World Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's Shostakovich Trilogy, Friday Evening, May 31

Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev to Lead New York Premiere of New Production of Le Corsaire, Tuesday Evening, June 4

Natalia Osipova in Le Corsaire.

Casting for the third and fourth weeks of American Ballet Theatreā€™s 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Performances of Don Quixote will continue through May 30. At the matinee on Wednesday, May 29, Veronika Part will debut as Kitri, opposite James Whiteside in his New York debut as Basilio. At the May 29 evening performance, Guest Artist Denis Matvienko will dance the role of Basilio for the first time with ABT, opposite Gillian Murphy as Kitri. On Thursday, May 30, Isabella Boylston will make her New York debut as Kitri, opposite Daniil Simkin as Basilio. Staged by Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones, with choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, Don Quixote is set to music by Ludwig Minkus and features scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz. The McKenzie/Jones staging of the current production was first performed by ABT on June 12, 1995. This production was generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.

Alexei Ratmansky’s full-evening Shostakovich Trilogy will be given its World Premiere on Friday, May 31. Set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich and featuring scenery by George Tsypin, costumes by Keso Dekker and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, the Shostakovich Trilogy includes Symphony #9, Chamber Symphony and Piano Concerto #1. Symphony #9 was given its World Premiere at New York City Center on October 18, 2012, led by Polina Semionova, Marcelo Gomes, Herman Cornejo, Simone Messmer and Craig Salstein. The ballet will be performed by the same cast on May 31, alongside the World Premieres of Chamber Symphony, led by David Hallberg, Isabella Boylston, Paloma Herrera and Julie Kent, and Piano Concerto #1, led by Diana Vishneva, Cory Stearns, Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev. The matinee on Saturday, June 1 will feature debuts by James Whiteside, Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya and Hee Seo in Chamber Symphony and Gillian Murphy, Calvin Royal III, Xiomara Reyes and Daniil Simkin in Piano Concerto #1. The World Premiere of the Shostakovich Trilogy is co-commissioned by American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet. David H. Koch is Lead Underwriter for the World Premiere of the Shostakovich Trilogy. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation is a Premier Sponsor. Linda Allard is a Premier Sponsor of the costumes for the Shostakovich Trilogy. Mary Jo and Ted Shen, Mrs. Marjorie S. Isaac and an anonymous donor are Leading Sponsors of the Shostakovich Trilogy. Sponsorship support has also been generously provided by Edward and Caroline Hyman, Charlotte and Macdonald Mathey, Michele and Steven Pesner, and Michael and Sue Steinberg. Additional support has been generously provided by Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, Andrew J. Martin-Weber and Howard S. Paley. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The World Premiere of the Shostakovich Trilogy is supported by San Francisco Ballet’s New Productions Fund Lead Sponsors Mrs. Jeannik MƒÜ¬©quet Littlefield and Mr. and Mrs. John S. Osterweis; Major Sponsors Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation and Larry and Joyce Stupski; and Sponsors Richard C. Barker, Christine H. Russell Fund of the Columbia Foundation, Suzy Kellems Dominik, Stephanie Barlage Ejabat, The William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Cecilia and Jim Herbert. The production is also supported by Elizabeth and Richard Fullerton.

The Company will present the New York Premiere of a new production of Le Corsaire, with sets by Christian Prego, costumes by Anibal Lapiz and lighting by Brad Fields, on Tuesday, June 4, led by Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev, Herman Cornejo, Daniil Simkin, Isabella Boylston and Craig Salstein. The matinee on Wednesday, June 5 will feature ABT debuts by Guest Artist Denis Matvienko as Conrad and Exchange Artist Steven McRae as Lankendem. On Thursday, June 6, the performance will include New York debuts by James Whiteside as Ali, the Slave and Luis Ribagorda as Birbanto. 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. Le Corsaire received its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 19, 1998. This new production was premiered by Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 18, 2011 and received its ABT Company Premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2013. American Ballet Theatre’s performances of Le Corsaire are generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Irene and Fred Shen.

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. 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.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2013 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.

Complete casting follows:

*Editors please note first time in a role:
Wed. Mat., May 29 – Part (Kitri) in Don Quixote
Sat. Mat., June 1 – Whiteside, Lane, Kajiya, Seo in Chamber Symphony and Murphy, Royal, Reyes, Simkin in Piano Concerto #1
Wed. Mat., June 5 – McRae (Lankendem) in Le Corsaire

+Editors please note first time in a role with ABT:
Wed. Eve., May 29 – Matvienko (Basilio) in Don Quixote
Wed. Mat., June 5 – Matvienko (Conrad) in Le Corsaire

++Editors please note first time in a role in New York:
Wed. Mat., May 29 – Whiteside (Basilio) in Don Quixote
Thur. Eve., May 30 – Boylston (Kitri) in Don Quixote
Tue. Eve., June 4 – Boylston (Gulnare) in Le Corsaire
Thur. Eve., June 6 – Whiteside (Lankendem) and Ribagorda (Birbanto) in Le Corsaire

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