American Ballet Theatre Announces Casting for Fifth and Sixth Weeks of Spring Season

Casting for the fifth and sixth weeks of American Ballet Theatre's 2013 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes will lead the season's first performance of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's ROMEO AND JULIET on Monday, June 10. On Tuesday, June 11, Polina Semionova will make her New York debut as Juliet, opposite David Hallberg as Romeo. James Whiteside will debut as Romeo on Thursday, June 13, opposite Paloma Herrera as Juliet. The performance on June 13 will be dedicated to the memory of the late Frederic Franklin. Set to a score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 22, 1985. American Ballet Theatre's performances of Romeo and Juliet are generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Ali and Monica Wambold.

The Company will present eight performances of SWAN LAKE beginning Monday, June 17 with Polina Semionova, David Hallberg and Marcelo Gomes in the leading roles. Maria Kochetkova, a principal dancer with San Francisco ballet, will replace an injured Alina Cojocaru in Swan Lake on Friday, June 21, opposite Herman Cornejo in his debut as Prince Siegfried.

A native of Moscow, Russia, Kochetkova trained at the Bolshoi School in Moscow and danced with The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, and as a guest artist with Tokyo Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg before joining San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer in 2007. Since then, she has performed principal roles in GISELLE, SWAN LAKE, ROMEO AND JULIET, THE NUTCRACKER and COPPÉLIA, among others. This is Kochetkova's first appearance with American Ballet Theatre.

Other debuts for the week include Ivan Vasiliev as von Rothbart on Tuesday, June 18 and Hee Seo as Odette/Odile at the Wednesday, June 19 matinee. James Whiteside will debut as Prince Siegfried on Thursday, June 20, opposite Gillian Murphy as Odette/Odile, and will dance the role of von Rothbart for the first time in New York at the matinee on Saturday, June 22. Choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, SWAN LAKE is set to a score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky 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 Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Julie Kent (Odette/Odile), Angel Corella (Prince Siegfried) and Marcelo Gomes (von Rothbart). SWAN LAKE has been generously underwritten by R. Chemers Neustein. Costumes for SWAN LAKE are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet TheatrE. Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's 2013 Metropolitan Opera House season, beginning at $20, are available online, at the Met box office or by phone at 212-362-6000. The Metropolitan Opera House is located on Broadway between 64th and 65th streets in New York City. For more information, visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.