Season to Feature Ratmansky Festival and Revival of Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardée

Guest Artist Alessandra Ferri and Exchange Artist Xander Parish Scheduled to Perform

Principal Dancers Stella Abrera and Gillian Murphy to Celebrate 20 Years with Company

Box Office Opens March 20 at 12 Noon

Skylar Brandt and Duncan Lyle in The Golden Cockerel.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2016 Spring season will be highlighted by a World Premiere work by Alexei Ratmansky, the American Premiere of Ratmansky’s The Golden Cockerel and a revival of Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. Tickets for ABT’s Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House go on sale at the box office on Sunday, March 20 at 12 Noon.

Principal Dancers for the 2016 Metropolitan Opera House season include Stella Abrera, Roberto Bolle, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Herman Cornejo, Marcelo Gomes, Maria Kochetkova, Alban Lendorf, Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Polina Semionova, Hee Seo, Daniil Simkin, Cory Stearns, Diana Vishneva and James Whiteside.

Former American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Alessandra Ferri will perform as a Guest Artist on Thursday evening, June 23 in the role of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet for the first time since her retirement from the Company in 2007.  Xander Parish of the Mariinsky Ballet will debut with the Company as an Exchange Artist.  Parish will dance the role of Aminta in Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia at the matinee on Wednesday, May 11 and Saturday evening, May 14.  Principal Dancers Stella Abrera and Gillian Murphy will also celebrate their 20^th anniversary of performances with the Company.

2016 Spring Gala Performance and World Premiere

American Ballet Theatre’s 2016 Spring Gala will be held during the second week of the Met season on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 P.M. The Gala performance will include a World Premiere by Alexei Ratmansky, set to Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato’s Symposium, Ratmansky’s Firebird and excerpts from the season’s repertoire.  For information on ABT’s 2016 Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3310.

All-Ratmansky Festival

The second week of American Ballet Theatre’s Spring season, May 17-23, will feature two repertory programs of works choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky.   The first program, Ratmansky’s 2013 Shostakovich Trilogy, features the choreographer’s Symphony #9, Chamber Symphony and Piano Concerto #1.  Shostakovich Trilogy will be given four performances, May 17, 20, 21 evening and 23.  A triple bill of Ratmansky works, featuring the Ratmansky/Bernstein premiere, Seven Sonatas (2009) and Firebird (2012), will have four performances, May 18 matinee and evening, May 19 and the matinee of May 21.

American Premiere

Alexei Ratmansky’s The Golden Cockerel will receive its American Premiere on Monday evening, June 6, 2016 with Veronika Part (Queen of Shemakah) and Skylar Brandt (the Golden Cockerel) leading the first cast.  Set to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, arranged by Yannis Samprovalakis, with sets and costumes by Richard Hudson, Ratmansky’s The Golden Cockerel is inspired by Michel Fokine’s 1914  production for the Ballet Russes.

Based on Alexander Pushkin’s folktale, The Golden Cockerel was first presented on May 21, 1914 at the Théacute;âtre Nationale de l’Opera, Paris, with choreography by Michel Fokine and scenery and costumes by Natalia Goncharova.  Ratmansky’s choreography for The Golden Cockerel received its World Premiere by the Royal Danish Ballet on September 29, 2012 at the Copenhagen Opera House, Denmark.  Ann Holm-Jensen Peyk will assist in the staging of the ballet for ABT.

Revival

Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée returns to the repertory on Tuesday evening, May 24 for eight performances through Monday, May 30.  Set to music by Ferdinand Hérold, freely adapted and arranged by John Lanchbery from the 1828 version, La Fille mal gardée features designs by Osbert Lancaster, a scenario by Jean Dauberval and lighting by Brad Fields.  Isabella Boylston and Jeffrey Cirio will dance the leading roles of Lise and Colas in the ballet’s first performance of the season on May 24.  Gillian Murphy will celebrate her 20^th Anniversary with ABT at the evening performance on Saturday, May 28.  La Fille mal gardée received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on January 28, 1960, danced by Nadia Nerina (Lise), David Blair (Colas), Alexander Grant (Alain) and Stanley Holden (Widow Simone).  The ballet received its United States Premiere by The Royal Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on September 14, 1960, danced by the same cast.

La Fille mal gardée received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on May 31, 2002, danced by Ashley Tuttle (Lise) and Ethan Stiefel (Colas).  Last performed by ABT in 2003, the ballet will be staged for the Company by Malin Thoors.

Full-Length Ballets

American Ballet Theatre will present five additional full-length ballets during its 2016 Spring season.

Gillian Murphy, Marcelo Gomes and James Whiteside will dance the leading roles in the season’s first performance of Ashton’s Sylvia on Monday evening, May 9.  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 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 World Premiere of this revival of Sylvia by was given by The Royal Ballet on November 4, 2004 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, danced by Darcey Bussell (Sylvia), Jonathan Cope (Aminta), Thiago Soares (Orion) and Martin Harvey (Eros).  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), Marcelo Gomes (Orion) and Herman Cornejo (Eros).  Sylvia was last performed by ABT in 2013.

The season’s first performance of Le Corsaire on Tuesday, May 31 features Maria Kochetkova, Herman Cornejo, Sarah Lane, Daniil Simkin and Jeffrey Cirio in the leading roles.  Based on the Lord Byron poem “The Corsair” (1814), the ballet features choreography by Konstantin Sergeyev after Marius Petipa, and staging by Anna-Marie Holmes after Petipa and Sergeyev, with music by Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni, Léo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Prince Oldenbourg.  Scenery and costumes are by Irina Tibilova, with additional costume designs by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Mary Jo Dondlinger.  Le Corsaire received its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 19, 1998 with Nina Ananiashvili (Medora), Giuseppe Picone (Conrad), Ashley Tutttle (Gulnare), Angel Corella (Birbanto), Jose Manuel Carréno (Ali, the slave) and Vladimir Malakhov (Lankendem).

Eight performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, will be given beginning Monday, June 13 with Polina Semionova and Marcelo Gomes 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. with Julie Kent (Odette-Odile), Angel Corella (Prince Siegfried) and Marcelo Gomes (von Rothbart). Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet will be given eight performances beginning Monday evening, June 20 with Hee Seo and Cory Stearns in the title roles.  Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton.  Romeo and Juliet 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 with Leslie Browne and Robert La Fosse in the leading roles.

Last season’s World Premiere production of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty returns to the Metropolitan Opera House for eight performances beginning Monday evening, June 27 with Isabella Boylston and Joseph Gorak in the leading roles. Stella Abrera will debut in the role of Aurora on Thursday evening, June 30.  The performance will also celebrate Abrera’s 20^th Anniversary with ABT. Set to the classic score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty has choreography by Marius Petipa and staging and additional choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, with assistance by Tatiana Ratmansky.  The production features scenery and costumes by Tony Award®-winning designer Richard Hudson.  Hudson’s designs are based on the historic work of Léon Bakst, who created a seminal version of The Sleeping Beauty for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1921. The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere on March 3, 2015 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, danced by Diana Vishneva (Princess Aurora) and Marcelo Gomes (Prince Désiré).

ABTKids

ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet for young audience members and their families, is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 11 at 11:30 A.M.  The performance is recommended for children ages 4-12, and features child-friendly highlights from the season’s repertoire.  All tickets for ABTKids are $25.

ABTKids Workshop Series

ABTKids pre-performance workshops, one-hour activity-based programs led by ABT Teaching Artists, are available to ABTKids ticket holders, 12 and under, on Saturday, June 11 (9:30 A.M.) and to matinee ticket holders on Saturday, June 4 (11:00 A.M.) and Saturday, June 18 (11:00 A.M.).  Saturday workshops will be held in the rehearsal studios of the Metropolitan Opera House.  Tickets are $20 and available only to ticket holders to the performance following the workshop.  For tickets and more information on the ABTKids Workshop series, please visit www.abt.org/education/workshops.asp.

Individual tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2016 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, on sale beginning Sunday, March 20 at 12:00 Noon, are available at the Met box office, by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org.  Tickets start at $20. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. 
Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. 
ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Sylvia is generously supported through an endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman.

David H. Koch is the lead Underwriter of Shostakovich Trilogy. Additional leadership support has been generously provided by The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation. ABT gratefully acknowledges Linda Allard for her generous support of costumes for this production. Mary Jo and Ted Shen, Mrs. Marjorie S. Isaac, and an anonymous donor are leading Sponsors of this production. Additional support has been provided by Edward and Caroline Hyman, Charlotte and Macdonald Mathey, Michele and Steve Pesner, and Michael and Sue Steinberg. This production has been generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Alexei Ratmansky World Premiere has been generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Seven Sonatas is generously supported by the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. David H. Koch is the lead Underwriter of Firebird. Firebird is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Linda Allard is the leading Sponsor of costumes for Firebird. Additional costume underwriting support has been provided by Caroline Hyman. ABT gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Leading Sponsors The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation and Charlotte and Macdonald Mathey. Additional support has generously been provided by the Sol and Margaret Berger Foundation, Brian and Darlene Heidtke, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, Jill L. Leinbach, Andrew J. Martin-Weber, James M. and Nora C. Orphanides, the Rockefeller Brothers and Tassilo Corsi . Support for costume and set design has generously been provided by Dr. Coco Lazaroff. Firebird has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment of the Arts. 

La Fille mal gardée has been generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

American Ballet Theatre’s performances of Le Corsaire are generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.  Additional support provided through an endowed gift from Irene and Fred Shen. 

The American Premiere of The Golden Cockerel has been generously underwritten by an anonymous donor.  This production has been generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.  Additional support provided by Michele and Steve Pesner.

Swan Lake has been generously underwritten by R. Chemers Neustein.  Costumes for Swan Lake are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.

American Ballet Theatre’s performances of Romeo and Juliet are generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Ali and Monica Wambold.

ABT gratefully acknowledges Lead Sponsor of The Sleeping Beauty, David H. Koch.   Additional leadership support is generously provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.  ABT gratefully acknowledges Linda Allard for her generous support of costumes for The Sleeping Beauty.  Additional support is generously provided by Avery and Andrew F. Barth, The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Caroline and Edward Hyman, Howard S. Paley, Linda and Martin Fell, Mr. and Mrs. Austin T. Fragomen, The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund, and Michael and Sue Steinberg.  Support has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.  This production of The Sleeping Beauty is a co-production with Teatro alla Scala.

Back To ABT News >>