FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE UPDATED June 21, 2013 April 9, 2013 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected] ALAN GILBERT AND THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC In Collaboration with GIANTS ARE SMALL Two Works by Stravinsky Theatrical Reimagining of THE FAIRY’S KISS and PETRUSHKA June 27–29, 2013 Starring New York City Ballet Principal Dancer SARA MEARNS Additional Performers To Include Dancer/Puppeteer Amar Ramasar, Master Puppeteer Matt Acheson, Puppeteer and Circus Performer William da Silva, and Dancer Abbey Roesner Eric Owens and Anthony Roth Costanzo To Appear on Film Directed/Designed by DOUG FITCH Choreographed by KAROLE ARMITAGE Produced by EDOUARD GETAZ Lighting Design by CLIFTON TAYLOR Costume Design by IRINA KRUZHILINA Make-Up by MARGIE DURAND The New York Philharmonic will present A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky, a multidisciplinary, theatrical reimagining of the ballets The Fairy’s Kiss and Petrushka, created by Giants Are Small. Sara Mearns, New York City Ballet principal dancer, will star in the production, which will be conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert, directed and designed by Doug Fitch, choreographed by Karole Armitage, and produced by Edouard Getaz — Thursday, June 27, 2013, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 28 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, June 29 at 8:00 p.m. Blending music with ballet, live animation, pre-recorded video, puppetry, and circus arts, A Dancer’s Dream will blur the lines between reality and imagination, audience and performer. (more) A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky / 2 Using Stravinsky’s The Fairy’s Kiss and Petruskha as the foundation for a new narrative, the production chronicles the story of a young woman, played by Ms. Mearns, and her dream of becoming a dancer. Entranced by the music, she is “kissed” by the passion to become an artist and drawn into the performance, dancing to the complete score of The Fairy’s Kiss. By the second act, she has completed her transformation into an artist, becoming Columbine in Petrushka. The production will turn Avery Fisher hall into a dream world through costumes, sets, staging, and live filmmaking, Giants Are Small’s signature technique in which a real-time feed of musicians, puppets, and miniatures is projected above the Orchestra. Live filmmaking was also used in the New York Philharmonic’s groundbreaking production of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre (called the number one opera of 2010 by New York Magazine and Time Out New York, and cited as one of 2010’s opera highlights by The New York Times). The puppeteers will include Amar Ramasar of New York City Ballet, who will also appear as a dancer along with Abbey Roesner; Matt Acheson, puppetry associate from the Tony Award–winning production of War Horse; and puppeteer and circus performer William da Silva. Featured in the pre-recorded footage of Petrushka will be opera star Eric Owens as The Moor; opera, Broadway, and film performer Anthony Roth Costanzo as Petrushka (both of whom starred in Le Grand Macabre); and Ms. Mearns as Columbine. Alan Gilbert and the musicians of the Philharmonic will also play active roles in the storytelling. As an interlude connecting the wintery settings of The Fairy’s Kiss and Petrushka, pianists Eric Huebner and Steve Beck will perform a brief excerpt from Durey’s Neige, for piano four hands. “I have often spoken about my belief in storytelling through music, sometimes in ways that are literal but often in ways that are less easy to define,” Alan Gilbert said. “The Fairy’s Kiss and Petrushka contrast with each other, but both are intrinsically associated with dance, and the action on the stage allows certain themes to emerge and connect them. Karole and Doug are geniuses in their fields, really rich, sophisticated thinkers; more importantly, what they create totally fits in with my ambitions in terms of the Orchestra’s connecting with a variety of art forms on the deepest levels. Sara comes to many of our concerts, and I’ve gotten to enjoy getting to know her. She is a great artist.” “I have very much enjoyed the two previous projects with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic — Alan and the musicians have shown such enthusiasm for exploring new ways to stage things. I have felt invited to let my imagination take flight,” said director/designer Doug Fitch. “Now we are moving on to find a way to integrate ballet with our previous melding of orchestral performance, live filmmaking, and puppetry, and Sara Mearns is an ideal addition. She is not only hugely talented as a classical dancer, but she is willing to experiment. She has been a wonderful muse for inspiring us all to envision an emergent dream world by combining these two ballets and bringing them to life in Avery Fisher Hall.” “The opportunity to dance to music as breathtaking as these ballet scores by Stravinsky — who wrote ballet music that is challenging but also inspiring — performed by the New York Philharmonic is a rare and exquisite opportunity,” said New York City Ballet principal dancer (more) A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky / 3 Sara Mearns. “I am a huge fan of this Orchestra, and am honored and thrilled to be part of what is happening here under Alan Gilbert’s leadership. Karole Armitage has created astounding choreography for me, and Doug Fitch’s conception of the story and the roles he has crafted for me are a highlight. I really can’t wait for the performances!” “Working with Doug Fitch and Giants Are Small on the Philharmonic’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen was a wonderful experience,” said choreographer Karole Armitage, “so I am delighted to come back for this full evening of dance. I had never worked with Sara Mearns, but knew and admired her luscious dancing. It is a great privilege to work with such a gifted dancer with her fierce intelligence, deep expressivity, and desire to push herself and her art form toward new horizons. Working with the Giants Are Small team is also a joy — they have a unique outlook that creates a marvelous environment for audience and collaborators alike. This will be a delightful event for all who are lucky enough to see it.” The production will feature lighting design by Clifton Taylor, costume design by Irina Kruzhilina, and make-up by Margie Durand. The Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert last collaborated with Doug Fitch, Edouard Getaz, and their production company Giants Are Small in June 2011 for the acclaimed production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, which was also choreographed by Karole Armitage. In June 2010 the New York Philharmonic and Giants Are Small staged Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, a critical success that was named the number one cultural event of the year by several news outlets. Artists Music Director Alan Gilbert began his tenure at the New York Philharmonic in September 2009, launching what New York magazine called “a fresh future for the Philharmonic.” The first native New Yorker in the post, he has introduced the positions of The Marie-Josée Kravis Composer-in-Residence and The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence, an annual multi-week festival, and CONTACT!, the new-music series, and he has sought to make the Orchestra a point of civic pride for the city and country. In 2012–13, Alan Gilbert conducts world premieres; presides over a cycle of Brahms’s complete symphonies and concertos; leads the EUROPE / SPRING 2013 tour; and continues The Nielsen Project, the multiyear initiative to perform and record the Danish composer’s symphonies and concertos, the first release of which was named by The New York Times as among the Best Classical Music Recordings of 2012. The season concludes with June Journey: Gilbert’s Playlist, four programs showcasing themes he has introduced, including the season finale: a theatrical reimagining of Stravinsky ballets with director/designer Doug Fitch and New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Sara Mearns. Last season’s highlights included tours of Europe and California, several world premieres, Mahler symphonies, and Philharmonic 360, the Philharmonic and Park Avenue Armory’s acclaimed spatial-music program featuring Stockhausen’s Gruppen, about which The New York Times said: “Those who think classicalmusic needs some shaking up routinely challenge music directors at major orchestras to think outside the box. That is precisely what Alan Gilbert did.” (more) A Dancer’s Dream: Two Works by Stravinsky / 4 Mr. Gilbert is Director of Conducting and Orchestral Studies and holds the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at The Juilliard School. Conductor Laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of Hamburg’s NDR Symphony Orchestra, he regularly conducts leading orchestras around the world. He made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting John Adams’s Doctor Atomic in 2008, the DVD of which received a Grammy Award. Renée Fleming’s recent Decca recording Poèmes, on which he conducted, received a 2013 Grammy Award. In May 2010 Mr. Gilbert received an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from The Curtis Institute of Music and in December 2011, Columbia University’s Ditson Conductor’s Award for his “exceptional commitment to the performance of works by American composers and to contemporary music.” Visual artist, designer, and director Doug Fitch designed and directed the 2010 Giants Are Small production of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre for the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert, which was cited as the top opera of 2010 by The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Time Out New York. Mr. Fitch and Giants Are Small collaborated with Alan Gilbert and the Philharmonic again on the 2011 production of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, which was called “Best Classical Event of the Year” by New York Magazine.