From 1 to 5 January 2011, Britain’s favourite ballet company Northern Ballet presents Romeo & Juliet and Madame Butterfly on NCPA New Year Season 2011, accompanied by EOS Orchestra.

Romeo & Juliet
Time: 1-3 January 2011, 7:30pm
Ticket (RMB): VIP（1280）、1080、960、820、680、500、380、280

Madame Butterfly
Time: 4-5 January 2011, 7:30pm
Ticket (RMB): VIP（1080）、880、780、700、600、380、280、180

For ticket information, please call 0086-65516930 / 65516906

About Northern Ballet

Founded in Manchester in 1969 and based in Leeds since 1996, Northern Ballet has grown to become one of the UK's best loved companies and an important international cultural ambassador. Northern Ballet’s productions mix classical dance and theatre, embracing popular culture and taking inspiration from literature (Dangerous Liaisons, A Christmas Carol, Wuthering Heights), opera (Carmen, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata), or giving a unique interpretation of classical ballets (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker).

Northern Ballet attracts talented dancers from all over the world, drawn to the Company’s unique style of strong narrative work with popular appeal. Dancers hail from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and, of course, England. The Company tours throughout the UK, including to London, and regularly performs overseas, most recently in Thailand (2005 & 2010), China (2006 & 2007), USA (2008), Italy (2009) and Spain (2010).

In 2010 Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director David Nixon was awarded an OBE for his services to dance in the Queen’s New Years Honours list. Under David’s leadership the Company has enjoyed acclaim from audiences and critics alike. The Company received the Audience Award at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for three successive years in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and the Patron’s Award in 2008. HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, KCVO is now the Royal Patron of Northern Ballet. He took the position after HRH The Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, the former Royal Patron of NBT passed away.

Romeo & Juliet

Music by: Prokofiev
Artistic Director: Christopher Gable
Choreography: Massimo Morricone
Stage design: Lez Brotherston



Montagues; Capulets; a Ball; the balcony; fights; death; unrestrained passion; an all-consuming love; the ultimate tragedy.

Northern Ballet’s classic adaptation of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy is one of their most popular productions. Passionate and dramatic, this is dance theatre at its most intense. Sets and costumes designed by the award winning Lez Brotherston, stunning dancing and Prokofiev’s timeless score make Northern Ballet’s critically acclaimed Romeo & Juliet an unforgettable theatrical experience.



“Spine-chilling romance is a hot blooded affair…performances of startling conviction” - THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

“A vividly theatrical and carefully conceived ballet, it emphasises the hot-blooded passions of youth…fluent and lively”  - THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Madame Butterfly

Choreography: David Nixon
Music by: Giacomo Puccini
Lighting Design by: Peter Mumford
Scenic Design by: Ali Allen



Innocence, love and betrayal unfold in the picturesque gardens of a Japanese Villa.   Butterfly is fragile, unworldly, and prepared to sacrifice everything for the love of the handsome American Lieutenant Pinkerton.  He deserts her and their child, only to return years later with his new wife. Abandoned and betrayed, Butterfly is left with only one honourable course of action.   

East meets West in Northern Ballet’s stunning Madame Butterfly. The soaring melodies of Puccini’s emotive score are interspersed with traditional Japanese music.  Japanese-style dancing is blended with classical ballet, capturing the pain and passion of the conflict between Butterfly’s Japan and Pinkerton’s America that lies at the heart of this tragedy.



"this exquisite Madame Butterfly quite simply takes your breath away. This is Nixon's true thumbprint. Simply stunning."   —METRO YORKSHIRE

"Dance really is the perfect medium to express the tragedy of Madame Butterfly....A triumph of artistry worth a visit by anyone."   — SUNDAY EXPRESS

"This is an impressive looking and wonderfully lit ballet. Nixon's understanding of Japanese history and culture gives it striking authenticity." — THE STAGE

"The ballet is beautifully designed...Butterfly's arrival in a litter for the wedding, hiding modestly behind an elaborate fan, is stunning....Nixon's choreography is fluent and inventive in its blend of pointe-work and Japanese inflections....a success for Northern Ballet." —THE SUNDAY TIMES

"...solidly crafted piece of dramatic dance entertainment.... “—THE TIMES