Thou Swell is a ballet created by New York City Ballet's balletmaster-in-chief Peter Martins to the songs of Richard Rodgers in an arrangement by Glen Kelly with orchestrations Don Sebesky.
The music is performed by an on stage trio and two singers. During the course of the ballet one of the male dancers (Nilas Martins in the original cast) "sits in" at the piano. The premiere took place on 22 January 2003 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with scenery by Robin Wagner, costumes by Julius Lumsden, supervised by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Mark Stanley.
(Song used and date of composition):
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer, known largely for his work in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.
Lorenz Milton Hart was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon", "The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", and "My Funny Valentine".
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart's death in 1943.
Ralph Rainger was an American composer of popular music principally for films.
A Connecticut Yankee is a musical based on the 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by American writer Mark Twain. Like most adaptations of the Twain novel, it focuses on the lighter aspects of the story. The music was written by Richard Rodgers, the lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and the book by Herbert Fields. It was produced by Lew Fields and Lyle D. Andrews. It enjoyed an original run on Broadway in 1927 of 421 performances and a number of revivals.
Le Baiser de la fée is a ballet in one act and four scenes composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1928 and revised in 1950 for George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's short story Isjomfruen, the work is an homage to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, for the 35th anniversary of the composer's death. Stravinsky elaborated several melodies from early piano pieces and songs by Tchaikovsky in his score. A commission by Ida Rubinstein from 1927, the ballet was choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered in Paris on 27 November 1928.
The Nightingale and the Rose is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by Bright Sheng commissioned by the New York City Ballet. The premiere took place on Friday, June 8, 2007, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, the orchestra conducted by the composer. Its libretto is based on the short story of the same name by Oscar Wilde.
Zakouski is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master in chief Peter Martins to:
Arnold Pressburger was an Austrian Jewish film producer who produced 79 films between 1913 and 1951. Pressburger was born in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary and died in Hamburg, Germany from a stroke.
Oltremare is a ballet by Mauro Bigonzetti to Bruno Moretti's eponymous music commissioned by New York City Ballet. The premiere took place Wednesday, January 23, 2008, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with costumes by the choreographer and Marc Happel and lighting by Mark Stanley. Oltremare is the third of three Bigonzetti / Moretti ballets commissioned by City Ballet, the others being Vespro and In Vento.
Valse Triste is a ballet choreographed by Peter Martins when he was balletmaster at the New York City Ballet to Sibelius's eponymous waltz as well as the music called Scene with Cranes from his incidental music for the play Kuolema (Death). The crane is a symbol of death in Finnish literature. The premiere took place on May 23, 1985, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with original lighting by Ronald Bates and current lighting by Mark Stanley.
Fancy Free is a ballet by Jerome Robbins, subsequently ballet master of New York City Ballet, made on Ballet Theatre, predecessor of American Ballet Theatre, to a score by Leonard Bernstein, with scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Ronald Bates. The premiere took place on Tuesday, 18 April 1944 at the old Metropolitan Opera House, New York. The NYCB premiere took place Thursday, 31 January 1980. Fancy Free was the inspiration for a successful musical, On the Town, and a portion of the score was also used in the opening scenes of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window.
Bugaku is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and ballet master George Balanchine to eponymous music by Toshiro Mayuzumi, commissioned by City Ballet in 1962. The premiere took place on 30 March 1963 at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery by David Hays, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Ronald Bates. NYCB had toured Japan in 1958 and the Gagaku Company of the Imperial Household toured the US the following year.
The Chairman Dances is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master in chief Peter Martins to John Adams' eponymous music from 1985. The music was originally written for Adams' opera, Nixon in China, but not used in production: the scene is that in which Mao Zedong dances with his future bride, movie star Chiang Ch'ing. The premiere took place on 14 May 1988, as part of City Ballet's American Music Festival at New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with scenery and costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, and lighting by Mark Stanley.
La Sonnambula(The Sleepwalker) is a ballet by the co-founder and ballet master of New York City Ballet, George Balanchine, made to Vittorio Rieti's music using themes from the operas of Vincenzo Bellini including La Sonnambula, Norma, I Puritani and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1830–35).
Ives, Songs is a ballet made by New York City Ballet ballet master Jerome Robbins to songs of Charles Ives:
River of Light is a ballet made by New York City Ballet balletmaster in chief Peter Martins to eponymous music by Charles Wuorinen commissioned in honor of his sixtieth birthday. The premiere took place June 11, 1998, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, with costumes by Holly Hynes and lighting by Mark Stanley; the 2008 revival was conducted by the composer and held in honor of his seventieth birthday. The River of Light was the third work in a trio of scores the New York City Ballet commissioned from Wuorinen in the early 1990s, the others being The Mission of Virgil and The Great Procession. All three works refer to scenes in Dante's Divine Comedy.
Who Cares? is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin in an orchestration by Hershy Kay. The premiere took place on Saturday, February 7, 1970, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center with costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Ronald Bates; it was at first performed without décor but from November 1970 with scenery by Jo Mielziner.
Anton Grot was a Polish art director long active in Hollywood. He was known for his prolific output with Warner Brothers, contributing, in such films as Little Caesar (1931), and Gold Diggers of 1933 to the distinctive Warners look and style. According to a TCM profile, he showed a "flair for harsh realism, Expressionistic horror and ornate romantic moods alike".
The Unanswered Question: Some Intimations of the American Composer Charles Ives is a ballet made by Eliot Feld to Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question, Calcium Light Night, Fugue in Four Keys, Mists, From the Housatonic at Stockbridge, Sonata No. 2 for Piano and Violin, Remembrance and An Old Song Deranged. The premiere took place April 30, 1988, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, as part of New York City Ballet's American Music Festival with lighting by the Feld Ballet's Allen Lee Hughes and Willa Kim's costumes. Other works to the music of Ives in the City Ballet repertory include Peter Martins' Calcium Light Night, Jerome Robbins' Ives, Songs and George Balanchine's Ivesiana.