Celebrated Dancer Hirano Debuts July 5 at Music Center

Ryoichi Hirano as Espada in The Royal Ballet’s 2013 production of “Don Quixote.” (Royal Opera House Covent Garden)

Ryoichi Hirano, a principal dancer with Great Britain’s Royal Ballet Covent Garden, will make his Music Center debut July 5 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Hirano will perform the lead role of Prince Rudolf in the Royal’s pre­sentation of their masterpiece ballet, “Mayerling.”

After a 24-year absence from Los Angeles, the Royal Ballet re­turns to The Music Center for two back-to-back-weekends this July at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. From July 5–7, the Royal performs “Mayerling,” a three-act work de­picting scandal and murder in the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian Empire.

“Although classical in nature with period costumes and romantic music, the Royal Ballet’s ‘Mayerling’ seemingly rips its storyline from today’s headlines instead of the 19th century, making its exploration of the human condition relevant to our times,” said Rachel Moore, presi­dent and CEO of The Music Center. “Thrilling and theatrical, this ballet’s dark and tortured dangerous liaisons make for an intense and spellbinding performance.”

One of Japan’s foremost male dancers, Hirano was born in Osaka and trained at the Setsuko Hirano Ballet School. He joined the Royal Ballet in 2001 after winning the gold medal at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne.

He reached the level of artist in 2002 and was promoted to first artist in 2007, soloist in 2008, first soloist in 2012 and principal in 2016.

Hirano’s repertoire with the Royal includes “Giselle,” “The Sleep­ing Beauty,” “Don Quixote,” “The Nutcracker,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Swan Lake,” “Strapless,” the crea­ture in “Frankenstein,” and roles in “After the Rain,” “Woolf Works,” “Song of the Earth” and “The Two Pigeons.”

The following weekend, July 12–13, the Royal Ballet, as well as Company Wayne McGregor, will dance in Adès & McGregor, an evening of three works includ­ing two dance world premieres with performances by the L.A. Phil under the baton of composer-conductor Thomas Adès. The Royal Ballet will debut the staged world premiere of “The Dante Project (Inferno),” a new work created for them by McGregor, the Royal’s resident choreographer and modern dance innovator.

The work is an epic journey through the afterlife performed by the Royal. “Inferno” is the first act of this new ballet premiering in Los Angeles during this engagement. In May 2020, the Royal Ballet will present the full three-act ballet as a complete work at the Royal Opera House in London.

The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 N. Grand Ave. in Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets start at $34. For more information of tickets, call (213) 972-0711 or visit www.musiccenter.org.