A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a two-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for Shakespeare's play of the same name. In addition to the incidental music, Balanchine incorporated other Mendelssohn works into the ballet including Overtures to Athalie, Son and Stranger, and The Fair Melusine, Symphony No. 9 for Strings and The First Walpurgis Night. A Midsummer Night's Dream is Balanchine's first completely original full-length ballet, and premiered at New York City Ballet on January 17, 1962 with Edward Villella in the role of Oberon, Melissa Hayden in the role of Titiana, and Arthur Mitchell in the role of Puck. The ballet employs a large children's corps de ballet. Act I tells Shakespeare's familiar story of lovers and fairies while Act II presents a strictly classical dance wedding celebration. The ballet dispenses with Shakespeare's play-within-a-play finale. A Midsummer Night's Dream opened The New York City Ballet's first season at the New York State Theater in April, 1964.

Famous quotes containing the words midsummer, night and/or dream:

    Why, this is very midsummer madness.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    The first Day’s Night had come—
    And grateful that a thing
    So terrible—had been endured—
    I told my Soul to sing—
    Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

    From the age of fifteen, dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion: I know no other religion; I cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery.
    Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–1890)