 |
 |
|
N
E W S ...&...
R E V I E W S |
|
METROPOLITAN
CLASSICAL BALLET OPENS SEASON
Fall
Repertory
|
||
|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Opening the 2008 / 2009 Season with a dramatic mix of Bolshoi and Broadway, Metropolitan Classical Ballet continues its distinctive artistic identity by offering the audience an incredible evening of ballet. The Fall Repertory production will be held on October 27 at 8:00 PM at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. The Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Bernard Rubenstein will accompany the one night only performance. The first work of the evening will be Alexander Vetrov’s abridged version of Yuri Grigorovich’s great epic ballet Spartacus, which premiered at Bass Hall in April 2004 to great acclaim. The ballet, considered to be one of Grigorovich's greatest masterpieces, premiered at the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow in 1968. In 2004, Grigorovich granted Mr. Vetrov permission to create an abridged version of the famous ballet. Metropolitan Classical Ballet premiered this version with Mr. Vetrov dancing the role of Crassus, the same role he danced at the Bolshoi when he was the leading male principal dancer. For this Fall Repertory performance, the role of Crassus will be danced by Andrey Prikhodko. Olga Pavlova and Marina Goshko will dance the two principal female roles. Shea Johnson has been cast in the title role of Spartacus. This will be Mr. Johnson’s first significant role since his appearance in Diana and Acteon in the Company’s Summer Gala performance last June where he garnered the attention of audience and critics alike. The second work of the evening will be Paul Mejia's highly acclaimed ballet, Eight by Adler, a ballet that has always enjoyed the reputation of being an audience favorite. Mr. Adler granted the right to use eight particular songs for Mr. Mejia's use in choreographing Eight by Adler including some of his biggest hits: You Gotta Have Heart, Hey There, Hernando's Hideaway, Rags to Riches, and Everybody Loves a Lover. The ballet premiered in 1984 at the Chicago City Ballet when Mejia served as co-artistic director with Maria Tallchief. Last performed by Metropolitan Classical Ballet on June 26, 2004, the ballet was the first collaboration between Mr. Adler and Mr. Mejia; the second was Notes on My Life, which premiered in February of 2007. Olga Pavlova will dance the only female role in Eight by Adler. |
|
|
| Richard
Adler composed both music and lyrics with his collaborator, Jerry
Ross, for the musicals The Pajama Game (1954) and Damn Yankees
(1955), both of which won Tony awards for best musical and best score.
In 2006, a major Broadway revival of the Adler and Ross musical, Pajama
Game opened at the American Airlines Theater on 42nd Street. It
won the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. The 2008 NYC Encores
production of Damn Yankees received great critical acclaim.
In addition to his two Tony Awards, Richard Adler has been the recipient
of numerous other awards and honors. During the Kennedy and Johnson
administrations, he staged and produced numerous Presidential entertainments
as White House Consultant for the Arts. He also served as a Trustee
for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington,
D.C. for fourteen years. Between 1978 and 1993, he composed numerous
symphonic works including four Pulitzer Prize nominees. Mr. Adler
will be in attendance the night of the Fall Repertory performance.
Programming, program order and casting for all productions is subject to change without notice. Single ticket are $10, $25, and $38 and are available by calling Bass Performance Hall Ticket Office at (817) 212-4280 or by calling Metropolitan Classical Ballet at (817) 275-0598, or online at www.mcballet.org. Group discounts are available. Metropolitan
Classical Ballet’s 2008 / 2009 Season is made possible in part
by its generous sponsors: American Airlines, The University of Texas
at Arlington, and the law firm of Hill Gilstrap. -END- Media Note: To arrange an interview with Richard Adler, or to obtain further information, contact Maria Kudyakova at (817) 465-4644. Information can also be found on Metropolitan Classical Ballet’s website www.mcballet.org. |
|
||
|
