London's Royal Opera House

With the summer fast drawing to a close, it’s a good time to look for reasons to be positive about winter. We may be saying goodbye to sunshine, trips to the beach and Pimms, but winter’s not so bad – there’s hot chocolate, open fires and the beginning of the cultural calendar to look forward to after all.

One of the highlights of the colder season is wrapping up and going to the theatre and for escapist glamour, it’s hard to beat the ballet. Whether you’re into the classics, the kitsch 1950s-inspired glamour of Spartacus or Napoli, or cutting-thedge new productions, Europe’s premier ballet theatres have something to offer you this autumn.

London’s Royal Ballet, housed in the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden will open its 2009/2010 season with a production of Mayerling. Telling the tragic tale of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and the young mistress Mary Vetsera, he enters into a suicide pact with, it’s a far cry from the fairytale storylines commonly associated with ballet. Stuck between a wife he doesn’t love, his sister, his mistress and his mother, Rudolf enters a downward spiral of politics, drugs and murder.

Mara Galeazzi will star in the production, dancing the role of Mary Vetsera, which she explains was, funnily enough, her first big role on the main stage when she was just 19.

Mara Galeazzi

“Probably the thing I’m most looking forward to at the moment is Mayerling, as I really love the role of Mary Vetsera, a young naive girl who becomes Crown Prince Rudolf’s mistress,” she added.

Galeazzi is one of the Royal Ballet’s leading principal dancers and has been with the company for 17 years.

“I can’t believe how quickly it’s gone but it was actually 17 years since I joined on 12th September! I started off in the corps de ballet and worked my way up through all the ranks until I became a Principal,” she explained

Galeazzi has a packed season ahead. She will also be appearing in Wayne McGregor’s Chroma and Infra, Les Patineurs – a one act ballet based on a skating party, as well as Romeo and Juliet and The Tsarina’s Slippers.

“I’m very excited about The Tsarina’s Slippers because we don’t often get the opportunity to collaborate with the Royal Opera, despite being based in the same building as them!” She explains, adding “Wayne McGregor’s new piece will be a challenge, but I always like doing his work – I’ll be dancing in his productions of Chroma and Infra later in the year.”

For those looking for a more traditional experience or first-timers looking for a good introduction, you should also be satisfied with what’s on offer, in London and elsewhere in Europe. For a traditionally enchanting experience you can’t go wrong with Adolphe Adam’s Giselle, Delibes’ Coppelia or Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Although not performed as often as the Tchaikovsky works and significantly longer, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet is unlikely to disappoint romantics.

An original poster for the Ballet Russe

Anything inspired by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes is also worth watching. Featuring some of the most influential names in dance, art, music and fashion of the twentieth century, the company shattered traditional ideas of ballet. Originally designed to showcase Russian technique in Paris, principal dancers included Anna Pavlova, Diana Gould and the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky. Choreographers included Fokine, Massine and Balanchine, and Diaghilev secured world-class composers such as Igor Stravinsky.

The company also collaborated with some of the biggest names in art and fashion, including Picasso, Matisse and Chanel, who added to the sense that the company was causing an artistic revolution. There’s also an excellent documentary about the company featuring interviews with some of the ageing stars from 2005. Directed by Daniel Geller, it’s a good watch if you want to learn more about the personalities behind the original productions.

My favourite ballet experience was a production of Aram Khachaturian’s Spartacus. The Bolshoi production was fabulously energetic, with bronzed dancers in golden costumes, heavily inspired by the Stanley Kubrick epic film. More famous for the Sabre Dance from his ballet Gayane, Khachaturian’s fast-paced music for Spartacus is the perfect backdrop to the scenes of rebellion. And the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia should satisfy those looking for some romance among the chaos.

Top 5 European Ballet Theatres

Royal Opera House, London

See Mara Galeazzi open the season in Covent Garden. For further details see the Royal Opera House’s website.

The Bolshoi in Moscow

The Bolshoi, Moscow

If you’re looking for flawless performances in a fairytale setting, Moscow’s Bolshoi is the place. This season’s highlights include La fille mal gardée, Esmeralda and two classic Russian ballets, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake.

The Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg

Originally the Russian Imperial ballet, the Mariinsky still sets the standard. Dress up and watch prima ballerina Ulyana Lopatkina this season in Le Corsaire (4th October) or Swan Lake (25th October).

Opera National de Paris

See Giselle in the theatre where the ballet was first performed, or les Ballets Russes performances, danced according to the original choreography later in the season. Check the website for more information.

The Royal Danish Theatre

One of the oldest ballet companies in Europe, this year’s premieres include West Side Story Suite and Napoli. For more details see the website.