Houston Ballet Presents Dracula, September 21 - October 1

LOVE BITES:
HOUSTON BALLET REVIVES DRACULA

Blockbuster Production Returns to Houston After Performances in
Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.

Company Honors Dracula Designer Thomas Boyd
on His 30th Anniversary with Houston Ballet

Houston, TX -- From September 21 – October 1, 2006, Houston Ballet delivers an early Halloween treat with Ben Stevenson’s blockbuster production of Dracula, set to the music of Franz Liszt in an arrangement by John Lanchbery. Hailed by The New York Times as “a Dracula Beyond Stoker’s Darkest Dreams,” the wildly theatrical ballet features vampire brides who fly through the air, a ghastly coach that careens on and off stage, and a magnificent cape in which Dracula ensnares his victims. Houston Ballet will give seven performances of Dracula in the Brown Theater at Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston. Tickets may be purchased by calling 713 227 2787 or by visiting the company’s Web Site at www.houstonballet.org.

Houston Ballet Artistic Director Emeritus Ben Stevenson created Dracula in March of 1997 in honor of the centennial of the publication of Bram Stoker’s classic novel. In adapting the novel to the stage, he streamlined the story, jettisoning its subplots and sojourns to Britain, focusing the action entirely in the Transylvanian village, and imbuing the title character with a darkly erotic magnetism.

“In many versions of the vampire myth, Dracula just has to have blood – from a man, woman, cow, or any animal, “ observed Mr. Stevenson at the time of the premiere. “I looked upon Dracula as being a very sensuous man, with a definite sexual attraction to his victims. He is turned on by certain women – the most beautiful women he can find.”

Commented Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch, “Dracula is an iconic character, and this is one of Ben’s most beloved works.”

Three Houston Ballet dancers will take on the challenge of performing the title role in the ballet, a grueling test of strength and theatrical skill. In addition to gracefully maneuvering Dracula’s cape (which spans 23 feet from tip to tip when extended and weighs almost 20 pounds), the dancer portraying Dracula must perform three physically demanding pas de deux, and possess both a strong stage presence and great dramatic gifts to make such a larger-than-life character believable.

Australian principal dancer Andrew Murphy will give his first performances as Dracula. With his tall, imposing presence, high cheekbones and aristocratic manner, Mr. Murphy is ideally suited physically to the role. One of the company’s most skilled character dancers, James Gotesky will have the chance of a lifetime: to portray the title role in the production while still a member of the corps de ballet. Since joining the company in 2003, Mr. Gotesky has distinguished himself in such character roles as the evil Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and as Hilarion in Giselle.

And Nicholas Leschke, who was recently promoted to first soloist in August, will return to the role of Dracula, in which he triumphed with Houston Ballet while on tour in Austin, Texas in April 2000. Of his performance, The Austin Chronicle observed, “Nicholas Leschke performed the part with hypnotic, calculating seduction….With audacious grandeur, he walked toward the audience, his gait conveying the message, ‘This is me. I am here. I am Count Dracula!’ The audience applauded with impressed delight.”

Houston Ballet’s performances of Dracula have been generously underwritten by Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Noble Corporation, The Wortham Foundation, Inc., The Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine, and Houston Ballet Guild's Nutcracker Market.

Choreographer Ben Stevenson:
Inspired by the Conventions of the Great 19th Century Romantic Ballets

In his quest to bring Dracula to life in balletic form, Mr. Stevenson turned to the conventions of the great ballets of the nineteenth century for inspiration and guidance. He created the work in three acts, with a corps de ballet (comprised of Dracula’s 18 vampire brides), scenes of peasant revelry, and four stunning pas de deux for the central characters that firmly anchor the dramatic action of the ballet.

Mr. Stevenson was immeasurably aided by his three collaborators in evoking the Gothic grandeur of Stoker’s novel: Houston Ballet’s own scenic designer Thomas Boyd, costume designer Judanna Lynn and the acclaimed ballet arranger John Lanchery. Inspired by the works of the great German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), Mr. Boyd created three distinct spaces for the ballet, each redolent with dramatic atmosphere: the dank crypt of Dracula’s castle in the first act; the picturesque village square of the second act; and the bedroom of the count, where he ravishes his victims, in the third act. For her creation of the 70 exquisitely detailed costumes used in the production, designer Judanna Lynn was also influenced by late 19th century German Romantic painters, including Caspar David Friedrich and Arnold Bocklin (1827-1901). In preparing her designs, Ms. Lynn did research on costume design in Romania at the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute in New York, as well as drawing on memories of a trip to Budapest.

The celebrated British ballet arranger and conductor John Lanchbery, who passed away in 2003, provided the perfect score for Dracula. The arrangement, which Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Lanchbery collaborated closely on, utilizes pieces by the renowned Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, including “Dance of Death” and the Mephisto Waltzes. Dance Magazine praised his work as “a masterly arrangement of Liszt, charged with foreboding and spasms of feverish excitement.”

Thomas Boyd:
From Dancer to Designer in a Three Decade Career with Houston Ballet

Following its premiere in Texas, Houston Ballet toured the work across the globe, performing it in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Toronto, Fort Lauderdale and for a sold-out weeklong run at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C in March 2000. Dance Magazine pronounced the work “a Dracula to die for,” calling it “the last word on magnificent spectacle.” The Chicago Tribune enthused, “Houston Ballet’s count gives new life to old art form.” After its premiere in Houston, the work entered the repertoires of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Texas Ballet Theater, and Ballet Florida.

With this season’s performances of Dracula, Houston Ballet will mark the thirtieth anniversary of Mr. Boyd with Houston Ballet. Mr. Boyd joined Houston Ballet as a dancer 1976, became Houston Ballet’s director of production in 1985, and began to design scenery for ballet in the 1990s. He has created scenery for four of Houston Ballet’s most lavish and spectacular full-length works: Don Quixote (1995), Dracula (1997), Cleopatra (2000), and Peter Pan (2002).

Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times praised Mr. Boyd work on Dracula, observing, “The sets, costumes and lighting are not just lavish, but exquisitely beautiful and atmospheric….For once, $1 million, the cost of Dracula, looks like a million.” (March 17, 1997) Under the headline “Dracula looks like a million,” Clive Barnes of The New York Post praised Mr. Boyd’s “sumptuously imaginative scenery,” calling the production “magnificently and spookily spectacular.” (March 18, 1997) Writing in the German newspaper The World on Sunday, dance critic Marieluise Jeitschko noted, “The moody ambiance of the stage actually drew spontaneous applause from the audience for the set.” (March 23, 1997)

HOUSTON BALLET
DRACULA
FACT SHEET

WHAT: DRACULA (1997)

Music by Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886)
Arrangement by John Lanchbery (1923 – 2003)
Totentanz, Tasso, Mephisto Waltz No. 1, Orpheus, Hungarian March, From the Cradle to the Grave
Choreography by Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.
Scenic Designs by Thomas Boyd
Costume Designs by Judanna Lynn
Lighting by Timothy Hunter
Co-produced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater

Generously Underwritten by:
Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
Noble Corporation
The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
The Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine
Houston Ballet Guild's Nutcracker Market

ABOUT THE
PROGRAM:
Hailed by The New York Times as “a Dracula Beyond Stoker’s Darkest Dreams,” Ben Stevenson’s production of Dracula caused a sensation at its premiere. Set in a Transylvanian village, the production includes several thrilling theatrical moments that linger in the mind long after the performance has ended: vampire brides who fly magically through the air; a ghastly coach that careens on and off the stage carrying Dracula’s victims; and a climactic showdown between the Count and his enemies with an exploding chandelier.

WHEN: At 7:30 pm on September 21, 23, 29, 30, 2006
At 2:00 pm on September 24, 30 and October 1, 2006

WHERE: Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston

TICKETS: Start at $17. Call (713) 227 ARTS or 1 800 828 ARTS
Also available at Houston Ballet Box Office at Wortham Theater Center downtown at Texas at Smith Street, or purchase tickets online at www.houstonballet.org

FOR MORE
INFORMATION: Visit Houston Ballet on the Web at www.houstonballet.org