La Scala Ballet Season 2018-2019 announced

The new ballet season at La Scala sees seven programmes, including three pieces being presented at the theatre for the first time, including a newly commissioned work.

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker will open the season on 16 December and it will be the first time that his version has been presented in Italy. A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jewels are already in the company's repertoire, Apollo is being performed in the Nureyev Gala at the time of writing, and Symphony in C will also be presented during the next season. Margherita Palli will design the sets and costumes for The Nutcracker.

Angelin Preljocaj will create a new work for the company using Franz Schubert's Winterreise as it's title and score. La Scala has presented Italian premieres of three of his works, but this will be his first creation for the company.

Another Italian premiere will be Wayne McGregor's recent hit ballet Woolf Works from The Royal Ballet, coming to La Scala with its original interpreter Alessandra Ferri. Fellow Italian, and Royal Ballet Principal Federico Bonelli will also be in the cast.

Rudolf Nureyev's The Sleeping Beauty will return after the experiment with Alexei Ratmansky's reconstruction which was misunderstood by many – dancers and audience. Nureyev's production was first seen in 1966 but hasn't been staged for 12 years. Polina Semionova will guest alongside company Étoile Svetlana Zakharova who will also dance in Giselle which has a regular place in the company's seasons.

John Cranko's Onegin is also back with Roberto Bolle and Marianela Nuñez.

A triple bill ditches the new work Mahler 10 by Azsure Barton which was created for the company this year, and substitutes it with Balanchine's Symphony in C. Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort and Maurice Béjart's Boléro (again with Roberto Bolle on the red table) have been spared the chop.

In July 2019 Tokyo Ballet brings two programmes to the theatre with The Kabuki and a mixed bill.

Ballet Season 2018-2019

15 December 2018: Young People's Preview

16, 19, 20, 29, 30 December 2018; 3, 4, 10, 12 (2 perf.), 15 January 2019

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®

Choreography
George Balanchine, © The George Balanchine Trust

Sets and costumes
Margherita Palli

Lighting
Marco Filibeck

Conductor
Michail Jurowski

Corps de ballet and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala

New Teatro alla Scala production
Italian premiere

Angelin Preljocaj photo Joerg Letz

Thomas Tatzl 2017 © Anja Koppitsch

24, 25, 26, 29, 30 January; 1 February; 8, 9 March 2019

Franz Schubert

Winterreise

Choreography
Angelin Preljocaj

Sets
Constance Guisset

Costumes
Angelin Preljocaj

Lighting
Eric Soyer

Bass-baritone
Thomas Tatzl

Pianoforte
James Vaughan

Corps de ballet of Teatro alla Scala

New Teatro alla Scala production
World premiere

Wayne McGregor photo Pål Hansen

Woolf Works with Federico Bonelli and Alessandra Ferri ©ROH, 2015 Tristram Kenton

7, 10 (2 perf.), 12, 13, 14, 20 April 2019

Max Richter

Woolf Works

(I now, I then – Becomings – Tuesday)

Director and Choreographer
Wayne McGregor

Sets
Ciguë, We Not I, Wayne McGregor

Costumes
Moritz Junge

Lighting
Lucy Carter

Video design
Ravi Deepres

Sound design
Chris Ekers

Makeup
Kabuki

Dramaturge
Uzma Hameed

Guest artists
Alessandra Ferri (7, 10s.,12,14, 20 April 2019)
Federico Bonelli (7, 10s.,12,14, 20 April 2019)

Conductor
Oleg Caetani

Corps de ballet and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala

Production by The Royal Ballet, 2015
Italian premiere

The Sleeping Beauty, photo Marco Brescia Teatro alla Scala

Svetlana Zakharova in The Sleeping Beauty, photo Marco Brescia Teatro alla Scala

26, 27, 29 June; 2, 3, 5, 9 July 2019

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The Sleeping Beauty

Choreography
Rudolf Nureyev

Sets and costumes
Franca Squarciapino

Étoile
Svetlana Zakharova (5, 9 July)

Guest
Polina Semionova (26, 29 June)

Conductor
Felix Korobov

Corps de ballet and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala

A Teatro alla Scala production

17,19 (2 perf.), 24, 30 September; 3 (2 perf.), 8 October 2019

Adolphe Adam

Giselle

Choreography
Jean Coralli – Jules Perrot

Version by
Yvette Chauviré

Sets and costumes
Aleksandre Benois

Étoile
Svetlana Zakharova (17, 19s, 24 September)

Conductor
David Coleman

Corps de ballet of Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala's Academy Orchestra

A Teatro alla Scala production

Onegin with Marianela Nunez and Roberto Bolle photo Brescia e Amisano Teatro alla Scala

Onegin with Marianela Nunez and Roberto Bolle photo Brescia e Amisano Teatro alla Scala 01

24, 26, 29 October; 2, 6, 8, 10 November 2019

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Onegin

Choreography
John Cranko

Sets
Pier Luigi Samaritani

Costumes
Pier Luigi Samaritani and Roberta Guidi di Bagno

Lighting
Steen Bjarke

Étoile
Roberto Bolle (24, 26, 29 October; 2, 6 November)

Artista ospite
Marianela Nuñez (24, 26, 29 October; 2, 6 November)

Conductor
Felix Korobov

Corps de ballet and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala

A Teatro alla Scala production

16, 19, 22, 24, 27, 30 (2 perf.) November 2019

Balanchine – Kylián – Béjart

Georges Bizet

Symphony in C

Choreography
George Balanchine
© School of American Ballet

Costumes
Karinska

Lighting
Andrea Giretti

A Teatro alla Scala production

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Petite Mort

Choreography and Sets
Jiří Kylián

Costumes
Joke Visser

Lighting
Jiří Kylián

Pianoforte
Takahiro Yoshikawa

A Teatro alla Scala production

Maurice Ravel

Boléro

Choreography
Maurice Béjart

Original Lighting recreated by Marco Filibeck

Étoile
Roberto Bolle (16, 19, 22, 24, 27 November)

A Teatro alla Scala production

Conductor
Felix Korobov

Corps de ballet and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala

Tokyo Ballet

11, 12 July 2019

Toshiro Mayuzumi

The Kabuki

Choreography
Maurice Béjart

Sets and costumes
Nuño Corte-Real

13, 14 July 2019

Programme to be confirmed

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.