Both more popular and more expensive to produce and attend than shows of repertory pieces (often without sets), full-length story ballets take up three of the San Francisco Ballet's eight programs during the three-month-long season (plus December filled with Nutcrackers — for the 71st year since the American premiere on Christmas Eve, 1944).
The current season, running through May 10, has Giselle, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet. The 2015-2016 season will also have three big productions:
* Helgi Tomasson’s Swan Lake runs Feb. 19-28, 2016
* George Balanchine’s Coppélia opens on March 8, 2016, for an eight-performance stand
* The season closes with John Cranko’s Onegin, reprised from 2013, April 30-May 8
In addition to 29 December Nutcrackers, the Ballet's repertory season consists of 62 performances. Given the War Memorial's capacity of 3,200, the usually well-attended dance productions could attract an audience close to a quarter million.
With tickets ranging from $24 to $345, the total income (plus donations) should cover the company's operating budget of $47 million (in the last fiscal year). The full orchestra employed by the Ballet adds to both excellence and cost.
SFB Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson calls attention to the season's variety:
In addition to legendary choreographers such as George Balanchine [Theme & Variations, Rubies] and Jerome Robbins [Dances at a Gathering], I’ve programmed works by some of the most exciting contemporary choreographers working today, including Mark Morris [Drink to Me with Thine Eyes], Alexei Ratmansky [Seven Sonatas], and Christopher Wheeldon [Rush, Continuum]— we’re lucky to have such a long and rich history with each of them.I’m also delighted to present a world premiere by New York City Ballet Resident Choreographer Justin Peck, who will create his first work [untitled] for the company, as well as a world premiere by Liam Scarlett [untitled]. Finally, I’m thrilled that San Francisco audiences will see the North American premiere of William Forsythe’s Pas/Parts
Other works of note on next year's programs: the return of Yuri Possokhov's Magrittomania (with Yuri Krasavin's reworking of Beethoven), a repeat of Yuri Possokhov’s Swimmer (with music by Shinji Eshima) from the current season, and several pieces by Tomasson.
Three-, five-, and eight-program subscription packages range in price from $75 to $1,504 and go on sale on July 7.