American Ballet Theatre Announces Fifth and Sixth Week Casting for CINDERELLA, GISELLE

Casting for the fifth and sixth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2014 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Frederick Ashton's Cinderella will be given its Company Premiere on Monday, June 9, led by Hee Seo (Cinderella), James Whiteside (Prince) and Veronika Part (Fairy Godmother). Julie Kent, Marcelo Gomes and Stella Abrera will debut in these roles on Tuesday, June 10 and Xiomara Reyes, Joseph Gorak and Devon Teuscher will lead the ballet for the first time at the evening performance on Wednesday, June 11. Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg will debut as Cinderella and the Prince, respectively, on Thursday, June 12. Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Ashton's Cinderella features sets and costumes by David Walker and lighting by Brad Fields.

The ballet received its World Premiere by Sadler's Wells Ballet on December 23, 1948 at London's Royal Opera House. The original cast included Moira Shearer as Cinderella, Michael Somes as the Prince, Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann as the Stepsisters and Alexander Grant as the Jester. This production of Cinderella was directed, supervised and staged by Wendy Ellis Somes and Malin Thoors. Cinderella is generously supported through an endowed gift from the Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Cinderella is also generously supported through an endowed gift from Monica, Stefano, Cosima and Tassilo Corsi. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. ABT gratefully thanks Beverly D'Anne for her generous support of the Company's 2014 performances of Cinderella.

Diana Vishneva, Marcelo Gomes and Gillian Murphy will lead the season's first performance of Giselle on Monday, June 16. Polina Semionova will make her ABT debut in the title role on Tuesday evening, June 17. Isabella Boylston and James Whiteside will make their New York debuts as Giselle and Albrecht, respectively, at the matinee on Wednesday, June 18. Jared Matthews will dance the role of Albrecht for the first time in New York on Thursday, June 19, opposite Xiomara Reyes as Giselle and Royal Danish Ballet Exchange Artist Amy Watson as Myrta, making her New York debut with ABT. Alexandre Hammoudi will debut as Albrecht at the matinee on Saturday, June 21.

Set to music by Adolphe Adam and orchestrated by John Lanchbery, Giselle was staged by Kevin McKenzie with choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. The two-act ballet features scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni. This production, with scenery by Quaranta and costumes by Anni, was created for the film Dancers in 1987. American Ballet Theatre's performances of Giselle are generously supported through an endowed gift from Sharon Patrick.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2014 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.