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Press Release: Saratoga Performing Arts Center Announces 2023 Classical Amphitheater Season Featuring New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Orchestra

February 5, 2023

 Saratoga Performing Arts Center 

Announces 2023 Classical Amphitheater Season Featuring 

New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Orchestra 

NEW YORK CITY BALLET residency highlighted by SPAC Premieres by KYLE ABRAHAM (music by JAMES BLAKE), JUSTIN PECK (music by AARON COPLAND), CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON (Music by ARVO PÄRT), and GIANNA REISEN (music by SOLANGE KNOWLES), a program featuring three story ballets SWAN LAKE, FANCY FREE and FIREBIRD, and an inside look at the season with the return of “NYCB On and Off Stage” 

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA residency features the return of Music Director 

YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN and soloists YO-YO MA and GIL SHAHAM 

Diverse roster of artists makes their SPAC debuts in 2023 including Emmy-, Grammy-, and Tony Award-winning icon AUDRA MCDONALD, global “little orchestra” PINK MARTINI, and pianists ISATA KANNEH-MASON and BRUCE LIU 

2023 festival theme of EARTH highlighted by Earth: An HD Odyssey, featuring ravishing images of the planet set to music by John Luther Adams and Richard Strauss on a large LED screen, in addition to the SPAC premiere of John Luther Adams’ Vespers of the Blessed Earth 

Popular Film Nights Return with HARRY POTTER and the GOBLET OF FIRE™ in Concert and JURASSIC PARK in Concert 

Saratoga Springs, NY (February 5, 2023) – The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announces the return of its resident companies — New York City Ballet and The Philadelphia Orchestra — to their summer home in Saratoga for a celebratory season that will feature masterworks from the classical cannon, alongside SPAC premieres and debuts. 

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (NYCB) returns with the full company from July 18 – 22, with its roster of more than 90 dancers under the direction of Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, accompanied by the New York City Ballet Orchestra, led by Music Director Andrew Litton. The Company will present four programs including “NYCB On and Off Stage,” hosted by NYCB dancers for a unique “behind the curtain” experience featuring excerpts from the week’s ballets. Highlighting the season are new contemporary works including Play Time by Gianna Reisen set to music by Solange Knowles; Love Letter (on shuffle) by Kyle Abraham, featuring the music of James Blake; and Liturgy by Christopher Wheeldon with music by Arvo Pärt, in addition to two works by Justin Peck including the SPAC premiere of his first full-evening ballet, Copland Dance Episodes, set to four of Aaron Copland’s most acclaimed musical scores: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Rodeo, as well as Scherzo Fantastique set to music by Igor Stravinsky, which had its World Premiere at SPAC in 2016. Also featured is a program dedicated to three story ballets including Balanchine’s Swan Lake, Robbins’ Fancy Free and Firebird by both choreographers. 

“Kicking off our summer season is ‘NYCB On and Off Stage,’ which has become an important part of our efforts to bring new people to experience ballet in an inviting, accessible way. New for this year, the celebratory evening will culminate in a ‘dance party’ in the Hall of Springs,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “Throughout our packed week of performances, audiences can look forward to an exhilarating mix of beloved traditional ballets by Balanchine and Robbins, and new contemporary works by the next generation of choreographers including Kyle Abraham, Justin Peck and Gianna Reisen, alongside exciting composers like Solange Knowles and James Blake. The residency will also feature Justin Peck’s first evening-length ballet.” 

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA’s three-week residency (August 2 – August 19) will feature Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (AUG 11–12) leading two programs including a Rachmaninoff 150th birthday celebration, and appearances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma (AUG 17) and violinist Gil Shaham (AUG 16), returning for the first time in a decade for a special SPAC premiere leading Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Making their 2023 SPAC debuts is a diverse roster of artists including Emmy-, Grammy-, and Tony Award-winning icon Audra McDonald (AUG 10) for a Broadway program, and global “little orchestra” Pink Martini, featuring China Forbes (AUG 4), in addition to pianists Isata Kanneh-Mason (AUG 3) and Bruce Liu (AUG 11). The 2023 season also includes a diverse line-up of conductors making their SPAC debuts, including Fabio Luisi (AUG 2-3) for the opening two nights including the popular Festive Fireworks program, Enrico Lopez-Yañez (AUG 4) to lead Pink Martini alongside the Orchestra, Roderick Cox (AUG 9) in a performance of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, and Xian Zhang (AUG 17) for Yo-Yo Ma Plays Dvořák. 

SPAC also revealed that its 2023 festival theme of EARTH would be integrated throughout the Orchestra’s residency, highlighted by Earth: An HD Odyssey (AUG 18), featuring ravishing images of the planet on a large LED screen accompanied by Richard Strauss’ epic tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey and John Adams’ exhilarating Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Continuing the theme, Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead the Orchestra in the SPAC premiere of Pulitzer-Prize winning composer John Luther Adams’ Vespers of the Blessed Earth, alongside Stravinsky’s famed The Rite of Spring (AUG 12). 

The popular film nights will also return to delight audiences of all ages as the Orchestra accompanies, live to picture, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert (AUG 5) and Jurassic Park in Concert (AUG 19), celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film. 

“The Orchestra’s residency will carry our 2023 EARTH theme — which will kick-off on Earth Day on April 22 — with iconic works and premieres that honor the planet and its awe-inspiring beauty, an homage to SPAC’s exquisite location in the natural world,” said Sobol. 

Tickets will be available beginning on February 14 at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and on February 23 at 10 a.m. for the general public. Visit spac.org for details. 

NEW YORK CITY BALLET: JULY 18 – 22 

NYCB On and Off Stage 

TUESDAY, JULY 18 @ 7:30PM 

NYCB dancers host a unique “behind the curtain” experience featuring excerpts from the week’s ballets. A compelling evening for newcomers and aficionados alike. Immediately following the program is a celebratory “dance party” in the Hall of Springs. 

SPAC Premieres 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 @ 7:30PM 

THURSDAY, JULY 20 @ 7:30PM 

Scherzo Fantastique (Stravinsky/Peck) 

Play Time* (Knowles/Reisen) 

Liturgy* (Pärt/Wheeldon) 

Love Letter (on shuffle)* (Blake/Abraham) 

Peck & Copland 

THURSDAY, JULY 20 @ 2PM 

SATURDAY, JULY 22 @ 7:30PM 

Copland Dance Episodes* (Copland/Peck) 

Swan Lake, Fancy Free & Firebird 

FRIDAY, JULY 21 @ 7:30PM 

SATURDAY, JULY 22 @ 2PM 

Swan Lake (Tschaikovsky/Balanchine) 

Fancy Free (Bernstein/Robbins) 

Firebird (Stravinsky/Balanchine & Robbins) 

*indicates SPAC premiere 

THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA: AUGUST 2 – 19 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2 @ 7:30PM: Festive Fireworks 

Fabio Luisi, conductor 

David Kim, violin 

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto 

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3 @ 7:30PM: Schubert’s “Great” Symphony 

Fabio Luisi, conductor 

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano 

Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 

Schubert Symphony No. 9 (“Great”) 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 4 @ 7:30PM: Pink Martini and The Philadelphia Orchestra, Featuring China Forbes 

Enrico Lopez-Yañez, conductor 

Pink Martini 

Pink Martini, the self-described “little orchestra,” joins The Philadelphia Orchestra for a night of genre-crossing music from classical to jazz to vintage pop. 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 5 @ 7:30PM: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert 

Justin Freer, conductor 

Doyle Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ (complete with film)* 

The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in Concert, the fourth film in the series. The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform Patrick Doyle’s magical score, which won both the International Film Music Critics AWARD (IFMCA) and ASCAP Film and Television Music Award, live while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. 

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s23) 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9 @ 7:30PM: Beethoven’s Seventh 

Roderick Cox, conductor 

Philippe Tondre, oboe 

Mozart Oboe Concerto 

Beethoven Symphony No. 7 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10 @ 7:30PM: An Evening with Audra McDonald 

Andy Einhorn, conductor 

Audra McDonald, vocalist 

Emmy-, Grammy-, and six-time Tony Award-winning icon Audra McDonald will join The Philadelphia Orchestra for a night of Broadway favorites featuring Rodgers and Hammerstein, George Gershwin, and Stephen Sondheim, among others. 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11 @ 7:30PM: Rachmaninoff at 150 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor 

Bruce Liu, piano 

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 

Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 @ 7:30PM: Blessed Earth 

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor 

The Crossing 

Donald Nally, artistic director 

J.L. Adams Vespers of the Blessed Earth* 

Stravinsky The Rite of Spring 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16 @ 7:30PM: The Four Seasons with Gil Shaham 

Gil Shaham, leader and violin 

Saint-Georges Violin Concerto No. 9 in G Major, Op. 8. * 

Vivaldi The Four Seasons* 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 17 @ 7:30PM: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Dvořák 

Xian Zhang, conductor 

Yo-Yo Ma, cello 

Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 

Dvořák Cello Concerto 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 18 @ 7:30PM: Earth: An HD Odyssey 

Bates Philharmonia Fantastique* 

Various Earth: An HD Odyssey* 

Featuring John Adams’ Short Ride in a Fast Machine and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra 

SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 @ 7:30PM: Jurassic Park in Concert 

Constantine Kitsopoulos, conductor 

Williams Jurassic Park (complete with film)* 

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park with the film projected in HD and The Philadelphia Orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to picture. 

Jurassic Park is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. Licensed by Universal Studios. All rights reserved. 

*indicates SPAC premiere 

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