We're all Mad Here

Just as The Wizard of Oz to the United States or Pinocchio to Italy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the coming-of-age novel of English childhood. The reception of Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet of the same name depends heavily on this legacy. As is well known, this ballet dates back some fifteen years, having been created in 2011 for the Royal Ballet, and earned the choreographer a residency with the leading British company. Staged in co-production with the National Ballet of Canada, and subsequently performed by the Bayerisches Staatsballett, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” has now arrived at La Scala as a ‘new’ production of the season. One might wonder why, given that our leading ballet company’s repertoire still lacks so many classics, modern and contemporary, including British ones. But the enthusiastic response from the audience, and the sold-out run of (only) seven scheduled performances—including a matinée for children and elderly—as well as the dancers’ enthusiasm in tackling a genre so different from the usual, outweighs the critic’s doubts.

Performance

La Scala Ballet: “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” by Christopher Wheeldon

Place

La Scala, Milan, Italy, May 2026

Words

Valentina Bonelli

Agnese Di Clemente and Claudio Coviello in “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” by Christopher Wheeldon. Photogaprh by Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala

Although hugely popular amongst children in Italy too—perhaps even more in the countless adaptations, starting with the Walt Disney’s cartoon version—a connection to his own childhood must have inspired Wheeldon, who for his ballet has gathered the sweetest memories, represented by that Victorian cardboard theatre—lost but never forgotten—with which he played as a child, reproduced in the sets by Bob Crawley (who also designed the costumes). The sets and the video projections are inevitably reminiscent of 15 years ago, yet still striking and, thankfully, not overly high-tech. For the rest, the show is still characterized by the ‘theatrical tricks’ of yesteryear, such as “black theatre,” puppets and en travesti. The English choreographer’s taste for entertainment shines everywhere—British yet also American given his dual career, as a lover of music hall between London and New York.

His ballet’s foundation is a fluid, richly detailed libretto written by Nicholas Wright, who adds to the story a romantic subplot between Alice and Jack the gardener/Jack of Hearts: an opportunity to showcase an English-style pas de deux in adagio tempo. As for the choreography, Wheeldon displays his refined balletic culture: as a lover of the Imperial ballet à la Petipa and a follower of his English masters, Frederick Ashton above all, but also Kenneth MacMillan. A delight for ballet connoisseurs are the quotes, Petipa’s the most recognizable: Alice’s departure for Wonderland with her mentor White Rabbit/Carroll on a paper boat sailing through the backdrop is a reminiscence of the Prince in “Sleeping Beauty” travelling with the Lilac Fairy on the golden bark (then immobile whilst the ‘panorama’ moved) to awaken Aurora. Taken from “The Sleeping Beauty,” almost identical in choreography, is the Rose Adagio, danced not by Aurora but, humorously, by the Queen of Hearts, with a tartlet in place of the flower.

Navrin Turnbull in “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” by Christopher Wheeldon. Photogaprh by Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala

As the designated heir to English ballet—classical and narrative—Wheeldon pays homage to his masters with even greater passion, as evident: the waltz in the third act recalls Ashton’s “La Valse” in figurations and rhythm, whilst only on a second viewing we noticed, with a slight pang of emotion, one of the most successful references: in the pas de deux, the Jack of Hearts presents himself to Alice with a variation just as Des Grieux does to Manon, both young women admiring him whilst seated in the same manner on a stool. The somewhat (overly) commanding music by Joby Talbot, a composer associated with the Royal Ballet, imaginatively complements the narrative, quoting famous passages—such as those by Tchaikovsky for Petipa’s ballets—in a reworked form.

The dancers are important but not decisive in the ballet; Wheeldon must have been impressed by them at La Scala, given that he publicly praised the ‘natural’ Italian quality of their performance. That’s it: moving beyond the stereotype of the Italian school, all the foreign choreographers invited highlight it.

Nicoletta Manni, Claudio Coviello, and Marco Agostino in “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” by Christopher Wheeldon. Photogaprh by Brescia e Amisano | Teatro alla Scala

The English choreographer chose three casts at La Scala, selecting for the lead role of Alice, who remains on stage continuously for the show’s nearly three hours, petite soloists from the company rather than our prima ballerinas, instead entrusted with the parodic role of the Queen of Hearts.

We saw two casts. The first featured the soloist Agnese Di Clemente, chosen for her innocent air and technical resistance, alongside the Jack of Hearts played by the newly appointed Australian principal dancer Navrin Turnbull: both were good, though still too much like ballet figurines rather than the complex characters of the book. More suited to the first cast but instead assigned to the third, were the brilliant Linda Giubelli, with her powerful technique and wonderfully arched feet, alongside a ‘King’ of Hearts as the principal dancer Timofej Andrijashenko. Unexpectedly parodic was the étoile Nicoletta Manni in the role of the Queen of Hearts while the principal dancer Virna Toppi was more natural than acting in the other cast. Also admirable for their engaging performances were the many characters accompanying Alice’s journey: the principal dancers Claudio Coviello and Marco Agostino in the role of the White Rabbit/Carroll; the soloists Christian Fagetti and Marco Messina, who in the Mad Hatter’s tap dance reveal the key to understanding Wheeldon’s ballet.

Valentina Bonelli

Valentina Bonelli is a dance journalist and critic based in Milan, and a longtime contributor to Vogue Italia and Amadeus. She is a correspondent from Italy for international dance magazines such as Dance Europe and Dance Magazine Japan. As a scholar her main interest lies in the XIX century Russian ballet, in its connections with the Italian ballet school. She has translated and edited Marius Petipa’s Memoires (2010) and Diaries (2018) into Italian, and she is currently writing essays and biographies about La Scala ballerinas dancing at Russian Imperial theatres.

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We're all Mad Here

Valentina Bonelli

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