The Dream Synopsis - Boston Ballet
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The Dream Synopsis

By Boston Ballet Staff

The Dream Synopsis

The Dream Synopsis

Artists of Boston Ballet in Frederick Ashton's The Dream

Photo by Brooke Trisolini

Frederick Ashton’s one-act The Dream tells the story of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Featuring mischievous characters, elaborate costumes, lighthearted humor, and a beloved score by Felix Mendelssohn, The Dream “is one of the most enchanting ballets ever created” (The New York Times).

Chisako Oga, Lawrence Rines Munro, and Evelina Godunova in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream

Photo by Brooke Trisolini

Jeffrey Cirio in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream

Photo by Brooke Trisolini

The Royal Ballet premiered The Dream in 1964 to celebrate Shakespeare’s quatercentenary and it is one of Ashton’s most widely performed ballets. This marks the Boston Ballet premiere of this famous work.

The ballet begins with Oberon, King of the Fairies, and his Queen, Titania, quarreling. Oberon commands his mischievous attendant Puck to fetch a magical flower whose nectar makes victims fall in love with the first living creature they see when waking. As Oberon’s plan unfolds, he and Puck interfere with the fates of four young lovers who wander into the forest, setting off a chain reaction of romantic mishaps and mistaken affections.

...one of the most enchanting ballets ever created

The New York Times

Jeffrey Cirio and Chisako Oga in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream

Photo by Brooke Trisolini

Titania falls under the magic spell too, and when she awakens, she is enamored with Bottom, a mortal transformed into a donkey. The forest becomes a place of playful chaos and misadventures. Eventually, Oberon orders the spell reversed, and harmony is restored. Titania is freed from enchantment, Bottom returns to his human form, and the couples are rightly reconciled.

Sneak Peek | The Dream Rehearsal

Join Boston Ballet dancers in the studio as they rehearse Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream. This one-act ballet tells the story of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bringing to life a world full of enchantment, romance, and mischievous characters—including the sparkling Titania and ever-amusing Bottom. One of Ashton’s most popular works, The Dream blends lighthearted humor with exquisite choreography, elevated on stage by ornate costumes and Felix Mendelssohn’s beloved score.

Spotlight | The Dream’s Grand Pas de Deux

After a series of magical mishaps and mistaken affections, Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream culminates in a pas de deux between Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the Fairies. Overcoming their past quarrels and strong wills, the couple reunites in this duet full of expressive movement and fluid musicality, which stager Susan Jones describes as “glorious.”

See Boston Ballet’s THE DREAM onstage at the Citizens Opera House from March 19–29, 2026.

The Dream March 19–29, 2026
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