World Premieres by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon, U.S. Premiere of Benjamin Millepied's Troika and Revival Premiere of Antony Tudor's Shadowplay Scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, at 7:30 P.M.

Sascha Radetsky, Alexandre Hammoudi and Daniil Simkin in Benjamin Millepied's Troika.

Casting for the first two weeks of American Ballet Theatre‚ 2011 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

The season will begin on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 P.M. with the Company‚ Opening Night Gala. The evening will be highlighted by a tribute to Jose Manuel Carreño, in honor of his farewell season with the Company. Carreño will be joined onstage by ABT Principal Dancers Paloma Herrera and Xiomara Reyes, San Francisco Ballet‚ Lorena Feijoo, Joan Boada and Taras Domitro and Boston Ballet‚ Lorna Feijoo and Nelson Madrigal in the ABT Premiere of Jorge Garcia‚ Majisimo. The Gala performance will also feature pas de deux from Swan Lake, performed by Paloma Herrera and Alexandre Hammoudi (Act II) and Michele Wiles and Cory Stearns (Act III); Manon, with Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes; The Sleeping Beauty, with Alina Cojocaru and Herman Cornejo; Lady of the Camellias, with Julie Kent and Cory Stearns; and Alexei Ratmansky‚ The Nutcracker, danced by Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes. The performance will also include Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg in Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky in Jessica Lang‚ Splendid Isolation III and excerpts from The Bright Stream. Students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre will perform Jerusalem Divertissement, choreographed by Raymond Lukens and set to music by Giuseppe Verdi. American Ballet Theatre‚ Spring Gala is sponsored by Graff.

The first of eight performances of Don Quixote will take place on Tuesday, May 17, with Paloma Herrera and Jose Manuel Carreño in the leading roles. Yuriko Kajiya and Daniil Simkin will debut in the leading roles at the matinee on Wednesday, May 18. Guest Artist Alina Cojocaru will dance the role of Kitri for the first time with the Company on Friday, May 20, opposite Jose Manuel Carreño as Basilio. Guest Artist Polina Semionova will make her debut with ABT, leading the matinee performance on Saturday, May 21, opposite David Hallberg. Set to music by Ludwig Minkus, Don Quixote is staged by Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones, after choreography by Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky. This production was generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.

Four performances of the Classic to Premieres Repertory will take place beginning Tuesday, May 24, featuring World Premieres by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon. The new Ratmansky work is set to Igor Stravinsky‚ Dumbarton Oaks and features costumes by Richard Hudson and lighting by Brad Fields. The World Premiere of the Wheeldon ballet, set to Benjamin Britten‚ Diversions on a Theme, with costumes by Bob Crowley and lighting by Brad Fields, will be led by Maria Riccetto, Sascha Radetsky, Isabella Boylston, Marcelo Gomes, Gillian Murphy, David Hallberg, Simone Messmer and Alexandre Hammoudi. Sarah Lane, Jared Matthews, Hee Seo, Cory Stearns, Stella Abrera, Eric Tamm, Christine Shevchenko and Blaine Hoven will lead the ballet for the first time at the matinee on Wednesday, May 25. The works by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon are generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Costumes for Alexei Ratmansky‚ ballet are generously supported through a gift from Charlotte and MacDonald Mathey. Christopher Wheeldon‚ ballet is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

The Classic to Premieres Repertory will also be highlighted by the United States Premiere of Benjamin Millepied‚ Troika. Daniil Simkin, Sascha Radetsky and Alexandre Hammoudi will perform Troika on Tuesday, May 24, and Jared Matthews, Blaine Hoven and Thomas Forster will make their New York debuts in these roles at the matinee on Wednesday, May 25. Set to excerpts from Johann Sebastian Bach‚ Solo Cello Suites, Troika features costumes by Paul Cox and lighting by Brad Fields. Troika was given its World Premiere by ABT on March 29, 2011, in Moscow, Russia. Troika is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Additional funding has been provided by Michele and Steven Pesner.

The Revival Premiere of Antony Tudor‚ Shadowplay will take place on Tuesday,
May 24, led by Herman Cornejo, Xiomara Reyes and Cory Stearns as The Boy With Matted Hair, Celestial and Terrestrial, respectively. Daniil Simkin, Sarah Lane and Roddy Doble will debut in the roles at the matinee on Wednesday, May 25. Created by Tudor for The Royal Ballet in 1967, Shadowplay is based on a theme from Rudyard Kipling‚ The Jungle Book and set to music by Charles Koechlin, with scenery and costumes by Michael Annals and lighting by Nananne Porcher. Shadowplay was last performed by the ABT in 1979. Shadowplay is generously supported by a gift from Nancy Zeckendorf.

The season‚ first performance of Giselle will take place on Friday, May 27, with Diana Vishneva, Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part in the leading roles. Alina Cojocaru will dance the title role for the first time with ABT on Saturday evening, May 28, opposite David Hallberg as Albrecht. Set to music by Adolphe Adam and orchestrated by John Lanchbery, Giselle was 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. Giselle is generously supported through an endowed gift from Sharon Patrick. ABT gratefully acknowledges Linda Allard as the Leading Costume Sponsor of Giselle.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. Mandarin Oriental, New York is the Preferred Hotel of American Ballet Theatre. The 2011 Metropolitan Opera House Season is also made possible with 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, in partnership with the City Council.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre‚ 2011 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $25. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT‚ website at www.abt.org.

Complete casting follows:

*Editors please note first time in a role:
Mon. Eve., 5/16 ‚ Hammoudi in Swan Lake Pas de Deux, Act II
Wed. Mat., 5/18 ‚ Kajiya (Kitri) #44; Simkin (Basilio) in Don Quixote
Tues. Eve., 5/24 – Cornejo, Reyes, Stearns in Shadowplay
Wed. Mat., 5/25 ‚ Simkin, Lane, Doble in Shadowplay; Lane, Matthews, Seo, Stearns, Abrera, Tamm,
Shevchenko, Hoven in New Wheeldon Ballet

++Editors please note guest artists in Majisimo:
Mon. Eve., 5/16 – Domitro, Lorena Feijoo, Boada, Lorna Feijoo, Madrigal

</**Editors please note first time in a role with ABT:
Fri., 5/20 ‚ Cojocaru (Kitri) in Don Quixote
Sat. Mat., 5/21 ‚ Semionova (Kitri) in Don Quixote
Sat. Eve., 5/28 ‚ Cojocaru in Giselle

+Editors please note first time in a role in New York:
Tues. Eve., 5/24 ‚ Simkin, Radetsky, Hammoudi in Troika
Wed. Mat., 5/25 ‚ Matthews, Hoven, Forster in Troika

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