ABT by Vasiliev, Osipova, Matvienko and Polina Semionova

 

CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR FIRST TWO WEEKS OF AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S 2012 SPRING SEASON  AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE:

Performances of La Bayadère to Feature ABT Debuts by  Ivan Vasiliev, Natalia Osipova, Denis Matvienko and Polina Semionova

Misty Copeland to Debut as Gamzatti on Thursday, May 24: Casting for the first two weeks of American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. 

The season will begin on Monday, May 14 at 6:30 P.M. with the Company’s Opening Night Gala.  The Gala performance will feature pas de deux from La Bayadère, performed by Polina Semionova and David Hallberg; Le Corsaire, with Paloma Herrera and Cory Stearns; Swan Lake, with Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky (Act II) and Gillian Murphy and Vadim Muntagirov (Act III);  Romeo and Juliet, with Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes; Manon, with Alina Cojocaru and Angel Corella; Don Quixote, with Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo; Onegin, with Julie Kent and Roberto Bolle; and Flames of Paris, danced by Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev.  The performance will also include Veronika Part and Thomas Forster in the Company Premiere of Susan Jaffe’s Blue Pas de Deux, Daniil Simkin in Les Bourgeois and excerpts from Le Corsaire and Christopher Wheeldon’s Thirteen Diversions.  The ABT Studio Company and students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre will perform the World Premiere of Polonaise d’Enfants, choreographed by Raymond Lukens and set to music by Alexander Glazunov.  American Ballet Theatre’s Spring Gala is sponsored by GRAFF and VALENTINO.

The first of eight performances of Giselle will take place on Tuesday, May 15, with Julie Kent, Marcelo Gomes and Veronika Part in the leading roles.  Polina Semionova will dance the role of Myrta for the first time on Saturday evening, May 19.  The week will also include  New York debuts by Cory Stearns as Albrecht at the matinee on Wednesday, May 16 and Devon Teuscher as Myrta on Friday, May 18.  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.

Veronika Part, Marcelo Gomes and Gillian Murphy will lead the season’s first performance of La Bayadère on Tuesday, May 22.  The evening performance on Wednesday, May 23 will feature New York debuts by Hee Seo as Nikiya, Vadim Muntagirov as Solor and Isabella Boylston as Gamzatti.  On Thursday, May 24, Ivan Vasiliev will dance the role of Solor for the first time with ABT and Misty Copeland will debut as Gamzatti. Natalia Osipova will make her ABT debut as Gamzatti on Friday, May 25.  On Saturday, May 26, Denis Matvienko will dance the role of Solor for the first time with ABT and Simone Messmer will make her New York debut as Gamzatti at the matinee, and Polina Semionova will make her ABT debut as Nikiya at the evening performance.  Conceived and directed by Makarova after Marius Petipa, La Bayadère is set to the music of Ludwig Minkus, arranged by John Lanchbery, and features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. La Bayadère is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Drs. Philip and Marjorie Gerdine. La Bayadère is presented in loving memory of Mrs. Caroline Newhouse. A generous grant from the Rockefeller Foundation has made this production possible. Major funding for this production has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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. MasterCard is the Official Card of 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, a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2012 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’s website at www.abt.org

Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes in La Bayadère
Photo:Gene Schiavone

© 2012 Danza Ballet

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