The towering contribution of British ballet’s most influential outsider will be celebrated across the coast this spring.
The work of visionary choreographer Kenneth MacMillan will be celebrated this May in Rhyl, Prestatyn and Llandudno with live screenings of his masterpiece Manon as part of the Royal Opera House’s season honour the 25th anniversary of his death.
A touchstone of adult, dramatic dance, the enthralling Manon’s revival beautifully illustrates how the ballet outsider MacMillan fused new forms of movement with inspiration from a wide variety of theatrical and musical sources.
Revisiting the fertile ground that also yielded sumptuous opera from Massenet and Puccini, MacMillan’s inspiration for Manon was the 18th-century French novel by Abbé Prévost, following the titular heroine’s struggle to escape poverty across two continents.
MacMillan uncovers new sympathy with the capricious Manon reflected in his stage design contrasting a world of must see, visually spectacular lavish splendour of Paris and New Orleans polluted by the miserable destitution of its characters.
It is in the romance between Manon and Des Grieux that the ballet truly ascends new heights with a powerful score drawn from across Massenet’s music, including his famous yearning Elégie as the theme for the lovers.
To revel in the work of one of Britain’s most sublime talents, Manon will be at Vue Cinema in Rhyl, Prestatyn's Scala and Cineworld Llandudno on Thursday, May 3 at 7.15pm.
Tickets are £19.54 at the Vue, £15 at the Scala and £18.80 with concessions at all three venues.
To book, visit myvue.com, merlincinemas.co.uk or cineworld.co.uk.
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