Royal Ballet and Boston Ballet have announced a joint production of Obsidian Tear, a new work from Royal Ballet’s resident choreographer Wayne McGregor. The world premiere will take place in London on 28 May, with the US premiere in Boston during the 2017-18 season.
McGregor is known for his stylish non-narrative pieces such as Woolf Works, Tree of Codes and Infra, and it appears Obsidian Tear will be cast in the same mould. Inspired by Esa-Pekka Salonen’s orchestral work Nyx, it has been described as a ‘visceral exploration of myth and modernity.’ Salonen, who recently was named composer in residence at New York Philharmonic, will conduct the London premiere.
‘McGregor is one of the most dynamic, exhilarating choreographers today, and his creation of a world premiere to a score by one of my national heroes, Esa-Pekka Salonen, is one of the most exciting things imaginable,’ said Mikko Nissinen, the Finnish artistic director of Boston Ballet. ‘Royal Ballet is very fortunate to have this exceptional artist as their resident choreographer, and I look forward to bringing this work to Boston.’
It is the second McGregor work to join Boston Ballet’s repertoire, after the company performed Chroma in its 2013 and 2015 seasons. Obsidian Tear features set design by McGregor himself, with Katie Shillingford (best known as fashion editor for Dazed and Confused Magazine) as fashion director, and lighting design by McGregor’s long-term collaborator Lucy Carter.
McGregor is announcing more show details at a Royal Opera House event on 11 May. The talk will be live-streamed on YouTube.
