ABT Announces Casting For Third And Fourth Weeks At The Met

Casting for the third and fourth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2019 Spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Performances of Whipped Cream will continue in the third week, beginning on Monday, May 27, led by Jonathan Klein in his New York debut as The Boy, Devon Teuscher as Princess Tea Flower, Thomas Forster as Prince Coffee and Cassandra Trenary as Princess Praline. Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, the ballet features scenery and costumes by artist Mark Ryden and lighting by Brad Fields. Whipped Cream, with a libretto and score by Richard Strauss, is based on the two-act ballet originally created as Schlagobers, which premiered at the Vienna State Opera in 1924. Ratmansky's production received its World Premiere by ABT on March 15, 2017 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California danced by Daniil Simkin (The Boy), Stella Abrera (Princess Tea Flower), David Hallberg (Prince Coffee) and Sarah Lane (Princess Praline).

The third week of ABT's 2019 Spring season will feature a repertory program of Twyla Tharp works, May 30-June 3, including The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Deuce Coupe and In the Upper Room. The first performance of The Brahms-Haydn Variations will be led by Sarah Lane, Gary Pogossian, Zhong-Jing Fang, Calvin Royal III, Stephanie Williams, Blaine Hoven, Misty Copeland, Joo Won Ahn, Luciana Paris and Herman Cornejo, with Pogossian and Fang debuting in these roles. Hee Seo will debut in the ballet at the matinee on Saturday, June 1. A ballet for thirty dancers, The Brahms-Haydn Variations, originally entitled Variations on a Theme by Haydn, is set to music by the same name by Johannes Brahms and features costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, with staging by Susan Jones. The Brahms-Haydn Variations was given its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. on Tuesday, March 21, 2000, danced by Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Marcelo Gomes, Herman Cornejo, Maxim Beloserkovsky, Sandra Brown, Julie Kent, Paloma Herrera, Ashley Tuttle and Irina Dvorovenko.

Tharp's Deuce Coupe will be given its Company Premiere on Thursday evening, May 30, led by Christine Shevchenko, Isabella Boylston, Misty Copeland, Stella Abrera, James Whiteside and Calvin Royal III. Katherine Williams, Cassandra Trenary and Luciana Paris will debut in Deuce Coupe at the matinee on Saturday, June 1. Set to music by The Beach Boys, Deuce Coupe will feature scenery and costumes recreated by Santo Loquasto, after original costume design by Scott Barrie and original scenics by United Graffiti Artists. Deuce Coupe was given its World Premiere in 1973 by Joffrey Ballet and Twyla Tharp Dance at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. The ballet is staged for ABT by Tharp, Sara Rudner, Kara Chan and Shawn Stevens. Deuce Coupe is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Robert Joffrey.

In the Upper Room will receive its first performance of the season on May 30 danced by Devon Teuscher, Cassandra Trenary, Skylar Brandt, Aran Bell, Herman Cornejo, Blaine Hoven, Isabella Boylston, Erica Lall, Anabel Katsnelson, Thomas Forster (in his New York debut), Arron Scott, Tyler Maloney and Katherine Williams. The matinee on Saturday, June 1 will include debuts by Breanne Granlund, Joo Won Ahn and Gary Pogossian, and New York debuts by Stephanie Williams, Catherine Hurlin, Wanyue Qiao, Calvin Royal III, Duncan Lyle, Christine Shevchenko, Zimmi Coker, Carlos Gonzalez and Brittany DeGrofft In the Upper Room is set to music by Philip Glass with costumes by Norma Kamali and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. A ballet in nine parts, In the Upper Room was given its World Premiere by Twyla Tharp Dance on August 28, 1986. In the Upper Room received its ABT Company Premiere on December 10, 1988 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California. The ballet is staged for ABT by Shelley Washington, with Nancy Raffa.

The Company Premiere of the full-length Jane Eyre, choreographed by Cathy Marston, is set for Tuesday evening, June 4 with Devon Teuscher in the title role, James Whiteside as Rochester and Catherine Hurlin as Young Jane. On Wednesday, June 5, Misty Copeland, Cory Stearns and Skylar Brandt will lead the ballet for the first time at the matinee and Isabella Boylston, Thomas Forster and Breanne Granlund will debut in these roles at the evening performance. Jane Eyre features choreography and direction by Marston, music compiled and composed by Philip Feeney, scenery and costumes by Patrick Kinmonth and lighting by Brad Fields. The production received its World Premiere by Northern Ballet on May 19, 2016 in Doncaster, England performed by Dreda Blow as Jane Eyre and Javier Torres as Rochester. Jane Eyre is a co-production with Joffrey Ballet and is staged for ABT by Jenny Tattersall and Daniel de Andrade.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2019 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $25, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.