Moving from the disco to the ballet, synthpop vets Pet Shop Boys next month will release a 2CD set featuring their score to the Hans Christian Andersen adaptation “The Most Incredible Thing,” the duo’s first-ever full-length “narrative ballet,” set to debut in London in mid-March.
Due out March 14 on Parlophone Records, the album — a “combination of electronics and orchestra” across three acts (see full tracklist and watch a video preview below) finds the Pet Shop Boys’ Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant recording with the Wroclaw Score Orchestra, conducted by Dominic Wheeler.
The production itself — featuring former Royal Ballet star Ivan Putrov — is a collaboration between PSB and choreographer Javier de Frutos to stage a pop-inflected ballet based on Andersen’s 1870 story about “a princess, a kingdom, and of two very different approaches to the task of creating something extraordinary.”
“The Most Incredible Thing” will be in previews March 17-19 and 21, then premiere March 22-26 at London’s Sadler’s Wells dance house. More dates at Sadler’s Wells are planned, as well as a full tour in 2012, according to the band’s site.
See ‘The Most Incredible Thing’ tracklist and video preview after the jump…
Pet Shop Boys, The Most Incredible Thing
DISC 1
Act One
1. “Prologue”
2. “The Grind”
3. “The Challenge”
4. “Help Me”
5. “Risk”
6. “Physical Jerks”
7. “The Competition”
8. “The Meeting”
Act Two
9. “The Clock 1/2/3”
10. “The Clock 4/5/6”
11. “The Clock 7/8/9”
12. “The Clock 10/11/12”
13. “The Winner”
14. “Destruction”
DISC 2
Act Three
1. “Back to the Grind”
2. “The Miracle – Ceremony”
3. “The Miracle – Revolution”
4. “The Miracle – Resurrection”
5. “The Miracle – Colour and Light”
6. “The Miracle – The Meeting (reprise)”
7. “The Wedding”
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- Video: Pet Shop Boys’ new single ‘Together’ off ‘Ultimate’ best-of
- Video: Pet Shop Boys perform ‘It’s a Sin’ on the BBC’s ‘The Graham Norton Show’
- Pet Shop Boys cover Dave Clark Five, Kate McGarrigle on new ‘Together’ single
- Pet Shop Boys announce ‘Ultimate’ tracklisting, record new single ‘Together’
- Pet Shop Boys scoring ‘Most Incredible Thing’ Hans Christian Andersen ballet
Wow. Not sure what to think about this. More power to them, I guess. I will reserve judgment. Not my cup of tea.