The Timeless Romance of Romeo & Juliet
“It’s a human story, so that has to come across. It’s not an abstract, make-believe story or fairy tale—this could be today, anywhere.”
- Helgi Tomasson
Passionate dancing, spine-tingling swordsmanship, and stunning set and costume designs bring Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers brilliantly to life. The ballet transports you from the streets of Renaissance Verona to the grandeur of the Capulet’s ballroom, and from the strife of warring families to the flush of first love and its tragic end. Rapturously sensual and deeply moving, Romeo & Juliet offers a profound emotional experience.
Ballet versions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet first appeared onstage in the late 1700s in Italy. In the early 1800s, the ballet was done in Russia and Denmark. Over the decades, many other productions have been created and performed across the globe, with the best-known productions set to the 1935 full-length score by Sergei Prokofiev.
In 1938, Willam Christensen, then ballet master of San Francisco Opera Ballet, the original incarnation of SF Ballet, choreographed the Company’s first production of Romeo and Juliet. Set to Tchaikovsky’s score, Willam danced the title character alongside Janet Reed. In 1976, SF Ballet premiered a new production choreographed by previous Artistic Director Michael Smuin, set to Prokofiev’s score. At the time, SF Ballet was the only major ballet company performing a full-length Romeo and Juliet in America. In 1978, Smuin’s Romeo and Juliet was televised as part of the PBS series Great Performances: Dance in America.
SF Ballet’s third and current production was created by former Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson in 1994. Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet is one of SF Ballet’s most popular and widely toured ballets and has been seen by more than 200,000 audience members since it premiered in 1994. Tomasson’s interpretation was filmed in front of a live audience at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House in 2015 as part of Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance, with a production that “lifts Shakespeare’s complex and familiar language off the gilded pages and translates it into lucid classical choreography that is visceral, fresh, and ultimately sublime” (Huffington Post).
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Romeo and Juliet
Choreographer: Willam Christensen
Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Stage Settings: Charlotte Rider
Costumes: Helen Green
World Premiere: 1938— San Francisco Opera Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Romeo and Juliet
Choreographer: Michael Smuin
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Scenery and Costume Design: William Pitkin
Lighting Design (1976): Jennifer Tipton
Lighting Design (1978, designed after the original 1976 design): Sara Linnie Slocum
Costumes: Executed by “Grace”
Fencing: Michael Smuin and J. Steven White
World Premiere: January 27, 1976 — San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
Romeo & Juliet
Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev
Scenery and Costume Design: Jens-Jacob Worsaae
Lighting Design: Thomas R. Skelton
Fight Scene Choreography: Martino Pistone in collaboration with Helgi Tomasson
World Premiere: March 8, 1994 — San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California
For additional images from Tomasson's Romeo & Juliet, visit Helgi Tomasson: 35 Years of Artistry/Romeo & Juliet
File preparation for this exhibit by SF Ballet Digital Asset Administrator, Rachel Bauer. Exhibit text and design by SF Ballet Department of Education and SF Ballet Archivist at MP+D.