Sound
Koen Kessels
Place of birth
Oostende, West Flanders, Belgium
Known for
Sound
Credits
3 titles
Koen Kessels, Music Director, studied at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music, Antwerp. He made his debut with the Royal Ballet of Flanders with Cinderella and has been a regular guest conductor for Opéra National de Paris (Le Parc, Coppélia, Proust, Cinderella, Hurlevent, Hommage à Jerôme Robbins, Giselle, La Petite Danseuse de Degas) since 2005 and with The Royal Ballet (Nutcracker, Giselle) since 2008. This season he makes his debut at the Wiener Staatsoper and the Bolshoi and is back with the Brussels Opéra de Munt (Hanjo) and Antwerp Opera (L'Amour de loin). He made his opera debut with Rouen Opera, France, conducting Il barbiere di Siviglia. His standard repertory contains the main…
Known for
NRInspired by dark and gripping real life events, this Royal Ballet classic depicts the sexual and morbid obsessions of Crown Prince Rudolf leading to the murder-suicide scandal with his mistress Mary Vetsera. The oppressive glamour of the Austro-Hungarian court in the 1880s sets the scene for a suspenseful drama of psychological and political intrigue as Rudolf fixates on his mortality. Kenneth MacMillan's 1978 ballet remains a masterpiece of storytelling and this revival marks 30 years since the choreographer’s death. Expect to see the Company at its dramatic finestacross potent ensemble scenes and some of the most daring and emotionally demanding pas de deux in the ballet repertory.
The Royal Ballet: Mayerling
2022
6.5This all-time ballet favourite, in which young Clara is swept into a fantasy adventure when one of her Christmas presents comes to life, is at its most enchanting in Peter Wright's glorious production.
The Nutcracker
2009
NRChristopher Wheeldon draws on ancient Greece and reflects on love in Bernstein’s Serenade, after Plato’s ‘Symposium’.
Corybantic Games
2018