''Vespro'' is a ballet by

Mauro Bigonzetti Mauro Bigonzetti (born 1960) is an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer. He trained at the ballet school of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and entered their company in 1979. In 1983 Bigonzetti joined the Reggio Emilia company Aterballetto, renown ...

to eponymous music of

Bruno Moretti Bruno Moretti (born 1957) is an Italian composer, pianist, and conductor. He has composed ballet music (as well as theatre, cinema and television music) working in collaboration with the choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti. He is also an accompanist ...

, commissioned by

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. The première took place Saturday, May 8,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, as part of Diamond Project V at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and dance at Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Originally named the New York State Theater, the venue has been home to the New York City Ballet sinc ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. ''Vespro'' is the first of three Bigonzetti / Moretti ballets commissioned by City Ballet, the others being '' In Vento'' and '' Oltremare''.

Original cast

* Alexandra Ansanelli *

Maria Kowroski Maria Kowroski is an American ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet. Early life Kowroski was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She started ballet at the age of five. In 1992, she entered the School of American Ballet ...

* Jason Fowler *

Sébastien Marcovici Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has als ...

Reception

In the ''Village Voice'', the ballet's premiere at the NYBC 2002 Spring Gala was described by

Deborah Jowitt Deborah Jowitt (born 1934) is an American dance critic, author, and choreographer. Her career in dance began as a performer and choreographer. Jowitt has received several awards for her work, including a Bessie (New York Dance and Performance ...

as beginning "startlingly", with the male lead dancing and interacting with the on-stage piano, becoming "fascinating" as more musicians and dancers are added, but in parts feeling "long and aimless". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review of the debut found the piece "witty neo-Futurist, neo-Dada and neo-Absurdist", praising its use of musicians and dancers used in "startling supple shapes", and its "distinctive originality." In a review the following year, the ''Times'' again described the dancing as "superb" and "marvelous", calling the ballet "a creative work.""Ballet Review; Veteran Soloist Bows Out in an Impromptu Farewell"
''New York Times''. Anna Kisselgoff, January 11, 2003.

References

{{reflist Ballets by Mauro Bigonzetti New York City Ballet repertory New York City Ballet Diamond Project 2002 ballets Ballets by Bruno Moretti