The National Ballet of Canada

The National Ballet of Canada Tours to National Arts Centre

Angels’ Atlas & Emma Bovary February 1 – 3
Casting Announced   

January 25, 2024… Hope Muir, Joan and Jerry Lozinski Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the company will return to National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa for its annual appearance February 1 – 3. The company will perform a brilliant double bill of works specifically created for the National Ballet by female choreographers. The award-winning Angels’ Atlas by Crystal Pite premiered in 2020 and was originally scheduled to tour to Ottawa in 2022 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. Helen Pickett’s Emma Bovary made its world premiere in November at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. 

"I am thrilled at the opportunity to share the two very distinct voices of choreographers, Crystal Pite and Helen Pickett, with our Ottawa audiences,” said Muir. “This double bill is of great significance for our company as both pieces were created on our artists and represent two very marked choreographic choices, one abstract and one narrative.” 

A profound work that explores the ephemerality of existence, Angels’ Atlas is set to original music by Owen Belton, choral work by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Morten Lauridsen. Unfolding against a morphing wall of light, created by designers Jay Gower Taylor and Tom Visser, the Globe and Mail called Angels’ Atlas “a glimpse into the infinite” and the Toronto Star added “human yearning is evoked powerfully onstage”. 

Emma Bovary is a riveting exploration of one of literature’s most intriguing female characters, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, told through the eyes of Emma herself, and is a powerful new ballet hailed “a feast for the senses… Emma Bovary is a masterpiece” by My Entertainment World. Emma Bovary is directed by award-winning director James Bonas, featuring an original score by Peter Salem, sets and costumes by Michael Gianfrancesco, lighting by Bonnie Beecher, projection design by Anouar Brissel and animation by Grégoire Pont.  

Casting   

Emma Bovary  

Emma Bovary  
Heather Ogden (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm)  
Jenna Savella (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Charles Bovary, Emma’s Husband  
Josh Hall (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Donald Thom (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Madame Bovary, Emma’s Mother-in-Law  
Chelsy Meiss (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Alexandra MacDonald (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Rodolphe Boulanger, Emma’s Lover  
Christopher Gerty (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Harrison James (February 3 at 8:00 pm)   

Monsieur Lheureux, Fancy Goods Salesman  
Spencer Hack (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Kota Sato (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Angels’ Atlas    

Heather Ogden and Harrison James (February 1 and 3 at 8:00 pm) 
Svetlana Lunkina and Ben Rudisin (February 2 at 8:00 pm) 

Jordana Daumec and Spencer Hack (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Chelsy Meiss and Donald Thom (February 3 at 8:00 pm)   

Hannah Galway and Siphesihle November (February 1, 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Hannah Galway and Spencer Hack (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Alexandra MacDonald (February 1, 2, 3 at 8:00 pm) 

Spencer Hack and Donald Thom (February 1 at 8:00 pm) 
Spencer Hack and Kota Sato (February 2 at 8:00 pm) 
Kota Sato and Donald Thom (February 3 at 8:00 pm) 

About the Tour to Ottawa >

Buy Tickets >

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BMO Financial Group  
2023/24 Season Sponsor   

Philanthropic support for Angels’ Atlas is generously provided by An Anonymous Donor, Rosamond Ivey, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The Producers’ Circle, The Volunteer Committee of The National Ballet of Canada and The Gail Hutchison Fund. 

Lead philanthropic support for Emma Bovary is provided by The Anna McCowan-Johnson New Creations Fund and The Producers’ Circle and with generous underwriting by the Sabourin Family Foundation.   

The Producers’ Circle (2023): Gail & Mark Appel, John & Claudine Bailey, Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, Gail Drummond & Bob Dorrance, Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin, The William & Nona Heaslip Foundation, Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C., Judy Korthals & Peter Irwin, Mona & Harvey Levenstein, Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C., The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, C.C., Julie Medland, Sandra Pitblado, C.M. & Jim Pitblado, C.M., The Harry & Lillian Seymour Family Foundation, The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation and Alexander Younger & Sarah Richardson.   

The company’s Canadian tours are made possible with the generous support of The John and Margaret Bahen Fund of The National Ballet of Canada, Endowment Foundation. 

Christopher Gerty is sponsored through Dancers First by Ms. Nancy Viner & Dr. Raymond Stein.   

Harrison James is sponsored through Dancers First by Lucy White.    

Svetlana Lunkina is sponsored through Dancers First by Anna McCowan-Johnson & Donald K. Johnson, O.C.    

Siphesihle November is sponsored through Dancers First by Jerry Lozinski, O.C. & Joan Lozinski, O.C.    

Heather Ogden is sponsored through Dancers First by Ira Gluskin & Maxine Granovsky Gluskin.  

Ben Rudisin is sponsored through Dancers First by Sylvie Allard & Brian O’Keefe.    

Alexandra MacDonald is sponsored through Dancers First by an anonymous donor.        

Chelsy Meiss is sponsored through Dancers First by Anne-Marie Canning.   

Hannah Galway is sponsored through Dancers First by Alison & Alan Schwartz.    

Kota Sato is sponsored through Dancers First by Tony Arrell, C.M. & Anne Arrell.   

Artists of the Ballet in Angels' Atlas. Photo by Karolina Kuras.  

The National Ballet of Canada gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the Canada Council for the Arts; the Ontario Arts Council; the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council; the Government of Canada – Department of Canadian Heritage, through The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage; and the Government of Ontario through The Honourable Neil Lumsden, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.