Royal Ballet world premieres by Wayne McGregor, Cathy Marston, Akram Khan and choreographic duo Sol León and Paul Lightfoot 

First Royal Ballet presentation of work by American choreographer Justin Peck  

Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker returns for Christmas 

Like Water For Chocolate. Anna-Rose O’Sullivan. Photo : Tristram Kenton

From new faces to new works, The Royal Ballet’s 2025/26 Season brings the best of British ballet to the stage. Highlights include world premieres from two of the UK’s leading choreographers, Wayne McGregor and Cathy Marston. In Wayne McGregor: Alchemies, a mixed programme of pure poetry and power, the Company presents the world premiere of a new McGregor ballet, alongside two recent works that are testament to the choreographer’s ceaseless imagination and fiercely collaborative spirit. Following her award-winning success with The Cellist, a brand-new abstract work by Cathy Marston forms part of Perspectives: Balanchine, Marston, Peck. This world premiere takes inspiration from its score, Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto. Also featured is George Balanchine’s ethereal Serenade and Justin Peck’s uplifting Everywhere We Go – the first work by Peck to be performed by The Royal Ballet.  

In a thrilling Royal Ballet debut, choreographic duo Paul Lightfoot and Sol León will stage a double bill, So Are We: León and Lightfoot. Originally choreographed as a film by Lightfoot during the pandemic in homage to the balletic art form, STANDBY will now be recreated by the duo as a world premiere for the Company, accompanied by a newly composed score by Ilya Demutsky. Shoot the Moon, celebrating its 20th anniversary, explores relationships and the solitude that lies within them. 

In July, contemporary choreographer Akram Khan poetically reimagines Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin in a new full-length ballet, Carnage and the Divine. Themes of innocence, desire, hope and memory will be explored through Khan’s contemporary lens, metaphorical sensibility and distinctive dance language. This brand-new production brings to the forefront Khan’s collaborative spirit alongside a world-class creative team, dancers of The Royal Ballet and guest artists.   

Following its world premiere at Manchester International Festival, A Single Man will be presented in the Linbury Theatre. Former Royal Ballet dancer Jonathan Watkins reimagines Christopher Isherwood’s novel A Single Man as an exhilarating contemporary ballet with new live music from John Grant and Jasmin Kent Rodgman. Former Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watston shares the title role of George with guest artist Jonathan Goddard. 

In the year of Glen Tetley’s centenary, the American choreographer’s surreal 1962 Pierrot Lunaire is revived. Re-interpreting Arnold Schoenberg’s atonal spoken song melodrama of the same name, Tetley takes stock characters from the 18th-century theatrical tradition of commedia dell’arte and throws them into an austere set by designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian. 

Following its recently acclaimed critical reception, Osipova/Linbury returns to the Linbury Theatre in a programme shining a spotlight on Principal dancer Natalia Osipova. The programme will include a revival of The Exhibition by Norwegian choreographer Jo Strømgren. 

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet said: ‘We’re delighted to unveil this Season’s programme, which celebrates the boundless creativity and vision of the Company. From beloved revivals by our founding and resident choreographers, to thrilling new works on our stages, each piece represents a unique voice and perspective, inviting audiences into compelling worlds of movement and expression. At the heart of every Season are our remarkable Royal Ballet dancers, and we’re honoured to collaborate with such talented artists and with guest companies – sharing these transformative performances with our audiences.’ 

REVIVALS 

Alongside these thrilling premieres, a raft of audience favourites returns. Radiating sunshine and demonstrating the brilliant invention of the Company’s Founder Choreographer, Frederick Ashton’s signature ballet La Fille mal gardée returns 65 years after its premiere for a double run during the Season. An affectionate portrayal of village life, La Fille mal gardée whisks audiences away into pastoral bliss with Ashton’s brilliantly inventive choreography, Ferdinand Hérold’s exuberant score and Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs.  

Inspired by dark and gripping real life events, Royal Ballet classic Mayerling returns to the Main Stage. Depicting the sexual and morbid obsessions of Crown Prince Rudolf leading to the murder-suicide scandal with his mistress Mary Vetsera, Kenneth MacMillan’s 1978 ballet remains a masterpiece of storytelling. Expect to see the Company at its dramatic finest across potent ensemble scenes and some of the most daring and emotionally demanding pas de deux in the ballet repertory.  

Two much-loved Peter Wright productions are revived this Season. Set to Adolphe Adam’s evocative score and with atmospheric designs by John Macfarlane, the acclaimed Romantic classic Giselle conjures up earthly and otherworldly realms in a tale of love, betrayal and redemption. Wright’s sparkling 1984 production of The Nutcracker returns in time for Christmas. With breathtaking choreography, Tchaikovsky’s spectacular score and Julia Trevelyan Oman’s timeless designs, this family favourite is not to be missed.  

In September, Like Water for Chocolate is revived for the first time. Mexican novelist Laura Esquivel’s 1989 book of the same name provides the basis for Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon’s adaptation, with music and designs by Wheeldon’s longstanding collaborators Joby Talbot and Bob Crowley.  And in January 2026 we revive Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works, inspired by the life and work of Virginia Woolf, with music by Max Richter. 

VISITING COMPANIES

Throughout the Season, the Company continues its commitment to presenting works by the most exciting choreographic and performing talent, welcoming an incredible line-up of guest companies including Ballet Black, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre, Joburg Ballet, London City Ballet, Northern Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Yorke Dance Project and Tulsa Ballet, as well as the annual International Draft Works and Next Generation Festival programmes.

Royal Ballet International Tour

Alongside an expansive cinema season, The Royal Ballet’s international reach is extended at the end of the Season with a tour to Singapore and Japan.

ROYAL BALLET PRIORITY BOOKING DATES

General: 2 July 2025, 9am

Young ROH: 1 July 2025, 9am

Friends: 17 June 2025, 9am

Young Friends: 17 June 2025, 9am

Friends+: 12 June 2025, 9am

Supporting Friends: 10 June 2025, 9am

Premium 1 Friends: 5 June 2025, 9am

I’m Premium 2 Friends: 3 June 2025, 9am

THE ROYAL BALLET 2025/26 SEASON OVERVIEW

London premiere
The Royal Ballet and Guest Artists
A SINGLE MAN
Linbury Theatre
8 – 20 September 2025
A co-production with Factory International based on the Christopher Isherwood novel (1964)
Direction and Choreography Jonathan Watkins
Original Score Jasmin Kent Rodgman
Original Songs John Grant
Music Director and Arranger Fiona Brice
Set Designer Chiara Stephenson
Costume Designer Holly Waddington
Associate Costume Designer Eleanor Bull
Lighting Designer Simisola Majekodunmi
Dramaturg Luke Pell
Musicians Manchester Collective
Generous philanthropic support from Dame Tina Taylor DBE
George is grieving the sudden death of his long-term partner Jim. He wonders if life is still worth living. But there is another George: one who loves life. Can he reconcile these two parts of himself? Will a chance encounter remind him of joy?

Jonathan Watkins reimagines Christopher Isherwood’s novel as an exhilarating contemporary ballet, with new live music from John Grant and Jasmin Kent Rodgman. With Grant performing George’s internal monologue, former Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson expresses the
physicality of George’s exterior life, sharing the role with guest artist Jonathan Goddard.

Telling the story of George inside and out, A Single Man is a vital portrait of queer love and loss.

Fallen Angels Dance Theatre
FALLEN ANGELS DANCE THEATRE
Clore Studio
13 September 2025
Choreography and Movement Director Paul Bayes Kitcher
Producer Claire Morris
Fallen Angels Dance Theatre returns to the Royal Opera House with a new creation in September, following the sell-out success of 2023’s Traces through Time. The multi award-
winning company led by artistic director Paul Bayes Kitcher (a former Royal Ballet School student and Birmingham Royal Ballet Soloist) supports those in recovery from addiction and those living with mental health conditions, helping them to transform their lives and share recovery journeys through dance, performance and creativity.

The new work will be a powerful piece of dance theatre emerging from lived experience.

Passion, mystery and magic form the ingredients of Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon’s
captivating family saga inspired by Laura Esquivel’s modern Mexican classic. Returning for its first revival, this delectable ballet transports us into Tita’s world with music and designs by Wheeldon’s longstanding collaborators Joby Talbot and Bob Crowley

The Royal Ballet
LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
18 October – 13 November 2025
23 May – 9 June 2026
Choreography Frederick Ashton
Music Ferdinand Hérold
Arranged and orchestrated by John Lanchbery
Scenario Jean Dauberval
Designer Osbert Lancaster
Lighting Designer John B. Read
Conductor Jonathan Lo, José Ángel Salazar
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Part of ASHTON WORLDWIDE, the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s international festival 2024- 28
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
Generous philanthropic support from Sir Lloyd and Lady Dorfman OBE, Charles Holloway OBE, The Jean Sainsbury Royal Opera House Fund, Doug and Ceri King, Lindsay And
Sarah Tomlinson, The La Fille mal gardée Production Syndicate and Royal Ballet and Opera Friends
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
Lise, the only daughter of Widow Simone, is in love with the young farmer Colas, but her mother has far more ambitious plans for her. Simone hopes to marry her off to Alain, the son of the wealthy proprietor Thomas. Lise contrives to outwit her mother’s plans.

65 years after its premiere, The Royal Ballet presents Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée.
This affectionate portrayal of village life combines exuberant good humour and brilliantly inventive choreography in what is undoubtedly Ashton’s love letter to the English countryside.

La Fille mal gardée whisks us away into pastoral bliss with Ferdinand Hérold’s cheerful score and Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs.

Northern Ballet
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
Linbury Theatre
23 – 25 October 2025
Choreography and Direction Mariana Rodrigues
Music Eloise Gynn
Set Designer Marjoke Henrichs
Lighting Designer Abbi Fearnley
Costume Design Ideas Mariana Rodrigues
Costume Realisation Kim Brassley, Carley Marsh

Little Red Riding Hood is a kind and thoughtful little girl who loves her family. One day, on a visit to her grandmother, she meets a very hungry wolf in the forest who just wants something to eat.

But is he really such a big, bad wolf? Join Little Red on her adventure as she makes friends and discovers the importance of kindness.

Retelling the classic fairytale with a Northern Ballet twist, Little Red Riding Hood is the perfect opportunity for little ones to enjoy live ballet, music and theatre.

Joburg Ballet
COMMUNION OF LIGHT
Linbury Theatre
30 October – 2 November 2025
Salomé
Choreography Dada Masilo
Music Max Richter, Steve Reich, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Julia Kent, Mpho Mothiba
Costume Designers Dada Masilo, Yolanda Roos
Lighting and Projections Designers Simon King, Suzette Le Sueur
Azul
Choreography Jorge Pérez Martínez
Music Joaquin Rodrigo, Francisco Tárrega, Antonio Vivaldi, Isaac Albéniz
Costume Designer Sjaak Hullekes
Lighting Designer Berry Claassen
The Void
Choreography Hannah Ma
Co-created by Dancers of Joburg Ballet
Music Raime, Julius Eastman, Khally Dragon Chang, Sebastian M. Purfürst
Sound Adaptation David Ma
Costume Designers Hannah Ma, Yolanda Roos
Lighting Designer Simon King
Resonance
UK Premiere
Choreography Dane Hurst
Music Kyle Shepherd
Costume Designers Dane Hurst, Yolanda Roos
Lighting Designer Simon King
Johannesburg company Joburg Ballet make their Linbury Theatre debut with a mixed programme celebrating South Africa’s 30th year of democracy.

Opening the mixed programme is Dada Masilo’s Salomé, in which the late South African choreographer adapts Oscar Wilde’s play of desire, power and unbridled passion. Alongside it is Jorge Pérez Martínez’s Azul – a spirited work about water and its role in community – and
Hannah Ma’s The Void, which dives into the vastness of the human soul and the beauty of human existence. The programme is completed by artistic director Dane Hurst’s Resonance.

This new ballet, set to South African jazz music, celebrates the enduring power of community, music and dance to unite, heal and inspire freedom of expression.

The Royal Ballet
PERSPECTIVES: BALANCHINE, MARSTON, PECK
Main Stage
14 November – 2 December 2025
Serenade
Choreography George Balanchine
Music Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Costume Designer Karinska
Lighting Designer John B. Read
New Cathy Marston
World Premiere
Choreography Cathy Marston
Music Benjamin Britten
Set Designer Chloe Lamford
Costume Designer Annemarie Woods
Lighting Designer Fabiana Piccioli
Everywhere We Go
Uk Premiere
Choreography Justin Peck
Music Sufjan Stevens
Arranged by Michael P Atkinson
Set Designer Karl Jensen
Costume Designer Janie Taylor
Lighting Designer Brandon Stirling Baker
Conductor Martin Georgiev
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
With the generous support of Aline Foriel-Destezet Season Principal
Generous philanthropic support from John Burns CBE and Susan Burns OBE, Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie and Lindsay and Sarah Tomlinson
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
Revel in the poetry of movement with three ballets to ignite the imagination.

Serenade was one of the first ballets created by George Balanchine, a defining figure of 20th-century ballet. A radiant work of pure beauty, the ethereal ballet is set to Tchaikovsky’s soaring Serenade for Strings. Following her award-winning success with The Cellist, Cathy Marston’s
new work takes as its inspiration Benjamin Britten’s Violin Concerto, a turbulent yet intimate piece written as Europe teetered on the brink of World War II. Justin Peck’s uplifting Everywhere We Go concludes the mixed programme. Its cinematic score by musician Sufjan Stevens was
commissioned exclusively for this ballet. Everywhere We Go is the first of the American choreographer’s works to be performed by The Royal Ballet.

London City Ballet
REBIRTH: ROBBINS, PAGE, RATMANSKY, NEW WORK
Linbury Theatre
19 – 22 November 2025
Quiet City
London Premiere
Choreography Jerome Robbins
Music Aaron Copland
Larina Waltz
Choreography Ashley Page
Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Costume Designer Suzie Holland, with thanks to The Royal Ballet School
Pictures at an Exhibition
Choreography Alexei Ratmansky
Music Modest Mussorgsky
Costume Designer Adeline André
Lighting Designer Mark Stanley
Projection Designer Wendall K. Harrington
New Work
World Premiere
Under the artistic direction of Christopher Marney, London City Ballet (former resident company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre) was reformed in 2023. The revived company make their Linbury Theatre debut this Season.

The mixed programme features the UK premiere of Jerome Robbins’ Quiet City, which he created in 1986 to Aaron Copland’s score of the same name, depicting a bygone era of New York City. The company also performs Ashley Page’s exuberant Larina Waltz, first created for an all-star cast at the Royal Opera House in 1993, and Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, in which dancers bring art to life against a backdrop of Kandinsky masterpieces.

The programme will also include a new commission by a rising UK choreographer, to be announced in summer 2025.

The Royal Ballet
THE NUTCRACKER
Main Stage
22 November 2025 – 5 January 2026
Choreography Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Music Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Original Scenario Marius Petipa after E.T.A. Hoffmann
Production and Scenario Peter Wright
Designer Julia Trevelyan Oman
Lighting Designer Mark Henderson
Production Consultant Roland John Wiley
Conductors Koen Kessels, Charlotte Politi
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
Generous philanthropic support from Kenneth and Susan Green and Peter Simon
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
The magician Herr Drosselmeyer needs to save his nephew. Hans-Peter has been transformed into a Nutcracker; the only way to save him is for the Nutcracker to defeat the Mouse King and find a girl to love and care for him. A flicker of hope comes in the form of the young Clara, whom
Drosselmeyer meets at a Christmas party. With some magic, a cosy Christmas gathering turns into a marvellous adventure.

Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker has enchanted audiences since its 1984 premiere by the Company. Featuring Tchaikovsky’s most familiar melodies and brought to life by Julia Trevelyan Oman’s exquisite designs, The Nutcracker is sure to be a festive firecracker for all ages.

The Royal Ballet
WOOLF WORKS
Main Stage
17 January – 13 February 2026
Direction and Choreography Wayne McGregor
Music Max Richter
Designer Ciguë, We Not I, Wayne McGregor
Costume Designer Moritz Junge
Lighting Designer Lucy Carter
Film Designer Ravi Deepres
Sound System Designer Chris Ekers
Make-up Designer Kabuki
Dramaturgy Uzma Hameed

Conductor Koen Kessels
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Generous philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Patrons
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
Echoes, memories, words…
Virginia Woolf defied literary conventions to depict rich inner worlds – her heightened, startling and poignant reality. Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor leads a luminous artistic team to evoke Woolf’s signature stream of consciousness writing style in this immense work that
rejects traditional narrative structures. Woolf Works is a collage of themes from Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, The Waves and Woolf’s other writings. Created in 2015 for The Royal Ballet, this Olivier-award winning ballet triptych captures the heart of Woolf’s uniquely artistic spirit.

Yorke Dance Project
MODERN MILESTONES
Linbury Theatre
19 – 22 January 2026
Deep Song
Choreography Martha Graham
Music Henry Cowell
Lacrymosa
Choreography Robert Cohan
Music Dimitri Yanov-Yanovsky
Troubadour (Epitaph)
World Premiere
Choreography Christopher Bruce
Music Leonard Cohen
Kinaesonata
Uk Premiere
Choreography Bella Lewitzky
Music Alberto Ginastera
CAST | X |
World Premiere
Choreography Liam Francis
Music Jethro Cooke
Supported By Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a Donor Advised Fund, held at the Prism
Charitable Trust
Yorke Dance Project returns to the Linbury Theatre, paying homage to masters of modern dance and presenting the world premiere of two new creations.

The company honours a hundred years of Martha Graham’s legendary dance company with Deep Song and celebrates Robert Cohan’s 100th birthday with his deeply moving duet,
Lacrymosa. A new Christopher Bruce work – Troubadour (Epitaph), set to songs by Leonard Cohen – commemorates the British choreographer’s 80th birthday. In recognition of another great dance pioneer, Bella Lewitzky, and the 60th anniversary of the founding of her company,

YDP performs the UK premiere of the highly technical Kinaesonata. To complete the programme, YDP Associate Artist Liam Francis creates a new work with composer Jethro
Cooke, marking the inaugural year of his company FranDanCo.

Paul Taylor Dance Company
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY
Linbury Theatre
27 – 31 January 2026
Piazzolla Caldera
Choreography Paul Taylor
Music Astor Piazzolla, Jerzy Peterbushsky
Set and Costume Designer Santo Loquasto
Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton
Brandenburgs
Choreography Paul Taylor
Music Johann Sebastian Bach
Costume Designer Santo Loquasto
Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton
Esplanade
Choreography Paul Taylor
Music Johann Sebastian Bach
Costume Designer John Rawlings
Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton
Echo
UK Premiere
Choreography Lauren Lovette
Music Kevin Puts
Costume Designer Zac Posen
Lighting Designer James F. Ingalls
A historic modern dance institution of America returns to Britain after over 20 years. Founded in 1954, Paul Taylor Dance Company continues to embody and preserve the eclectic choreographic style of its founder. Considered one of the greats of American modern dance, Paul Taylor created choreography that was experimental for its time, playing with perspective, form and process.

This Season, Paul Taylor Dance Company brings two mixed programmes of contrasting moods to the Linbury Theatre: Piazzolla Caldera + Brandenburgs and Esplanade + Echo. The range of Taylor’s choreographic imagination will be showcased in Piazzolla Caldera, Brandenburgs, and
Esplanade, alongside the UK premiere of Echo by resident choreographer Lauren Lovette.

The Royal Ballet
PIERROT LUNAIRE
Linbury Theatre
10 – 18 February 2026
Choreography Glen Tetley
Music Arnold Schoenberg
Designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Lighting Designer John B. Read
Under the glow of the moonlight, a clown swings from mischief to melancholy, moving between his dreamworld and reality.

In the year of Glen Tetley’s centenary, The Royal Ballet revives the American choreographer’s Pierrot Lunaire. The surreal 1962 ballet re-interprets Arnold Schoenberg’s atonal spoken-song melodrama of the same name. Tetley takes stock characters from the 18th-century theatrical
tradition of commedia dell’arte and throws them into an austere set by designer Rouben Ter-Arutunian. Against the backdrop of a simple scaffold, everything is pared back to depict a raw, human vulnerability. Though Pierrot Lunaire was one of Tetley’s earliest creations, it already
demonstrated his signature choreographic style that merged the aesthetics of ballet and modern
dance.

The Royal Ballet
GISELLE
Main Stage
14 February – 20 March 2026
Choreography Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot
Music Adolphe Adam
Edited by Lars Payne
Scenario Théophile Gautier after Heinrich Heine
Production and Additional Choreography Peter Wright
Designer John Macfarlane
Original Lighting Jennifer Tipton
Re-created by David Finn
Conductors Vello Pähn, Martin Georgiev
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust

Generous philanthropic support from John Burns CBE and Susan Burns OBE, Philipp
Freise, Kenneth and Susan Green, Doug and Ceri King, Lindsay and Sarah Tomlinson,
The Fonteyn Circle and The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who crosses their path in a dance to the
death. Wracked with guilt, Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, where he must face the Wilis – and Giselle’s ghost.

Peter Wright’s 1985 production of this quintessential Romantic ballet is a classic of The Royal Ballet repertory. Set to Adolphe Adam’s evocative score and with atmospheric designs by John Macfarlane, Giselle conjures up the earthly and otherworldly realms in a tale of love, betrayal
and redemption.

Ballet Black
BALLET BLACK 25TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME
Linbury Theatre
3 – 7 March 2026
Celebrating 25 incredible years, Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black returns to the Linbury Theatre with an exciting new mixed programme, featuring one of Ballet Black’s most requested and award-winning works, alongside a breathtaking new creation. This special mixed programme
will be full of celebration, with a rich blend of global influences, impactful storytelling and
powerful choreography.

Since its founding in 2001, Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black has transformed the landscape of British ballet by championing artists of Black and Asian descent. Known for their repertory of deeply resonant works, the company and its dancers have won and been nominated for many awards. Ballet Black has a long history of performing at the Royal Opera House, beginning in 2005 with its first season at the Linbury Studio Theatre.

The Royal Ballet
MAYERLING
Main Stage
30 March – 18 May 2026
Choreography Kenneth Macmillan
Music Franz Liszt
Arranged and orchestrated by John Lanchbery
Designer Nicholas Georgiadis
Scenario Gillian Freeman
Lighting Designer John B. Read

Conductors Martin Georgiev, Koen Kessels
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
Generous philanthropic support from John Burns CBE and Susan Burns OBE, Sir Lloyd and
Lady Dorfman Obe, Doug and Ceri King, Ida Levine and The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
Crown Prince Rudolf is tormented by dark obsessions, fixated by the idea of his own death. He cannot find solace in friends and family, except for one person: the young and beautiful Baroness Mary Vetsera, who shares his morbid interests. Stifled by the oppressive conventions
and pageantry of the Austro-Hungarian court, Rudolf and Mary start meeting in secret. What begins as a clandestine love affair hurtles towards tragedy.

The Royal Ballet
WAYNE MCGREGOR: ALCHEMIES
Main Stage
18 April – 6 May 2026
Choreography Wayne McGregor
Yugen
Music Leonard Bernstein
Set Designer Edmund De Waal
Costume Designer Shirin Guild
Lighting Designer Lucy Carter
Members of The Royal Opera Chorus and Extra Chorus

A co-production between The Royal Ballet and Dutch National Ballet & Opera
Untitled, 2023
Music Anna Thorvaldsdottir
Set Designer Carmen Herrera
Costume Designer Burberry
Lighting Designer Lucy Carter
New Wayne McGregor
World Premiere
Conductor Koen Kessels
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
With the generous support of Aline Foriel-Destezet Season Principal
Generous philanthropic support from John Burns CBE and Susan Burns OBE, Sir Simon
and Lady Robey, Royal Ballet and Opera Friends and The American Friends of Covent Garden
Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor generously supported by Dame Tina Taylor DBE
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
This mixed programme of pure poetry and power presents the world premiere of a new McGregor ballet, and two recent works that are testament to the choreographer’s ceaseless imagination and fiercely collaborative spirit.
Contemplative and life-affirming, Yugen is McGregor’s 2018 paean to Bernstein’s hauntingly beautiful Chichester Psalms, created in collaboration with artist Edmund de Waal, fashion designer Shirin Guild and lighting designer Lucy Carter. In Untitled, 2023, McGregor took
inspiration from the sparingly dynamic works of the late artist Carmen Herrera. Sets by Herrera come together with Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s score of ferocity and desolation, Lucy Carter’s lighting and costumes by Burberry in an exacting work of elemental power.

Tulsa Ballet
TULSA BALLET: MADE IN AMERICA
Linbury Theatre
13 – 17 May 2026
Classical Symphony
UK Premiere
Choreography Yuri Possokhov
Music Sergey Prokofiev
Costume Designer Sandra Woodall

Divenere
UK Premiere
Choreography Nicolo Fonte
Music Ludovico Einaudi, Matteo Saggese, Anna Phoebe
Costume Designer Anaya Cullen
Remember Our Song
UK Premiere
Choreography Andy Blankenbuehler
Music Regina Spektor, Greg Anthony Rassen, Louis Prima
Costume Designer Lisa Zinni

Exceptional philanthropic support from Royal Ballet and Opera Principal Julia Rausing Trust
Generous philanthropic support from Sir Lloyd and Lady Dorfman OBE, Dame Tina Taylor
Dbe and Royal Ballet and Opera Patrons
The 2025/26 Royal Ballet Season is generously supported by Aud Jebsen
The Royal Ballet presents two Company premieres by Spanish/British choreographers Sol León
and Paul Lightfoot. This stirring mixed programme marks the first time a British company performs the work of the acclaimed contemporary choreographic duo.
Shoot the Moon, celebrating its 20th anniversary, explores relationships and the solitude that lies within them. The work is scored by Philip Glass’s shifting tonal melodies within his Tirol Concerto. STANDBY, originally choreographed as a film by Lightfoot during the pandemic in homage to the balletic art form, will now be recreated by the duo as a world premiere for the Company. Drawing on a dancer’s daily study of ballet class, León and Lightfoot reimagine it with their uniquely fluid and passionate choreographic sensibility, sometimes integrating whispers of another reality. A freshly composed score by Ilya Demutsky will accompany the ensemble on
the bare stage of the Royal Opera House.

The Royal Ballet School
THE ROYAL BALLET SCHOOL SUMMER PERFORMANCE
Main Stage
18 July 2026
Join The Royal Ballet School in this celebration of their students’ exceptional talents. Returning
to the Royal Opera House in this annual matinee, the students of the School demonstrate the remarkable skills and artistry they have nurtured training at one of the world’s leading ballet schools. Featuring all years of the School, with dancers ranging in age from 11 to 19, this is a
rare opportunity to watch the rising ballet stars of the future.

Guest Companies and Schools
NEXT GENERATION FESTIVAL
Linbury Theatre
June 2026
Next Generation Festival is a fantastic chance to get to know the young dancers of today.
Expect performances by a selection of junior companies and dance schools from the UK, across Europe and around the world. Celebrating both national and international talent, witness the diversity and range of performing talent globally and be a part of the art form’s vibrant future