A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet) A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet) A Midsummer Night's Dream is a two-act ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Felix Mendelssohn's music to Shakespeare's play of the same name. In addition to the incidental music, Balanchine incorporated other Mendelssohn works into the ballet, including the Overtures to "Athalie", "Son and Stranger", and "The Fair Melusine", the "String Symphony No. 9 in C minor" and "The First Walpurgis Night". "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Balanchine's first completely original full-length ballet, premiered at New York City Ballet on 17 January 1962, with Edward Villella in the role of Oberon, Melissa Hayden in the role
A Midsummer Night's Dream was John Dryden, writing in 1677. He was preoccupied with the question of whether fairies should be depicted in theatrical plays, since they did not exist. He concluded that poets should be allowed to depict things which do not exist but derive from popular belief. And fairies are of this sort, as are pigmies and the extraordinary effects of magick. Based on this reasoning, Dryden defended the merits of three fantasy plays: "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Tempest", and Ben Jonson's "Masque of Witches". Charles Gildon in the early 18th century recommended this play for its beautiful reflections, descriptions, similes,