''Ballo della Regina'' is a one-act

neoclassical ballet Neoclassical ballet is the style of 20th-century classical ballet exemplified by the works of George Balanchine. The term "neoclassical ballet" appears in the 1920s with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, in response to the excesses of romanticis ...

choreographed by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

to music by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. It is a set of variations set to ballet music (titled ''La Peregrina'') that Verdi cut from Act 3 of the original 1867 version of his opera ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''. Its premiere performance was on 12 January 1978, by the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Original ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. The work, which has a length of about 17 minutes, is noted for the high degree of technical difficulties it presents for the female lead. ''Ballo della Regina'' was featured in an Emmy-winning PBS performance entitled ''Balanchine: Dance in America - Ballo della Regina - Steadfast Tin Soldier - Elegie - Tschaikovsky''.

Casts

Recordings

In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performing arts,

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

released a recording starring

Holly Dorger Holly Jean Dorger (born 1989) is an American ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer at the Royal Danish Ballet. Early life Dorger's first dance training was Scottish highland dance. She was the U.S. Champion at age 10. Soon, she shifted her fo ...

and Jonathan Chmelensky.

released a video featuring

Megan Fairchild Megan Fairchild (born October 23, 1984) is an American ballet dancer. She is currently a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Early life Fairchild was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and began her dance training at the age of four, stu ...

and Anthony Huxley.

References

External links

Ballo della Regina
on the Balanchine Trust website
Extract performed by Holly Dorger
{{Balanchine ballets Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets to the music of Giuseppe Verdi 1978 ballet premieres New York City Ballet repertory