May 3, 2007
CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR
FIRST TWO WEEKS OF ABT'S 2007 SPRING SEASON
AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
Alessandra Ferri to Debut in Othello, Thursday Evening, May 24
Casting for the first two weeks of American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
The Company will give eight performances of Natalia Makarova’s La Bayadère beginning Tuesday evening, May 15, led by Paloma Herrera, Angel Corella and Gillian Murphy. At the matinee on Wednesday, May 16, Veronika Part will dance Nikiya for the first time with ABT opposite Marcelo Gomes, who will debut in the role of Solor. Diana Vishneva will dance Nikiya for the first time with ABT at the evening performance on Wednesday, May 16. Other debuts for the week include David Hallberg as Solor on Thursday, May 17 and Maxim Beloserkovsky as Solor at the matinee on Saturday, May 19. In addition, Irina Dvorovenko will dance the role of Nikiya for the first time in New York at the matinee on May 19.
The New York Revival Premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s Othello will take place on Tuesday, May 22, with Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the leading roles. Blaine Hoven will debut as Cassio at the matinee on Wednesday, May 23 and Alessandra Ferri will dance the role of Desdemona for the first time on Thursday, May 24. Othello received its Revival Premiere on January 11, 2007 at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The second week will continue with a Repertory Program featuring George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante and Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream. Xiomara Reyes will debut as Titania in the season’s first performance of The Dream on Friday, May 25, opposite Ethan Stiefel as Oberon and Herman Cornejo as Puck. Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg will dance the leading roles for the first time at the matinee on Saturday, May 26.
Countrywide Financial is the National Sponsor of American Ballet Theatre. Superfund Asset Management, Inc. and Northern Trust are the sponsors of ABT’s Metropolitan Opera House Season. The 2007 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.
Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2007 Metropolitan Opera House season, priced $24-$110, are available at the Met box office, online at metopera.org, or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City.
Complete casting follows:
| FIRST WEEK | |
| Mon. Eve., May 14, 6:30 P.M. | OPENING NIGHT GALA LA BAYADƒåRE – Act II Shades THE SLEEPING BEAUTY (Excerpts) – Lilac Fairy (Act III) – Wiles; Rose Adagio – Part; Act II Variation – Vishneva; Act III Grand Pas – Dvorovenko, Beloserkovsky PIƒåCE D’OCCASION – Lang Lang; Abrera, Radetsky ROMEO AND JULIET Balcony Pas de Deux – Reyes, Cornejo OTHELLO Act III Pas de Deux – Ferri, Gomes SWAN LAKE Act III Pas de Deux – Ananiashvili, Corella MANON Act I Pas de Deux – Kent, Carreño LA BAYADƒåRE (Act I excerpts) – Temple Pas de Deux – Herrera, Hallberg; Gamzatti Pas D’Action Variation – Murphy; Solor Pas D’Action Variation – Stiefel; Pas D’Action Coda |
| Tues. Eve., May 15, 8 P.M | LA BAYADČRE РHerrera, Corella, Murphy |
| Wed. Mat., May 16, 2 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РPart+, Gomes*, Wiles |
| Wed. Eve., May 16, 8 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РVishneva+, Stiefel, Abrera |
| Thurs. Eve., May 17, 8 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РHerrera, Hallberg*, Murphy |
| Fri. Eve., May 18, 8 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РPart, Gomes, Wiles |
| Sat. Mat., May 19, 2 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РDvorovenko**, Beloserkovsky*, Murphy |
| Sat. Eve., May 19, 8 P.M. | LA BAYADČRE РVishneva, Stiefel, Abrera |
| SECOND WEEK | |
| Mon. Eve., May 21, 8 P.M. | LA BAYADƒåRE – Ananiashvili, Carreño, Dvorovenko |
| Tues. Eve., May 22, 8 P.M. | OTHELLO – Gomes**, Kent, Beloserkovsky**, Abrera**, Cornejo** |
| Wed. Mat., May 23, 2 P.M. | OTHELLO – Hallberg**, Murphy**, Radetsky**, Butler**, Hoven* |
| Wed. Eve., May 23, 8 P.M. | OTHELLO – R. Thomas**, Reyes**, Lopez**, Riccetto**, Matthews** | Thurs. Eve., May 24, 8 P.M. | OTHELLO – Gomes, Ferri*, Radetsky, Abrera, Cornejo |
| Fri. Eve., May 25, 8 P.M. |
SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE – Kent, Herrera, Gomes THE DREAM – Reyes*, Stiefel, Cornejo |
| Sat. Mat., May 26, 2 P.M. |
SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE – Wiles, Part, Beloserkovsky THE DREAM – Murphy*, Hallberg*, Lopez |
| Sat. Eve., May 26, 8 P.M. |
SYMPHONIE CONCERTANTE – Abrera**, Murphy, Malakhov THE DREAM – Kent, Gomes, Cornejo |
*Please note: First time in a role:
Wed. Mat., May 16 – Gomes (Solor) in La Bayadère
Thurs. Eve., May 17 – Hallberg (Solor) in La Bayadère
Sat. Mat., May 18 – Beloserkovsky (Solor) in La Bayadère
Wed. Mat., May 23 – Hoven (Cassio) in Othello
Thurs. Eve., May 24 – Ferri (Desdemona) in Othello
Fri. Eve., May 25 – Reyes in The Dream
Sat. Mat., May 26 – Murphy, Hallberg in The Dream
**Please note: First time in a role in New York:
Sat. Mat., May 19 – Dvorovenko (Nikiya) in La Bayadère
Tue. Eve., May 22 – Gomes (Othello), Radetsky (Iago), Abrera (Emilia), Cornejo (Cassio) in Othello
Wed. Mat., May 23 – Hallberg (Othello), Murphy (Desdemona), Beloserkovsky (Iago), Butler (Emilia)
in Othello
Wed. Eve., May 23 – R. Thomas (Othello), Reyes (Desdemona), Lopez (Iago), Riccetto (Emilia),
Matthews (Cassio) in Othello
Sat. Eve., May 26 – Abrera in Symphonie Concertante
+Please note: First time in a role with ABT:
Wed. Mat., May 16 – Part (Nikiya) in La Bayadère
Wed. Eve., May 16 – Vishneva (Nikiya) in La Bayadère