ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION CREDITS SAN FRANCISCO BALLET 2018 NUTCRACKER

Transcription

1 ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION CREDITS SAN FRANCISCO BALLET 2018 War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness at Grove For tickets, call the Ticket Services Office at NUTCRACKER Running Time: Act I Intermission Act II Total Running Time: 47 minutes 20 minutes 50 minutes 1 hour, 57 minutes Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Scenic Design: Michael Yeargan Costume Design: Martin Pakledinaz Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls Projection Design: Wendall K. Harrington World Premiere (full-length production): December 17, 1892 Shchelkunchik (original Russian title), The Kirov Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre; St. Petersburg, Russia. Choreography for this production by Lev Ivanov, libretto by Marius Petipa. United States Premiere (full-length production): December 24, 1944 San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California. Choreography for this production by Willam Christensen. Premiere (New Production): December 17, 2004 San Francisco Ballet, War Memorial Opera House; San Francisco, California. The 2004 premiere of Helgi Tomasson s Nutcracker was made possible by Lead Sponsors The Herbert Family and The Swanson Foundation, and Sponsors Yurie and Carl Pascarella, Kathleen Scutchfield, and The Smelick Family. Production Credits: Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Additional Children s Rehearsal Assistants: Jeffrey Lyons, Tina LeBlanc, and Kristi DeCaminada. Assistant to the Lighting Designer: Lisa J. Pinkham. Costumes constructed by Barbara Matera, Ltd., New York, New York; Parsons-Meares Ltd., New York, New York; Tricorne, Inc., New York, New York; Ann Beck Dance and Specialty Costumes, San Francisco, California; Seams Unlimited, Racine, Wisconsin and Paul Chang s Custom Tailor, Chicago, Illinois; Studio Rouge, New York, New York. Religious Sisters Habits constructed by Brother Anthony Mary Fidelis, OSF, and the Franciscans of Divine Providence, Little Rock, Arkansas. Fabric dyeing by Gene Mignola, Inc., New York, New York and printing by Dye-Namix, Inc., New York, New York. Fabric painting by Mary Macy, Margaret Peot, Charlotte Stahlbush-Haule, for Parsons- Meares, Ltd. Madame Le Cirque structure

2 constructed by Jon Gellman Effects, Jersey City, New Jersey. Dragon constructed by Marian Hose, New York, New York. Special thanks to the San Francisco Police Department. Masks, Millinery and Head Dressing by Rodney Gordon, Inc., New York, New York; Lynne Mackey Studio, New York, New York and Arnold S. Levine, Inc., Theatrical Millinery and Crafts, New York, New York. Wigs by Robin Church, Morgan Hills, California. Footwear by J.C. Theatrical, New York, New York; Capezio, New York, New York; Pluma, Portland, Oregon and Celebrity Dance Shoes, Sun Valley, California. Assistants to Martin Pakledinaz: Janine McCabe, Courtney Logan, Matthew Pachtman, Shura Pollatsek, Sydney Shannon, and Brian Bustos Flower Costumes designed by Janine Marie McCabe, and constructed by Colin Davis Jones Studios, New York, New York. Magic consultation by Marshall Magoon Magic, Menlo Park, California. Projection Programmer, Paul Vershbow. Scenic construction and painting by San Francisco Ballet Carpentry and Scenic Departments, at the San Francisco Opera Scenic Studios. Susan Tuohy, San Francisco Ballet Scenic Artist in Charge. Mannequin costumes constructed by Nina Parker, San Francisco, California. Nutcracker Doll constructed by Izquierdo Studio, New York, New York. Hobby Horses constructed by Costume Armour, New York, New York. Fabergé Eggs constructed by R.A. Reed Productions, Portland, Oregon. Arabian Lamp constructed by Kreysler & Associates, American Canyon, California. ###

3 THE FIRST NUTCRACKER IN AMERICA While Nutcracker is now synonymous with Christmas, the first complete production in America was performed in 1944 by San Francisco Ballet. In 1944, SF Ballet Director Willam Christensen wrote to the Library of Congress for a copy of the complete Tchaikovsky score. For details of the original Mariinsky Theatre production, Christensen talked to two former members of the Imperial Russian Ballet, Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine. Ballet Russe passed through San Francisco and one evening I got Alexandra Danilova and Balanchine, then ballerina of Ballet Russe and ballet master respectively, to come to my apartment, recalls Christensen. We had something to eat and drink, and then we got down to work with the conductor. Balanchine described the Mariinsky production: how the big doors opened on the tree, the mime of Drosselmeyer, all the details. At one point, Danilova started dancing Clara s variation, in her stocking feet and street dress. Balanchine put an end to that with his admonishment, No, no, Alexandra, don't try to show him the actual steps. Let him create his own choreography. We worked all night, and that is how I got my first Nutcracker... I never intended it to become an annual production, but there you are, it is a tradition now! The 1944 premiere featured artist Antonio Sotomayor as the designer and Russell Hartley as costume designer. With a $1,000 budget, Company members helped out by standing in long lines to purchase fabric for costumes in 10-yard lengths, as allocated by wartime rationing. Five dollars was enough to buy all the artificial flowers, feathers, and rhinestone necklaces from the Goodwill. Since it was wartime and materials were scarce, red velvet stage curtains from what had been The Cort Theater in San Francisco (where Anna Pavlova had danced her last San Francisco seasons) were purchased by Hartley from Goodwill and fashioned into soldiers uniforms for Act I. The material was so abundant that it provided the Company a source of velvet that lasted for the next ten years. Gisella Caccialanza Christensen, the first American Sugar Plum Fairy, danced with SF Ballet while her husband, Lew Christensen, served in the army. Onna White helped me make my costume, which was really awful. We made our own tights then too. They weren t like tights worn today. We had to sew our stockings onto little pants to make tights, and, like old-style tights, they d bag out and wouldn't bounce back and cling to your legs. We sewed pennies or nickels to the waistbands so we'd have something to grab onto to yank up the tights. You couldn t practice pliés or anything before a performance or else you d be standing there with baggy knees when the curtain came up. The zipper on my costume split while I was dancing in the dress rehearsal of Nutcracker. I remember Willam saying to me, Good luck, sis, and don't breathe! On December 24, Nutcracker premiered at a matinee and the dancers were in a state of excitement. All the dancers carried loads of costumes across the streets, and the morning Nutcracker rehearsals with the orchestra pushed us all to fever pitch, read Russell Hartley s notes from the time (courtesy of the Museum of Performance + Design). Finally it was time, and the strains of the overture filtered backstage, and what followed seems like a dream. When you weren t dancing, you were glued to the wings, observing what was happening on stage.

4 Nutcracker survived and flourished, playing to delighted audiences and enthusiastic critics. In 1944, Merrill Osenbaugh of the Sacramento Union wrote prophetically: We can t understand why a vehicle of such fantastic beauty and originality could be produced in Europe in 1892 with signal success and never be produced in its entirety in this country until Perhaps choreographers will make up for lost time from now on. They did. In less than 50 years, the number of Nutcracker productions staged annually jumped from one to one hundred and fifty in the United States alone. ###

5 HISTORY OF SAN FRANCISCO BALLET San Francisco Ballet, the oldest professional ballet company in America, has emerged as a internationally renowned arts organization since it was founded as the San Francisco Opera Ballet in Initially, its primary purpose was to train dancers to appear in lavish, full-length opera productions. Willam Christensen arrived in 1938 and choreographed the Company s first full-length production, Coppélia, the following year. In 1940, he staged the first American full-length production of Swan Lake and on Christmas Eve 1944, Christensen launched a national holiday tradition with the American premiere of Nutcracker the first complete version of the ballet ever staged in the United States. In 1942, the Company became a completely separate entity from the opera and was renamed San Francisco Ballet. Willam Christensen was artistic director, and his brother Harold was appointed director of the San Francisco Ballet School, a position he retained for 33 years. A third brother, Lew Christensen, America s first premier danseur, joined Willam as co-director in 1951, and took over the Company the following year. Under Lew s direction, the Company made its East Coast debut at Jacob s Pillow Dance Festival in 1956 and toured 11 Asian nations the following year, marking the first performances by an American ballet company in Asia. In 1972, after performing in various San Francisco theaters, the Company settled permanently into the War Memorial Opera House for its annual residency. The following year, Michael Smuin was appointed associate artistic director and celebrated his new partnership with Lew Christensen by collaborating on a full-length production of Cinderella. In 1976, Smuin s Romeo and Juliet became the first full-length ballet and the first performance by a West Coast company to be shown on the PBS television series Dance in America. In 1981, Smuin s The Tempest the first ballet broadcast live from the War Memorial Opera House was nominated for three Emmy Awards (Willa Kim received the award for Outstanding Costume Design). Three years later, Smuin received an Emmy Award for Choreography for the Dance in America national broadcast of A Song for Dead Warriors. In 1974, SF Ballet faced bankruptcy, but its supporters and the community responded with an extraordinary grassroots effort called Save Our Ballet, which successfully brought the Company back from the brink. That same year, Dr. Richard E. LeBlond, Jr. was appointed president and general manager of SF Ballet. He developed the first long-range plan for an American dance company, and in 18 months the organization was in the black financially. Helgi Tomasson s arrival as artistic director in July 1985 marked the beginning of a new era for SF Ballet. Like Lew Christensen, Tomasson was, for many years, a leading dancer for the most important ballet choreographer of the 20 th century, George Balanchine. Less than two years after Tomasson s arrival, SF Ballet unveiled its fourth production of Nutcracker in December Tomasson has since staged acclaimed full-length productions of many classics, including Swan Lake (1988, 2009); The Sleeping Beauty (1990); Romeo & Juliet (1994); Giselle (1999); Don Quixote, co-staged with former Principal Dancer and current Choreographer in Residence Yuri Possokhov (2003); and Nutcracker (2004).

6 In 1991, SF Ballet performed in New York City for the first time in 26 years, returning in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, and Following the initial tour, The New York Times proclaimed, Mr. Tomasson has accomplished the unprecedented: He has pulled a so-called regional company into the national ranks, and he has done so by honing the dancers into a classical style of astonishing verve and purity. SF Ballet under Helgi Tomasson s leadership is one of the spectacular success stories of the arts in America. In May 1995, SF Ballet hosted 12 ballet companies from around the world for UNited We Dance: An International Festival, commemorating the 50 th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, which took place in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco. Never before had a dance event brought together over 150 international artists for two weeks of creative exchange and inspiration marked the Company s 75 th Anniversary Season, which culminated in a New Works Festival of 10 world premieres by 10 of the dance world s most diverse and acclaimed choreographers including Julia Adam, Val Caniparoli, Jorma Elo, Margaret Jenkins, James Kudelka, Mark Morris, Yuri Possokhov, Paul Taylor, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon. Other anniversary initiatives included a commemorative book, San Francisco Ballet at Seventy-Five; special exhibitions; an alumni reunion weekend; and the broadcast of Tomasson s Nutcracker on PBS s Great Performances Dance in America series, produced in partnership with KQED Public Television in San Francisco. In December 2011, the American premiere of John Neumeier s The Little Mermaid, performed by SF Ballet, was broadcast internationally, as well as nationally on PBS s Great Performances Dance in America. In 2015, Tomasson celebrated his 30 th anniversary as artistic director of the Company, with the San Francisco Chronicle noting, What Tomasson has done here over these three decades is to transform a respected regional American ballet company into an international-caliber organization that commands worldwide respect for the depth of its repertoire and its superb technical standards. SF Ballet continues to enrich and expand its repertory and presents approximately 100 performances annually. The Company s vast repertory includes works by Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, David Bintley, August Bournonville, Val Caniparoli, Lew Christensen, Nacho Duato, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Jirí Kylián, Lar Lubovitch, Benjamin Millepied, Wayne McGregor, Agnes de Mille, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Hans van Manen, Peter Martins, Mark Morris, Rudolf Nureyev, Justin Peck, Marius Petipa, Roland Petit, Yuri Possokhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Jerome Robbins, Liam Scarlett, Paul Taylor, Antony Tudor, and Christopher Wheeldon In recent years, the Company s touring program has become increasingly ambitious. In fall 2008, as part of its year-long 75 th Anniversary Celebration, SF Ballet embarked on a critically acclaimed four-city American tour with engagements at Chicago s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, New York City Center, Southern California s Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In 2016, the Company performed at Napa Valley Performing Arts Center, Iceland s Reykjavík Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. In addition, SF Ballet dancers participated in Celebrate Forsythe at The Music Center, honoring the choreographer s legacy to date. After opening night, the Los Angeles Times declared that [SF Ballet] dances Forsythe better than any other American company.

7 SF Ballet has also enjoyed frequent overseas tours, including engagements at prestigious venues such as the famed Opéra de Paris-Palais Garnier in Paris (1994, 2001) and Théâtre du Châtelet (2014); London s Sadler s Wells Theatre (1999, 2004, 2012) and the Royal Opera House (2002); Athens Megaron Theatre (2002) and Herod Atticus Amphitheatre (2004); the Tivoli Garden Concert Hall in Copenhagen (1998, 2010); and the Edinburgh International Festival at the Edinburgh Playhouse (1997, 2003). In fall 2009, SF Ballet made its first trip to the People s Republic of China, with performances in Shanghai and Beijing and in 2015, the Company returned to both cities as part of a two-week tour. The Company s extensive touring program has garnered numerous accolades and awards. In 2005, SF Ballet won its first Laurence Olivier Award, for its 2004 fall season at Sadler s Wells Theatre. Of the engagement, London s Sunday Times proclaimed, Helgi Tomasson s outstanding artistic direction has transformed a regional American troupe into one of the world s top ballet companies. In 2006, in a readers poll conducted by Dance Europe magazine, SF Ballet was the first non-european company to be voted Company of the Year by the publication. In 2008, SF Ballet received the Jerome Robbins Award for excellence in dance. In 2012, SF Ballet s touring schedule included engagements in London and Washington, D.C., as well as first time visits to Hamburg, Moscow, and Sun Valley, Idaho. In fall 2013, the Company performed at New York s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, where The New York Times declared SF Ballet a national treasure. In July 2014, the Company toured to Paris as part of Les Etés de la Danse Festival, marking the 10 th anniversary of its inaugural engagement with the festival. At Théâtre du Châtelet, SF Ballet presented over 20 works by 15 choreographers over a gala evening and 17 performances. Of the tour, The Financial Times remarked, Where ballet goes from here is anyone s guess, but as dancers and choreographers continue to flock to Tomasson, the tell-tale signs may well be found in California. In 2018, the San Francisco Ballet presented the critically lauded Unbound: A Festival of New Works, featuring 12 world premieres by 12 international choreographers that spanned four distinct programs over 17 days in April and May, San Francisco Ballet School, overseen by Tomasson and the School s Director Patrick Armand, attracts students from around the world, training approximately 350 annually. In addition to filling the ranks of SF Ballet, graduates have gone on to join distinguished ballet companies throughout the world. ###

8 HELGI TOMASSON ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CHOREOGRAPHER Helgi Tomasson has held the position of artistic director for San Francisco Ballet since July Since then, the Company has evolved from a respected regional troupe to an international company praised for its broad repertory, dancers of uncommon range and skill, and a vision that continually sets the standard for the international dance world. San Francisco Ballet is dancing better than it has at any point in its history. As a choreographer, teacher, and coach, Tomasson has fostered an uncompromising classicism that has become the bedrock of the Company s training. The dancers are energized and inspired by this rigorous training and continue to rise to new heights with each passing year. Born in Reykjavik, Iceland, Tomasson began his early ballet training there with an Icelandic teacher and then joined the National Theatre s affiliated school, which was led by Danish instructors Erik and Lisa Bidsted. At 15, the emerging dancer began his professional career with the celebrated Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen s Tivoli Gardens. Two years later, Jerome Robbins met Tomasson and, impressed by his dancing, arranged a scholarship for him to study at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Soon after, Tomasson began his professional career with The Joffrey Ballet and two years later joined The Harkness Ballet. Over the next six years, he became one of the company s most celebrated principal dancers. In 1969, Tomasson entered the First International Ballet Competition in Moscow as a United States representative and returned with the Silver Medal (the Gold Medal was awarded to Mikhail Baryshnikov). The following year, Tomasson joined New York City Ballet as a principal dancer and over the course of his career became one of the finest classical dancers of his era. He was one of the foremost interpreters of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, and both men created several roles expressly for him. In 1982, Tomasson choreographed his first ballet for the School of American Ballet Workshop, which elicited encouragement from Balanchine to continue choreographing. In 1985, Tomasson accepted the invitation from SF Ballet to become artistic director of America s oldest professional ballet company, drawing to a close a glorious performing career. Since assuming this role, Tomasson has choreographed over 40 ballets, including stunning fulllength productions of Don Quixote (co-staged by Yuri Possokhov), Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, and two productions of Swan Lake (1988 and 2009). His intricate and varied works, such as 7 for Eight, Chi-Lin, Concerto Grosso, The Fifth Season, Handel a Celebration, Meistens Mozart, Nanna s Lied, and Sonata, showcase the unique qualities of individual dancers. Tomasson s Prism, which debuted in 2000 at New York City Ballet, received rave reviews and was deemed a triumph by The New York Times. In 2004, his new production of Nutcracker, created in collaboration with an internationally recognized design team, debuted to enthusiastic critic and audience response. The New York Times proclaimed, This is a Nutcracker on a grand scale striking, elegant and beautiful. On December 17, 2008, Tomasson s Nutcracker was

9 broadcast nationally on Great Performances on PBS, in partnership with KQED Public Television in San Francisco. The strong classical base instilled by Tomasson enables the dancers to effortlessly navigate a myriad of styles by a range of internationally distinguished choreographers. Those invited by Tomasson to create works on the Company have included David Bintley, Val Caniparoli, Jorma Elo, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Justin Peck, Yuri Possokhov, Alexei Ratmansky, Paul Taylor, Stanton Welch, and Christopher Wheeldon. Tomasson has also continued to expand SF Ballet s repertory through acquiring works by renowned choreographers such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, August Bournonville, Michel Fokine, Hans van Manen, Wayne McGregor, Sir Kenneth McMillan, Agnes de Mille, Nacho Duato, Flemming Flindt, Roland Petit, Jerome Robbins, and Antony Tudor, among others. Tomasson s own works have been performed by New York City Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Houston Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón, and Asami Maki Ballet. In Denmark, Tomasson s 1993 staging of The Sleeping Beauty was the most lavish production ever produced in the Royal Danish Ballet s history and was filmed for Danish public television in April Under Tomasson s direction, SF Ballet has toured the world, receiving praise for its purity and verve. Engagements in China (2009, 2015), Copenhagen (1998, 2010), London (1999, 2001, 2004, 2012), Moscow (2012), New York City (1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2013), and Paris (1989, 1994, 2001, 2005, 2014) are among the highlights of the Company s history. For the Company s 2004 London engagement, SF Ballet won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award, its first, in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Of the tour, The Guardian (UK) noted, As director of SF Ballet, Helgi Tomasson has started to acquire an aura of infallibility, his expertise in laying down repertory, and in balancing great evenings of dance, is held in envy by the rest of the profession. Tomasson s vision, commitment, and dedication to the art of classical dance were demonstrated when he conceived UNited We Dance: An International Festival, produced in San Francisco in May Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter, it included 12 international companies of the highest caliber that Tomasson had invited to present new works created by native choreographers. Never before had a dance event brought together over 150 artists for an unprecedented two weeks of creative exchange and inspiration. In spring 2008, as part of its yearlong 75 th anniversary celebration, SF Ballet presented a New Works Festival of 10 world premieres by 10 of the dance world s most diverse and acclaimed choreographers. The festival was called ambitious and unprecedented by The Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle hailed it as a daring onslaught of fresh work this is what the ballet world needs now. Tomasson s achievements have garnered him numerous awards and honors, and he has participated as a judge for ballet competitions in Italy, Russia, France, Finland, and Japan. During the 1970s in his homeland of Iceland, he was named a Knight of the Order of the Falcon for his achievements as a dancer. In 1989, he received Dance Bay Area s Isadora Duncan Award for his outstanding choreography of Swan Lake. In June 1990, Tomasson was named Commander of the Order of the Falcon by then- President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, for his continuous achievements in the arts. In recognition of

10 his artistic excellence, Tomasson received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement in That same year, he received the Dance Magazine Award in recognition of his contributions to the dance world. In 1995, Tomasson joined the Artistic Advisory Board of The Ballet Theatre in Prague, directed by Jana Kurová. Also in 1995, Tomasson was honored with the Cultural Award of The American-Scandinavian Foundation. In 1996, he was presented with a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Dominican College of San Rafael, in recognition of his value as a role model, his extraordinary career, and his community-service accomplishments. That same year, he was awarded the Isadora Duncan Special Award for UNited We Dance: An International Festival. In 2012, he was named recipient of the Dance/USA Honor, acknowledging individuals contributions to dance in America and the role they play in the national dance community. Currently, Tomasson serves on the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet and the Artistic Committee for the New York Choreographic Institute, and has served as a member of the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Advisory Panel. In May 2001, Tomasson was granted the rank of Officier in the French Order of Arts and Letters, established in 1957 to recognize those who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world. Hugues Gall, then director of the Opéra National de Paris, presented the award in a ceremony attended by the President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson, following SF Ballet s triumphant opening at the Palais Garnier. In spring 2002, the Board of Trustees of New York s Juilliard School unanimously voted to bestow an honorary doctoral degree upon Tomasson, as one of five doctorates given annually in different artistic disciplines. In 2005, Tomasson was awarded the prestigious Lew Christensen Medal in honor of his 20 th anniversary as artistic director of SF Ballet. In spring 2007, Tomasson won a sustained achievement award from the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, also in recognition of his distinguished, ongoing tenure as artistic director. In May of the same year, during a tour to Iceland s Reykjavik Arts Festival, Grimsson awarded Tomasson the Grand Cross Star of the Order of the Falcon, the country s most prestigious honor. In 2008, he was awarded the Commonwealth Club of California s Distinguished Citizen Award. In January 2010, the Company s Opening Night Gala, Silver Celebration, honored Tomasson s remarkable achievements to date. In 2015, on the occasion of his 30 th anniversary as artistic director of the Company, the San Francisco Chronicle noted, What Tomasson has done here over these three decades is to transform a respected regional American ballet company into an international-caliber organization that commands worldwide respect for the depth of its repertoire and its superb technical standards. In addition to his role as artistic director and principal choreographer of the Company, Tomasson is the artistic director of San Francisco Ballet School. For Tomasson, the School is central to the life and development of the Company. Just as he expects the finest dancing and most meticulous attention to detail from his dancers, he demands the highest standards for training the students in the School. Tomasson lives in San Francisco with his wife, Marlene, who was dancing with The Joffrey Ballet when they met. They have two sons, Erik and Kris. ###

11

12 MICHAEL YEARGAN SET DESIGNER Michael Yeargan s designs have been seen across the U.S. and Europe in both theatre and opera productions. Theatre credits include many productions for regional theatres in America, London s West End and numerous Broadway and off-broadway productions, including the hit musical The Light in the Piazza (for which he was awarded the Tony award and the Drama desk award) and the play Seascape by Edward Albee. Yeargan s opera credits are equally extensive and include projects for The Royal Opera House, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Opera Australia, The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera and Washington National Opera. He has designed the world premieres of A Streetcar Named Desire and Dead Man Walking for San Francisco Opera, The Great Gatsby and Barbiere di Siviglia for the Metropolitan Opera, Cold Sassy Tree for Houston Grand Opera and Central Park for Glimmerglass and New York City Opera. Additional work includes a revival of Odets Awake and Sing for Broadway and a Ring cycle for Washington National Opera. Michael Yeargan is a professor in stage design at the Yale School of Drama. ###

13 MARTIN PAKLEDINAZ COSTUME DESIGNER In 2009, Martin Pakledinaz created costume designs for the smash revival of Lend Me a Tenor, directed by Stanley Tucci and starring Tony Shaloub and Anthony LaPaglia. He also earned an Outer Critics Circle and Tony nominations for The Glass Menagerie, with Judith Ivey and directed by Gordon Edelstein; and Moira Buffini s Gabriel for the Atlantic Theatre Company. Other recent projects include two works for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Tchaikovsky s Eugene Onegin, and the world premiere of The Golden Ticket, based on Raoul Dahl s Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, composed by Peter Ash with a libretto by Donald Sturrock, and directed by James Robinson. In February 2010, he designed Mark Morris Socrates, which premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Other notable works included the Broadway revival of Cole Porter s Anything Goes, directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall; The Bartered Bride, directed by Stephen Wadsworth for the Juilliard School; and a double bill of Tchaikovsky's Iolante and Stravinsky's Persophone, directed by Peter Sellars for the Teatro Real, Madrid. In 2011, Pakledinaz designed the sets and costumes for SF Ballet s new production of Tomasson/Possokhov s Don Quixote. Pakledinaz passed away in July ###

14 JAMES F. INGALLS LIGHTING DESIGNER James F. Ingalls has designed several works for San Francisco Ballet, including John Cranko s Onegin, Helgi Tomasson s Silver Ladders and Nutcracker, Lila York s El Grito (The Cry), Mark Morris Sylvia, Sandpaper Ballet, Maelstrom and Pacific, and ten pieces for the Company s 75th Anniversary New Works Festival. His other work in ballet includes The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Alexi Ratmansky for Teatro alla Scala Ballet and American Ballet Theatre; George Balachine s Nutcracker and Twyla Tharp s Waiting at the Station for Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle; Onegin for National Ballet of Canada; Don Quixote, Giselle, and Coppélia for the Dutch National Ballet; Giselle for Den Norske Ballett in Oslo, and Lila York s Celts for Boston Ballet. For the Mark Morris Dance Group he has designed this season s Layla and Majnun as well as Romeo and Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare; Mozart Dances; Dido and Aeneas; The Hard Nut and L Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. He designed The Weight of Smoke, Dill Dilly and Sullivaniana for Paul Taylor s American Modern Dance and Twyla Tharp s 50th Anniversary Tour, as well as Fluid Canvas and Split Sides for Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Ingalls work in the Bay Area includes John Adams Dr. Atomic and The Death of Klinghoffer at San Francisco Opera; several productions at American Conservatory Theatre including Phedre, A Mother and The Invention of Love, all directed by Carey Perloff, and Once in a Lifetime and Marcus, Or the Secret of Sweet, both directed by Mark Rucker; Yellowman and How I Learned to Drive at Berkeley Repertory Theatre; and many works for Peter Sellars at CalPerformances. Recent projects include The Beauty Queen of Leenane and Waiting for Godot, both directed by Garry Hynes for the Druid Theatre in Galway, Ireland; The Little Matchgirl for the Spoleto Festival/USA; and Oedipus Rex/Symphony of Psalms for Festival D Aix-en-Provence, Iolanta/Persephone for Lyon Opera, and the world premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Only the Sound Remains for Dutch National Opera, all directed by Peter Sellars. He often collaborates with the Wooden Floor dancers in Santa Ana, California.

15 WENDALL K. HARRINGTON PROJECTION DESIGN Born in New York, Wendall K. Harrington is delighted to contribute to this San Francisco Nutcracker. Harrington has been fortunate to collaborate with an extraordinarily diverse group of artists, from Paul Simon and Hal Prince, to Julie Taymor and the New York Knicks. She received the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, and American Theatre Wing Awards for The Who s Tommy. Other Broadway credits include Ragtime, Amy s View, Capeman, Putting it Together, Racing Demon, Freak, Company, Having Our Say, The Will Rogers Follies, The Heidi Chronicles, My One and Only, and They re Playing Our Song. Off-Broadway credits include Hapgood at Lincoln Center, Merrily We Roll Along, and the ill-fated Whistle Down the Wind. Her work for opera and ballet includes Anna Karenina (Royal Danish Ballet), Nixon In China (St. Louis Opera Theatre), A View From the Bridge (Lyric Opera of Chicago), The Juniper Tree (American Repertory Theatre), The Photographer (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Transatlantic (Minnesota Opera), The Magic Flute in Florence, Haydn s Orfeo ed Euridice in Vienna and Zurich, and Doug Varone s Ballet Mecanique and Deconstructing English. Television credits include I Hear America Singing; Ira Gershwin at 100; and she produced Words on Fire, all for PBS. For sports, she designed the player introductions for the New York Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty at Madison Square Garden, and the 2000 NBA All-Star Game. The recipient of an Obie Award for sustained excellence of projection design and the Michael Merritt Award for Design and Collaboration, the former design director of Esquire Magazine, and mother of two, also directed the opera Arjuna s Dilemma and Snapshots with the Elements Quartet. ###

16 MARTIN WEST MUSIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR Martin West is acknowledged as one of the foremost conductors of ballet, garnering critical acclaim throughout the world. Born in Bolton, England, he studied math at St. Catharine s College, Cambridge University, before studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music and London s Royal Academy of Music. In fall 1997, West made his debut with English National Ballet and was immediately appointed resident conductor. There, he conducted almost half of the company s performances throughout England and abroad. From he held the position of principal conductor before relinquishing the post to allow him the flexibility to guest with other companies. West has worked with many of the top companies in North America such as New York City Ballet, Houston Ballet, and The National Ballet of Canada as well as the The Royal Ballet in England. West has worked with the Hallé Orchestra, Holland Symfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and Odense Symphony Orchestra in Denmark. He made his U.S. symphonic conducting debut with Silicon Valley Symphony, resulting in an immediate re-invitation. From 1998 to July 2005, West was the music director of the Cambridge Philharmonic Society. In addition, he had a long association with Pimlico Opera, including conducting a groundbreaking performance of West Side Story inside a prison with the inmates as part of the cast. In fall 2005, West joined San Francisco Ballet, having been a frequent guest since his debut two years earlier. In his ten years as music director he has been credited with raising the standard and profile of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra to new levels and has made a number of critically acclaimed recordings with them, including the complete scores of Tchaikovsky s Nutcracker, excerpts from Delibes Coppélia and Sylvia, and a CD of Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky cello music. He and the Orchestra have also made many world premiere recordings, including music by composers such as Bizet, Moszkowski, Shinji Eshima, Kip Winger, and Maury Yeston whose full-length ballet Tom Sawyer was recorded in In addition, he conducted on the award-winning DVD of John Neumeier s The Little Mermaid as well as Helgi Tomasson s productions of Nutcracker for PBS and Romeo & Juliet for Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance. ###