The brainchild of Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath: The Ballet features eight Black Sabbath tracks plus new music inspired by them. Its premiere took place in September 2023 at the Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham, UK, Black Sabbath's home town.
International dates for 2024 and 2025 have been announced, as follows:
June
12 - Luxor Theatre - Rotterdam, Netherlands
13 - Luxor Theatre - Rotterdam, Netherlands
14 - Luxor Theatre - Rotterdam, Netherlands
15 - Luxor Theatre - Rotterdam, Netherlands
19 - Grand Theatre de la Ville de Luxembourg - Luxembourg
20 - Grand Theatre de la Ville de Luxembourg - Luxembourg
July
9 - Staatsoper - Hamburg, Germany
10 - Staatsoper - Hamburg, Germany
June 2025
4 - The Kennedy Center Opera House - Washington, DC
5 - The Kennedy Center Opera House - Washington, DC
6 - The Kennedy Center Opera House - Washington, DC
7 - The Kennedy Center Opera House - Washington, DC
8 - The Kennedy Center Opera House - Washington, DC
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In early 2023, Iommi told Radio 4's Today that he hopes the "rags to riches" tale will attract "both our fans and ballet fans."
In a press release announcing the production, guitarist Iommi said: "I'd never imagined pairing Black Sabbath with ballet but it's got a nice ring to it! I'm looking forward to seeing how this all develops. Black Sabbath have always been innovators and never been predictable, and it doesn't come any more unpredictable than this! I've met with Carlos several times and his enthusiasm is infectious."
The eight Black Sabbath tracks from the show include "Paranoid", "War Pigs", "Orchid" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", and the music will be re-orchestrated for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.
The idea of a Black Sabbath ballet has been on Acosta's mind since he first arrived in Birmingham at the start of 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
Acosta said: "Black Sabbath is probably Birmingham's biggest export, the most famous - and infamous - cultural entity to ever emerge from the city - so I was naturally drawn to the idea of a collaboration between what most people might think are the most unlikely of partners. The band's enthusiasm for the project is a huge endorsement. They are putting their trust in us to deliver something completely new and original, and that's quite a responsibility but one that we are beyond excited to take on."
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