To escape, Juliet takes a potion that makes her appear lifeless. Juliet’s family arrange for her to marry Paris. The lovers marry in secret before Romeo kills Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, in a fight and is banished from the city. The Story: Romeo and Juliet fall passionately in love, but their families are sworn enemies. This classic production has been toured around the world and in 2011 was adapted for arena-scale performances at the O2 Arena.

The ballet has been at the heart of the Company’s repertory ever since, amassing more than four hundred performances. Fonteyn and Nureyev’s performance had a rapturous reception, with 43 curtain calls and almost forty minutes of applause. Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn took the title roles on the opening night. MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet first arrived at Covent Garden in 1965. The story is set against a wonderful evocation of 16th-century Verona, and includes a bustling marketplace that erupts into a violent sword fight, and a lavish ball held in an elegant mansion.

Romeo and Juliet contains three passionate pas de deux: the lovers’ first meeting, the famous balcony scene and the devastating final tragedy, in which Romeo dances desperately with the lifeless Juliet. Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s poignant setting of Sergey Prokofiev’s classic score draws out the emotional and psychological intensity of the tale. In the framework of the 'Royal Opera House Cinema' programme, through which the Rialto Theatre broadcasts outstanding ballet performances from the world renowned Royal Ballet, and the Covent Garden Theatre in London, ballet lovers in Cyprus will have the chance to enjoy «Romeo and Juliet», on the 14th February.

Romeo and juliet royal opera house