The Royal Ballet’s acclaimed Like Water for Chocolate in cinemas this New Year
Thursday 19 January 2023
This New Year, The Royal Ballet’s Like Water for Chocolate will be screened in 909 cinemas across 33 countries around the world. The critically acclaimed production is choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, the Company’s Artistic Associate, and inspired by Laura Esquivel’s captivating novel of the same name.
Like Water for Chocolate follows the story of Tita, whose emotions spill out through her cooking and influence those around her in startling and dramatic ways. The production reunited Wheeldon with the creative team who transformed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter’s Tale (2014) into dance – composer Joby Talbot, designer Bob Crowley, and lighting designer Natasha Katz. Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra acted as musical consultant, and Esquivel worked closely with the team to reshape her richly layered story into an entertaining and engrossing new ballet.
Wheeldon is celebrated for his expressive choreography and theatricality, and he has worked extensively with the world’s leading dance companies. In 2014, he directed and choregraphed the stage version of the musical An American in Paris, and recently directed and choreographed MJ The Musical, which opened on Broadway in 2022. Both productions won Tony Awards. Like Water for Chocolate is his third full-length work for The Royal Ballet.
Like Water for Chocolate will be screened in cinemas on Thursday 19 January 2022 and stars Principal dancer Francesca Hayward as Tita, Principal dancer Marcelino Sambé as Pedro, and Mexican musician Tomás Barreiro on guitar.
Our cinema programme has brought opera and ballet to audiences across the globe since 2008. For the 2022/23 Season, an astonishing 13 productions from The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera will be broadcast to more than 1,300 cinemas from the UK all the way to New Zealand. Each broadcast offers audiences the best seat in the house, and includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and insights into the rehearsal process. The programme forms an integral part of our plan to secure our future, expand audiences and continue to help facilitate the vital recovery of cinema domestically and internationally.
The Royal Ballet
LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
Special screening: Thursday 19 January 2023
The ballet lasts approximately 2 hours and 55 minutes
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon
Music Joby Talbot
Designer Bob Crowley
Lighting designer Natasha Katz
Video designer Luke Halls
Music consultant and conductor Alondra de la Parra
Tita Francesca Hayward
Pedro Marcelino Sambé
Mama Elena Laura Morera
Dr John Brown Matthew Ball
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Season Principal Mrs Aline Foriel-Destezet
Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon generously supported by Kenneth and Susan Green
Generous philanthropic support from Julia and Hans Rausing, Mr and Mrs Edward Atkin CBE, Victoria Robey OBE, Charles Holloway, Richard and Delia Baker, John and Susan Burns OBE, Sue Butcher, Sir Lloyd and Lady Dorfman, David Fransen, Lindsay and Sarah Tomlinson, the Like Water for Chocolate Production Syndicate, The Royal Opera House Endowment Fund, the American Friends of Covent Garden and an anonymous philanthropist
Press release from the Royal Opera House.
