Houston Ballet - Marie

There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.

- Marie Antoinette

The tragic life of Marie Antoinette is the focus of Stanton Welch's irresistible ballet that returns to close the 2018/19 season. Premiering in 2009, the world of Marie, from decadence to devastation, is evoked with deft choreography, artistry, and heart stylistic of Welch's much-praised oeuvre. Set to a score knitted from Shostakovich's greatest music, join the Houston Ballet as they journey back to 18th Century France where Marie transforms from nervous young Princess to figure of hatred during the tumult of the brewing Revolution.

Before she became infamous for her spending and debauchery, Marie Antoinette was born in Austria in 1755 before wedding Louis XVI future King of France in 1770. Initially looked on with favor by the people of France, her profligate reputation soon became too much for a country where the poor starved whilst the rich partied. In 1791 she and Louis were arrested and in 1793 later executed, an act that would echo across the years of the French Revolution and capture imaginations across the world. In Marie, Welch explores the complexities of her life, her loves and habits, and the way rumors and gossip led to her downfall.