby Talbot continues to make a major impact on the world of dance with two upcoming U.S. productions of his and Christopher Wheeldon’s acclaimed full-length ballets: the Chicago premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and a highly anticipated revival of The Winter’s Tale in New York.
On June 5-22, the Joffrey Ballet presents the Chicago premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a groundbreaking collaboration between Talbot and Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. This production features music performed by the Lyric Opera Orchestra, conducted by Scott Speck, Music Director of The Joffrey Ballet. In The New York Times, Talbot’s score has been lauded as “a dazzling array of melodies and shimmering percussion, usefully atmospheric and dancey, yet sophisticated enough to feel like more than a mere support.”
First premiered by The Royal Ballet in 2011, this vibrant adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale features a libretto by Nicholas Wright, with puppetry and custume designs by Bob Crowley. Talbot’s hallucinatory sound world of sweeping melodies and ticking clocks brings Carroll’s timeless story to vivid life.
On July 1-5, the American Ballet Theatre gives the New York premiere of The Winter’s Tale to highlight summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House. A co-commission of The Royal Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada, The Winter’s Tale has been praised for its emotional depth and Talbot’s evocative, sweeping score. This production features sets and custumes by Bob Crowley, projections by Daniel Brodie, and lighting by Natasha Katz, under the direction of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.
Based on Shakespeare’s late romance of the same name, The Winter’s Tale tells of the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret, the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation.
“The Winter’s Tale is a triumph,” noted The Telegraph on the occasion of its world premiere. “It is contemporary and classical, traditional and modern, narrative and abstract. It feels like something entirely new...The score by Joby Talbot is equally rich; the variety of the orchestration and the momentum of the melodies make it both stirring and effective; in the second act a folk band arrives on stage without ever falling into cliché.”
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