New York City Ballet’s annual Opening Night Benefit will be held on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 7 PM. and will feature an evening of ballets set to American music by such composers as Leonard Bernstein, Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, Wynton Marsalis, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and Ray Charles.
The gala evening will also mark the first performance in the newly named David H. Koch Theater, and for the occasion Mr. Koch and his wife Julia will serve as honorary chairmen for the evening. Chairmen for the event are Carol and Earle Mack and Whitney and Clarke Murphy.
The theater is being named in honor of Mr. Koch who recently made a $100 million gift to support the capital campaign for the theater, previously known as the New York State Theater, which is home to both New York City Ballet and New York City Opera. The theater, which opened its doors in 1964, is currently undergoing a major renovation, with the initial phase due for completion in the fall of 2009.
As part of this special evening, Peter Martins, Ballet Master in Chief of NYCB, has invited the New York City Opera to take part in this inaugural performance in the David H. Koch Theater. The program will open with Martins’ Chichester Psalms, to the music of Leonard Bernstein, which will feature the New York City Opera Chorus. City Opera soloists will also appear in excerpts from Jerome Robbins’ Ives, Songs and George Balanchine’s Who Cares?, and George Manahan, City Opera’s Music Director, will conduct the NYCB Orchestra in excerpts from Balanchine’s Ivesiana and Martins’ Calcium Light Night, both to music by Charles Ives.
Other works featured on the program include excerpts from Martins’ Barber Violin Concerto, Jazz (Six Syncopated Movements), and A Fool for You, as well as Susan Stroman’s "Blossom Got Kissed" from Duke!, NYCB’s Duke Ellington tribute which premiered in 1999.
The performances of Jazz (Six Syncopated Movements), "Rockhouse" from A Fool for You, and "Blossom Got Kissed," will feature music performed by the acclaimed Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, which is comprised of students from The Juilliard School’s prestigious jazz program, which is a collaboration between Juilliard and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Performance-only tickets for the Opening Night Benefit are priced from $20 to $100 and are currently available at www.nycballet.com, through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, or at the theater’s box office.
Gala tickets, which include a pre-performance cocktail reception, the performance, and a black-tie supper ball following the performance, are also available by calling the NYCB Special Events Office at 212-870-5585.
Following the Opening Night Benefit, NYCB will hold its annual holiday season of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™, November 28 through January 3, followed by the Winter Repertory Season, January 6 through March 1, 2009.
The theater is located on the Lincoln Center Plaza at Columbus Avenue at 63rd Street. For general information on tickets for any New York City Ballet performance, call 212-870-5570, or visit www.nycballet.com.
Chichester Psalms was made possible in part by a generous contribution from The Irene Diamond Fund.
Ivesiana was made possible in part through a generous contribution from Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.
The creation and performance of works by Peter Martins is funded in part by an endowment gift from the Solomon family, given in loving memory of Carolyn B. Solomon.
New York City Ballet's performances of ballets by George Balanchine are supported in part by the Balanchine Production Fund, an endowment created through The Campaign for New York City Ballet.
NEW YORK CITY BALLET
Opening Night Benefit
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 at 7 PM
Chichester Psalms
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Choreography by Peter Martins
Featuring the New York City Opera Chorus
Barber Violin Concerto (excerpt)
Music by Samuel Barber
Choreography by Peter Martins
Ives, Songs (excerpt)
Music by Charles Ives
Choreography by Jerome Robbins
Featuring a soloist from the New York City Opera
Ivesiana (excerpt)
Music by Charles Ives
Choreography by George Balanchine
NYCB Orchestra conducted by George Manahan,
Music Director of the New York City Opera
Calcium Light Night (excerpt)
Music by Charles Ives
Choreography by Peter Martins
NYCB Orchestra conducted by George Manahan,
Music Director of the New York City Opera
Intermission
Jazz (Six Syncopated Movements) (excerpt)
Music by Wynton Marsalis
Choreography by Peter Martins
Featuring the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
A Fool for You (excerpts)
Rockhouse* - Music by Ray Charles
Hit the Road Jack - Music by Percy Mayfield
It Should’ve Been Me - Music by Memphis Curtis
Choreography by Peter Martins
*Featuring the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra
Blossom Got Kissed (from Duke!)
Music by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
Choreography by Susan Stroman
Featuring the Julliard Jazz Orchestra
Who Cares? (excerpts)
The Man I Love* and I Got Rhythm
Music by George Gershwin
Choreography by George Balanchine
*Featuring a soloist from the New York City Opera
