SPAC’s 2019 “Sneak Peek” of the Classical Season
New York City Ballet Residency to Feature Story Ballet Coppélia
Photo: Piper Ferguson
The Philadelphia Orchestra to Perform with Wynton Marsalis in his Swing Symphony, Side-by-Side with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for First-Ever SPAC Appearance
(Photo by Jessica Griffin )
Yannick Nézet-Séguin returns to SPAC for two weeks; will conduct season finale performance of Mozart’s Requiem, never before performed at SPAC
Editor’s Note: All the official details appear below, but I already have August 15, 2019 circled on my calendar! – AG
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced programming highlights for the 2019 classical season, featuring the return of beloved resident companies New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The news was shared as part of the December board meeting, as a preview to the complete 2019 season announcement.
“While we plan to share our full schedule in the New Year, we are eager to announce a few programmatic highlights to give our audiences a taste of the 2019 season,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
NEW YORK CITY BALLET (July 16 – 20) will return to its summer home for four distinct programs over seven performances highlighted by story ballet Coppélia. Considered one of the greatest comic ballets of the 19th Century, Coppélia first premiered at and was partially commissioned by SPAC in 1974. Choreographed by George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova, the theatrical story ballet has remained one of the best-loved classical works in NYCB’s repertory.
For the first time, THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA’S (July 31 – August 17) three-week residency will showcase Wynton Marsalis playing in his Swing Symphony with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) performing side-by-side with the full force of The Philadelphia Orchestra. Sobol also announced that Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and the new Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, will return to SPAC for two weeks as part of the residency. The charismatic, internationally acclaimed conductor will lead the orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem featuring renowned vocalists and the Albany Pro Musica as the finale to the classical season on the amphitheater stage.
“The repertory for the entire classical season is rich and varied. It will culminate with Mozart’s Requiem, which despite being one the great works of all time, has never before been performed at SPAC,” added Sobol.
New York City Ballet
Coppélia (Evenings: July 18 + July 19 –Matinee July 20)
Coppélia, which premiered in Saratoga in 1974, was partially commissioned by SPAC and choreographed by George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova. Called one of the “happiest ballets in existence,” it tells the story of an eccentric inventor and the lifelike doll he creates. The work is visually stunning, with storybook sets and a cast that includes dancing children. The music of Coppélia links two great historical periods of ballet — the French Romantic style and the Russian Classical style.
The Philadelphia Orchestra
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (August 15)
Photo: Frank Stewart
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988. Under Music Director, Grammy Award®- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs a vast repertoire, from rare historic compositions to Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works, including compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, and many others.
Commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, Swing Symphony is Marsalis’s third symphonic work, which he describes as a meditation on the evolution of swing. The performance will feature both JLCO and The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Mozart’s Requiem (August 17) **SPAC Debut**
Mozart’s haunting Requiem came at the very end of his life: He died before he could finish it. A choral masterpiece featuring four renowned vocalists and the powerful forces of the Albany Pro Musica, it is considered one of the greatest expressions of faith ever cast as a work of art.
2019 Season Dates:
Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, June 29 – 30
New York City Ballet, July 16 – 20
The Philadelphia Orchestra, July 31 – August 17
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, August 4 – August 20
SPAC on Stage, Summer 2019
For further details as they emerge, watch this space and visit spac.org
