Ballet / Choreography to Concert Music
Próspera*
A one-act ballet choreographed by Cathy Marston to music by Lera Auerbach, inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and the life of Alicia Alonso.
World Premiere
Premiered on October 29, 2018, at the International Ballet Festival of Havana. Created for the Cuban National Ballet and presented at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso.
Concept
A female Prospero becomes Próspera. Marston transforms Shakespeare’s island magician into a woman, drawing a parallel with Alicia Alonso as artist, institution-builder, and visionary force.
Musical Source
Set to Auerbach’s Dialogues on Stabat Mater. A contemporary instrumental response to Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, scored for violin, viola, vibraphone and string orchestra.
Creative Team
- Choreography Cathy Marston.
- Music Lera Auerbach: Dialogues on Stabat Mater, after Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.
- Costumes Jean-Marc Puissant.
- Lighting Lorenzo Savoini.
- Company Cuban National Ballet.
- Cast 5 principals and a group of 12 dancers.
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
The Ballet
Próspera is a one-act ballet by Cathy Marston to music by Lera Auerbach. The work is inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and by the life and artistic authority of Alicia Alonso.
Marston reimagines Shakespeare’s Prospero as Próspera, a female creator and ruler of an island world. In this reading, the figure of Próspera becomes a choreographic analogue for Alicia Alonso: a theatre-maker, visionary, and architect of a cultural world.
The ballet’s characters operate both dramatically and symbolically. Ariel suggests air, lightness, and inspiration; Calibán evokes body, earth, and gravity; Miranda carries the idea of legacy and the next generation; Fernando becomes a figure connected to the continuation of that legacy; and the ensemble becomes the material through which Próspera builds her vision.
Production Images
Photo Display
A museum-style display of production images from Próspera, Cathy Marston’s one-act ballet to music by Lera Auerbach.
* In the catalogue, the asterisk indicates choreography to preexisting concert music by Lera Auerbach.
Underlying Musical Work
The musical source is Auerbach’s Dialogues on Stabat Mater, a concert work composed in 2005 for violin, viola, vibraphone and string orchestra after Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. The work is published by Sikorski and available through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski as rental material.
The choreography page identifies the music as “Dialogues with Pergolessi.” For catalogue consistency, this page uses the official Auerbach / Boosey & Hawkes title: Dialogues on Stabat Mater.
* In the catalogue, the asterisk indicates choreography to preexisting concert music by Lera Auerbach.
Online Materials
Materials, Preview and References
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PreviewYouTube
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ChoreographyCathy Marston: Prospera cathymarston.com
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ReviewPasión de los cuerpos Granma
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MusicDialogues on Stabat Mater Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski
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RentalScore and Rental Material Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski
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ReferenceBoosey & Hawkes Abbreviations PDF Boosey & Hawkes
Music Publisher and Materials
The underlying musical work is published by Sikorski. Dialogues on Stabat Mater is available through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski as score and rental material.
