Initial Casting Announced for American Ballet Theatre's 2013 Fall Season; Guillaume Cote Set to Appear as Guest Artist

Casting for American Ballet Theatre's 2013 Fall Season at the David H. Koch Theater was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

The Opening Night Program on Wednesday, October 30 will be highlighted by the World Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's The Tempest led by Marcelo Gomes as Prospero, Daniil Simkin as Ariel, and Herman Cornejo as Caliban. Cory Stearns, Gabe Stone Shayer and James Whiteside will debut in the roles at the Sunday matinee, November 3 performance. The ballet, set in one act, will be performed to music written for the Shakespeare play by Jean Sibelius. Adapted from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest, the ballet features sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Robert Wierzel. Tony-Award winning director Mark Lamos will serve at the production's dramaturg.

The Opening Night Gala will also include a new production of George Balanchine's Theme and Variations danced by Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside, making his debut with ABT in the role. Polina Semionova will debut in the ballet's leading role opposite Cory Stearns on Saturday evening, November 2. This new production, set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchiakovsky, features new costumes by Zach Brown, with lighting by David K.H. Elliott.

American Ballet Theatre's Revival Premiere of Twyla Tharp's Bach Partita, set for Friday evening November 1, features debuts by Polina Semionova, Gillian Murphy, Stella Abrera, James Whiteside, Marcelo Gomes and Calvin Royal. On Tuesday, November 5, Veronika Part, Paloma Herrera, Isabella Boylston, JarEd Matthews, Joseph Gorak and Craig Salstein will debut in the principal roles. Staged by Susan Jones, Bach Partita is set to Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor for solo violin and features costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. Bach Partita was created for ABT in 1983 and was last performed by the Company in 1985.

Michel Fokine's Les Sylphides will be given its Revival Premiere on Friday, November 1 with Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston and Sarah Lane making their debuts in leading roles. Cory Stearns and Polina Semionova will debut in the leading roles, alongside Veronika Part and Melanie Hamrick, at the matinee on Saturday, November 2. Set to music by Frédéric Chopin, Les Sylphides, a one act plotless work, was given its Company Premiere at Ballet Theatre's inaugural performance on January 11, 1940 at the Center Theatre in New York City. The ballet received its first performance at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg on March 8, 1908. Les Sylphides, which features scenery by Alexandre Benois and lighting by David K.H. Elliott, was last performed by ABT in 2005.

The Revival Premiere of Stanton Welch's Clear will be given at the matinee on Saturday, November 2 featuring Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the leading roles. Sascha Radetsky will debut opposite Paloma Herrera at the evening performance. Clear was created for ABT in 2001 and was last performed in 2007. The ballet is set to Bach violin concertos with costumes by Michael Kors for Céline and lighting by Lisa Pinkham.

Other casting highlights include Julie Kent as Natalia Petrovna and Guest Artist Guillaume Côté, a Principal Dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, as Beliaev in Sir Frederick Ashton's A Month in the County on Thursday, November 7. Xiomara Reyes and Cory Stearns will debut in these roles at the evening performance, Saturday November 9.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2013 David H. Koch Theater season, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Koch box office or by phone at

212-496-0600. Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Gala begin at $20. The David H. Koch Theater is located at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 63rd Street in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

Additional casting to follow.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet TheatrE. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. 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.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of The Tempest. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. Arlene and Harvey Blau and an anonymous donor are Leading Sponsors. Mary Jo and Ted Shen are Sponsors. Additional support has also been generously provided by Michael and Sue Steinberg.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of Piano Concerto #1. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation is the Premier Sponsor, and Linda Allard is the Premier Sponsor of costumes for this production. Mary Jo and Ted Shen, Mrs. Marjorie S. Isaac, and an anonymous donor are Leading Sponsors. Edward and Caroline Hyman, Charlotte and Macdonald Mathey, Michele and Steven Pesner, and Michael and Sue Steinberg are Sponsors. Additional support has also been generously provided by Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton E. James, Andrew J. Martin-Weber, and Howard S. Paley. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Piano Concerto #1 is co-commissioned by American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet.

Bach Partita is made possible by the generous support of the JCT Foundation and Leading Underwriters Patsy and Jeff Tarr.

Clear is generously supported through an endowed gift from Cosby W. and Timothy M. George. Support for this production is generously provided by The Carl and Marsha Hewitt Foundation.

Les Sylphides has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. Costumes for Les Sylphides are generously sponsored through the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.

ABT gratefully thanks Beverly D'Anne for her generous support of the Company's 2013 performances of A Month in the Country.

ABT gratefully acknowledges Mr. and Mrs. John C. Sites, Jr. for their generous support of Theme and Variations through both an endowed gift and an additional special Leading Sponsor gift for costumes in 2013. Cindy and Chip Murphy are also Leading Sponsors of Theme and Variations. Additional support has been provided by the Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation.

To post a comment, you must register and login.