A guide to the Ballet’s 84th season
Program 1 (Jan. 24-Feb. 4): The season opens with a feast of good music. The premiere is “Fragile Vessels,” by Czech dancer-choreographer Jir í Bubenícek with decor byhis twin brother, Otto. The piece was inspired by the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2. The cast includes Sofiane Sylve and Joseph Walsh. The program begins with a revival of Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s “Haffner Symphony,” created for the Mozart bicentennial in 1991. The closer is a reprise of New York City Ballet whiz Justin Peck’s exuberant debut piece, “In the Countenance of Kings.” Program 2 (Jan. 26-Feb. 5 mat.): Potentially, the most fascinating bill of the year. One has come to expect the unexpected from resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov, and in “Optimistic Tragedy,” he has reconsidered the play by Vsevolod Vishnevsky and film (you can find it on YouTube). It happens in 1917 (this could be a centenary celebration for the Russian Revolution) and involves a female commissar who captivates the crew on board. The original score is by Ilya Demutsky. Completing the package: Alexei Ratmansky’s “Seven Sonatas,” an exquisite chamber work in white, set to harpsichord music of Domenico Scarlatti; and William Forsythe’s always surprising “Pas/Parts 2016.” Program 3 (Feb. 17-26 mat.): A co-production with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, where it opened last spring, Liam Scarlett’s full-evening “Frankenstein” takes its inspiration from Mary Shelley’s 1813 novel. Scarlett’s colleagues are an impressive group: American composer Lowell Liebermann has contributed his first full-length dance score; John MacFarlane has created sets and costumes. Scarlett’s opening cast includes Frances Chung and Walsh as the Frankensteins and Taras Domitro as “the creature.” Program 4 (March 7-18): This survey of George Balanchine’s works, among the seminal dances of the 20th century, stretches over five decades of the choreographer’s career. “The Prodigal Son” was created for Diaghlev’s Ballets Russes in 1929 and features daring designs by Georges Rouault and music by Sergei Prokofiev. The neoclassical “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” is a majestic souvenir of the legendary 1972 Stravinsky Festival at New York City Ballet. “Diamonds,” the third panel of the 1967 “Jewels,” honors the Russian Romantic tradition that shaped the choreographer. An unmissable evening. Program 5 (March 9-19 mat.): In this bundle of San Francisco Ballet commissions, the new entry is Arthur Pita’s “Salome,” probably the first work in the company’s history to arrive with an “unsuitable for children under 12” advisory. In his first commission for the company, the British-resident choreographer claims both Oscar Wilde and film director David Lynch as inspiration for his dance theater opus. Scarlett’s 2016 “Fearful Symmetries” (to John Adams) and Possokhov’s 2008 “Fusion” (music by British minimalist Graham Fitkin) round out the bill. Program 6 (March 31-April 12): “Swan Lake”: Tomasson’s second production of the Marius Petipa-Lev Ivanov classic about the prince who loved well but not wisely returns in the Jonathan Fensom decor. Given the upward mobility of the company roster, you may expect some important role debuts as Siegfried and Odette-Odile. Program 7 (April 5-18): The season’s final premiere comes from corps de ballet member Myles Thatcher, whose second work for the senior company concerns community, highlights two contrasting duets and takes its musical inspiration from English minimalist Michael Nyman. The revivals represent their choreographers at their best. Tomasson’s 2010 “Trio” mines Tchaikovsky’s sextet, “Souvenir de Florence.” Commissioned in 2008 and often revived, Christopher Wheeldon’s “Within the Golden Hour” plumbs the lyrical depths with the music of Vivaldi and Ezio Bosso. Program 8 (April 28-May 7): Wheeldon’s 2012 “Cinderella,” co-commissioned with the Dutch National Ballet, retells the Charles Perrault tale with ingenuity and wit. That latter virtue pervades the ballroom dances in this full-evening production. There’s wonder, too, in the transformation scene, thanks to the theatrical wizardry of designer Julian Crouch and puppeteer Basil Twist. The music, of course, is Prokofiev’s.