SF Ballet to stream Helgi Tomasson’s cinematic Romeo & Juliet

San Francisco Ballet (SF Ballet) will stream Helgi Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet from May 6–26, 2021 in the multi-capture, cinematic production by Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance from 2015, captured on stage at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House. 

A signature work of the Company, Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet has been performed worldwide, and was the last work SF Ballet toured prior to the pandemic, in the fall of 2019 at The Royal Danish Opera House in Copenhagen, Denmark, when it was noted for its “color rich” (Information) interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic story. 

Beginning May 6, SF Ballet will sell a $48 package that includes both Romeo & Juliet and Tomasson’s Swan Lake, on screen May 20–June 9, in celebration of the closure of the 2021 Digital Season. The 2021 Digital Season also includes Program 05 (April 22–May 12), comprising Cathy Marston’s Snowblind, David Dawson’s Anima Animus, and Helgi Tomasson’s 7 for Eight.

Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet premiered during SF Ballet’s 1994 Repertory Season and is set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, performed in the May 6–26 stream by the SF Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Music Director Martin West. The stream of Romeo & Juliet includes former SF Ballet Principal Dancers Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan in the title roles, alongside Pascal Molat, now on faculty at SF Ballet School, as Mercutio. Current Principal Dancers Joseph Walsh performs as Benvolio, Luke Ingham as Tybalt, WanTing Zhao as Rosaline, Dores André as Harlot, Wei Wang as Acrobat, and Benjamin Freemantle as a Montague. 

Romeo & Juliet includes lighting design by Thomas R. Skelton and Italian Renaissance designs by Jens-Jacob Worsaae, marking Worsaae’s final collaboration with Tomasson before he passed away shortly after the ballet’s premiere. “I think it was the most beautiful work he’d ever done, and yet he did not see it,” Tomasson said about the ballet’s designs. “That’s [one] reason why this production is very, very special to me.”

Martino Pistone choreographed the production’s sword-fighting scenes in tandem with Tomasson.  Actor, teacher, and movie stunt man Pistone, who also performs as Prince of Verona in the stream, expressed the desire to create “a dichotomy,” where Tomasson’s “classical ballet matched up with stage combat [and] semi-realism…when the fights break out, it’s a whole different movement which accentuates the illusion of violence that you see between these two families.”

Tickets: Single program streams are on sale now and priced at $29 for 72-hour access. The Premium Plus Digital Package, which includes unlimited viewings of Program 05, Romeo & Juliet, and Swan Lake during their respective runs, is $289 and on sale now. The duo package offering Romeo & Juliet and Swan Lake, priced at $48, will be available on May 6. Tickets and packages may be purchased online at sfballet.org. For more information, call Ticket Services at 415-865-2000, Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.