Casting announced for American Ballet Theatre’s 2023 Fall Season

Casting for American Ballet Theatre's 2023 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater from October 18–29 was announced today by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe. Ticket sales open on Wednesday 6 September.

The season will feature three programmes. The first, Classics Old and New will consist of Alexei Ratmansky's Piano Concerto No. 1, Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort, and Harald Lander's Études. 20th Century Works: Balanchine and Ashton will follow with George Balanchine's Ballet Imperial and Frederick Ashton's The Dream. To close the season, 21st Century Works: King, Ratmansky, and Bond will include Alonzo King's Single Eye, Ratmansky's On the Dnipro, and the New York Premiere of Gemma Bond's Depuis le Jour.

The Fall Gala will take place on Tuesday 24 October at 6:30 pm at the Koch Theater. ABT's Artistic team has assembled a one-night-only gala programme featuring a curated selection of beloved classic and contemporary pieces with this season's principal dancers, up-and-coming talent at American Ballet Theatre with a performance by ABT Studio Company as well as students of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.

Classics Old and New

 Wednesday 18 October – Saturday 21 October

Piano Concerto No. 1 will open the Fall season on 18 October led by Christine Shevchenko, Calvin Royal III, Skylar Brandt, and Jake Roxander in a debut. Hee Seo, Thomas Forster, Catherine Hurlin, and Aran Bell will debut in principal roles on Thursday 19 October.

The ballet was choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky and is set to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich with scenery by George Tsypin, costumes by Keso Dekker, and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Piano Concerto No. 1 was given its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on 31 May 2013, under the title Piano Concerto #1, danced by Diana Vishneva, Cory Stearns, Natalia Osipova, and Ivan Vasiliev.

Petite Mort was originally created by Jiří Kylián for the second centenary of the death of Mozart, to the slow movements of two of Mozart's most beautiful and popular piano concertos. Costumes are by Joke Visser and lighting by Joop Caboort. Petite Mort was given its World Premiere at the Salzburg Festival on 23 August 1991, at the Kleines Festpielhaus, Salzburg, Austria. It was given its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at City Center, New York on 30 October 2003. Petite Mort will be staged for ABT by Elke Scheppers.

Études will conclude the first program led by Devon Teuscher, Daniel Camargo, and Herman Cornejo on October 18, with both Teuscher and Camargo debuting in these roles. On Thursday 19 October, Joo Won Ahn and Aran Bell will debut in leading roles, while on Friday 20 October, Catherine Hurlin and Jake Roxander will make their debuts.

Set to music by Carl Czerny and arranged by Knudåge Riisager, Études was created in 1948 at the Royal Opera House in Copenhagen for the Royal Danish Ballet and was later staged for the Paris Opera in 1952. American Ballet Theatre first presented Études at the 54th Street Theatre on 5 October 1961, with the cast headed by Toni Lander, Royes Fernandez, and Bruce Marks. Études will be staged for ABT by Thomas Lund.

20th Century Works: Balanchine and Ashton

Saturday 21 October – Sunday 22 October – Wednesday 25 October – Thursday 26 October 26 

Ballet Imperial will open the second program of the Fall season, featuring Isabella Boylston, James Whiteside, and Skylar Brandt debuting in the leading roles. Christine Shevchenko, Calvin Royal III, and Chloe Misseldine will debut in these leading roles at the matinee on Sunday 22 October. 

Ballet Imperial, set to Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 2 in G for Piano and Orchestra, received its World Premiere by American Ballet Caravan at the Hunter College Playhouse, New York on May 27, 1941, danced by Marie-Jeanne, Gisella Caccialanza, and William Dollar. The American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere of Ballet Imperial was given on 10 February 1988, at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, danced by Susan Jaffe, Ross Stretton, and Amanda McKerrow. Scenery and costumes are by Rouben Ter-Aruntuian and lighting is by Jennifer Tipton. Ballet Imperial will be staged for ABT by Colleen Neary.

Ashton's The Dream will be performed by Gillian Murphy as Titania, Daniel Camargo as Oberon, and Jake Roxander in his debut as Puck. Aran Bell will debut as Oberon at the matinee on Sunday 22 October. 

The Dream is Frederick Ashton's beguiling retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream set to score by Felix Mendelssohn and arranged by John Lanchbery with sets and costumes by David Walker and lighting by John B. Read. The Dream received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 2 April 1964, danced by Antoinette Sibley as Titania, Anthony Dowell as Oberon, and Keith Martin as Puck. The Dream was given its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York on 24 May 2002, danced by Alessandra Ferri as Titania, Ethan Stiefel as Oberon, and Herman Cornejo as Puck.

21st Century Works: King, Ratmansky, and Bond

Friday 27 October 27 – Sunday 29 October

The first performance of Alonzo King's Single Eye will be led by Isabella Boylston, Thomas Forster, Calvin Royal III, Skylar Brandt, and Cory Stearns, the original principal cast of the ballet at its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on 16 March 2022, at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. Set to music by celebrated jazz artist and composer Jason Moran, Single Eye features sets and costumes by Robert Rosenwasser and lighting by Jim French.

Gemma Bond's pas de deux Depuis le Jour will be given its New York Premiere, danced by Hee Seo and Joo Won Ahn. Katherine Williams and Jose Sebastian will dance these roles for the first time in New York at the matinee on Saturday 28 October. Choreographed by Gemma Bond, the piece is set to the Act III aria from Louise by Gustave Charpentier, with costumes by Bond and lighting by Serena Wong. Depuis le Jour was given its World Premiere on 28 November 2012, at the International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize, danced by Devon Teuscher and Calvin Royal III.

On the Dnipro will be danced by Cory Stearns as Sergiy, Devon Teuscher as Natalia, Christine Shevchenko as Olga, and James Whiteside as Olga's Fiancé. Debuts will include SunMi Park as Natalia and Michael de la Nuez as Olga's Fiancé at the matinee on Saturday 28 October; and Aran Bell as Sergiy and Cassandra Trenary as Natalia at the matinee on Sunday 29 October.

Ratmansky's production of Sergei Prokofiev's On the Dnipro received its World Premiere on 1 June 2009, at the Metropolitan Opera House, under the title On the Dnieper, danced by Marcelo Gomes as Sergiy, Veronika Part as Natalia, Paloma Herrera as Olga, and David Hallberg as Olga's Fiancé. The title of the ballet and the leading character's name have been adjusted to reflect a Ukrainian spelling. The production features scenery by Simon Pastukh, costumes by Galina Solovyeva, lighting by Brad Fields, and projections by Wendall K. Harrington. Prokofiev's score for On the Dnipro was originally commissioned by the Paris Opera, and the original ballet production received its World Premiere in 1932 by the Paris Opera Ballet.

For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

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.