San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
S.F. Ballet to make Madrid debut in October in homecoming for Rojo
The San Francisco Ballet is bringing “Swan Lake” to Madrid for its first international outing under Artistic Director Tamara Rojo this fall.
The limited engagement, set to run Oct. 15-22 at Teatro Real, will double as a homecoming for Rojo, who grew up in Madrid.
“Returning to my home country of Spain with San Francisco Ballet is a dream come true,” Rojo said in a statement. “I am especially excited and proud to present the extraordinary dancers of this great company in this fantastic production of ‘Swan Lake’ to the discerning audiences of Spain.”
The classical ballet made its U.S. premiere in San Francisco in 1940, and follows the story of Prince Siegfried and Odette, who turns into a swan each night after being cursed by an evil sorcerer. In 1988, “Swan Lake” was revamped with choreography by Helgi Tomasson, who led the company until his retirement in 2022.
Rojo succeeded Tomasson and launched her first full season with the company this year, following a 30-year career as a professional ballerina and 91⁄2 years as the artistic director and lead principal of London’s English National Ballet.
The Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real is set to perform Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” score under the San Francisco Ballet’s music director and principal conductor Martin West. The performances will include set and costumes by Tony Awardwinning designer Jonathan Fensom.
Before traveling overseas, the Ballet is scheduled for encore performances of “Swan Lake” at home at the War Memorial Opera House from April 30 through May 5, following an initial run that wrapped up on March 3.