American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie has announced that ABT
Principal Dancer Stella Abrera will dance the role of Pierrette at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in its
West Coast premiere on January 17. Abrera will also dance in the January 20 matinee. Misty Copeland
will make her debut as Pierrette on Friday, January 18.
Audiences are in for a delightful treat with this new production of a rare comic gem created over a
remarkable 18 months by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, inspired by the archival notes of
Marius Petipa. Harlequinade is set to a score by Riccardo Drigo, played live by Pacific Symphony. The
ballet features sets and costumes by Robert Perdziola, praised by Forbes as a “feast of colors and
whimsy.”
Harlequinade will be performed January 17 – 20 in Segerstrom Hall.
As previously announced, the Thursday, January 17 opening night cast also includes Isabella Boylston
as Columbine, James Whiteside as Harlequin and Thomas Forster as Pierrot.
About the Ballet
Marius Petipa originally created Harlequinade, known as Les Millions d’Arlequin (Harlequin’s Millions), for
the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in 1900, with music composition by the Imperial Ballet’s conductor
and composer of the time Riccardo Drigo. A ballet in two acts, the plot revolves around the well-known
characters of Italian commedia dell’arte: Pierrot, his wife Pierrette, Columbine and her romantic suitor
Harlequin. Distilling through its own expressive language – Commedia’s particular traits of wit, humor,
farce, and mime – Harlequinade tells the charming tale of the love-struck Harlequin and his pursuit of the
captivating Columbine.
Taking inspiration from Petipa’s archival notes, acclaimed choreographer Alexei Ratmansky has restaged
this comic gem for American Ballet Theatre’s first full-length production of the ballet (a co-production with
Australian Ballet), which received its world premiere in June of 2018 at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Set and costumes are designed by Robert Perdziola in a sumptuous evocation of the Imperial Ballet and
colorful Commedia dell’arte tradition.
The Story
In the first act, the Harlequin and Columbine are kept apart by her father Cassandre, who would prefer
that his daughter marry the wealthier (and older!) Lèandre. Not to be deterred, Harlequin tries futilely to
win Cassandre over, only to be turned away again and again by Cassandre and his servant Pierrot.
Finally, with the help of a Good Fairy and Pierrot’s sympathetic wife Pierrette, Harlequin’s bad fortunes
are turned around, and Cassandre agrees to bless the union. Harlequin and Columbine are married in the
festive second act when love finally triumphs over all.
American Ballet Theatre is one of the great dance companies in the world. Few ballet companies equal
ABT for its combination of size, scope, and outreach. Recognized as a living national treasure since its
founding in 1940, ABT annually tours the United States, performing for more than 300,000 people, and is
the only major cultural institution to do so.
Pacific Symphony, led by Music Director Carl St.Clair for the last 29 years, has been the resident
orchestra of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for over a decade. Currently in its 40th
anniversary season, the Symphony is the largest orchestra formed in the U.S. in the last 50 years and is
recognized as an outstanding ensemble making strides on both the national and international scene, as
well as here in Orange County.
Segerstrom Center is a leader among the nation’s performing arts centers for providing education
programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. The Center’s programs reach hundreds of
thousands of students each year in five Southern California counties. Community engagement programs
developed through the Center for Dance and Innovation and Center Without Boundaries also connect the
Center more comprehensively with Orange County’s many diverse communities. The CDI supports
flagship artistic programming and a wide range of projects that celebrate innovation, nurture creativity and
engage audiences of the future. It is home to the ABT Gillespie School and the School of Dance and
Music for Children with Disabilities. The Center Without Boundaries develops partnerships with noncultural
organizations to help them in their own efforts to respond to the ever-changing needs of the
community.
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE: HARLEQUINADE
Segerstrom Center for the Arts – Segerstrom Hall
600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA
Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky
Music by Riccardo Drigo
Sets and Costumes by Robert Perdziola
Music performed live by Pacific Symphony
January 17 – 20, 2019
Thursday – Friday at 7:30 pm
Saturday at 2:00 and 7:30 pm
Sunday at 1:00 pm
Tickets – Start at $29
In person – The Box Office
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Online – www.SCFTA.org
www.ABT.org
Phone – (714) 556-2787
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236
Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday-Friday
600 Town Center Drive Costa Mesa, CA 92626 T (714) 556-2121 F (714) 556-8984
SCFTA.org
Photo Credit: SCFTA
Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change.
