Roberto Bolle and Friends: The Stars of dance grace the Arena on 22 and 23 July 2025
Cast and programme of the double event evening announced
Gala double bill to mark the 25th anniversary of Roberto Bolle and Friends. Two hundred years of music and dance, different styles from the 1800s to the present. Nine étoiles and principal dancers from all over the world, Marcos Madrigal on piano, the leading classical and contemporary choreographers. And for the first time Diodato as guest star
To mark its 25th anniversary, the Roberto Bolle and Friends gala returns to Arena di Verona for a double bill on Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 July at 9.30 pm with a truly special cast and programme spanning two hundred years of music and dance, through to the present day, and many leading international artists. The tried and tested and highly successful formula, refreshed every year, expertly combines modern, contemporary experimentation and new commissions with unforgettable classical ballet pas de deux, and this year also includes an unprecedented foray into auteur pop. A must-see spectacle for all dance enthusiasts but also for all those interested in this world of discipline, joy and beauty that Roberto Bolle has presented like no other in the last twenty-five years.
The 2025 gala on 22 and 23 July, co-produced with ArteDanza, features Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko, étoile and principal dancer of Teatro alla Scala, Melissa Hamilton, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London, Tatiana Melnik, principal dancer of the Hungarian National Ballet in Budapest, Giorgi Potskhishvili, principal dancer of the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, Oleksandr Ryabko, principal dancer of the German Hamburg Ballet, and two international artists of the calibre of Mikaela Kelly, making her debut in the Arena, and Toon Lobach, making his much-anticipated return, together in Philippe Kratz's "I".
Alongside the étoile of La Scala, there will also be two fine live musical performances: at the piano, award-winning Cuban concert pianist Marcos Madrigal will perform Debussy's Clair de lune for the poetic Moonlight choreographed by Juliano Nunes, as the light of the real moon rises behind the Arena stage. Then, following their 2021 collaboration on the Rai "Danza con Me" 2021 programme (with an audience of 4 million viewers), Roberto Bolle will reunite with singer-songwriter Antonio Diodato, the immense stage of the Arena di Verona the setting for their first live appearance together.
The rich and varied programme of this Arena double bill will begin with Roberto Bolle and Melissa Hamilton in Borderlands, created by Wayne McGregor for the San Francisco Ballet: the two will return in the duet Take me with you with choreography, lights and costumes by Robert Bondara and music by Radiohead. Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andriyashenko, a couple in art and real life, will return to the Arena stage in Auber's Grand pas classique choreographed by Gsvovsky and in the famous “balcony scene" duet from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev with choreography by MacMillan, which saw them swear their undying love to each other in a crowded and festive Arena three years ago. Other classics are the Pas de deux by Melnik and Potskhishvili from Drigo-Petipa’s Le Corsaire and Opus 100-Für Maurice by John Neumeier in which Bolle and Ryabko dialogue with the songs of Simon & Garfunkel. And, to mark the 50th anniversary of the passing of Dmitri Shostakovich, musical genius of the 20th century, Roberto Bolle will be the protagonist of Memories, a touching solo based on the Russian composer's Piano Concerto No.2. The grand finale with Diodato, involving original choreographies by Stefania Ballone and Massimiliano Volpini, promises to be an exciting end to this great 25th anniversary celebration of Roberto Bolle and Friends.
Tickets for the show, co-produced by Fondazione Arena di Verona and Artedanza, are on sale on arena.it, at the Arena di Verona ticket office and on Ticketone. There are special reductions for under-30s and over-65s.
