OVERVIEW
World Premiere
Choreography: Stanton Welch AM
Music: Alexander Glazunov
Generously Underwritten by Melza and Ted Barr
Stanton Welch’s opulent adaptation of Raymonda, inspired by the classic Marius Petipa, finds the lovely young Raymonda and her sisters destined to be betrothed to dukes from various countries, yet her heart already belongs to another. An evil plot by the queen’s trusted advisor may change the destiny of Raymonda and her one true love. Revel in Alexander Glazunov’s glorious and sensuous score alongside lavish set and costumes by acclaimed Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, whose long-standing partnership with Stanton Welch resulted in the breathtaking production Romeo and Juliet. Raymonda is sure to become a treasured classic amongst Houston Ballet’s illustrious repertoire.
SYNOPSIS
MAIN CHARACTERS
Princess Raymonda
Jean
Duke of Ash
Vlad
Queen
Jude
Lady in White
*CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS
ACT I
Scene I
The Birch Forest
As we open in a dense birch forest, Raymonda, the Queen’s daughter, hands a note to her royal maid to deliver to the army barracks. Moments later, Royal Officer Jean rushes out from the barracks; he sees Raymonda, and the two embrace, rekindling their burgeoning love. Suddenly, they hear the arrival of the Queen, accompanied by her advisor Vlad and the royal court. Afraid of being caught alone together, the forbidden young lovers quickly hide as Vlad summons the Royal Generals from their barracks, inviting them to the evening’s ball. The generals gladly accept, and all leave to prepare for the festivities.
Jean and Raymonda emerge, excited by the news, as it means they will see each other again that evening. Before parting ways, Raymonda gives Jean a scarf as a symbol of her love, so they can easily find each other at the ball. Unbeknownst to them, Vlad has been spying on the young lovers and enlists the help of Royal Officer Jude to keep watch on Jean. As Vlad returns to the palace, Jean announces to his comrades that he is in love but keeps Raymonda's identity a secret.
Scene II
The Princesses Dressing Room
At the palace, Raymonda’s sisters are preparing for the ball. Daisy and Lily fight over a tiara, while Violet sits and reads, bored of their constant chatter. The youngest, Heather and Rose, skip and dance, barely able to contain their glee, while the eldest, Jasmine, sits depressed over her pending nuptials to the Duke of Vermillion. Raymonda rushes in and quickly changes out of her cloak just as the Queen arrives with Vlad and the Duke of Vermillion, to Jasmine’s dismay. Annoyed by the princess’ rudeness, Vlad leaves with the Duke, prompting the Queen to remind her daughters that they will fulfill their royal duty and marry who she commands. She departs, leaving her daughters to reflect on their fate; Raymonda worries about her future with Jean.
Scene III
The Spring Ball
The evening ball is about to begin, and Vlad arranges for the royal family to meet the Dukes of Cobalt, Teal, and Umber, as well as the young Duke of Marigold, a child who is not yet taken seriously by anyone. Vlad steers the Dukes toward Raymonda, but she expertly dodges their advances, instead introducing them to her sisters. When the army arrives, Raymonda suggests to the Queen that the ball attendees dance with the royal officers, allowing her to covertly arrange a dance with Jean. Meanwhile, the Dukes of Cobalt and Teal fall deeply in love with Raymonda’s sisters, Daisy and Lily, and ask the Queen for their hands in marriage. All are happy—except for Vlad. Angered by Raymonda’s sly actions, Vlad rashly orders the army to prepare for an impending attack. As the army readies to leave, Jean gives Raymonda back her scarf, promising to see her again before heading off to battle. Keeping a watchful eye, Vlad arranges for Jude to spy on Jean once more.
Scene IV
The Garden
In the palace garden, Raymonda and Violet read peacefully while their youngest sisters play a lively game of badminton. Suddenly, Vlad enters, accompanied by the Duke of Purpureus, and introduces him to Raymonda. The duke gifts Raymonda a book, and by chance, she recognizes the title as a book Violet already owns. Delighted, Raymonda introduces the two. The duke and Violet take a stroll, bonding over their shared love of books. With Raymonda now alone, Jean seizes the moment to bid her a heartfelt farewell. Raymonda leaves her scarf with Jean once more before returning to her family, where she finds the Duke of Purpureus and Violet engaged. All are happy—except for Vlad, who is once again angered by Raymonda’s evasion. This time, he arranges for Jean to be followed.
Scene V
The Bedroom/The Dream
Amongst a flurry of royal maids, Raymonda prepares for bed. She dreams of Jean and a Lady in White.
Scene VI
The Stabbing
Meanwhile, Jean and his fellow officer, Jude, are confronted by a man in an ash-colored cape in a dark alley. When the man attacks Jean, he turns to Jude for help, only to be stabbed in the back. Jude and the man in the ash-colored cape take Jean's belongings before leaving him for dead—but Jean is discovered by a nun and her convent.
Scene VII
The Winter Ball
Later, Vlad escorts the Duke of Umber to the Winter Ball. Although Raymonda remains aloof, her youngest sisters vie for the duke’s attention. He chooses Heather as his bride, but amid the celebration, a royal officer delivers Jean’s jacket and Raymonda’s scarf to Vlad. Raymonda overhears that Jean has died in battle, which Vlad confirms to her. Devastated, Raymonda flees from the festivities, while Vlad pays Jude and the mysterious man in the ash-colored cape.
Scene VIII
The Sanitarium
The nuns help Jean stand for the first time. It will take some time, but he is healing.
INTERMISSION
ACT II
Scene I
The Peacock Ball
In a final effort to marry off the Queen’s remaining daughters, Raymonda and Rose are introduced to three new dukes—Tawny, Lapis, and Rust—along with the now grown-up Duke of Marigold, who immediately proposes to Rose. She happily accepts, leaving Raymonda with the remaining three dukes, until a new guest arrives—the Duke of Ash. As the festivities continue, Raymonda feels the new duke’s powerful gaze, his attention commanding. After dancing with the dukes, Raymonda must choose one, and the Duke of Ash makes a final bid for her hand.
Just then, Jean appears, healed, and confronts Jude, accusing him of being a spy who stabbed him. Jude is arrested and taken away, but the Duke of Ash resents the interruption and challenges Jean to a duel. The Queen steps in, calling for peace between the two. Furious, the Duke of Ash prepares to leave, then suddenly, Jean recognizes his cloak and identifies him as the mysterious man from the alleyway. Following their confrontation, the Queen banishes the Duke of Ash, and the royal guards escort him from the palace.
Left alone, Raymonda and her sisters realize the true cause of their troubles and confront Vlad. Realizing he is cornered, Vlad pulls a blade on the Queen, but with the help of a mysterious force, Jean and the army stop him. The Queen names Jean a duke, and he proposes to Raymonda.
INTERMISSION
ACT III
Scene I
The Wedding
In a decadent celebration, Jean and Raymonda marry, united as each other's chosen loves.
ARTISTS
Stanton Welch AM
CHOREOGRAPHER, RAYMONDA
Stanton Welch was born in Melbourne to Marilyn Jones OBE and Garth Welch AM, two of Australia's most gifted dancers of the 1960s and 1970s. He joined The Australian Ballet, rising to the rank of leading soloist and performing various principal roles, before serving as Resident Choreographer. During his decades long career, Welch has choreographed over 100 works including audience favorites Madame Butterfly (1995), Clear (2001), and Divergence (1994). His work can be seen in the repertoire of The Australian Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Birmingham Royal Ballet, among others. In July 2003, Welch was appointed Artistic Director of Houston Ballet, America's fourth-largest ballet company. Welch has choreographed more than 40 works for Houston Ballet, including Marie (2009) and spectacular stagings of Swan Lake (2006), La Bayadère (2010), Romeo and Juliet (2015), Giselle (2016), The Nutcracker (2016), Sylvia (2019), and the upcoming Raymonda (2025). Developing Houston Ballet into a choreographic Eden, Welch has commissioned over 30 works from notable choreographers such as Mark Morris, Aszure Barton, Dwight Rhoden, Trey McIntyre, and Justin Peck, while expanding the company’s repertoire with works from internationally acclaimed choreographers including George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, and Jerome Robbins. Under Welch’s leadership, Houston Ballet has appeared across the globe including recent engagements in Tokyo, Dubai, Melbourne, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Welch continues to nurture the next generation of artists through the Houston Ballet Academy, a leading institution in dance education and training.
Alexander Glazunov
COMPOSER, RAYMONDA (1865-1936)
A Russian composer, director and teacher, born in 1865 at St. Petersburg, Alexander Glazunov was well-known for his conservative, classic compositions. He first studied music with Balakirev, and later with Rimsky-Korsakov. They both influenced and promoted his first successful symphony, Op.5, 1881, which he composed at age 16. "Little Glinka," as he was called, performed his first symphony for the second time in Moscow. Similarly, his second symphony-poem, Stenka Razin was successful. His various compositions led to his fame in Russia as well as in internationally by age 21. Glazunov, became a Professor of Instrumentation at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1899, and in 1905 became its Director. Some of his famous compositions are; The Seasons, which is a one-act ballet created for Petipa; Raymonda (1898), Les ruses d‘amour (1900), The Seasons (1900), Scenes de Ballet which he wrote as gift for Russian Opera Orchestra at St. Petersburg. He arranged Chopin's Les Sylphides and with Rimsky, completed Borodin's opera Prince Igor. He also composed a number of symphonies, orchestral choral works, violin and piano concertos. Much as he was well-known as a conservative composer, he is also well known for his sharp musical mind which allowed him to memorize pieces of music after only one hearing. He left Russia in 1928 for Paris. He died there in 1936. At his request, he was interned in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral's cemetery in St. Petersburg.
HISTORY
RAYMONDA REPERTOIRE HISTORY
This is the world premiere of Stanton Welch’s Raymonda. This is the third collaboration between Stanton Welch and acclaimed Italian costume and scenic designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno for Houston Ballet. Giselle (2016) and Romeo and Juliet (2015) are the other two Welch ballets featuring Guidi di Bagno's designs in the Houston Ballet repertory.
RAYMONDA PRODUCTION DETAILS
CHOREOGRAPHER: Stanton Welch AM
GENRE: Classical Ballet
RUN TIME: Ballet with 3 Acts; approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes with two 20-minute intermissions
LOCATION: Brown Theater at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas
COMPOSER: Alexander Glazunov
SCORE: Raymonda
WORLD PREMIERE DATE: May 29, 2025 by Houston Ballet in the Brown Theater at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston, Texas.
COSTUME & SCENIC DESIGN: Roberta Guidi di Bagno
LIGHTING DESIGN: Lisa J. Pinkham
BALLET MASTERS (2025): Ian Casady, Amy Fote, Hayden Stark, Steven Woodgate
HOUSTON BALLET ORCHESTRA CONDUCTORS (2025): Simon Thew, Tara Simoncic
HOUSTON BALLET STAGE MANAGER (2025): Anna-Marie Monzon
SPECIAL PROGRAM NOTES (2025): Tara Simoncic is a guest conductor for Houston Ballet’s Raymonda.
RELATED