American Ballet Theatre has opened its  2024 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House with seven performances of John Cranko’s Onegin scheduled to run through Saturday evening, June 22. The season will continue with the New York Premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works, as well as repertory favorites Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet, plus the return of Tony Award winner Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate. Performances will run now through July 20, 2024 and are available online and at the Metropolitan Opera House box office.

Scene from Onegin

We had the opportunity to attend ABT’s Summer season kick off with Devon Teuscher and Daniel Camargo in the leading roles of Onegin. Set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze, this spectacular ballet is based on the verse-novel Eugene Onegin by Alexandrer Pushkin. The new production, with sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by James F. Ingalls, was first performed by ABT on June 4, 2012, at the Metropolitan Opera House. Onegin is staged for ABT by Reid Anderson and Jane Bourne.

Onegin

Principal Dancers for the 2024 Summer season include Joo Won Ahn, Aran Bell, Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, Daniel Camargo, Herman Cornejo, Thomas Forster, Catherine Hurlin, Gillian Murphy, Calvin Royal III, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher, Cassandra Trenary, James Whiteside, and Roman Zhurbin.

New York Premiere

ABT will present the New York Premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works on Tuesday evening, June 25 at 7:30 P.M. featuring ABT Guest Artist and former Principal Dancer Alessandra Ferri. Woolf Works, an award-winning ballet triptych, re-creates the emotions, themes, and fluid style of three of Virginia Woolf’s novels: Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves. Enmeshed with elements from Woolf’s letters, essays, and diaries, Woolf Works expresses the heart of an artistic life driven to discover a freer, uniquely modern realism. It brings to life Woolf’s world of “granite and rainbow,” where human beings are at once both physical body and uncontained essence.

Woolf Works

Woolf Works has received notable recognition and outstanding critical acclaim. The full-length contemporary ballet won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, and McGregor was awarded the Critics Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography for the work.

Created for The Royal Ballet in 2015, Woolf Works is structured into three acts: “I now, I then,” “Becomings,” and “Tuesday,” each starkly distinct in visual design and choreography. Woolf Works features concept, direction, and choreography by Wayne McGregor and music by Max Richter, with set design by Ciguë (“I now, I then”), We Not I (“Becomings”), and Wayne McGregor (“Tuesday”); costume design by Moritz Junge; lighting design by Lucy Carter; film design by Ravi Deepres; and dramaturgy by Uzma Hameed. During ABT’s 2024 Summer season, Woolf Works will be given seven performances through June 29.

Catherine Hurlin and Daniel Camargo in Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works.

In addition to the opening night performance, Ferri will make a guest appearance on Friday, June 28, during ABT’s 2024 production of Woolf Works at the Metropolitan Opera House. This performance, as one of ABT’s 2024 Summer season celebratory evenings, will be dedicated to honoring Ferri and her career.

Metropolitan Opera House

2024 Summer Season Celebratory Evenings

This season, ABT unfolds a series of celebratory evenings, complete with a post-show toast on the Grand Tier of the Metropolitan Opera House. Admission is extended to that evening’s ticket holders with the purchase of an additional reception ticket.

In the month of June, ABT will celebrate the New York Premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works on Tuesday, June 25, and an evening honoring Guest Artist and former ABT Principal Dancer Alessandra Ferri on Friday, June 28.

During July, the Corps de Ballet Celebration will take place on Friday, July 5, while Herman Cornejo’s 25^th Anniversary Toast will take place on Friday, July 19.

Reception tickets can be purchased for $98. For more information, visit www.abt.org/SummerEvents.

Swan Lake

Full-Length Productions

Week three of ABT’s Summer season will open on Monday evening, July 1 with the first performance of Swan Lake, led by Isabella Boylston as Odette-Odile and Daniel Camargo as Prince Siegfried. Set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake is choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Julie Kent (Odette-Odile) and Angel Corella (Prince Siegfried) in the leading roles. The ballet will be given eight performances this season. Complete with a post-performance toast, the Friday, July 5 performance of Swan Lake will be a Corps de Ballet Celebration to honor ABT’s world-class talent in the corps de ballet.  

Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet will open on Tuesday evening, July 9 with Devon Teuscher and Aran Bell in the title roles. Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. Romeo and Juliet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965, and was given its ABT Premiere at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 1985, with Leslie Browne and Robert La Fosse in the leading roles. Romeo and Juliet will be given seven performances through July 13 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

Catherine Hurlin (Gertrudis) in Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate.

The final week of the 2024 Summer season will feature seven performances of Like Water for Chocolate beginning Tuesday evening, July 16 at 7:30 P.M. with Cassandra Trenary as Tita and Herman Cornejo as Pedro. Based on the bestselling novel by Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of Tita, a young Mexican woman who is overwhelmed by a sense of duty and family tradition. Tita’s only form of expression is through cooking, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she falls in forbidden love with her neighbor Pedro. From the award-winning team of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and composer Joby Talbot, this co-production with The Royal Ballet features scenery and costumes by Bob Crowley, lighting by Natasha Katz, and video design by Luke Halls.

Christine Shevchenko as Mama Elena in Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate.

The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet on June 2, 2022, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, led by Francesca Hayward as Tita and Marcelino Sambé as Pedro. It received its North American Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on March 29, 2023, at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, led by Cassandra Trenary as Tita and Herman Cornejo as Pedro. The Friday, July 19 performance of Like Water for Chocolate will mark the final 2024 Summer season celebratory evening in commemoration of Herman Cornejo’s 25^th Anniversary with American Ballet Theatre. 

ABT Masters Series
This summer, ABT launches the ABT Masters Series, a day long immersive experience for ballet fans to study one of ABT’s 20^th century classical works. Designed for adults 20-years or older with beginner to advanced-beginner ballet experience, participants will start the day at ABT’s 890 Broadway studios for body conditioning and ballet technique classes before diving into a 90-minute repertoire workshop, exploring the history of the session’s ballet, its movement, and characters, all taught by ABT Artistic Staff members and notable ABT alumni. That evening, participants will attend a pre-show talk with an ABT dancer before watching the corresponding ABT performance in an Orchestra seat at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The 2024 ABT Masters Series will run on Saturday, June 22 and Saturday, July 13 alongside performances of Onegin and Romeo and Juliet, respectively.

The day-long experience can be purchased for $250, including workshop fees, pre-performance talk, and one Orchestra ticket to attend the evening performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. For more information, visit ABT’s website.

Cassandra Trenary (Tita) and Herman Cornejo (Pedro) in Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate.

Single Tickets, Discounted Tickets and Student Ticket Policy

Single tickets for American Ballet Theatre’s 2024 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 212-362-6000, in person at the Met Box Office, or online at ABT’s website. Tickets start at $30. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64^th and 65^thstreets in New York City.

American Ballet Theatre offers $12-30 advance tickets and day of rush tickets for any full-time undergraduate or graduate student. A valid student ID is required. Tickets are subject to availability and require advance registration on the Met website. Limit two tickets per person, per performance.

American Ballet Theatre offers $35 orchestra day of rush tickets to the general public for all performances. Two tickets may be purchased for one performance every seven days. Tickets are subject to availability and require advance registration on the Met website.

American Ballet Theatre offers theatergoers under 30 years old $30 advance tickets to select performances. A limited number of tickets are available. Tickets are subject to availability and require an ID for pick up. Limit two tickets per person, per performance.

American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. ABT’s repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces. In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated America’s National Ballet Company.

For more information, please visit www.abt.org.