Choreographer Septime Webre Setting 1920s France & Spain | ||
Premiere May 8, 2013 (2013-05-08)Kennedy Center | ||
The Sun Also Rises or Hemingway: The Sun Also Rises is a 2013 ballet adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises that was premiered by The Washington Ballet at The Kennedy Center under Artistic Director Septime Webre, whose parents had known Hemingway. It is the first version of this work en pointe. It premiered from May 8 – 12, 2013. Webre had previously adapted The Great Gatsby and Alice in Wonderland to ballet. According to Emily Cary of The Washington Examiner, like the source, the plot is about "a group of American and British expatriates who meet in Paris and travel to Pamplona, Spain, to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights." Clark notes that the production was inspired by one of Webre's friends who taught American literature at Yale University who suggested an adaptation.
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Cast & crew
The original cast featured Jared Nelson, Sona Kharatian, Brooklyn Mack and Jonathan Jordan in the roles of Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, Pedro Romero, and Bill Gorton, respectively. After reading the book, Webre wrote the libretto along with librettist Karen Zacarias and hired Billy Novick to write the music. Hugh Landwehr of New York University was the set designer. University of Maryland Department of Theatre professor Helen Huang was the costume designer. Clifton Taylor was the lighting designer
Critical review
Alistair Macaulay of The New York Times noted that he had cynical expectations, but in the end felt that "Although I think this dance drama eventually doesn’t quite succeed, what’s impressive is how near it comes to doing so." Sarah Kaufman of The Washington Post described the performance as "surprisingly restrained" and "lively and entertaining, if flawed".