A Midsummer Night's Dream

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy after the play by William Shakespeare

Ballet in two parts

Opera de Paris (Opéra Bastille)
Recorded March 2017

Presented by Aurélie Dupont
Directrice of Dance at the Opéra National de Paris

Total Running Time: approximately 100 min
Detailed Running Time: TBA

CREATIVE TEAM
Composer ~ Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Choreographer ~ George Balanchine
Conductor ~ Simon Hewett
Chorus Master ~ José Luís Basso
Solists ~ Pranvera Lehnert and Anne-Sophie Ducret
Sets and costumes designs ~ Christian Lacroix
Lighting design ~ Mark Stanley

ARTISTIC TEAM
Étoiles, Premiers Danseurs and Corps de Ballet
With the participation of the Ballet School

PRESENTATION
Numerous choreographers have delved into Shakespeare to find dramatic material for their ballets, beginning with Jean-Georges Noverre, an ardent defender of the “action ballet,” and Marius Petipa, who was the first to use Mendelssohn’s stage music. George Balanchine, who also loved the score, would prove no exception. In 1962 he created his version of Shakespeare’s comedy for New York City Ballet. Faithful to the Bard’s vocabulary whilst adding a subtle touch of pantomime, he portrays a complex love story in two acts and six scenes. Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, become caught up in a domestic quarrel between the king of the elves and the queen of the fairies which results in the intervention of the mischievous Puck and his magic potion along with a troupe of amateur actors. The denouement is celebrated in the form of a grand virtuoso entertainment. One of George Balanchine’s rare narrative ballets, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is entering the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire. The sets and costumes for this production have been designed by another magician of the stage, Christian Lacroix.