ABT returns to Paris after 25 years

After a 25-year absence, American Ballet Theatre returned to Paris’ Opéra Bastille on Friday, September 2. Now through Saturday, September 10, the company will present Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty.

The former director of Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet, Ratmansky took on this jewel of the classical repertoire through a process of choreographic restoration. It had its world premiere on March 3, 2015 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, danced by Diana Vishneva (Princess Aurora), Marcelo Gomes (Prince Désiré), Veronika Part (Lilac Fairy), Isabella Boylston (Diamond Fairy), Daniil Simkin (Bluebird) and Cassandra Trenary (Princess Florine). The all-new production was later brought to New York’s Metropolitan Opera House in May and June 2015.

Set to the classic score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty builds on the original movement by Marius Petipa and draws inspiration from the costumes and sets conceived by the great Léon Bakst for the Ballets Russes. This version recreates the original production first performed in 1890 at Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre.

Various ABT dancers will perform the lead roles throughout the tour. Hee Seo, Isabella Boylston, Gillian Murphy, Stella Abrera, Cassandra Trenary and Sarah Lane are all taking on the role of Princess Aurora while Marcelo Gomes, Joseph Gorak, James Whiteside, Cory Stearns, Alexandre Hammoudi and Herman Cornejo will dance as Prince Désiré at some point.

Other notable castings include: Devon Teuscher, Veronika Part and Christine Shevchenko as Lilac Fairy; Misty Copeland in the role of Princess Florine; Jeffrey Cirio, Daniil Simkin, Blaine Hoven, Zhiyao Zhang and Gabe Stone Shayer as Bluebird; Nancy Raffa and Craig Salstein as Carabosse; and Skylar Brandt as Diamond Fairy.

For further information, visit www.abt.org or www.operadeparis.fr.

Photo: Joseph Gorak, Isabella Boylston and ABT company in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Rosalie O’Connor.