Festival Ballet Providence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2004

Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129

February 11-13 Double Bill: The World Premiere of Gianni Di Marco’s Schéhérazade and the Rhode Island premiere of Lew Christensen’s Con Amore

PROVIDENCE - Festival Ballet Providence celebrates Valentine’s Day weekend at VMA Arts & Cultural Center with a double bill of two wildly different aspects of love: the world premiere of Gianni Di Marco’s Schéhérazade, and the Rhode Island premiere of Lew Christensens’ Con Amore.

Festival Ballet Providence Artistic Director Mihailo Djuric has crafted a thrilling evening of dance, with a commissioned ballet (Schéhérazade) by an exciting, young, emerging choreographer, and the acquisition of one of the ballet repertoire’s most favorite comedies (Con Amore). The program portrays love at its most intense and at its most ridiculous.

The program opens with Schéhérazade, the story of a jealous sultan who fears his harem is unfaithful in his absence. Choreographer Gianni Di Marco brings his own unique movement style to this exotic and sensual world premiere. Based on the original Ballet Russes storyline that caused a sensation when it premiered in Paris in 1910, and set to Rimsky-Korsakov’s evocative masterpiece, Schéhérazade is a visual feast with harem girls, slaves, love, infidelity and revenge.

Schéhérazade concerns Sultan Shayhryar, who leaves his harem under the pretense of going on a hunting trip with his brother Zeman, who has implied that the sultan’s favorite, Zobeida, is unfaithful. Soon after their departure, the ladies of the harem urge the chief eunuch to open the doors to the slaves. The most handsome of them, dressed in gold, is chosen by Zobeida, and together they become the central point of a frenzied orgy. As it rises to its climax, the revelry is interrupted by the Sultan’s unexpected return. He orders all to be killed, and no one escapes. Zobeida asks for forgiveness, and the Sultan in return asks if she has been unfaithful. Finding herself to be in love with the Golden Slave, she stabs herself with a dagger and falls at the Sultan’s feet.

DiMarco notes that he will remove the mime incorporated in traditional productions of Schéhérazade, replacing it with movement to physically express the narrative. He will introduce the characters at the outset of the story to better establish their relationships to each other, and to bring more stirring drama to the ballet’s conclusion. Sets will be designed by Alan Pickart (who designed last season’s Carmen sets) and original costumes will be designed by Ka Yan Can, who created the designs for The Widow’s Broom.

Con Amore was created by former San Francisco Ballet Artistic Director (from 1951 to 1984) Lew Christensen, and has been the most widely performed of that company’s one act ballets. Set to three effervescent Rossini overtures, Con Amore is an irresistible and bubbling romp, surely a comic masterpiece to be enjoyed with delight.

Con Amore will be set on Festival Ballet Providence dancers in January (January 10 – 19th) by former principal artist and Ballet Mistress for San Francisco Ballet, Virginia Johnson, Choreologist and Representative for the Christensen Collection.

The ballet is a whimsical tale featuring a young bandit who rejects the advances of the beautiful captain of a military force of Amazons, and a flirtatious bride who entertains an entourage of admirers while her husband is away. Cupid flies to the rescue with comical and unexpected results.

As noted in The New York Times, Con Amore is “…genuinely fine and funny…ingenious, theatrical and eminently Rossinian.”

Con Amore and Schéhérazade premiere February 11-13th at the VMA Arts & Cultural Center, 1 Avenue of the Arts, with performances at 7:30 pm Friday, 7:30 pm Saturday, and 2:30 pm Sunday. This season Festival Ballet Providence is offering a special Five Dollar Off Fridays promotion, to encourage our audience to experience the excitement of opening night. Reserved tickets (priced from $11 to $51) and subscriptions to the remaining season are available by contacting www.tickets.com; 800.919.6272; Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129; the VMA Arts & Cultural Center (401.272,4862) during box office hours. Email inquiries may be directed to info@festivalballet.com. Group, senior and child discounts are available.

This production is made possible in part by 2004/2005 Season Sponsor Sovereign Bank, season television sponsor NBC10, Coast 93.3, Cox Business Services and ongoing operating support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

The Festival Ballet Providence and the Festival Ballet Providence Center for Dance Education are together a not-for-profit arts organization whose EIN is 05-0377245 and whose Rhode Island Corporate ID number is ND-27-137.

For photos or to contact any of the artists, please contact Mark Fleisher, Tel 401.353.1129 or mfleisher@festivalballet.com.