Just in time for Halloween, Carolina Ballet will provide Raleigh with a night of horror at the dual performances.
As a double feature, The Masque of the Red Death will be performed first, then Dracula, with a short intermission in between. The Masque of the Red Death is based on a short story by American Gothic author Edgar Allen Poe. The performance of Dracula will be based on the novel by one of Ireland’s most renowned authors, Bram Stoker.
Last year, the double feature was a large success as the house sold out multiple nights of the performance. This year, Tony Award-winning choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett hopes the event will be equally entertaining.
Robert Weiss, founder and artistic director of Carolina Ballet, is the choreographer of Masque of the Red Death.
Professional ballerina Lara O’Brien practices for hours every day to master her dances for the Carolina Ballet company. But whenever she’s not working on homework for her textiles degree, O’Brien has been preparing for her current roles in Dracula and The Masque of the Red Death.
This performance will be one of countless shows for O’Brien since she settled into her career in Raleigh 10 years ago.
O’Brien was exposed to ballet when she was eight. However, O’Brien’s dedication to the art was far from an ordinary young girl’s. Furthering her expertise throughout her youth, O’Brien became a professional ballerina at the age of 19. O’Brien has trained at both the School of Ballet in Chicago and the American Ballet in New York City.
She quickly excelled in her work, rising from a trainee in 2001, to a soloist in 2004, now a principal in 2011.
O’Brien’s ballet career later took her to the Royal Danish Ballet through a program called the Dance American National Cultural Exchange. According to O’Brien, the program was “sort of like a ballet version of studying abroad.”
In 2006, O’Brien enrolled in the textiles program. According to O’Brien, she enjoys being around her fellow students as she accomplishes both her academic goals and furthers her professional career in ballet.
O’Brien said with her student schedule and her occupation as a professional ballerina.
“It is hard to balance all that is going on…[ but I am] grateful to fulfill this career,” O’Brien said.
For many students, Dracula may be their first experience at a ballet.
According to O’Brien, will be a one-of-a-kind show.
“Every ballet is different,” O’Brien said. “Some have no words, and the story is told through the dance. In other ballets, the dancers perform to spoken word.”
Dracula will be a unique ballet itself. There is no orchestra accompaniment for the dancers, and one character, Dr. Seward, will be speaking lines from a script.
Tony-nominated Broadway and television star Alan Campbell will play Dr. Seward.
Because the story of Dracula is so complex, Taylor-Corbett said the use of a narrator allows the audience to understand the show.
“[I] wanted Alan to speak lines, to help the story flow more smoothly,” Taylor Corbett said.
The paradox of the beautifully terrifying and silently seductive gives the production an edge of suspense. Unlike many ballets, the element of terror permeates this performance.
Robert Weiss’ production of The Masque of the Red Death is mystically engaging and dark. As the dancers flow effortlessly with the orchestra, the ballet is brought to a surprising and powerful close.
