Romeo and Juliet

A Ballet in Three Acts after William Shakespeare

The triumph of John Cranko’s world-famous version of the greatest of all love stories is the way the choreographer has found a perfect marriage between the heart-rending intimacy of the private tragedy and the boisterous – and dangerous – life of a small Italian Renaissance city.

Youth-driven, rapturously sensual, it is considered by many critics to be the finest – the most moving – of all dance versions of Shakespeare’s immortal play.

Prokofiev’s thrilling score both soars ecstatically in the love passages – the balcony,  the bedroom scene, the tomb scene – and brings to life the down-to-earth atmosphere  of Verona: the swirling gypsies, the ribald country folk in town for the carnival, the  tarantella and most of all, the brilliant, and fatal, swordplay that sweeps up the followers  of the Capulets and the Montagues. His music for the young lovers, for the ball scene, for the antics of Mercutio and the haughty passion of Tybalt, provide the richest of opportunities for a superbly talented choreographer.

Cranko created this Romeo and Juliet  in 1962 for the Stuttgart Ballet, and it immediately established itself as a classic, more human in scale than both the original Kirov/Bolshoi version by Leonid Lavrovsky and the Kenneth MacMillan interpretation to come.

John Cranko

John Cranko was born on August 15, 1927 in Rustenburg, South Africa. He received his dance education mainly at the University of Cape Town, where he also choregraphed his first ballet to Stravinsky’s Suite from The Soldier’s Tale. In 1946, he continued his studies at the Sadler’s Wells School in London and shortly afterwards became a member of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (subsequently The Royal Ballet). In 1947, Cranko made a sensational choreography to Debussy’s Children’s Corner for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet; from 1949 on he devoted himself exclusively to choreography, producing extremely successful ballets – mostly for the Sadler’s Wells Ballet.

In 1955, he choreographed La Belle Hélène for the Paris Opera Ballet and in 1957 he created his first full-length ballet, The Prince of the Pagodas, for The Royal Ballet. In 1961, John Cranko was appointed ballet director in Stuttgart by Walter Erich Schaefer, the General Director of the Wuerttemberg State Theatre (today’s Stuttgart State Theater). At the beginning of his time in Stuttgart, Cranko created short ballets and gathered together a group of dancers, among whom were Egon Madsen, Richard Cragun, Birgin Keil and, most importantly, a young Brazilian dancer named Marcia Haydée who was to become his prime muse and inspiration.

The breakthrough for Cranko came in December 1962 with the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet, which was highly praised by critics and audiences alike. In Stuttgart, Cranko created many small choreographic jewels such as Jeu de cartes and Opus I, as well as his symphonic ballet Initials R.B.M.E., but it was with his dramatic story ballets such as Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew, Carmen, Poéme de l’Extase and Traces that Cranko secured his place in the pantheon of great choreographers. In addition, he encouraged young dancers in his company – including Jiří Kylián and John Neumeier – to try their hands at choreography.

Cranko’s gift for nuanced storytelling, clear dramatic structure and his exquisite mastery of the art of the pas de deux conquered New York audiences during a triumphant season at the Metropolitan Opera in 1969. World-wide acclaim soon followed, as Cranko and his young company toured the globe. John Cranko died unexpectedly at age 45 on June 26, 1973, on a return flight from a successful U.S.A. tour.

MCB premiere

March 25, 2011, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, FL.

Special Acknowledgements

The Company premiere of Romeo and Juliet was made possible by a generous leadership gift from Gerri and Bennet LeBow. Additional funding for Romeo and Juliet was provided by Ophelia and Juan Js. Roca, as well as Toby Lerner Ansin, Audre and Don Carlin and Bobi and Jim Eroncig in honor of Miami City Ballet’s 25th anniversary.

A special gift toward the production of Romeo and Juliet was made by Renée Delaplaine Rodgers and Thomas Edward Rodgers, Jr. in honor of Charlotte Breyer Rodgers. All Romeo and Juliet performances at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts were dedicated in loving memory to Eugenia P. Strauss by her family and Miami City Ballet. Underwriting
for these performances was generously provided by The Strauss Family.

Additional underwriting was provided by Nancy Abbott and The Herman Abbott Family Foundation, Nancy Jean Davis, Dr. Margaret and Mike Eidson, Gillian Fuller, Swanee and Paul DMare, Lora and Fred Drasner, Michele and Larry Herbert, Roni and Sam Jacobson, Rose Miniaci and Diane and Irving Siegel.

The presentations of Romeo and Juliet were supported in part by grants from the American Express Charitable Fund,
Funding Arts Broward, Inc. and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Choreography by John Cranko
Music by Sergei Prokofiev*
Staged by Jane Bourne
Copyright: Dieter Gräefe
Scenic and Costume Design* by Susan Benson
Lighting Design by Robert Thomson
Fight Coach: Christian Sordelet
*Romeo and Juliet, Ballet, op. 64, used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.
*Costumes and Scenery courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada
Patricia Delgado and Renan Cerdeiro in Romeo and Juliet. Choreography by John Cranko. Photo © Alberto Oviedo.