Like Water for Chocolate from The Royal Ballet

Experience a tale of love, passion, food and magic in this world premiere recording from The Royal Ballet, inspired by Laura Esquivel's novel.

A modern Mexican classic provides the basis for a theatrical tale of love, jealousy, repression, and revolution.
The Royal Ballet’s 2022 production reunites Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon with the stellar creative team who transformed Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale into dance, composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley.

Inspired by Laura Esquivel’s novel, the central character’s emotions spill out through cooking to influence everyone around her in startling and dramatic ways. The full Company, led by Francesca Hayward as Tita and Marcelino Sambé as Pedro, reshape this captivating family saga into a richly layered and engrossing new ballet where passion, mystery and magic combine.

“…arresting... a big-spectacle ballet” (The New York Times)

"Christopher Wheeldon’s delectable take on a magic-realist love story... a fulfilling ballet full of buoyant movement and visually arresting coups de theatre" (The Guardian ★★★★)

"The performances across the cast for this world premiere were exceptionally good. Hayward and Sambé brought all the frustrations of unrequited love to the surface and their final pas de deux, leading to a sensational ending to the ballet, was deliciously sensual and passionate, and danced with great feeling." (Bachtrack)

"Bob Crowley, whose phantasmagoric designs were the making of 2011’s Alice and who created powerful stage pictures for 2014’s The Winter’s Tale, was a natural choice to bring Esquivel’s dreamlike imagery to life" (The Financial Times)

Duration 115 minutes
Production year 2022
Audio format LPCM 2.0 + DTS Digital Surround 5.1 (DVD) / LPCM 2.0 + DTS-HD Master Audio Surround (Blu-ray)
Distribution TV Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Distribution DVD Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd
Soloist Francesca Hayward
Soloist Marcelino Sambé
Conductor Alondra de la Parra