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2011 Met season - official announcement


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WORLD PREMIERES BY ALEXEI RATMANSKY

AND CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON TO HIGHLIGHT

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

SPRING SEASON AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE,

MAY 16-JULY 9, 2011

SEASON TO INCLUDE NEW YORK COMPANY PREMIERE of

ALEXEI RATMANSKY’S THE BRIGHT STREAM AND

U.S. PREMIERE OF A NEW WORK BY BENJAMIN MILLEPIED

Revival Premiere of Antony Tudor’s Shadowplay set for May 24

American Ballet Theatre’s 2011 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House,

May 16-July 9, was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Highlights

of the season include World Premieres by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon,

the New York Company Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream and the U.S.

Premiere of a new work by Benjamin Millepied.

Principal Dancers for the 2011 Metropolitan Opera Season include Maxim

Beloserkovsky, Roberto Bolle, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo,

Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian

Murphy, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Ethan Stiefel, Diana Vishneva and Michele

Wiles. Natalia Osipova, a principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, and Alina Cojocaru, a

principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, will return for the Spring season as guest artists.

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. Mandarin Oriental, New York is the Preferred Hotel of

American Ballet Theatre. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the Official Sponsor

of ABT II. The 2011 Metropolitan Opera House Season is also made possible with funds

from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts,

a state agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership

with the City Council.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2011 Spring season opens with a Gala performance

featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers on Monday, May 16 at 6:30 P.M. For information on

ABT’s Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239.

World Premieres and Major Revival

New works by two of the dance world’s most acclaimed choreographers, Alexei

Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon, will be given their World Premieres on Tuesday

evening, May 24. American Ballet Theatre Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky has

previously created On the Dnieper (2009), Seven Sonatas (2009) and Waltz Masquerade

(2009) on the Company. Mr. Ratmansky’s all-new production of The Nutcracker will be

given its World Premiere on December 23, 2010 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The World Premiere of a new work by Mr. Wheeldon will be his first creation especially

for American Ballet Theatre. ABT previously gave the Company Premiere of

Mr. Wheeldon’s VIII in 2004.

The World Premieres by Mr. Ratmansky and Mr. Wheeldon will be part of an all-

repertory program to be given four performances May 24-26. The program will also

include the Revival Premiere of Antony Tudor’s Shadowplay and the U. S. Premiere of a

work for cello by Benjamin Millepied.

Created by Antony Tudor for The Royal Ballet in 1967, Shadowplay is based on a

theme from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book and is set to music by Charles Koechlin.

With scenery and costumes by Michael Annals and lighting by Nananne Porcher,

Shadowplay received its American Ballet Theatre Company Premiere at the New York

State Theater, New York on July 23, l975, performed by Mikhail Baryshnikov (Boy With

Matted Hair), Gelsey Kirkland (Celestial) and Jonas Kage (Terrestrial).

Herman Cornejo will dance the role of the Boy With Matted Hair in the Revival

Premiere of Shadowplay on May 24, and Daniil Simkin will debut in the role at the

matinee on Wednesday, May 25. The ballet will be staged for ABT by Christopher Newton.

Benjamin Millepied’s new work was commissioned by American Ballet Theatre

for the Rostropovich Festival in honor of the birthday of the late Mstislav Rostropovich.

The new work, Mr. Millepied’s third for ABT, will be given its World Premiere on

March 29, 2011 in Moscow. His previous works for the Company include From Here

On Out (2007) and Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once (2009).

New York Company Premiere

The Bright Stream, a comic ballet in two acts choreographed by Alexei

Ratmansky, will be given its New York Company Premiere on Thursday evening, June 9

with Paloma Herrera, Marcelo Gomes, Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg in the leading

roles. Set to Dmitri Shostakovich’s The Bright Stream, the ballet features sets by

Yevgeny Monakhov and Illya Utkin, costumes by Yelena Markavska and lighting by

Brad Fields. The libretto, by Adrian Piotrovsky and Fyodor Lopukhov, tells the story of

the members of a Russian farm collective in the 1930’s and their humorous interactions

with a group of visiting performers during the harvest festival. Mr. Ratmansky’s

The Bright Stream received its World Premiere by the Bolshoi Ballet on April 18, 2003

with sets and costumes by Boris Messerer. The original production of The Bright Stream,

with choreography by Lopukhov, was premiered on April 4, 1935 by the Maly Opera and

Ballet Theater at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad.

The Bright Stream will receive its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre

on January 21, 2011 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Tatiana Ratmansky will assist Mr. Ratmansky in staging the ballet for ABT.

Full-Length Ballets

American Ballet Theatre’s 2011 Spring Season at The Metropolitan Opera House

will feature an additional seven full-length ballets during the eight-week engagement.

The season’s first performance of Don Quixote will be led by Paloma Herrera and

Jose Manuel Carreño on Tuesday evening, May 17. Staged by Kevin McKenzie and

Susan Jones, with choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, Don Quixote

is set to music by Ludwig Minkus and features scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto

and lighting by Natasha Katz. The McKenzie/Jones staging of the current production

was first performed by ABT in June 1995.

Eight performances of Giselle will be given beginning Friday evening, May 27

with Diana Vishneva in the title role dancing opposite Marcelo Gomes as Albrecht. Hee

Seo will make her debut in the title role dancing opposite David Hallberg as Albrecht at

the matinee on Wednesday, June 1. Set to music by Adolphe Adam and orchestrated

by John Lanchbery, Giselle is staged by Kevin McKenzie with choreography after Jean

Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa. The two-act ballet features scenery by Gianni

Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni. This production, with scenery by Quaranta and

costumes by Anni, was created for the film Dancers in 1987.

John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias will be given seven performances

beginning Friday evening, June 3 with Julie Kent as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as

Armand. Set to music by Frédéric Chopin, Lady of the Camellias was choreographed by

Mr. Neumeier after the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils. The ballet features scenery and

costumes by Jürgen Rose with original lighting design by Mr. Neumeier, reconstructed

by Ralf Merkel. Lady of the Camellias was given its World Premiere by the Stuttgart

Ballet at the Weurttemberg Staatstheatre, Stuttgart, Germany on November 4, 1978, with

Marcia Haydée and Egon Madsen in the leading roles. The ballet received its United

States premiere by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,

Washington, D.C. on May 15, 1979, with the same cast. Lady of the Camellias was given

its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on May 25, 2010 at The Metropolitan

Opera House with Julie Kent as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand. Kevin Haigen

and Victor Hughes will stage Lady of the Camellias for ABT.

Frederic Franklin’s staging of Coppélia will have its Revival Premiere on

Thursday evening, June 16 with Xiomara Reyes as Swanilda and Herman Cornejo as

Franz. Staged and directed by Mr. Franklin after Nicholas Sergeyev and the original

staging by Arthur Saint Léon, Coppélia features music by Léo Delibes, scenery by Tony

Straiges, costumes by Patricia Zipprodt and lighting by Brad Fields.

Coppélia received its World Premiere on May 25, l870 at the Theatre Imperial de

l’Opera, Paris, danced by Giuseppina Bozacchi (Swanilda) and Eugenie Fiocre (Franz).

It received its American Ballet Theatre premiere at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico

City on September 1, l942, with choreography by Simon Semenoff, in one act and three

scenes, from the original by Arthur Saint Léon, with scenery and costumes by Roberto

Montenegro and danced by Irina Baronova (Swanilda) and Anton Dolin (Franz).

A production of the full-length Coppélia, with choreography by Enrique Martinez

from the original by Saint-Léon and scenery and costumes by William Pitkin, was given

its American Ballet Theatre premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on December

24, 1968, danced by Carla Fracci (Swanilda) and Erik Bruhn (Franz). A new production

with choreography by Enrique Martinez, scenery by Tony Straiges, and costumes by

Patricia Zipprodt, received its ABT premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing

Arts in Washington, D.C. on January 18, 1991, danced by Cheryl Yeager (Swanilda) and

Julio Bocca (Franz). Frederic Franklin’s new staging received its ABT premiere at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California on February 14, 1997,

danced by Paloma Herrera (Swanilda) and Angel Corella (Franz). The ballet was last

performed by ABT in 2004.

Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg will lead the season’s first performance of

James Kudelka’s Cinderella on Tuesday evening, June 21. American Ballet Theatre will

give seven performances of the ballet through Saturday evening, June 25. This

production of Cinderella was given its World Premiere by The National Ballet of Canada

in Toronto, Canada on May 8, 2004. The ballet received its American Ballet Theatre

Company Premiere on June 2, 2006 at the Metropolitan Opera House, danced by Julie

Kent (Cinderella) and Marcelo Gomes (Her Prince Charming).

Eight performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after

Marius Petipa, will be given beginning Monday, June 27 with Irina Dvorovenko and

Maxim Beloserkovsky leading the opening night cast. Swan Lake is set to the score by

Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting

by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000 at the

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

American Ballet Theatre’s final week of its eight-week Metropolitan Opera House

season will feature seven performances of The Sleeping Beauty, July 5-9. Set to a score

by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed after Marius Petipa,

has additional choreography and staging by Kevin McKenzie, Gelsey Kirkland and

Michael Chernov. The production features scenery by Tony Walton, costumes by Willa

Kim with additional costume designs by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Richard Pilbrow

and Dawn Chiang. Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes will lead the season’s first

performance of The Sleeping Beauty on Tuesday evening, July 5. This production

of The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on

June 1, 2007.

Jose Manuel Carreño Farewell

Principal Dancer Jose Manuel Carreño will give his final New York performance

with American Ballet Theatre on Thursday evening, June 30. The evening will be

highlighted by a special performance of Swan Lake featuring Mr. Carreño in the role of

Prince Siegfried dancing opposite Julie Kent as Odette and Gillian Murphy as Odile.

Tickets for Carreño’s farewell performance are priced from $30-$115.

ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet, is

scheduled for Saturday morning, May 21 at 11:30 A.M.. All tickets for ABTKids are

$25. The ABTKids performance is generously supported through an endowed gift from

Thomas and Lydia West, in loving memory of Vivian B. West.

ABTKids Workshop Series

ABTKids Workshop Series, activity-based programs led by ABT Teaching Artists,

are available to ABTKids ticket holders only on Saturday, May 21 (9:30 A.M.). On

Saturday, June 18, ABT will hold a Coppélia Workshop at 11:00 A.M. and a Cinderella

Workshop on Saturday, June 25 at 11:00 A.M.. Saturday workshops will be held in the

rehearsal studios of the Metropolitan Opera House. Tickets to the workshops are $20 per

person. For tickets and more information on ABTKids Workshop series, please call 212-

Early Bird 7:30 P.M. Friday Series

American Ballet Theatre introduces a new Early Bird Series with 7:30 P.M.

curtain times for all Friday evening performances. Performances Monday through Friday

will begin at 7:30 P.M., with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:00 P.M. Saturday

evening performances will remain at 8:00 P.M.

Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2011 Spring Season at the

Metropolitan Opera House, on sale beginning Friday, October 15, are available by phone

at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org.

The Bright Stream is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and

Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production has been made possible with public

funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cinderella is generously supported through an endowed gift from Monica, Stefano, Cosima,

and Tassilo Corsi. This production has been made possible with public funds from the

National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State

Agency.

Funding for Coppélia was provided by The Lucia Chase Foundation and The Green Fund,

Inc.

Don Quixote is generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in

memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.

American Ballet Theatre's performances of Giselle are generously supported through

an endowed gift from Sharon Patrick. ABT gratefully acknowledges Linda Allard as the

Leading Costume Sponsor of Giselle.

Lady of the Camellias is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and

Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production is generously sponsored through an

endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman.

Swan Lake has been generously underwritten by The Rosh Foundation. Costumes for Swan

Lake are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.

Joan Taub Ades and Alan M. Ades, Adrienne Arsht, Arlene and Harvey Blau, Devon and

Peter Briger, Susan and Leonard Feinstein, Edward A. Fox, Lori and Stephen Garofalo,

Julia and David H. Koch, Konrad R. Kruger, Jill L. Leinbach, Charlotte and MacDonald

Mathey, and Jean and Lawrence Shaw are Co-Underwriters of The Sleeping Beauty.

Additional funding provided by the NIB Foundation. Special thanks to Caroline Newhouse.

This production has been made possible with public funds from the National endowment

The works by Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon and Benjamin Millepied are

generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New

Works Fund. Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet is made possible with public funds from the

New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. Additional funding for Benjamin

Millepied’s ballet has been provided by Michele and Steven Pesner.

CA Technologies is a Sponsor of ABT’s Family Initiatives.

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Christopher Newton will be staging "Shadowplay" - that bit was cut off. Also, any word on what Osipova and Cojocaru will be dancing? My guess is that Osipova can repeat Don Q, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty - but anything new for her? Also, Cojocaru I would suspect is giving her first New York Giselle and might repeat Princess Aurora - anything new for her? The ingenue role in "Bright Stream" would be suitable - I saw Svetlana Lunkina shine in that part when the Bolshoi danced it here. She has similarities to Cojocaru. Other point of interest - NO ROMEO AND JULIET!!! Was it accidentally left off? I can't believe it. The first season in 800 years ABT has not performed it at the end of the Met season!!!

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No Romeo and Juliet. I wouldn't just drop an entire section of a release. So far, the only casting for Shadowplay is Cornejo and Simkin. I fixed the other one-word drop. The way the doc. is now formatted, it double-spaces everything. I try to take the spaces out.

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The same press release is now available on the ABT site this afternoon:

http://www.abt.org/insideabt/news_display.asp?News_ID=322

But I don't see a schedule anywhere, including the "Calendar" section. Did they send you the actual schedule in an Excel file? I'm dying to see it. Any chance you could do a copy-paste here? Or perhaps a save-as into html format, which might copy-paste?

I'm looking at old print-outs I kept for the spring 2010 season. They just said TBA in early announcements and those were filled in much later with Osipova and Cojocaru.

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Corella is only listed for one performance- a Coppelia w. Herrera. This is sad. No Sarah Lane in any lead parts. Simkin is getting a Don Q., but his partner is Kajiya- not exactly my favorite dancer. Stella is not getting a Giselle- something many ballettalkers have been looking forward to for years. The new Giselle in town will be Hee Seo. Simkin and Ricetto in Coppelia?? That seems like an odd couple. I can't picture Ricetto as Swanilda.

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Some points of interest:

Angel Corella is listed on the season roster as per the announcement but his schedule is not worked out yet - he just listed on the calendar for "Coppelia". Plenty of TBA's though.

Diana Vishneva has a singularly uninteresting season - just Giselle, Lady of the Camellias and nothing else...

Daniil Simkin as Basilio in "Don Quixote" YESSSS!!! :clapping:

Bolle also has a skimpy season with just Armand again. Hopefully he will take over some tba slots in "Giselle" and "Swan Lake".

Part has a new role as Zina in "Bright Stream" with Hammoudi who clearly is now on a promotion track.

No Giselle for Abrera :wallbash:

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Is there an error on the casting for the June 30 Swan Lake? It lists both Julie Kent and Gillian Murphy (and Carreno). Surely Kent and Murphy are not sharing the part? Gillian Murphy has her own Swan Lake on June 8, and Julie Kent has her own on the July 2 matinée.

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Is there an error on the casting for the June 30 Swan Lake? It lists both Julie Kent and Gillian Murphy (and Carreno). Surely Kent and Murphy are not sharing the part? Gillian Murphy has her own Swan Lake on June 8, and Julie Kent has her own on the July 2 matinée.

Kent is doing White Swan Odette; Murphy is doing Black Swan Odile. Normally the role is not split, but since it is an honor for other principals to appear w. Carreno in his final show, they are doing a split. I'm hoping for Gomes as Purple Rothbart.

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My immediate choices were Vishneva in 'Giselle' and Osipova in 'Sleeping Beauty'. What is Vishneva's Giselle like? Do people want to see Cojocaru in it more because they haven't, or because they already like her in it? I know about Cojocaru's Aurora, but I still would rather see Osipova, I think, if I have to choose (I can't remember if Osipova did Aurora here this year, or if anybody has seen her in it, so please inform. Thanks.)

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If you all had to choose between seeing Cojocaru in Don Q or Giselle what would you pick? I saw her SB last year and am in love with her. I've never seen the ABT production of Don Q (I'm not much of a full length ballet person). Is there a lot of stage time for the lead? I'm not a big Giselle fan either, but I have seen it a lot over the years. Bottom line 1. stage time by the female lead 2. opportunity to see other company members shine in variations. What to do?

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Vishneva, Cojocaru and Osipova are all worth seeing in Giselle. Three very different dancers, but valid interpretations.

Vishneva's Giselle is primarily great in the second act. She's good in the first act, but it's the second act where she distinguishes herself. She puts dark makeup under her eyes, and has a stern, ghostly expression. This Giselle turns furiously at her initiation, and in general seems to be waging a battle against Myrtha that is hair-raising. She's not so much a gentle weeping spirit as a frightening ghost who saves Albrecht by sheer will.

Cojocaru's Giselle is available on dvd, and she's surprisingly weak in the variations, but uses her lightness, airiness, and elevation to great effect. She's my favorite Act 1 Giselle. So girlish, so charming, so sweet.

Osipova's Giselle is maybe the most unorthodox. She uses her incredible ballon and technique to make Giselle an exhilirating pure-dance experience. She's girlish in Act 1, heartbroken in the mad scene, etc. but what I remember most about her Giselle is the way she hung in the air in her entrechats, or the exuberance with which she grand jeted across the stage. I felt as if I was at times watching a Balanchine abstract piece as she just floated across the stage, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. It was quite an experience.

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Osipova's Giselle is maybe the most unorthodox. She uses her incredible ballon and technique to make Giselle an exhilirating pure-dance experience. She's girlish in Act 1, heartbroken in the mad scene, etc. but what I remember most about her Giselle is the way she hung in the air in her entrechats, or the exuberance with which she grand jeted across the stage. I felt as if I was at times watching a Balanchine abstract piece as she just floated across the stage, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. It was quite an experience.

Sold! As might have been predicted, but these were all very tantalizing characterizations. Thanks so much.

Edited to add: Oh dear, it looks like I probably just want to see Osipova--she's not scheduled for 'Giselle', I see. So I guess I will see her Aurora. But Coppelia sounds pretty irresistible too...

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An interesting omission to principal casting is Sarah Lane. I saw her do a really nice Theme & Variations not long after she joined the corps. I mean a better Theme than I've seen many principal dancers pull off in both NYCB & ABT. I also saw her Aurora in NYC. Lovely, a bit nervous but very technically secure and nice characterization, the audience loved her and I looked forward to repeat performances that didn't come to pass. Where is she?

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Veronika Part appears woefully underused, as is par for the course...two Myrthas, a Swan Lake, a Sleeping Beauty, and the Bright Stream. Such a shame, why promote the girl if you don't give her any new parts? Herman Cornejo does seem to be reeling in some new roles though, which is great for him.

I enjoy Alina Cojocaru's dancing very much but as a Kitri...no. And with how many injuries she's dealing with (she just pulled out some dates for the RB this season) it's ridiculous she takes on this amount of guesting.

I am thinking the tba for the Cornejo cast of the Bright Stream will end up being Sarah Lane. Who else would it be besides her or Reyes? And if it was Reyes they'd just announce it since she's a principal.

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Edited to add: Oh dear, it looks like I probably just want to see Osipova--she's not scheduled for 'Giselle', I see. So I guess I will see her Aurora. But Coppelia sounds pretty irresistible too...

Osipova got really incredible reviews in London(?) in the new Bolshoi production of Coppelia. Yes, production itself got great reviews but she got fantastic reviews in the part. I did very much enjoy her Aurora and it is a work in progress and will be better this year than last, but I would probably (if choosing only one) go for Coppelia!

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Subscription sales started October 15, according to their news release, but I can't find anything about single tickets on their site. Has anyone seen a date when those go on sale or remember from last year? Have subscribers received something in the mail? They don't seem to have on-line ordering yet for the subscriptions for the spring season.

I kept print-outs I made a year ago and the TBAs were filled in by November 1, especially for the Osipova performances. So I'm wondering if she might be doing the TBA Don Q's on May 21 and 23 -- who else might take those? Any guesses on the Swan Lake July 2? I don't remember reading that Osipova has done Swan Lake. Perhaps that will be Cojocaru?

Also, I haven't seen any info on casting for the three new works May 24-26 by Ratmansky, Millepied, and Wheeldon. Has any information come out somewhere on those?

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Veronika Part appears woefully underused, as is par for the course...two Myrthas, a Swan Lake, a Sleeping Beauty, and the Bright Stream. Such a shame, why promote the girl if you don't give her any new parts? Herman Cornejo does seem to be reeling in some new roles though, which is great for him.

They have not yet announced the casting for the secondary roles in Lady of the Cams. I'm guessing she will perform in that ballet, as she did last season. I also guess she may do a Lilac Fairy. That casting has not been announced either. Also, although principals often don't perform Mercedes in Don Q, I hope she is cast in that role. She missed her Mercedes performances last year due to injury.

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