Featuring new costumes created in collaboration with Swarovski, this classical masterpiece dazzles audiences with its crystalline luminosity, a cast of over 50 dancers, and a spectacular finale.
Georges Bizet composed his Symphony in C Major when he was a 17-year-old pupil of Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory. The manuscript was lost for decades and was published only after it was discovered in the Conservatory’s library in 1933. Balanchine first learned of the long-vanished score from Stravinsky. He required only two weeks to choreograph it as Le Palais de Cristal for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947, where he was serving as a guest ballet master. When he revived the work the following year, he simplified the sets and costumes and changed the title. The ballet was on New York City Ballet’s first program, on October 11, 1948, and has remained a vital part of the Company’s repertory ever since. For the 2012 Spring Season, Symphony in C returned to the NYCB repertory in a major revival with new costumes designed by Marc Happel, NYCB’s Director of Costumes. The new designs were created in collaboration with Swarovski, and the production features costumes, as well as newly designed crowns, headpieces, and earrings, all created using SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.
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