TWISTED 2 to Reunite BalletMet, Columbus Symphony, and Opera Columbus

Columbus' flagship performing arts organizations will reunite for Twisted 2, the highly anticipated sequel to 2014's smash hit, Twisted. For four performances only, Columbus' professional singers, dancers, and musicians from BalletMet, the Columbus Symphony, and Opera Columbus will collide and combine to create an experience unlike any other.

Conducted by CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov, masterful choreography from internationally acclaimed choreographers Val Caniparoli, Matthew Neenan, Alex Ketley, and Edwaard Liang will merge live on stage with magnificent works from Wagner, Haydn, and Beethoven as well as selections from such beloved operas as Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Porgy and Bess, and more.

BalletMet, the Columbus Symphony, and Opera Columbus present Twisted 2 at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Thursday, September 22, at 7:30pm; Friday, September 23, at 8pm; Saturday, September 24, at 8pm; and Sunday, September 25, at 2pm. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, call (614) 228-8600 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two hours prior to each performance. Young people between the ages of 13-25 may purchase $5 All Access tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.

"Given the success that Twisted had the first time around, we're really excited do Twisted 2," said BalletMet Artistic Director Edwaard Liang. "We're ramping it up with these renowned choreographers who're coming to collaborate and reinvent dance. This show, with dancers, singers, and musicians on stage, is almost its own medium."

"This creative, imaginative, and original collaboration brings a spectacle to the stage that only true synthesis of the arts could deliver," stated CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov. "Twisted is a uniquely Columbus experience and a great way to experience the power of the arts through the talent of artists in your own city. Not to be missed!"

"Twisted 2 is the finest art presented in a way that is far from intimidating and loads of fun!" stated Opera Columbus Artistic Director Peggy Kriha Dye. "We would love for the audience to put aside any preconceived ideas of opera, ballet, and symphonic music, and let us entertain them in a whole new way. It's going to be a great event for Columbus!"

Maestro Milanov will conduct the Columbus Symphony in performances featuring Opera Columbus vocalists Kaylee Gallagher (mezzo-soprano), Jennifer Cherest (soprano), Laura Portune (soprano), Chelsea Hart (soprano), Katherine Rohrer (mezzo-soprano), Johnathan Riesen (tenor), Jeff MacMullen (baritone), Adam Cioffari (bass-baritone), and Calvin Griffin (bass-baritone). The company of BalletMet, including dancers Miguel Anaya, Adrienne Benz, Attila Bongar, Jessica Brown, Andres Estevez, Arielle Friedman, Romel Frometa, Emily Gotschall, Rachael Jones, Kohhei Kuwana, Kristie Latham, Bethany Lee, Austin Moholt-Siebert, Grace-Anne Powers, Jarrett Reimers, Sarah Reimold, Martin Roosaare, Lisset Santander, Michael Sayre, Gabriel Gaffney Smith, Caitlin Valentine-Ellis, David Ward, Carly Wheaton, Karen Wing, and Sarah Wolff, will delight the eyes with accompanying choreography from some of today's most celebrated choreographers.

Renowned for its versatility and innovative repertory, BalletMet ranks among the nation's 20 largest professional ballet companies. Since its inception in 1978, BalletMet has made the commission and performance of new works a core organizational priority, with more than 150 World Premieres and hundreds of Company Premieres performed throughout its history. BalletMet stages 60 to 70 performances annually at home and on tour.

BalletMet's Academy has also been recognized as an institution of local and national stature. It offers hundreds of classes to roughly 1,700 students of all ages each year. Students in our Intensive, Boys, and Trainee Programs gain invaluable training and experience, including the opportunity to dance on stage alongside the company's professional dancers.

Committed to engaging the community, BalletMet developed a series of educational and outreach programs, including the Wiggle Jig, Moving Into Literacy, and urban dance and wellness classes, that reach more than 30,000 people annually, many from minority and underserved groups.

For more information, visit www.balletmet.org.

Founded in 1951, the Columbus Symphony is the longest-running, professional symphony in central Ohio. Through an array of innovative artistic, educational, and community outreach programming, the Columbus Symphony is reaching an expanding, more diverse audience each year. This season, the Columbus Symphony will share classical music with more than 175,000 people in central Ohio through concerts, radio broadcasts, and special programming. For more, visit www.columbussymphony.com.

Under the vision of Artistic Director Peggy Kriha Dye, Opera Columbus is redefining the concept of regional opera with world-class, original productions that celebrate extraordinary young talent and artistic collaboration, engaging a new, diverse audience for this most magnificent of art forms. 2016-17 will mark the debut of a collaboration with the Artist Diploma for Opera Studies (ADOS) program at The Juilliard School, which will bring exceptional Juilliard ADOS artists to perform in Opera Columbus' mainstage productions. Go to www.operacolumbus.org.

Pictured: Karen Wing (BalletMet), Calvin Griffin (Opera Columbus bass-baritone), and Caitlin Valentine-Ellis (BalletMet). Photo by Jennifer Zmuda.

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