Romeo and Juliet
Set Design
ca. 1964 (made)
ca. 1964 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Preliminary set design by Nicholas Georgiadis for the Market, Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1964.
When Kenneth MacMillan began creating Romeo and Juliet in 1964 he intended the ballet for his protégés Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable and he even choreographed a ‘Balcony pas de deux’ for them to dance on Canadian television. The television pas de deux had been designed by the Australian artist Kenneth Rowell and it was Rowell who expected to design the full production. The Board at Covent Garden did not approve this choice and MacMillan turned to his long-time collaborator, Nicholas Georgiadis. MacMillan was happy to work on his ninth ballet with Georgiadis and its success led to repeated collaborations on multi-act ballets: Manon (1974), Mayerling (1978), The Sleeping Beauty (1987) and The Prince of the Pagodas (1989).
When MacMillan contacted Georgiadis the designer had a busy schedule but found he could devote 20 days to designing the three-act ballet and the preliminary design in the V&A’s collection was presumably made at this time. It suggests an arrangement for the urban exterior of the market place but with separate balconies rather than a practical separate upper arcade. In the design the steps appear to run upstage but in the set as realised there is a main, curved staircase in the centre with others running downstage at the sides. For the costumes both MacMillan and Georgiadis studied Quattrocento paintings, not treating them literally but through the filter of mid-20th century theatre and fashion.
The creation of Romeo and Juliet proved somewhat traumatic, not least as the company’s American impresario, Sol Hurok, insisted that the premieres in both London and New York should be given to Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. This upset MacMillan and his chosen cast, selected for their youth and acting abilities as well their dancing, the ballet having been inspired by the youthful Judi Dench and John Stride as the lovers in Franco Zeffirelli's production of the play at the Old Vic (1960-61). Romeo and Juliet was nevertheless an enormous success, receiving a 40-minute ovation with 44 curtain calls on its opening night. Obviously the presence of Fonteyn and Nureyev contributed to this but Georgiadis's designs were among the stars of the show.
When Kenneth MacMillan began creating Romeo and Juliet in 1964 he intended the ballet for his protégés Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable and he even choreographed a ‘Balcony pas de deux’ for them to dance on Canadian television. The television pas de deux had been designed by the Australian artist Kenneth Rowell and it was Rowell who expected to design the full production. The Board at Covent Garden did not approve this choice and MacMillan turned to his long-time collaborator, Nicholas Georgiadis. MacMillan was happy to work on his ninth ballet with Georgiadis and its success led to repeated collaborations on multi-act ballets: Manon (1974), Mayerling (1978), The Sleeping Beauty (1987) and The Prince of the Pagodas (1989).
When MacMillan contacted Georgiadis the designer had a busy schedule but found he could devote 20 days to designing the three-act ballet and the preliminary design in the V&A’s collection was presumably made at this time. It suggests an arrangement for the urban exterior of the market place but with separate balconies rather than a practical separate upper arcade. In the design the steps appear to run upstage but in the set as realised there is a main, curved staircase in the centre with others running downstage at the sides. For the costumes both MacMillan and Georgiadis studied Quattrocento paintings, not treating them literally but through the filter of mid-20th century theatre and fashion.
The creation of Romeo and Juliet proved somewhat traumatic, not least as the company’s American impresario, Sol Hurok, insisted that the premieres in both London and New York should be given to Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. This upset MacMillan and his chosen cast, selected for their youth and acting abilities as well their dancing, the ballet having been inspired by the youthful Judi Dench and John Stride as the lovers in Franco Zeffirelli's production of the play at the Old Vic (1960-61). Romeo and Juliet was nevertheless an enormous success, receiving a 40-minute ovation with 44 curtain calls on its opening night. Obviously the presence of Fonteyn and Nureyev contributed to this but Georgiadis's designs were among the stars of the show.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Romeo and Juliet (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Preliminary set design by Nicholas Georgiadis for the Market, Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1964 |
| Physical description | Watercolour set design for scenes in the ballet Romeo and Juliet. The rendering depicts a raked front stage with a courtyard in the background. The buildings are all coloured red with white columns. There are various windows and doors. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by the Arts Council of Great Britain |
| Summary | Preliminary set design by Nicholas Georgiadis for the Market, Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, 1964. When Kenneth MacMillan began creating Romeo and Juliet in 1964 he intended the ballet for his protégés Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable and he even choreographed a ‘Balcony pas de deux’ for them to dance on Canadian television. The television pas de deux had been designed by the Australian artist Kenneth Rowell and it was Rowell who expected to design the full production. The Board at Covent Garden did not approve this choice and MacMillan turned to his long-time collaborator, Nicholas Georgiadis. MacMillan was happy to work on his ninth ballet with Georgiadis and its success led to repeated collaborations on multi-act ballets: Manon (1974), Mayerling (1978), The Sleeping Beauty (1987) and The Prince of the Pagodas (1989). When MacMillan contacted Georgiadis the designer had a busy schedule but found he could devote 20 days to designing the three-act ballet and the preliminary design in the V&A’s collection was presumably made at this time. It suggests an arrangement for the urban exterior of the market place but with separate balconies rather than a practical separate upper arcade. In the design the steps appear to run upstage but in the set as realised there is a main, curved staircase in the centre with others running downstage at the sides. For the costumes both MacMillan and Georgiadis studied Quattrocento paintings, not treating them literally but through the filter of mid-20th century theatre and fashion. The creation of Romeo and Juliet proved somewhat traumatic, not least as the company’s American impresario, Sol Hurok, insisted that the premieres in both London and New York should be given to Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. This upset MacMillan and his chosen cast, selected for their youth and acting abilities as well their dancing, the ballet having been inspired by the youthful Judi Dench and John Stride as the lovers in Franco Zeffirelli's production of the play at the Old Vic (1960-61). Romeo and Juliet was nevertheless an enormous success, receiving a 40-minute ovation with 44 curtain calls on its opening night. Obviously the presence of Fonteyn and Nureyev contributed to this but Georgiadis's designs were among the stars of the show. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1903-1986 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | May 12, 2011 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
