A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)

This article is about Balanchine's 1962 full-length ballet. For Shakespeare's play, see A Midsummer Night's Dream. For other uses, see A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation).

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a two-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Felix Mendelssohn's music to Shakespeare's play of the same name. In addition to the incidental music Balanchine incorporated other Mendelssohn works into the ballet, including the Overtures to Athalie, Son and Stranger, and The Fair Melusine, the "String Symphony No. 9 in C minor" and The First Walpurgis Night.[1] A Midsummer Night's Dream, Balanchine's first completely original full-length ballet, premiered at New York City Ballet on 17 January 1962,[1][2] with Edward Villella in the role of Oberon, Melissa Hayden in the role of Titania, and Arthur Mitchell in the role of Puck. The ballet employs a large children's corps de ballet.[3] Act I tells Shakespeare's familiar story of lovers and fairies while Act II presents a strictly classical dance wedding celebration. The ballet dispenses with Shakespeare's play-within-a-play finale. A Midsummer Night's Dream opened The New York City Ballet's first season at the New York State Theater in April, 1964.[1]

Casts

original

first cast

Titania
Oberon
Puck
Hippolyta

film version (1966)

[4]

Titania
Oberon
Puck
Hippolyta

NYCB revivals

2009 Spring

rôle:

Titania
Oberon
Puck
Hippolyta
Theseus
Titania’s Cavalier
Helena
Demetrius
Hermia
Lysander
Butterfly
Bottom
divertissement

first cast

second cast

rôle:

Titania
Oberon
Puck
Hippolyta
Theseus
Titania’s Cavalier
Helena
Demetrius
Hermia
Lysander
Butterfly
Bottom
divertissement

third cast

fourth cast

rôle:

Titania
Oberon
Puck
Hippolyta
Theseus
Titania’s Cavalier
Helena
Demetrius
Hermia
Lysander
Butterfly
Bottom
divertissement

fifth cast

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 first time in rôle
  2. Jenifer Ringer replaced Wendy Whelan in the divertissement.
  3. 1 2 Troy Schumacher replaced Sean Suozzi in the rôle of Puck.

Other choreographers' interpretations

References

  1. 1 2 3 A Midsummer Night's Dream. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  2. New York City Ballet: Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  3. Boston Ballet: A Midsummer Night's Dream. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  4. New York Times review, Clive Barnes April 18, 1967 | http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B0DEFDA153AE63ABC4052DFB266838C679EDE

External links

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