Pictures at an Exhibition
ChoreographerAlexei Ratmansky
MusicModest Mussorgsky
PremiereOctober 2, 2014 (2014-10-02)
David H. Koch Theater
Original ballet companyNew York City Ballet
DesignAdeline André
Wendall K. Harrington

Pictures at an Exhibition is a ballet choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky to Mussorgsky's eponymous score. The ballet premiered on October 2, 2014 at the David H. Koch Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.

Production

Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition is performed by five men and five women.[1] The original cast includes Wendy Whelan, who had created roles in every Ratmansky's works for the New York City Ballet at that point, and was scheduled to retire from ballet at the end of the season.[2][3]

The score by Mussorgsky is about a posthumous exhibition of works by Viktor Hartmann. However, Wassily Kandinsky's painting Color Study: Squares With Concentric Circles is projected on stage, designed by Wendall K. Harrington.[1] Adeline André designed the costumes.[4]

The Pacific Northwest Ballet made their debut in Pictures of an Exhibitions in 2017. Whelan stage the ballet for the company, though she had never staged a ballet before. She said she watched the video footage of the ballet repeatedly and spent hours everyday over a month to write down the steps.[3]

Original cast

Original cast:[1]

Reception

On the premiere, New York Times wrote that the ballet "is surely the most casually diverse work Mr. Ratmansky has created, but it gathers unstoppable momentum."[1] The Financial Times gave the ballet four stars, and commented that the ballet "abounds in ballet quotations and commentary, yet its tone is not ironic."[5]

Videography

In 2020, in response to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet released a 2017 video recording of excerpts of the ballet, featuring Peck, Mearns, Stafford, Garcia, Angle, Gordon, Sterling Hyltin, Claire Kretzschmar, Aaron Sanz and Andrew Veyette. The latter two were making their debut at the taping.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Macaulay, Alastair (October 3, 2014). "The Art Gallery as Spinning Montage". New York Times.
  2. ↑ Harss, Marina (October 3, 2014). "New York City Ballet – Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition premiere – New York". DanceTabs.
  3. 1 2 Harss, Marina (June 28, 2017). "Interview: Wendy Whelan on staging her first ballet – at Pacific Northwest Ballet". DanceTabs.
  4. ↑ Macaulay, Alastair (April 23, 2016). "Review: From City Ballet, a 'Peculiar Marvel' by Ratmansky". New York Times.
  5. ↑ Scherr, Apollinaire (October 5, 2014). "Pictures at an Exhibition, New York City Ballet – review". Financial Times.
  6. ↑ "Digital Fall Season: October 19 – 24". New York City Ballet. October 14, 2020.
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