New Staging of DON QUIXOTE and More Set for American Ballet Theatre 2026 Summer Season

American Ballet Theatre's 2026 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House, June 17 – July 18, was announced today by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe. The season will feature a new staging of Don Quixote, as well as the return of the classic productions of Onegin, Swan Lake, and Sylvia.

Principal Dancers for the 2026 Summer season include Joo Won Ahn, Aran Bell, Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, Daniel Camargo, Herman Cornejo, Thomas Forster, Isaac Hernández, Catherine Hurlin, Chloe Misseldine, Calvin Royal III, Hee Seo, Christine Shevchenko, Cory Stearns, Devon Teuscher, James Whiteside, and Roman Zhurbin.

Full-Length Productions

The 2026 Summer season will open with seven performances of Kevin McKenzie's Swan Lake, led by Skylar Brandt as Odette/Odile and Herman Cornejo as Prince Siegfried at the matinee on Wednesday, June 17 at 2:00 P.M. Swan Lake will return for eight performances in the fifth week of the season, beginning, Monday, July 13 at 7:30 P.M., with Christine Shevchenko as Odette/Odile and Calvin Royal III 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. led by Julie Kent as Odette/Odile and Angel Corella as Prince Siegfried.

John Cranko's Onegin returns on Tuesday, June 23 at 7:30 P.M. with Heo Seo and James Whiteside in the leading roles. Set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze, Onegin is based on the verse-novel Eugene Onegin by Alexandrer Pushkin. Onegin received its World Premiere on April 13, 1965, by Stuttgart Ballet in Stuttgart, Germany. The ballet received its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on June 1, 2001, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York led by Julie Kent (Tatiana), Robert Hill (Onegin), Vladimir Malakhov (Lensky), and Maria Riccetto (Olga). This new production, with sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by James F. Ingalls, was premiered by National Ballet of Canada on June 19, 2010, at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Canada, and was first performed by ABT on June 4, 2012, at the Metropolitan Opera House. Onegin will receive seven performances through June 27.

A new staging of Don Quixote by Susan Jaffe and Susan Jones will premiere on Monday, June 29 at 7:30 P.M., led by Catherine Hurlin as Kitri and Isaac Hernández as Basilio. With choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, the ballet set to music by Ludwig Minkus and features scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz. Don Quixote will be given ten performances through July 7.

Sylvia will return for five performances beginning Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 P.M. led by Isabella Boylston as Sylvia and Joo Won Ahn as Aminta. With choreography by Frederick Ashton and music by Léo Delibes, Sylvia is set in mythical Greece and tells the story of the chaste nymph Sylvia who is united by the deity Eros with the lovelorn shepherd Aminta. Sylvia features scenery and costumes by Christopher and Robin Ironside, with additional designs by Peter Farmer and lighting by Mark Jonathan. This production received its revival premiere by The Royal Ballet on November 4, 2004, at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. American Ballet Theatre presented the United States Revival Premiere on June 3, 2005.

ABTKids

ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre's one-hour introduction to ballet for families, is scheduled for Saturday, June 27 at 11:00 A.M. ASL interpretation will be provided. A limited number of $175 VIP tickets will be available for purchase that include premium seating, a souvenir gift bag, and a post-performance meet-and-greet with an ABT dancer. All other tickets for the ABTKids performance are $25-$40.

The 2026 Summer season will also include an ABTKids Pre-Performance Workshop at the Metropolitan Opera House. Young fans will have the opportunity to participate in an hour of hands-on activities, designed as an introduction to the works they will see on the Met stage. The workshop will take place at 9:15 A.M. before the ABTKids performance on Saturday, June 27. Workshop tickets are $20 and require a corresponding performance ticket. For more information, visit abt.org/ABTKids.

2026 Summer Season Celebratory Evenings

Throughout the 2026 Summer season, the Company will celebrate the artistry and legacy of American Ballet Theatre through a series of post-performance toasts. Admission is extended to that evening's ticketholders with the purchase of an additional reception ticket for $98. For more information, visit abt.org/SummerEvents.

Saturday, June 20:         Isabella Boylston 20th Anniversary

Friday, June 26:            ABT Conductors Celebration

Tuesday, June 30:         Pride Night

Tuesday, July 7:            Irina Kolpakova Celebration

Tuesday, July 14:          Special Guest Artist Evening

ABT Masters Series

ABT will hold two ABT Masters Series programs during the 2026 Summer season. Designed for adults 20-years or older with beginner to advanced-beginner ballet experience, participants will spend the day at ABT's 890 Broadway studios for body conditioning, ballet technique, and a 90-minute repertoire workshop. That evening, participants will attend a pre-show talk before watching the corresponding ABT performance at the Metropolitan Opera House. The day-long experience can be purchased for $350 and will run on Saturday, June 27 (Onegin) and Saturday, July 18 (Swan Lake). For more information, please visit abt.org/ABT-Masters-Series.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre's 2026 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House, go on sale beginning Monday, November 24, at 12:00 P.M. To subscribe, call 212-362-6000 or visit ABT's website, abt.org.

Full Series Subscriptions are available based on the day of the week with guaranteed same seats for each performance. Create Your Own Subscriptions are available with the purchase of three or more performances. All subscribers have access to purchase additional single tickets for other performances, post-performances toasts, and ABTKids. Full Series Subscriptions start at $90.

*All casting, programming, and pricing are subject to change.