Ballet on the box

The first production from a new strategic partnership between the Royal Opera House and the BBC will be broadcast on Saturday 23 April with ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ on BBC2. The broadcast follows a sell-out premiere season at the Royal Opera House in February. It will be immediately preceded by a documentary on the making of the ballet, giving audiences an insight into the process of getting new work to the stage. The long-term creative collaboration between the two organisations will also see them come together to co-produce new commissions for 2012, created specifically for television before being performed on the stage. A wider portfolio of arts programmes on television will include documentaries on opera and ballet – a series on classical masterworks presented by Antonio Pappano, and a five-part series about singing, to be both written and presented by him. BBC Radio 3’s relationship with the Royal Opera House will continue with up to 15 works broadcast each year in Opera On, Music Matters and In Tune, reflecting the work of both the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera.