A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)
{{short description|1962 ballet by George Balanchine}}
{{about|Balanchine's 1962 full-length ballet|Ashton's 1964 ballet based on the same Shakespeare play|The Dream (ballet)|other uses|A Midsummer Night's Dream (disambiguation)}}
File:Edwin Landseer - Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom - Google Art Project.jpg, Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania and Bottom, 1851]]
{{Italic title}}
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a two-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Felix Mendelssohn's music to Shakespeare's play of the same name.
History
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Balanchine's first completely original full-length ballet, premiered at New York City Ballet on 17 January 1962,[http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=BHBSH New York City Ballet: Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103071252/http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showEvent&event=BHBSH |date=2008-01-03 }} Retrieved 14 October 2008. with Edward Villella in the role of Oberon, Melissa Hayden in the role of Titania, and Arthur Mitchell in the role of Puck. They were joined by Francisco Moncion in the role of Theseus- Duke of Athens.Francisco Moncion in the premier of Balanchine's A Midsummer Night's Dream [http://www.balanchine.org/balanchine/display_result.jsp?id=414¤t=21&sid=Francisco%20Moncion&searchMethod=exact The George Balanchine Foundation - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Francisco Moncion on balanchine.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519122507/http://www.balanchine.org/balanchine/display_result.jsp?id=414¤t=21&sid=Francisco%20Moncion&searchMethod=exact |date=2018-05-19 }}
Description
In addition to the incidental music, Balanchine incorporated other Mendelssohn works into the ballet, including the Overtures to Athalie, Son and Stranger, and The Fair Melusine, the "String Symphony No. 9 in C minor" and The First Walpurgis Night.
The ballet employs a large children's corps de ballet.[http://www.bostonballet.org/season/performances/Midsummer.html Boston Ballet: A Midsummer Night's Dream.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621073627/http://www.bostonballet.org/season/performances/Midsummer.html |date=June 21, 2008 }} Retrieved 14 October 2008. Act I tells Shakespeare's familiar story of lovers and fairies while Act II presents a strictly classical dance wedding celebration. The ballet dispenses with Shakespeare's play-within-a-play finale. A Midsummer Night's Dream opened The New York City Ballet's first season at the New York State Theater in April, 1964.[http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Midsummer.html A Midsummer Night's Dream.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015004329/http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Midsummer.html |date=October 15, 2008 }} Retrieved 14 October 2008.
Videography
A 1966 performance was filmed and released the following year. It featured Suzanne Farrell, Edward Villella, Arthur Mitchell and Gloria Govrin.
A performance in 1986 was filmed as a part of Live from Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center released the video online in light of the impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts.
In 1999, a Pacific Northwest Ballet performance at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London was filmed and released as a DVD.{{cite web|url=https://www.pnb.org/repertorylist/a-midsummer-nights-dream/|title=A Midsummer Night's Dream|work=Pacific Northwest Ballet|access-date=June 15, 2020|archive-date=June 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615120704/https://www.pnb.org/repertorylist/a-midsummer-nights-dream/|url-status=dead}}
The Paris Opera Ballet also released a recording of a performance during the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, which featured Eleonora Abbagnato, Laëtitia Pujol, Alice Renavand, Stéphane Bullion, Hugo Marchand and Karl Paquette.{{cite web|url=https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/magazine/le-songe-dune-nuit-dete|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508023241/https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/magazine/le-songe-dune-nuit-dete|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2020|title=Le Songe d'une nuit d'été|work=Opéra national de Paris}}
When the coronavirus pandemic cut short the San Francisco Ballet 2020 performance to just its opening night on March 6, it was subsequently recorded in an empty War Memorial Opera House shortly after its opening and released as part of the all-digital 2021 season.{{cite web |last1=Munice |first1=Amy |title=San Francisco Ballet Presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Review — Delectable! |url=https://www.picturethispost.com/san-francisco-ballet-presents-a-midsummer-nights-dream-review/ |website=picturethispost.com |access-date=30 January 2021 |date=25 January 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Mead |first1=David |title=A dream of A Midsummer Night's Dream from San Francisco Ballet |url=http://www.seeingdance.com/sf-ballet-a-midsummer-nights-dream-24012021/ |website=seeingdance.com |access-date=30 January 2021 |date=22 January 2021}}
Casts
| class="wikitable" |
| Roles |
|---|
| Titania
| style="text-align:center;" |Melissa Hayden | style="text-align:center;" |Suzanne Farrell | style="text-align:center;" |Maria Calegari | style="text-align:center;" |Eleonora Abbagnato |
| Oberon
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Edward Villella | style="text-align:center;" |Ib Andersen | style="text-align:center;" |Paul Marque |
| Puck
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Arthur Mitchell | style="text-align:center;" |Jean-Pierre Frohlich | style="text-align:center;" |Hugo Vigliotti |
| Hippolyta
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Gloria Govrin | style="text-align:center;" |Victoria Hall | style="text-align:center;" |Alice Renavand |
| Theseus - Duke of Athens
| style="text-align:center;" |Francisco Moncion | | style="text-align:center;" |Cornel Crabtree | style="text-align:center;" |Florian Magnenet |
| Titania's cavalier
| style="text-align:center;" |Conrad Ludlow | | style="text-align:center;" |Jock Soto | style="text-align:center;" |Stéphane Bullion |
| Helena
| style="text-align:center;" |Jillana | | style="text-align:center;" |Stephanie Saland | style="text-align:center;" |Fanny Gorse |
| Demetrius
| style="text-align:center;" |Bill Carter | | style="text-align:center;" |Peter Frame | style="text-align:center;" |Audric Bezard |
| Hermia
| style="text-align:center;" |Patricia McBride | | style="text-align:center;" |Judith Fugate | style="text-align:center;" |Laëtitia Pujol |
| Lysander - Beloved of Hermia
| style="text-align:center;" |Nicholas Magallanes | | style="text-align:center;" |Kypling Houston | style="text-align:center;" |Alessio Carbone |
| Butterfly
| style="text-align:center;" |Suki Schorer | | style="text-align:center;" |Katrina Killian | style="text-align:center;" |Muriel Zusperreguy |
| divertissement
| style="text-align:center;" |Violette Verdy | | style="text-align:center;" |Merrill Ashley | style="text-align:center;" |Sae Eun Park |
Other versions
{{explain|date=September 2022}}{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
File:A Midsummer Night's Dream (29052037973).jpg
- Frederick Ashton (The Dream)
- Christopher Wheeldon
- Bruce Wells on the Boston Ballet
- Ib Andersen on Ballet Arizona
- David Nixon on BalletMet Columbus
- John Neumeier on the Hamburg Ballet
- François Klaus on the Queensland Ballet
- Heinz Spoerli on Basel Ballet, Rhine Opera Ballet, and Zurich Ballet
- Lourdes Lopez on Miami City Ballet
- John Clifford on (The Portland Ballet)
- Liam Scarlett on {{Cite web|title=The Vodafone Season of A Midsummer Night's Dream — RNZB|url=https://rnzb.org.nz/shows/the-vodafone-season-of-a-midsummer-nights-dream/|access-date=2021-06-03|website=www.rnzb.org.nz|language=en}} The Royal New Zealand Ballet
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.balanchine.com/Ballet/A-Midsummer-Night%E2%80%99s-Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream] on the website of the Balanchine Trust
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjn0s33ezoY Excerpts performed by San Francisco Ballet]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UeyRifpO8A Excerpts performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUH20r1DJKU Tiler Peck on A Midsummer Night's Dream]
{{Balanchine ballets}}
{{A Midsummer Night's Dream}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream ballet}}
Category:Ballets by George Balanchine
Category:Ballets to the music of Felix Mendelssohn
Category:Ballets based on A Midsummer Night's Dream