Casting Announced for American Ballet Theater's Final Two Weeks

Casting for the seventh and eighth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2016 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

The season's first performance of Romeo and Juliet on Monday, June 20 will be dedicated to former ABT Principal Dancer Johan Renvall and will be led by Hee Seo (Juliet), Cory Stearns (Romeo) and Craig Salstein (Mercutio). On Wednesday, June 22, Isabella Boylston will debut in the role of Juliet at the matinee performance, and Jeffrey Cirio will debut in the role of Mercutio at the evening performance. On Thursday evening, June 23, Guest Artist and former ABT Principal Dancer Alessandra Ferri will return to the role of Juliet for the first time since her retirement from the Company in 2007, opposite Herman Cornejo as Romeo. Daniil Simkin will debut in the role of Romeo at the Saturday matinee performance on June 25.

Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. Romeo and Juliet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 22, 1985 with Leslie Browne and Robert La Fosse in the leading roles.

The final week of ABT's 2016 Spring Season will feature eight performances of The Sleeping Beauty, June 27 - July 2. Monday evening's performance, June 27, will be led by Isabella Boylston as Princess Aurora, Joseph Gorak as Prince Désiré, Veronika Part as the Lilac Fairy, Marcelo Gomes as Carabosse, Christine Shevchenko as Diamond Fairy, Daniil Simkin as the Bluebird and Cassandra Trenary as Princess Florine. Devon Teuscher and Jeffrey Cirio will make their New York debuts in the roles of Diamond Fairy and the Bluebird, respectively, on Tuesday, June 28. Cassandra Trenary will make her New York debut in the role of Aurora at the Wednesday matinee performance on June 29. Alexandre Hammoudi and Luciana Paris will perform the roles of Prince Désiré and Diamond Fairy, respectively, for the first time in New York on Wednesday evening, June 29. Stella Abrera will celebrate her 20th Anniversary with the Company on Thursday evening, June 30 debuting in the role of Princess Aurora. Skylar Brandt will make her New York debut in the role of Princess Florine on Thursday evening, June 30.

Set to the classic score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty has choreography by Marius Petipa and staging and additional choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, with assistance by Tatiana Ratmansky. The production features scenery and costumes by Tony Award®-winning designer Richard Hudson. Hudson's designs are based on the historic work of Léon Bakst, who created a seminal version of The Sleeping Beauty for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921. The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere on March 3, 2015 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, performed by Diana Vishneva (Princess Aurora) and Marcelo Gomes (Prince Désiré).

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. ?Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. ?ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2016 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