When I learned SF Ballet would freshen its costumes for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, my mind filled with questions: What was wrong with the old pieces, and what makes the new ones by Christian Lacroix unique? Perhaps most importantly: Shouldn’t the dancing take center stage?
Then the orchestra cued up, the curtain lifted, and I felt instantly swept away to fairyland.
The dancing, the costumes, the sets — everything was phenomenal at Tuesday’s opening inside the War Memorial Opera House. SF Ballet created a dazzling production with so much beauty that I wanted to watch it again the minute it was over, in order to notice more detail. If new artistic director Tamara Rojo aimed to showcase a stunning production, she accomplished her mission.
One million Swarovski crystals adorn the costumes, from the brides’ tutus to the butterfly wings, and the dancers literally sparkled. Does wearing a couture costume make for better dancing? Perhaps. There was a light airiness to the entire production. The dancers exuded a joyfulness and playfulness that let the costumes and Balenchine’s choreography shine. The fairies bourreed, gliding effortlessly, their pretty pink midi dresses flowing. Sasha De Sola was regal, elegant, and flawless as Titania.
It took Esteban Hernández a minute to get his footing as Oberon, but he hit his stride before the important first-act solo of fluttering footwork. Cavan Conley’s Puck is mischievous and methodic, and his movements are essential to Shakespeare’s plot. Sometimes, a story ballet can be hard to follow, but that’s not the case with Balanchine’s choreography. It’s easy to understand Puck’s shenanigans, the lovers’ quarrels, and the drama between Tatiana and Oberon. Midsummer is a comedic ballet, and laughter erupts at all the appropriate moments, especially when Tatiana falls for the donkey.
Most of the plot takes place in the first act, leaving the second act for the joint wedding and a celebration of dance. Frances Chung and Isaac Hernández stole the show as the divertissement; she was carefree and confident, and he was solid and self-assured. Other noteworthy dancers include Nikisha Fogo as Hippolyta — her leaps were light and long — and Alexis Francisco Valdes, funny and heartwarming despite wearing a donkey’s head as Bottom.
Renting costumes and sets is a lesser-known but regular practice in ballet. The designs for SF Ballet’s previous program of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which opened for one night in 2020 before the pandemic shut the production down, were rented from Pacific Northwest Ballet. Lacroix initially designed the lavish production for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2017, and it’s the first time the costumes and sets have appeared in North America.
“We were really lucky to get them,” said Kate Share, manager of wardrobe, wig, make-up, and costume construction at San Francisco Ballet. “Tamara knew about them and called in a favor and got them here.”
The costumes and sets arrived by cargo ship last summer, and Share got to work translating the inventory and accompanying notes from French into English. There are 118 roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and multiple costumes for each role. “It’s in the hundreds,” Share said.
Some dancers share the same costume, but sometimes the looks don’t fit. Before any fittings occurred, Share’s small but mighty team of two painstakingly measured each of the tutus, dresses, and tunics that arrived wrapped in boxes. This way, they won’t waste a dancer’s time by having them try on something that they know won’t fit.
In Europe, the arts receive more government funding, and thus, when a company like the Paris Opera Ballet wants to put on a new production, no expense is spared. The budget can include things like couture lace and pricy crystals.
“They have the ability to really spend more money on creating art than in the U.S.,” she said. “Not to say that we don’t try and spend money on quality items. We do as much as possible, but it would be much harder for us to have built this production.”
What will happen with the exquisite costumes after the show’s run?
“We are actually keeping the production for a little while,” Share said. This means there’s a good chance A Midsummer Night’s Dream could be back next season, but in case it’s not, I recommend seeing this incredible production before it ends. Simply put, it’s classical ballet at its best.
// A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs now through March 23. Tickets and details.
Katie Sweeney is a San Francisco-based writer.
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