Press Release: English National Ballet announces principal casting for Giselle

[Jan McNulty]

 

English National Ballet announces principal casting for Giselle 

 

In its 75th Season, English National Ballet offers audiences the opportunity to see two versions of one of the great Romantic ballets, Giselle. Principal casting for both productions is announced today.  

 

Having been seen by over 156,000 people in 11 countries and 17 cities around the world, Akram Khan’s Giselle opens English National Ballet’s season with a return to London (Sadler’s Wells) for the first time since 2019. In this acclaimed reimagining of the iconic ballet, Khan tells a story of love, betrayal, and redemption. The production features an imposing set designed by Academy Award-winner Tim Yip and a powerful score by Vincenzo Lamagna.  

 

Principal casting for these performances sees debuts from Soloist Francesca Velicu in the role of Giselle; Soloist Rentaro Nakaaki in the role of Albrecht; First Artist Giorgio Garrett and Artist of the Company Jose María Lorca Menchón in the role of Hilarion; and Lead Principal Sangeun Lee and Junior Soloist Alice Bellini in the role of Myrtha.  

 

Mary Skeaping’s Giselle will tour to the Liverpool Empire and Manchester’s Palace Theatre in the autumn, before returning to the London Coliseum in January 2025. With its beautiful classical language and thoughtful staging, this Giselle features some of ballet’s most dramatic scenes and otherworldly images. 

 

First Soloist Ivana Bueno will make her debut in the role of Giselle in Liverpool whilst First Soloist Lorenzo Trossello makes his debut as Albrecht in London. Also making debuts during this tour are First Soloist Julia Conway, First Artist Eireen Evrard and Junior Soloist Anna Nevzorova, who will perform as Myrtha for the first time.  

 

Full Principal Casting:

 

Akram Khan’s Giselle  
(Giselle / Albrecht / Hilarion / Myrtha)  

 

Sadler’s Wells, London: 

Erina Takahashi / James Streeter / Ken Saruhashi / Emma Hawes  
18th September 19:30, 21st September 19:30, 24th September 19:30  

Fernanda Oliveira / Aitor Arrieta / Erik Woolhouse / Sangeun Lee*  
19th September 19:30, 23rd September 19:30, 26th September 19:30  

Emily Suzuki / Henry Dowden / TBA / Isabelle Brouwers  
20th September 19:30, 25th September 19:30, 28th September 19:30  

Francesca Velicu* / Rentaro Nakaaki* / Jose María Lorca Menchón* / Angela Wood  
21st September 14:30, 27th September 19:30  

TBA / TBA / Giorgio Garrett* / Alice Bellini*  
26th September 14:30, 28th September 14:30 

 

 

Giselle by Mary Skeaping
(Giselle / Albrecht / Hilarion / Myrtha / Peasant Pas de Deux)  

 

Liverpool Empire: 

Katja Khaniukova / Aitor Arrieta / Fabian Reimair / Precious Adams / Adriana Lizardi / Miguel Angel Maidana  
23rd October 19:30, 25th October 19:30

 

Shiori Kase / Ken Saruhashi / Erik Woolhouse / Emily Suzuki / Chloe Keneally / Noam Durand  
24th October 19:30 / 26th October 19:30  

Ivana Bueno* / Daniel McCormick / Giorgio Garrett / Jung ah Choi / Haruhi Otani* / Edvinas Jakonis*  
26th October 14:30  

 

 

Palace Theatre, Manchester:  

Fernanda Oliveira / Francesco Gabriele Frola / Henry Dowden / Julia Conway* / Ivana Bueno / Erik Woolhouse*  

30th October 19:30, 1st November 19:30  

 

Emma Hawes / Vsevolod Maievskyi / James Streeter / Angela Wood / Francesca Velicu / Shunhei Fuchiyama  

31st October 19:30, 2nd November 14:30  

 

Sangeun Lee / Gareth Haw / Junor Souza / Eireen Evrard* / Haruhi Otani / Edvinas Jakonis  
2nd November 19:30  

 

 

London Coliseum: 
Erina Takahashi / Francesco Gabriele Frola / James Streeter / Precious Adams / Ivana Bueno / Erik Woolhouse  
15th January 19:30, 18th January 19:30  
 

Katja Khaniukova / Aitor Arrieta / Fabian Reimair / Emily Suzuki / Adriana Lizardi / Miguel Angel Maidana  

16th January 19:30, 18th January 14:30  
 

Fernanda Oliveira / Lorenzo Trossello* / Henry Dowden / Anna Nevzorova* / Chloe Keneally / Noam Durand  
17th January 14:30  
 

Sangeun Lee / Gareth Haw / Junor Souza / Angela Wood / Francesca Velicu / Shunhei Fuchiyama  
17th January 19:30 

 

*Debut 

Please note casting is subject to change, see www.ballet.org.uk for up-to-date casting.  

 

 

Notes to Editors 
English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. 

Ballymore is Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet. 

 

About English National Ballet  

English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet’s growth and evolution ever since. 

 

English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; its digital platforms Ballet on Demand and BalletActive; being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as Dance for Parkinson’s; and through talent development initiatives including Ballet Futures which looks to create a more diverse and inclusive future for the artform. 

 

English National Ballet continues to add ground-breaking new works to its repertoire whilst celebrating the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw the Company enter a new chapter in its history with a move to a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in east London, allowing a renewed commitment to creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before.  

 

[FionaM]

I’ll be booking for Francesca Velicu and Rentaro Nakaaki in AK Giselle.  I’m sure they will be excellent.  
 

Might also book for Ivana Bueno’s debut in the Skeaping Giselle although the costumes and setting of this version are too twee for me.

Congratulations to all that are cast, and thanks to Aaron Watkins for providing casting this far ahead n advance.  
 

Intrigued for TBA of course.  

[Dawnstar]

I confess I'm a bit disappointed on a personal level by the casting for Giselle at the Coliseum. After Oliveira had to be replaced in the interval when I saw it this year I was hoping I'd be able to see a full performance with her & Frola next season but they're not paired together this time. I was also hoping to see Hawes & Maievskyi after I couldn't fit them in last time but they're not appearing in London at all.

[Mary]

Well Dawnstar, as I recall the casting changed so much last time...you never know what you will actually get.  I booked for 2 specific casts nearly a year ahead last time and saw neither- this time I will book a bit later on, (but am very happy to see any of them.)

 

 

[San Perregrino]

12 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Please note casting is subject to change, see www.ballet.org.uk for up-to-date casting.  

As always.

36 minutes ago, Mary said:

Well Dawnstar, as I recall the casting changed so much last time...you never know what you will actually get.  I booked for 2 specific casts nearly a year ahead last time and saw neither- this time I will book a bit later on, (but am very happy to see any of them.)

 

 

 

I’ll take the casting as an indication of who is likely to dance. Always remembering that there are 43 performances of The Nutcracker to be danced before the curtain rises on Skeaping’s Giselle at the Coliseum on January 15th. 

[Emeralds]

I booked the Takahashi/ Streeter/ Saruhashi/ Hawes cast for Akram Khan's Giselle as so far I haven't seen Erina in the title role yet. Wouldn't be too concerned if there was a cast change as I'm happy to see the other casts too.

 

I'll wait for more info about the Nutcracker first before deciding on Giselle at the Coliseum (as I have to book both at the same time). It's mainly to find out if it's a traditional format where Sugar Plum Fairy only dances at the end, or if the lead ballerina dances the Sugar Plum as well as the Clara choreography in both acts like in the Eagling production. 

 

Great casts, and looking forward to all three productions, especially the debuts. (If they were dancing Skeaping's Giselle in July, I'd probably have booked every cast! 😀 ).

[SheilaC]

I'm very disappointed that Shiori is only dancing in Liverpool, unfortunately on dates when I'll be in Newcastle to see NB's Romeo and Juliet and Sadler's Wells to see BRB's Fille. It's frustrating each year that there are a couple of weeks in the autumn, and a couple in the spring, when touring companies' visits to the regions clash, ironic given how little touring to cities outside London there is nowadays, compared to the past.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, SheilaC said:

I'm very disappointed that Shiori is only dancing in Liverpool, unfortunately on dates when I'll be in Newcastle to see NB's Romeo and Juliet and Sadler's Wells to see BRB's Fille. It's frustrating each year that there are a couple of weeks in the autumn, and a couple in the spring, when touring companies' visits to the regions clash, ironic given how little touring to cities outside London there is nowadays, compared to the past.

 

I know exactly what you mean Sheila.  I'm away at the weekend when the company are in Liverpool!

[LinMM]

I’m disappointed she’s not dancing in London too. I know I ended up having to miss all the Giselles last year but I could be wrong but wasn’t Shiori Kase injured last winter so didn’t dance Giselle in London then? 

[LinMM]

Also have I missed it but has Daniel McCormick left ENB? 

[San Perregrino]

8 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Also have I missed it but has Daniel McCormick left ENB? 

no.  he's cast in Liverpool

 

Ivana Bueno* / Daniel McCormick / Giorgio Garrett / Jung ah Choi / Haruhi Otani* / Edvinas Jakonis*  
26th October 14:30 

 

 

[San Perregrino]

Again, I flag up that there are 43 performances of The Nutcracker, 4 in Southampton and 39 in London.  plenty of opportunities for ENB dancers of all ranks to be cast and enjoyed.

[Irmgard]

53 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I’m disappointed she’s not dancing in London too. I know I ended up having to miss all the Giselles last year but I could be wrong but wasn’t Shiori Kase injured last winter so didn’t dance Giselle in London then? 

Shiori Kase was injured the previous season and missed her chance to perform "Swan Lake" in London that year.  She gave two beautiful performances as Giselle in January in London.  It was her partner, Ken Saruhashi, who missed the performances due to an injury during their stage call, and Francesco Gabriele Frola stepped in to partner her.  

[LinMM]

@San Perregrino and @Irmgard

Thanks for your info!! I was a bit out of it last January!! 
Am extremely glad McCormick is still with ENB and would love to see him with Bueno in Giselle!!
But Shiori would also be a choice for me but not to be on this occasion. 
Now it will be a battle of choice for either Frola as Albrecht or Sangeun Lee as Giselle!!! 

[LinMM]

Also I forgot that the Giselle run in London in January was a shortened one compared to last year so can’t expect to see all the dancers. 

[Emeralds]

It might be just me, but can't help feeling that a lot of fans are wishing that it's 11 days of traditional Giselle and four days of contemporary Giselle rather than the other way round! 

 

@LinMM, don't forget that currently Ivana and Daniel are only scheduled to dance the leads in Liverpool on Sat 26 Oct (matinee). 

 

And just to make the choice harder for you, Sangeun is lovely as Giselle (opinion of my friend who saw her as I couldn't do her dates), Frola is a brilliant Albrecht (I saw him) but the revelation of last season was how well the role suits Aitor Arrieta (it could be the coaching by Alessandra Ferri last winter that has brought out the dramatic side of him).

 

Arrieta has always been wonderful at  batterie and jumps - so great for the Romantic Era repertoire- but suddenly this hidden dramatic dance actor was awakened in him last season as well. Quite remarkable. A must see for anyone who didn't catch him in Giselle in January 2024.

 

OK, I just made your choices more difficult (sorry!) .....you might have to stay a few nights in London, and maybe consider taking a trip to Liverpool in autumn as well! 

[Irmgard]

2 hours ago, Emeralds said:

It might be just me, but can't help feeling that a lot of fans are wishing that it's 11 days of traditional Giselle and four days of contemporary Giselle rather than the other way round! 

 

@LinMM, don't forget that currently Ivana and Daniel are only scheduled to dance the leads in Liverpool on Sat 26 Oct (matinee). 

 

And just to make the choice harder for you, Sangeun is lovely as Giselle (opinion of my friend who saw her as I couldn't do her dates), Frola is a brilliant Albrecht (I saw him) but the revelation of last season was how well the role suits Aitor Arrieta (it could be the coaching by Alessandra Ferri last winter that has brought out the dramatic side of him).

 

Arrieta has always been wonderful at  batterie and jumps - so great for the Romantic Era repertoire- but suddenly this hidden dramatic dance actor was awakened in him last season as well. Quite remarkable. A must see for anyone who didn't catch him in Giselle in January 2024.

 

OK, I just made your choices more difficult (sorry!) .....you might have to stay a few nights in London, and maybe consider taking a trip to Liverpool in autumn as well! 

It would indeed be wonderful if there were at least eleven performances of the Skeaping "Giselle" at the Coliseum in January so that all the casts could have at least one performance but sadly it is not possible within the company's schedule for next season.

 

I'm pleased you thought the role of Albrecht suited Arrieta so well.  I actually noticed his dramatic abilities in his second season with ENB in 2017 in the role of Paris in "Romeo and Juliet", followed by James in "La Sylphide" but his standout role was Des Grieux in "Manon" the following season with Begona Cao, which was absolutely heartbreaking.  Then I was privileged to see him dance the bedroom pas de deux from "Manon" with Katja Khaniukova in Kyiv in 2021 and their chemistry was so spellbinding that I knew they had to dance "Giselle" together. 

[San Perregrino]

11 hours ago, Emeralds said:

 

It might be just me, but can't help feeling that a lot of fans are wishing that it's 11 days of traditional Giselle and four days of contemporary Giselle rather than the other way round! 

 

A propos nothing in particular:
Taken together, in London, Skeaping’s Giselle in January 2024 & January 2025 will have had, if I am correct, 19 performances compared to 13 for Khan’s Giselle in what is basically a 12 month period (53 weeks). 
However capacity of the two venues is very different. Sadlers Wells = 1568, London Coliseum = 2359. 
Notwithstanding areas that might have been off-sale to the public, this gives a total of 44,821 seats for Skeaping’s Giselle more than double the 20,384 seats for Khan’s Giselle. 
 

[Lizbie1]

13 minutes ago, San Perregrino said:

A propos nothing in particular:
Taken together, in London, Skeaping’s Giselle in January 2024 & January 2025 will have had, if I am correct, 19 performances compared to 13 for Khan’s Giselle in what is basically a 12 month period (53 weeks). 
However capacity of the two venues is very different. Sadlers Wells = 1568, London Coliseum = 2359. 
Notwithstanding areas that might have been off-sale to the public, this gives a total of 44,821 seats for Skeaping’s Giselle more than double the 20,384 seats for Khan’s Giselle. 
 

 

And in the previous five years?

[San Perregrino]

17 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

And in the previous five years?

like I said, à propos nothing in particular

Edited July 17 by San Perregrino

[Emeralds]

5 hours ago, San Perregrino said:

A propos nothing in particular:
Taken together, in London, Skeaping’s Giselle in January 2024 & January 2025 will have had, if I am correct, 19 performances compared to 13 for Khan’s Giselle in what is basically a 12 month period (53 weeks). 
However capacity of the two venues is very different. Sadlers Wells = 1568, London Coliseum = 2359. 
Notwithstanding areas that might have been off-sale to the public, this gives a total of 44,821 seats for Skeaping’s Giselle more than double the 20,384 seats for Khan’s Giselle. 
 

I don't see/hear anyone saying that there aren't enough Akram Khan Giselle performances, but I do see/hear a number of members hoping for more dates in London! 

 

It would be more convenient to have the option of 3 dates for some pairs dancing at the Coliseum as I have with the Khan Giselle but I'll work around what there is. There are two casts that I'd like to see who are part of the same double show Friday at the Coliseum but I have to be in another town after one starts or one begins so it will be tricky having to be in two places at the same time ...... as the saying goes - "The impossible we do at once, miracles will take slightly longer".  I'll see what I can do. Travelling up to Manchester hasn't been ruled out either, if a tad drastic..... 

 

I'm not suggesting that the company needs to do anything such as cut Nutcracker performances, stay longer or switch venues, some or all of which are probably not feasible. I'm just stating what I feel and others have expressed. We're well aware that the Coliseum has more seats.   😉  We're simply expressing our appreciation and respect for the artistry of the dancers who have portrayed the leads. 

 

14 hours ago, Irmgard said:

It would indeed be wonderful if there were at least eleven performances of the Skeaping "Giselle" at the Coliseum in January so that all the casts could have at least one performance but sadly it is not possible within the company's schedule for next season.

 

I'm pleased you thought the role of Albrecht suited Arrieta so well.  I actually noticed his dramatic abilities in his second season with ENB in 2017 in the role of Paris in "Romeo and Juliet", followed by James in "La Sylphide" but his standout role was Des Grieux in "Manon" the following season with Begona Cao, which was absolutely heartbreaking.  Then I was privileged to see him dance the bedroom pas de deux from "Manon" with Katja Khaniukova in Kyiv in 2021 and their chemistry was so spellbinding that I knew they had to dance "Giselle" together. 

Thank you for the information, Irmgard! How wonderful those performances must have been! Sadly I wasn't able to go on the dates Aitor danced Des Grieux, James and Paris (I'm sad to have missed Begona Cao's Manon too) -my schedule was very packed in those years.  I've mostly seen him in the "Prince" type leads or plotless works which I suppose are generally less dramatic so his Albrecht was a wonderful discovery. Such a brilliant idea to cast Katja and Aitor together- thank you- what a perfect pairing they made in Giselle. She's amazing in the role: the combination of strength and control (eg the tricky turns in attitude in Act 1, the arabesques penchee in Act 2) and ethereal lightness and grace of her jumps. And so moving in her acting. It was such a treat to see her twice in January. 

Edited July 17 by Emeralds

[Dawnstar]

18 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

It would be more convenient to have the option of 3 dates for some pairs dancing at the Coliseum as I have with the Khan Giselle but I'll work around what there is.

 

I'd take one date per cast at the Coliseum, but there aren't enough performances to allow even that with 7 Giselles & 7 Albrechts cast.

[MAX]

Pity Daniel McCormick's career is not progressing much...

[Emeralds]

Presume you're being ironic, @MAX! Daniel danced the lead in Balanchine's  Theme and Variations, the lead role in the second cast of David Dawson's new ballet Four Last Songs, the male lead in Nutcracker, both Albrecht and Peasant pas de deux in Giselle this year, Zuniga in Carmen, the male lead in Cinderella and Abdur in Raymonda on tour last summer. He's reprising his Albrecht again in the traditional production this winter. Doing well for a first soloist in any major company! 

[MAX]

He should be made principal then !

[Emeralds]

I'm sure McCormick is in the running to be promoter to principal in due course Possibly due to funding and other reasons, ENB has not done "meteoric rise" promotions for some time- Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta, both outstanding principal dancers, were dancing principal roles and premiering roles in new ballets for a number of years as first soloists before they finally got promoted. So McCormick is not waiting very long in comparison.

 

On the basis of the performances I've watched over the last 12 months, I think their Artistic Director made the right decision as to whom to promote. If there were several more principal places available however, Daniel McCormick would certainly be one of two first soloists I'd expect to see move up as well. 

Edited July 18 by Emeralds

[FionaM]

I’d call for more performances of AK Giselle.
 

 I’m coming with a friend who was bowled over from the recent run in Bristol that she watched the online version over and over.  

 

it is a masterpiece of this era of ballet.  Just as the traditional Giselle is a masterpiece of the romantic era.