It’s hard to imagine topping our tenth-anniversary season, but Robert Weiss has done that and more. World premieres and past favorites comprise a season where passion and beauty collide.

Don Quixote
***World Premiere
October 9-12, 2008
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Presented in conjunction with the Nasher Museum of Art’s exhibit—El Greco to Velásquez: Art During the Reign of Phillip III. This period of extraordinary artistic ferment in Spanish culture produced some of the greatest European art and literature of all time. This world premiere of love, adventure and loss will surely excite your passions.

Messiah
November 26-30, 2008
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

One of Robert Weiss' crowning achievements, (hailed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as “Choreography Europe Needs to See”), this masterwork returns after a five-year absence from the repertory, following its successful run in Philadelphia by Pennsylvania Ballet. The Philadelphia Inquirer raved, "Messiah rises in dance divine. A transcendent performance..." A joyous celebration of live music, with the North Carolina Master Choral, theater and dance to Handel's magnificent score for families to enjoy together during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Nutcracker
Not part of subscription series
December 19-28, 2008
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

The tradition continues: Nutcracker is celebrated nationwide, but no one does it better than Carolina Ballet. With million-dollar sets and costumes you must see to believe, our production transports you to a fantasy land of whimsical characters while never giving an inch from the world-class dance quality that you have come to expect from a Robert Weiss production.

Balanchine–By George!
**Raleigh Premiere
January 29-February 1, 2009
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

George Balanchine's natural curiosity and creativity led him to push boundaries that resulted in timeless classics that were so far ahead of their time, they are still amazing today. He embodied a passionate fervor that kept him working into his eighties, turning out a body of work that made him the Father of American Ballet. Each season, we introduce our audience to new selections from his ground-breaking choreography. In the spirit of that tradition, we dedicate this program to his genius.

Tolstoy and Shakespeare: Masterworks in Motion
February 26-March 1, 2009
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Carolina Ballet, famous for its story ballets, teams up with two literary greats—Shakespeare and Tolstoy—for an evening of passion and drama. Live accompaniment by the Ciompi Quartet adds to the excitement. Tempest Fantasy reflects The Tempest through the prism of Paul Moravec's 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning music, and The Kreutzer Sonata explores Tolstoy's domestic fable using music of Beethoven and Janacek tied together by commissioned music of North Carolina's own premier composer J. Mark Scearce.

Bernstein and Robbins: American Music and Dance
**Raleigh Premiere
April 9-12, 200
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

This full-evening program celebrates two masters of American music and dance. Fancy Free, the story of three sailors on leave during WWII in New York City, is the legendary first collaboration between Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein. Created by these two geniuses while in their early 20s, it has been many hailed by many as the great American masterpiece. This is the first time Carolina Ballet has presented a ballet by Broadway's Jerome Robbins, choreographer of West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy, Funny Girl and many more.

Coppelia
April 30-May 3, 2009
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

This beloved story ballet is one-half of our two-part family series. With music by Delibes, this comedy will delight your auditory and visual senses, and it will tickle your funny bone! Children and adults alike enjoy the escapades of Dr. Coppelius, and the humorous misunderstandings between Swanhilda and Franz.