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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
