Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen has just announced the Boston Ballet 2023-2024 season, a celebration of 60 years presenting world class ballet.
After its home season at the Citizens Bank Opera House, Boston Ballet will return to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris May 27–30, 2024.
Boston Ballet 2023-2024 Season Schedule
Fall Experience | October 5-15, 2023
Citizens Bank Opera House
- Vertical Road by Akram Khan
- Trois Gnossiennes by Hans van Manen
- World Premiere by My’Kal Stromile
- Bach Cello Suites by Jorma Elo
Vertical Road “explores man’s earthly nature, his rituals and the consequences of human actions… [it] becomes a meditation on the journey from gravity to grace.” (Akram Khan Company).
Trois Gnossiennes is a pas de deux set to Erik Satie’s masterful work for the piano, with the pianist on stage, and moved by a trio of male dancers. The ballet reveals the harmony and tension that manifests in physical movement and musical texture.
Stromile will create a new work for the Company.
“I am excited to create my first mainstage piece for Boston Ballet! The work will comment on the aesthetics of classical ballet and challenge the norms of line, body architecture, and design through a series of internal and external operations,” he said.
Elo created Bach Cello Suites for the Company in 2015 and features a live cellist performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites Nos. 1 & 2 onstage, forming a unique relationship to the dancers.
The Nutcracker | November 24 – December 31, 2023
Citizens Bank Opera House
- The Nutcracker by Mikko Nissinen
Mikko Nissinen’s beloved production of The Nutcracker features costumes and sets by award-winning designer Robert Perdziola and the renowned score by Tchaikovsky. Named as the “gold standard” (The Boston Globe), The Nutcracker remains a beloved holiday tradition for audiences of all ages.
Winter Experience | February 22 – March 3, 2024
Citizens Bank Opera House
- Raymonda Grand Divertissements by Mikko Nissinen
- Petal by Helen Pickett
- SISU by Helen Pickett
Nissinen will reimagine Raymonda, to illuminate and preserve the best sections of the original full-length ballet by Marius Petipa, with choreography by Nissinen and Florence Clerc and new scenery and costumes by Robert Perdziola. Alla Nikitina will serve as Character Dance Associate.
Helen Pickett’s energizing Petal will be performed for a live audience by Boston Ballet for the first time. The ballet was originally commissioned as a 10-minute work for a Boston Ballet in-studio workshop in 2007 and is set to music by Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman.
Pickett will premiere her seventh work for Boston Ballet, SISU. Taking inspiration from the Finnish word for will, determination, and perseverance, her world premiere is a tribute to the courage and tenacity of our ballet community, in general, and particularly during the pandemic. Set to the sublime music of Mikael Karlsson, Pickett describes her work best:
“Our ethereal art only truly lives in the present, and this fleeting but potent, inspirational energy is infused with bravery, vulnerability and beauty. Dance taught me: Change is the only constant. And committing to this life concept has offered and can offer extraordinary possibilities.”
Cinderella | March 14-24, 2024
Citizens Bank Opera House
- Cinderella by Sir Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick Ashton’s classic Cinderella is set to the soaring score by Sergei Prokofiev. Presented in three acts, Cinderella was Ashton’s first full-length work for Sadler’s Wells Ballet (which later became The Royal Ballet) and is still regarded as one of his greatest works.
Carmen | April 25 – May 5, 2024
Citizens Bank Opera House
- Carmen by Jorma Elo
- Kingdom of the Shades by Florence Clerc
Jorma Elo’s passionate Carmen reimagines the heartbreaking story of love, jealousy, passion, and betrayal for the 21st century. His modern adaptation, which originated in 1845 as a novella by French writer Prosper Mérimée, returns live for the first time since 2009.
Florence Clerc’s Kingdom of the Shades is an iconic scene from La Bayadère, with the entrance of the shades, which – while featuring academic choreography – is known as one of ballet’s most celebrated compositions. Kingdom of the Shades preserves the artistry of this beloved scene, while leaving behind outdated and problematic storytelling of the ballet.
Spring Experience | May 9-19, 2024
Citizens Bank Opera House
- World Premiere by Ken Ossola
- Bella Figura by Jiří Kylián
- Blake Works III (The Barre Project) by William Forsythe
Ken Ossola will create a world premiere for Boston Ballet, pulling inspiration from Michelangelo’s “non-finito” sculptures Prisoners. Featuring a score composed by Boston Ballet Music Director Mischa Santora, the ballet will envelop audiences into a world of sound, music, and dance. Ossola made his American debut with Zoom In, which premiered during Boston Ballet’s virtual season in 2021.
Jiří Kylián’s transformative and breathtakingly beautiful Bella Figura includes music by Lukas Foss, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Alessandro Marcello, Antonio Vivaldi, and Giuseppe Torelli. Kylián created the work in 1995 for Netherlands Dance Theatre and Boston Ballet was the first American company to present Bella Figura in 2011.
Returning to the Boston Ballet stage is William Forsythe’s explosive Blake Works III (The Barre Project). This work was created for Boston Ballet in 2022 and is an extension of his evolving work The Barre Project, set to the propulsive and beautifully structured music of composer James Blake.
Featured Photo for the Boston Ballet 2023-2024 season of Addie Tapp and Lasha Khozashvili by Erin Baiano, courtesy of Boston Ballet.
