Stevenson's Dracula premiered March 1997 at Wortham Center in Houston and performed around the globe to sold-out houses and international critical acclaim. The New York Times praised 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 the "sumptuously imaginative scenery," calling the production "magnificently and spookily spectacular." (March 18, 1997) Germany's The World on Sunday noted, "The moody ambiance of the stage actually drew spontaneous applause from the audience for the set." (March 23, 1997).
After its premiere, Boston Ballet took the production into its repertory in 1999. Texas Ballet Theater last performed the production in 2006. Stevenson stated, "In bringing Dracula to life in ballet-form, I turned to the great ballets of the nineteenth century for inspiration and guidance. And I was immeasurably aided by scenic designer Thomas Boyd, costume designer Judanna Lynn and the acclaimed ballet arranger John Lanchery."
Stevenson's theatrical ballet features vampire brides who fly through the air in sheer ethereal-inspired dresses, a ghastly coach that winds on and off stage, and Dracula's 30-pound, 23 foot long cape, which is a work of art in-and-of-itself. In adapting the novel to stage, Stevenson streamlines the story, taking the audience directly to the Transylvanian village where the evil aristocratic Count seduces his victims with a darkly erotic magnetism.
Each of the three scenes features a distinct, dramatic atmosphere: the dank crypt of Dracula's castle in the first act with a corps de ballet comprised of Dracula's 18 brides; the picturesque village square of the second act featuring scenes of peasant revelry; and the bedroom of the count, where he ravishes his victims, in the third act.
The exquisitely detailed costumes were also influenced by late 19th century, specifically by costume design in Romania at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and memories of a trip to Budapest.
Lanchbery provided the perfect score for Dracula, utilizing 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."
Subject to availability, the role of Dracula will rotate each evening with performances by Lucas Priolo, Carl Coomer and Peter Zweifel. Enrica Guana Tseng, Jayme Autrey Griffith and Leticia Oliveira will alternate performance as Flora, Dracula's first victim. Dancing as lead peasants Svetlana and Fredrick are (night 1) Leticia Oliveira and Andre Silva, (night 2) Julie Gumbinner and Lucas Priolo and (night 3) Jayme Autrey Griffith and Carl Coomer. The roll of Renfield, Dracula's hunchbacked henchman, will be performed by Thomas Kilps, Justin Urso and Lonnie Weeks. -- www.texasballettheater.org
