Ballet To Broadway - Wheeldon Works
Various Artists
Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works is a live performance recording released in May 2026 by Opus Arte, capturing four short works by Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon as performed by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on May 16 and 22, 2025. Wheeldon, who serves as the Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate, has built one of the most distinctive careers in contemporary dance — moving fluently between classical ballet and Broadway musical theatre — and this programme was designed as a showcase of that range, drawing together pieces from across more than two decades of his output. The Royal Opera House Orchestra performs throughout under conductor Koen Kessels, with the recording presented in 1080i High Definition and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.
The four works span a remarkable breadth of musical and choreographic territory. Fool's Paradise (2007), set to a score by Joby Talbot — the first of many Wheeldon-Talbot collaborations — features an ensemble led by Marianela Nuñez, Akane Takada, and William Bracewell in luminous, shimmering contemporary ballet. The Two of Us (2020) is a duet of deep intimacy set to Joni Mitchell songs orchestrated by Gordon Hamilton and sung by Julia Fordham, here receiving its UK premiere with Lauren Cuthbertson and Calvin Richardson. Us (2017), originally created for BalletBoyz, is a tender duet for two men — Matthew Ball and Joseph Sissens — set to music by Keaton Henson. The programme closes with the ballet scene from An American in Paris, Wheeldon's Tony Award-winning 2015 Broadway musical set to George Gershwin's music, performed by Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales, as documented by Naxos and Opus Arte. Bonus features include conversations with Wheeldon and with Cuthbertson and Richardson about their respective works.
Ballet To Broadway - Wheeldon Works
Various Artists
Ballet to Broadway: Wheeldon Works is a live performance recording released in May 2026 by Opus Arte, capturing four short works by Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon as performed by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on May 16 and 22, 2025. Wheeldon, who serves as the Royal Ballet's Artistic Associate, has built one of the most distinctive careers in contemporary dance — moving fluently between classical ballet and Broadway musical theatre — and this programme was designed as a showcase of that range, drawing together pieces from across more than two decades of his output. The Royal Opera House Orchestra performs throughout under conductor Koen Kessels, with the recording presented in 1080i High Definition and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound.
The four works span a remarkable breadth of musical and choreographic territory. Fool's Paradise (2007), set to a score by Joby Talbot — the first of many Wheeldon-Talbot collaborations — features an ensemble led by Marianela Nuñez, Akane Takada, and William Bracewell in luminous, shimmering contemporary ballet. The Two of Us (2020) is a duet of deep intimacy set to Joni Mitchell songs orchestrated by Gordon Hamilton and sung by Julia Fordham, here receiving its UK premiere with Lauren Cuthbertson and Calvin Richardson. Us (2017), originally created for BalletBoyz, is a tender duet for two men — Matthew Ball and Joseph Sissens — set to music by Keaton Henson. The programme closes with the ballet scene from An American in Paris, Wheeldon's Tony Award-winning 2015 Broadway musical set to George Gershwin's music, performed by Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales, as documented by Naxos and Opus Arte. Bonus features include conversations with Wheeldon and with Cuthbertson and Richardson about their respective works.