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SAN FRANCISCO BALLET ANNOUNCES 2013 REPERTORY SEASON

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THE U.S. PREMIERE OF WHEELDON’S CINDERELLA, NEUMEIER’S NIJINSKY BY VISITING COMPANY HAMBURG BALLET, THE SF BALLET PREMIERE OF LIFAR’S SUITE EN BLANC, PLUS WORLD PREMIERES BY MCGREGOR, POSSOKHOV & RATMANSKY

Costumes & Set Designs for Wheeldon's 'Cinderella'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

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SAN FRANCISCO, Tuesday, April 10, 2012—San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in America, has announced the repertory and performance schedule for its 80^th Repertory Season. SF Ballet’s 2013 Repertory Season will include the U.S. premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length Cinderella; the Northern California premiere of Nijinsky by Hamburg Ballet Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer John Neumeier, which will be performed on Program 2 by the renowned Hamburg Ballet; the SF Ballet premiere of Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc; plus world premieres by Wayne McGregor, SF Ballet Choreographer in Residence Yuri Possokhov, and Alexei Ratmansky. The season will also feature works by acclaimed choreographers such as George Balanchine, John Cranko, Edwaard Liang, Mark Morris, Rudolf Nureyev, Ashley Page, Jerome Robbins, and San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson.

Otto Bubenícek & Ivan Urban in Neumeier's 'Nijinsky'

English National Ballet in Lifar's 'Suite en Blanc'

The 2013 Repertory Season will begin with Nutcracker, which runs December 7 through 28, 2012 for a total of 31 performances. Following the Opening Night Gala on Thursday, January 24, 2013, the season will consist of eight programs performed in alternating repertory, from January 29 to May 12.

Alexandre Riabko, Anna Polikarpova, & Otto Bubenicek in Neumeier's 'Nijinski'

 “I’ve enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with John Neumeier that dates back to my career as a dancer. This season we are thrilled to host Hamburg Ballet as they present Neumeier’s highly acclaimed and dramatic Nijinsky, on the second program of our repertory season,” said Tomasson. “We are also delighted to perform the American premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length Cinderella, which promises to be a real treat for our local audiences. I am also pleased that some of the world’s best choreographers will create new works for the Company.”

2013 Repertory Season Overview

Paris Opera Ballet in Lifar's 'Suite en Blanc'

Program 1 opens Tuesday, January 29 with the SF Ballet premiere of Lifar’s Suite en Blanc, Robbins’ In the Night, and a new work by Wayne McGregor. Suite en Blanc is an internationally acclaimed neoclassical work set to music by Édouard Lalo and originally choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1943. The plotless, one-act ballet was created as a vehicle to show off the virtuosity of its dancers and was called “a clever, intriguing and intricately patterned work” by the London Evening Standard.  Robbins’ elegant In the Night, set to music by Frédéric Chopin and created for New York City Ballet in 1970, features six dancers, and was last performed by the Company in 2008 during its 75^th Anniversary Repertory Season. McGregor, choreographer and artistic director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance and resident choreographer at The Royal Ballet, is creating his first commission for SF Ballet. The Company has previously performed two of his works: Eden/Eden and Chroma. McGregor is renowned for his physically challenging and unique choreography and ground-breaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology, and science.

Paris Opera Ballet in Lifar's 'Suite en Blanc'

Paris Opera Ballet in Lifar's 'Suite en Blanc'

Lorena Feijoo & Pierre-Francois Vilanoba in Robbins’ ‘In the Night’^

Ruben Martin Cintas & Yuan Yuan Tan in Robbins' 'In the Night'

Program 2 opens Wednesday, February 13 with the Northern California premiere of Neumeier’s Nijinsky, performed by acclaimed company Hamburg Ballet. Nijinsky is a story ballet based on the turbulent life of dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, the great Polish-Russian dancer and star of the Ballet Russes. Set to the music of Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich, the work was hailed as “dynamic, rich and gripping theater” by The Washington Post. Nijinsky was created in 2000 to mark the 50^th anniversary of his death and features scenic and costume designs by Neumeier (based partly on original sketches by Léon Bakst and Alexandre Benois). Of the work, The New York Times noted, “Nijinsky…is the subject of more than one ballet…but none has the vision, passion and detail that Neumeier has poured into [this] two-act dramatic spectacular.” Hamburg Ballet, under the artistic direction of Neumeier since 1973, is also known as the Hamburg State Opera Ballet. Established in 1678 as the Hamburg Goosemarket Opera, it was one of the first examples of German civic opera and regularly offered ballet performances. Today, the company enjoys international acclaim, with a roster of over 50 dancers. Most recently, SF Ballet collaborated with Neumeier on the presentation of his production of The Little Mermaid, which made its national broadcast debut on PBS in 2o11.

Otto Bubenicik & Ivan Urban in Neumeier's 'Nijinsky'

Hamburg Ballett in Neumeier's 'Nijinski'

Joëlle Boulogne & Otto Bubenicek in Neumeier's 'Nijinsky'

Program 3 opens Tuesday, February 26 with Morris’ Beaux, a work to be announced, and Page’s Guide to Strange Places.  Morris’ eighth commissioned work for SF Ballet, Beaux, had its premiere during the 2012 Repertory Season and is set to Bohuslav Martinù’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra. Of the work, which features nine men, the San Francisco Chronicle noted, “Beaux shows Morris once again as master craftsman.” Page’s Guide to Strange Places, which premiered on the Company’s 2012 Repertory Season, is set to a score of the same name by John Adams. Featuring scenic and costume design by Jon Morrell with lighting design by David Finn, the work for 18 dancers mixes ballet and contemporary dance movement.

San Francisco Ballet in Morris' 'Beaux'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Vito Mazzeo in Morris' 'Beaux'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Program 4 opens on Friday, March 1 with Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony, a new work by Ratmansky, and Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour. Balanchine’s Scotch Symphony will be  performed by SF Ballet during its 2012 Repertory Season. Set to Felix Mendelssohn’s score by the same name, the ballet for 19 dancers was first performed by New York City Ballet in 1952, and received its SF Ballet premiere in 1966. Ratmansky, former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet and current artist in residence at American Ballet Theatre, will create a work for SF Ballet. To date, the Company has performed two of his ballets: Le Carnaval des Animaux (Carnival of the Animals) and Russian Seasons. In addition, he has created works for many companies including Dutch National Ballet, Kirov Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera. Last performed while on tour in 2010, Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour is set to a strings-only score by Italian composer Ezio Bosso, and features an ensemble of 10 dancers; it was first performed by the Company during its New Works Festival in 2008, where The Guardian (UK) called it “[a] mastery of structure.”  

Courtney Elizabeth in Balanchine's 'Scotch Symphony'; Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson

San Francisco Ballet in Balanchine’s ‘Scotch Symphony’^; Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Yuan Yuan Tan & Davit Karapetyan in Balanchine’s ‘Scotch Symphony’^; Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Sarah Van Patten & Pierre Francois-Vilanoba^ in Wheeldon’s ‘Within the Golden Hour’; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Program 5 opens on Thursday, March 21 with the return of Cranko’s dramatic story ballet Onegin. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel Eugene Onegin, the full-length work is set to a score by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky orchestrated by Kurt-Heinze Stolze, with scenery and costumes by award-winning designer Santo Loquasto. The work, first performed by Stuttgart Ballet in 1965, is considered one of Cranko’s masterpieces and has been performed by more than 20 companies around the world. SF Ballet performed Onegin to much acclaim during its 2012 Repertory Season. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed this production as “remarkably imaginative…Cranko’s masterpiece still has the power to transport and astonish.”

Vanessa Zahorian & Damian Smith in publicity still^ for Cranko’s ‘Onegin’; Photo© Erik Tomasson

Maria Kochetkova in Cranko's 'Onegin'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Clara Blanco & Gennadi Nedvigin in Cranko's 'Onegin'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Maria Kochetkova & Vitor Luiz in Cranko’s ‘Onegin’^; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Maria Kochetkova & Pascal Molat in Cranko’s ‘Onegin’^; Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Yuan Yuan Tan & Ruben Martin Cintas in Cranko’s ‘Onegin’^; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Program 6 opens on Tuesday, April 9 with Nureyev’s Raymonda Act III, a new work by Possokhov, and Liang’s Symphonic Dances. Petipa’s full-length production of Raymonda premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1898. Nureyev not only created his own adaption of the full-length version but also of the third act alone, which was premiered by The Royal Ballet at London’s Royal Opera House in 1966. Set to music by Alexander Glazunov, the ballet is a showcase of virtuosic dancing. Possokhov was appointed SF Ballet choreographer in residence, following an illustrious 12-year career with the Company as a principal dancer. Possokhov is a prolific choreographer who’s most recent work, Francesca da Rimini, premiered during the 2012 Repertory Season. Liang’s Symphonic Dances, set to a score of the same name by Sergei Rachmaninov, was called “a brushfire of a work” by the California Literary Review. The work, which premiered on the 2012 Repertory Season, features costume design by Mark Zappone and lighting design by Jack Mehler.

Sofiane Sylve in Nureyev's 'Raymonda Act III'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Tiit Helimets & Sofiane Sylve in Nureyev’s ‘Raymonda Act III’; Photo © Erik Tomasson 

San Francisco Ballet in Nureyev's 'Raymonda Act III'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Maria Kochetkova & Vitor Luiz in Liang’s ‘Symphonic Dances; Photo © Erik Tomasson 

Sofiane Sylve & Tiit Helimets in Liang's 'Symphonic Dances'; Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Sofiane Sylve & Tiit Helimets in Liang’s ‘Symphonic Dances’^; Photo © Erik Tomasson

Program 7 opens Thursday, April 11 with Tomasson’s Criss-Cross, Possokhov’s Francesca da Rimini, and Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements. Tomasson’s Criss-Cross premiered in 1997 and was last performed by SF Ballet in 1999. Set to the music by Domenico Scarlatti (as arranged by Charles Avison) and Arnold Schoenberg (after George Frideric Handel), the work is divided into two distinct parts, performed by two different groups and set to two different scores. David Littlejohn, writing in The Wall Street Journal in 1997, said of Criss-Cross, “The company’s conjoined mastery of both classical and modern dance has never been more powerfully displayed.” Possokhov’s Francesca da Rimini is set to music by Tchaikovsky and is based on “The Inferno,” the fifth canto in Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. In particular, it tells the story of Francesca and Paolo, adulterous lovers who are destined to spend an eternity in hell. The work had its premiere on Program 3 of the 2012 Repertory Season. Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements premiered in 1972 on the opening night of New York City Ballet’s Stravinsky Festival. Set to Igor Stravinsky’s score of the same title and first performed by SF Ballet in 2000, the iconic work is a large ensemble piece (Tomasson was part of the original cast).

Joanna Berman & Yuri Possokhov in Tomasson's 'Criss-Cross'; Photo © Marty Sohl

Maria Kochetkova & Joan Boada in Possokhov’s ‘Francesca da Rimini’^;  Photo © Erik Tomasson

San Francisco Ballet in Possokhov’s ‘Francesca da Rimini’^;  Photo © Erik Tomasson

Maria Kochetkova & Joan Boada in Possokhov’s ‘Francesca da Rimini’^;  Photo © Erik Tomasson

 Program 8 opens Friday, May 3 with the U.S. premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella. SF Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet will co-produce this new creation; Dutch National Ballet will present the world premiere in December 2012 at The Amsterdam Music Theatre. Set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Wheeldon’s interpretation combines parts of both the Charles Perrault and Brothers Grimm versions, along with some new elements. In this adaption, Cinderella plants a hazel branch on her mother’s grave, and it grows into an enormous magical tree. Along with four spirits, the tree grants all of Cinderella’s wishes. Wheeldon gives depth to the story’s characters by portraying Cinderella as more than a victim; the prince plays a bigger role than in other productions. The libretto will be written by Craig Lucas, a renowned playwright, director, and screenwriter who began his career as an actor. Among other awards, Lucas was nominated for Broadway’s 1990 Tony Award as author of Best Play nominee Prelude to a Kiss (in 1991 he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work) and again in 2005 for the book Light in the Piazza. Sets and costumes for this production are by the British designer Julian Crouch, renowned for his designs for Philip Glass’s masterpiece Satyagraha for the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Broadway musical The Addams Family, among other works. For the latter production, he received a Drama Desk Award. Locally, Crouch served as associate director/designer for Shockheaded Peter, which was performed at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in 2000. Cinderella is his first ballet production.

Julian Crouch's 'Bird Servant' costume design for Wheeldon's 2013 'Cinderella'

 During the 2013 Repertory Season, the Company will perform a total of 60 non-subscription performances. Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday evening performances are at 8pm; Wednesday evening performances are at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2pm. The SF Ballet Orchestra will accompany all programs.

With Special Thanks

SF Ballet gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its New Productions Fund donors: Lead Sponsor Mrs. Jeannik Méquet Littlefield; Major Sponors Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation and Larry and Joyce Stupski; and Sponsors Suzy Kellems Dominik and Stephanie and Mory Ejabat. SF Ballet would like to thank the Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation for its leadership role in launching the New Productions Fund.

Koret Foundation is the 2013 Story Ballet Sponsor.

American Airlines is the Preferred Airline of San Francisco Ballet.

William Hill ® Estate Winery and La Marca™ Prosecco are the featured wine and sparkling wine of San Francisco Ballet.

“Meet the Artist” Interviews and “Pointes of View” Lecture Series

SF Ballet will continue to present the entertaining and informative “Meet the Artist” series, held in conjunction with the opening night of each program, as well as all Friday evening and Sunday matinee performances. The 30-minute interviews with Company artists, management, and guests of SF Ballet begin one hour prior to performance, and all ticket holders are invited to attend free of charge. In addition, SF Ballet will present eight “Pointes of View” lectures on select Wednesday evenings during the season. Each lecture will focus on the program to be performed that evening and is free and open to the public. For more information, visit sfballet.org/meettheartist and sfballet.org/pointesofview.

 Subscription Tickets

Three, five, and eight program subscription packages to SF Ballet’s 2013 Repertory Season range in price from $67–775 (box seat prices available upon request), and are on sale to the public June 4, 2012. Current 2012 season subscribers can renew now. For information, please call Ticket Services at 415.865.200o or visit sfballet.org. Phone hours are Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm. 

Single Tickets

Individual tickets for SF Ballet’s 2013 Repertory Season, starting at $20, will be available for advance sale online at sfballet.org beginning Wednesday, November 14, 2012 or by calling 415.865.2000, beginning Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

San Francisco Ballet

As America’s oldest professional ballet company, San Francisco Ballet has enjoyed a long and rich tradition of artistic “firsts” since its founding in 1933, including performing the first American productions of Swan Lake and Nutcracker, as well as the first 20th-century American Coppélia. San Francisco Ballet is one of the three largest ballet companies in the United States. Guided in its early years by American dance pioneers and brothers Lew, Willam and Harold Christensen, San Francisco Ballet currently presents more than 100 performances annually, both locally and internationally. Under the direction of Helgi Tomasson for more than two decades, the Company has achieved an international reputation as one of the preeminent ballet companies in the world. In 2005, San Francisco Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in the category of “Outstanding Achievement in Dance” and in 2006, it was the first non-European company elected “Company of the Year” in Dance Europe magazine’s annual readers’ poll. In 2008, the Company marked its 75thanniversary with a host of initiatives including an ambitious New Works Festival. Recent highlights include a tour to the People’s Republic of China, the celebration of Artistic Director & Principal Choreographer Helgi Tomasson’s 25th anniversary with the Company, and the United States premiere of John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid, which was broadcast internationally, as well as nationally on PBS’s Great Performances “Dance in America” in December 2011. 

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