''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.
History
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Balanchine's first completely original full-length ballet, premiered at
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
on 17 January 1962,
with
Edward Villella in the role of
Oberon,
Melissa Hayden in the role of
Titania, and
Arthur Mitchell in the role of Puck. They were joined by
Francisco Moncion
Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a Dominican-born American ballet dancer and choreographer who was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his long career, spanning some forty years, he created roles ...
in the role of Theseus- Duke of Athens.
Description
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''.
The ballet employs a large children's corps de ballet. 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.
[''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.](_blank)
Retrieved 14 October 2008.
Videography
A 1966 performance was filmed and released the following year. It featured
Suzanne Farrell,
Edward Villella,
Arthur Mitchell and Gloria Govrin.
[
A performance in 1986 was filmed as a part of '' Live from Lincoln Center''. The Lincoln Center released the video online in light of the impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts.][
In 1999, a Pacific Northwest Ballet performance at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London was filmed and released as a DVD.
The Paris Opera Ballet also released a recording of a performance during the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, which featured Eleonora Abbagnato, Laëtitia Pujol, Alice Renavand, Stéphane Bullion, Hugo Marchand and Karl Paquette.
When the coronavirus pandemic cut short the ]San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
2020 performance to just its opening night on March 6, it was subsequently recorded in an empty War Memorial Opera House shortly after its opening and released as part of the all-digital 2021 season.
Casts
Other versions
* Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue.
Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...
('' The Dream'')
* Christopher Wheeldon
* Bruce Wells on the Boston Ballet
* Ib Andersen on Ballet Arizona
* David Nixon on BalletMet Columbus
* John Neumeier on the Hamburg Ballet
* François Klaus on the Queensland Ballet
* Heinz Spoerli on Basel Ballet, Rhine Opera Ballet, and Zurich Ballet
* Lourdes Lopez on Miami City Ballet
* John Clifford on (The Portland Ballet)
*Liam Scarlett on
References
External links
A Midsummer Night's Dream
on the website of the Balanchine Trust
Excerpts performed by San Francisco BalletExcerpts performed by Pacific Northwest BalletTiler Peck on ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream ballet
Ballets about dreams
Ballets by George Balanchine
Ballets to the music of Felix Mendelssohn
Ballets based on A Midsummer Night's Dream
New York City Ballet repertory
1964 ballets
Mythology in ballet