BALANCHINE/TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR AND
ALL-PROKOFIEV CELEBRATION TO
HIGHLIGHT EIGHT-WEEK SEASON

NINA ANANIASHVILI TO GIVE FINAL PERFORMANCE ON JUNE 27

7:30 P.M. Curtain Time for
Monday through Thursday Performances to Begin

American Ballet Theatre’s 2009 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 18-July 11, was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Highlighting the engagement will be the World Premiere of an all-new staging of On the Dnieper by Alexei Ratmansky, ABT’s Artist-in-Residence.

Principal Dancers for the engagement will include Nina Ananiashvili, Maxim Beloserkovsky, Roberto Bolle, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Xiomara Reyes, Ethan Stiefel, Diana Vishneva and Michele Wiles. Natalia Osipova, a leading soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet, will perform as a guest artist for the Spring season.

Superfund Asset Management&##44; Inc. is the sponsor of American Ballet Theatre’s 2009 Metropolitan Opera House season. Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Costume Fund. J.P. Morgan is the Official Sponsor of Make a Ballet. American Airlines is ABT’s Official Airline. Northern Trust is the Official Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. The 2009 Metropolitan Opera House Season is also made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The 2009 Spring Season will open with a Gala performance featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers on Monday, May 18 at 6:30 P.M. For information on ABT’s Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239. ABT’s Spring Gala is sponsored Carolina Herrera, Ltd. and Graff.

World Premiere and All-Prokofiev Evening

Alexei Ratmansky, American Ballet Theatre’s Artist-in-Residence, will choreograph an all-new production of Sergei Prokofiev’s On the Dnieper which will receive its World Premiere on Monday evening, June 1 as part of ABT”s All-Prokofiev Celebration. On the Dnieper will feature sets by Simon Pastukh, costumes by Galina Solovyeva and lighting by Brad Fields. Prokofiev’s score for On the Dnieper was originally commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev and the ballet received its World Premiere in 1932 by the Paris Opera Ballet.

The All-Prokofiev Celebration will also include the Company Premiere of James Kudelka’s Désir and the Revival Premiere of George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son. ABT’s All-Prokofiev Celebration will have eight performances through June 6. Kudelka’s Désir, set to Prokofiev’s Cinderella (Op. 87) and the Waltz Suite (Op. 110), features a scenic concept and lighting by Robert Thomson. The ballet, which will be staged for ABT by Gerard Charles, received its World Premiere on January 31, 1991 by Les Grand Ballets Canadiens.

George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, based on the Biblical parable, will have its Revival Premiere on Monday, June 1, with Ethan Stiefel as The Son and Michele Wiles as The Siren. The ballet premiered as Le Fils Prodigue at the Paris Theatre by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes on May 21, 1929 and was first performed by American Ballet Theatre in 1980. Prodigal Son features a libretto by Boris Kochino, scenery and costumes by Georges Rouault and lighting by Gil Wechsler. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Richard Tanner.

All-Balanchine/Tchaikovsky Evening

George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante will have its first performance of the season on Tuesday evening, May 19 led by Gillian Murphy as part of American Ballet Theatre’s All-Balanchine/Tchaikovsky Spectacular. The program, which will have eight performances through Monday evening, May 25, will also include Balanchine’s Tchiakovsky Pas de Deux, Mozartiana and Theme and Variations.

Allegro Brillante, set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 75), received its World Premiere by New York City Ballet on March 1, 1956. Allegro Brillante willl be staged for ABT by Judith Fugate. The ballet will be given its ABT Company on February 17, 2009 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes will dance the season’s first performance of Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux on Monday evening, May 19. Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux uses music the composer originally intended for the pas de deux in Act III of Swan Lake and features costumes by Karinska. The ballet was given its World Premiere by New York City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama in 1960 and entered the repertoire of American Ballet Theatre in 1979.

The season’s first performance of Balanchine’s Mozartiana, set to Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4, will be led by Veronika Part and Maxim Beloserkovsky on Tuesday evening, May 19. Staged for ABT by Maria Calegari, Mozartiana features costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian and lighting by Mark Stanley. The ballet was given its World Premiere by Les Ballets 1933 at the ThéƒÅtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on June 7, 1933. Mozartiana received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on May 24, 2004.

ABT’s production of Theme and Variations, staged by Kirk Peterson, is set to Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 3 for Orchestra and features costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by David K. H. Elliott. Theme and Variations received its World Premiere at New York City Center on November 26, 1947. Peterson’s staging of the ballet received its ABT Company Premiere at City Center, New York on October 22, 2003. Michele Wiles and David Hallberg will lead the cast of Theme and Variations on Tuesday evening, May 19.

Revival Premieres

The 2009 season will include the Revival Premieres of Paul Taylor’s Airs and August Bournonville’s La Sylphide on Monday, June 15. The ballets will be given eight performances through Saturday evening, June 20.

Set to a score by Hermann von Lovenskjold, La Sylphide (The Sylph of the Highlands) is a ballet in two acts and features scenery and costumes by Desmond Heeley and lighting by David K.H. Elliott. The World Premiere of La Sylphide (known as Sylphiden) was given by the Royal Danish Ballet at the Royal Theatre, Copenhagen on November 28, 1836 with Lucile Grahn and August Bournonville. Last performed by ABT in 2000, the ballet received its ABT premiere in 1964 with choreography by Harald Lander, from the original by Bournonville. ABT’s second production of La Sylphide, with choreography by Bournonville, restaged by Erik Bruhn, was given its first performance in July, 1971. Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo will lead the cast of the Revival Premiere of La Sylphide.

Paul Taylor’s Airs, set to music by George Frederic Handel (Concerto Grossi in G, Op. 3), features designs by Gene Moore and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Airs received its World Premiere by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1978 and its ABT Company Premiere in 1981. Airs, last performed by ABT in 1999, will be staged by Susan McGuire.

Full-Length Ballets

American Ballet Theatre’s 2009 season will include performances of five full-length ballets beginning with Le Corsaire on Tuesday evening, May 26.

With choreography by Konstantin Sergeyev after Marius Petipa, and staging by Anna-Marie Holmes after Petipa and Sergeyev, Le Corsaire features music by Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni, Léo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Prince Oldenbourg. Based on the Lord Byron poem “The Corsair” (1814), the ballet has sets and costumes by Irina Tibilova with additional costume designs by Robert Perdziola. Paloma Herrera and David Hallberg will lead the seasons first performance of Le Corsaire. The ballet will be given seven performances through Saturday evening, May 30.

Eight performances of Giselle will he performed beginning Monday, June 8 with Julie Kent in the title role dancing opposite Marcelo Gomes as Albrecht. Set to music by Adolphe Adam and orchestrated by John Lanchbery, Giselle is staged by Kevin McKenzie with choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. The two-act ballet features scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni. This production, with scenery by Quaranta and costumes by Anni, was created for the film Dancers in 1987.

Eight performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa, will be given beginning Monday, June 22 with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky leading the opening night cast. Swan Lake is set to the score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Nina Ananiashvili will give her final performance with American Ballet Theatre in the role of Odette/Odile opposite Angel Corella as Prince Siegfried on Saturday evening, June 27.

Sir Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia, will be given seven performances, June 29 through July 4. Gillian Murphy and Maxim Beloserkovsky will dance the leading roles at the season’s first performance. A ballet in three acts, Sylvia is set to music by Léo Delibes and features costumes and scenery after original designs by Robin and Christopher Ironside. Additional designs for the revival of Sylvia are by Peter Farmer and lighting is by Mark Jonathan.

The World Premiere of the original production of Sylvia was given by The Royal Ballet on September 3, 1952 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, danced by Margot Fonteyn (Sylvia), Michael Somes (Aminta), John Hart (Orion) and Alexander Grant (Eros). The United States Premiere of this original production was given by the Sadler’s Wells (now The Royal Ballet) on September 29, 1953 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Sylvia received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at
the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on June 3, 2005, danced by Gillian Murphy (Sylvia), Maxim Beloserkovsky (Aminta), Herman Cornejo (Eros) and Marcelo Gomes (Orion). The ballet is staged for ABT by Christopher Newton.

The final week of American Ballet Theatre’s eight week season at the Metropolitan Opera House will feature eight performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet beginning Monday evening, July 6 with Diana Vishneva in the title role of Juliet. Set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 22, 1985.

ABTKids

ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet, is scheduled for Saturday matinee, May 30 at 11:30am. All tickets for ABTKids are $25. The ABTKids performance is generously supported through an endowed gift from Thomas and Lydia West, in loving memory of Vivian B. West.

ABTKids Workshop Series

ABTKids Workshop Series, activity-based programs led by ABT Teaching Artists, are available to ABTKids ticket holders only on Saturday, May 30 (9:30 am) and to matinee ticket holders on Saturday, June 30 (11:00 am). Saturday workshops will be held in the rehearsal studios of the Metropolitan Opera House. Tickets to the workshops are $20 per person. For tickets and more information on ABTKids Workshop series, please call 212-419-4321.

Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2009 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House are on sale now by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org.

The Balanchine-Tchaikovsky Spectacular is generously sponsored through an endowed gift from Monica, Stefano, Cosima and Tassilo Corsi. Theme and Variations is generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Mr. and Mrs. John C. Sites, Jr.

The World Premiere of On the Dneiper is made possible by the generous support of The Ross Stretton Choreography Workshop Fund.

ABT’s performances of Le Corsaire are generously sponsored through an endowed gift from Irene and Fred Shen.

Giselle is generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.

Sylvia is generously sponsored through an endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman. The ballet is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

Swan Lake is generously underwritten by The Rosh Foundation.

ABT’s production of Romeo and Juliet is generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Ali and Monica Wambold.

CA, Inc. is a Sponsor of ABT’s Family Initiatives.

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