Cleveland Ballet kicks off new season with ‘Carmen & Other Works’

Bob Perkoski Thursday, September 14, 2023
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The Cleveland Ballet kicks off its 2023-2024 season next week—a season filled with passion,  imagination, and enchantment—with “Carmen & Other Works” at Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace on Friday, Sept. 22 and Saturday, Sept. 23.

The season premiere features three works: “Pas de Dix,” “Nocturne,” and “Carmen.”

The show opens with “Pas de Dix,” A plotless choreographic masterpiece set to the excerpts from Russian composer Alexander Glazunov's score for the 1898 grand ballet “Raymonda.” Five couples take the stage showing pure classicism, precision, and elegance in their interpretation of one of the most unique composers, giving life to his acclaimed musical ingenuity.  

The evening transitions into “Nocturne,” A new piece from Gladisa Guadalupe, Cleveland Ballet co-founder and artistic director. The piece is based on the beloved and sophisticated piano compositions by 19th Century Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and performed live by Gerardo Teissonnière. Neoclassical ballet movements are the foundation for this new work—giving a different element to the phenomenal classics of the 19th Century.

Back by popular demand, the spotlight turns to a new interpretation of “Carmen”—a tale of passion, romance, and sensuality. Set to the music of Georges Bizet, known best for “Carmen,” with live flamenco guitar, the title character of Carmen, a captivating Spanish gypsy woman, seeks to better her position by seducing the strikingly handsome Don José.

Carmen succeeds and soon Don José fatally loses himself in her passionate Latin charms. He becomes consumed by his love for her. However, to Carmen, Don José is just a game to be played. Their torrid romance is volatile and tempestuous. Finally, when he catches Carmen flirting with a Spanish toreador, Don José, in a fit of jealous rage, is driven to do the unthinkable.

Tickets for both Sept. 22 and Sept. 23 range from $28 to $131 each. Performances on both evenings start at 7 p.m. in the Connor Palace, 1615 Euclid Ave.

The Cleveland Ballet’s 2023-2024 season also includes “The Nutcracker,” with 11 performances over two weekends between Thursday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 23; and “Aurora: A Sleeping Beauty Story” on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27.

Full-season and flex-season subscriptions are now on sale.
Bob Perkoski
Bob Perkoski

About the Author: Bob Perkoski

Bob is managing photographer with FreshWater as well as a Cleveland freelance photographer. His photographic approach is rooted in the art of storytelling. Whether freezing the energy of an event, encapsulating the magic of a performance, or astutely anticipating the decisive moments, his work displays an innate ability to distill the essence of any scene or subject into a single frame or series of work. In addition, Bob is the official photographer for LAND studio and Holden Forest and Gardens and has worked with various Cleveland organizations. In 2019 he published a book of his photos Rust Belt Burlesque. He's had work published in other books like LGBTQ Cleveland by Ken Schneck, Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology, Rust Belt Chic: The Pittsburgh Anthology and Moon Cleveland by Douglas Trattner. Previously he was co-founder/art director for Balanced Living Magazine. You can view his versatile portfolio of work, which includes news coverage, portraiture, architectural and fine art at Perkoski Photography. Originally from Conneaut, Ohio, Perkoski now lives close to the city in Parma. He has been Fresh Water's managing photographer since the publication's September 2010 inception.

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