Romeo and Juliet

[dufay]

Saw Romeo and Juliet last night with Ferri and Corella. Magnificent. Sumptous sets, costumes. Ferri was unbelievable- I wasn't sure how much longer she would be dancing, and wanted to see the ultimate Juliet before she retires. I don't think I can see anyone else in this role for quite a while. Corella was wonderful-not quite up to Ferri in the acting ability, but an attentive Romeo. Cornejo (Mercutio) stole the show at times, and got the applause for it. Frederic Franklin was the priest.

A special night. Anyone else?

[Farrell Fan]

Yes, Ferri's Juliet was as girlish, romantic, and tragic a figure as ever last night. It's amazing how after "owning" this role for years, it has not congealed into mannerism. She was heartbreaking. Corella was her perfect Romeo. Their balcony scene was marred for me only by the loud, insensitive applause which greeted his dancing and killed the mood. The cast was uniformly excellent. Gennadi Saveliev even managed to make something noble out of Paris. As a matter of fact, it was such a wonderful performance that even MacMillan's three harlots (Erica Cornejo, Stella Abrera, Kristi Boone) were likable.

[nysusan]

I love Ferri's Juliet. I expected to be out of town on business for both of her performances this year, so I got tickets for McKerrows R&J on Wed. Then I was able to re-arrange my schedule and return a day early, so I'm going tonight and Wed night. Tonight may be a little strange cause my last minute tickets are very close to the stage (those harlots are sure to be interesting up close), but I can't wait!

[nysusan]

Ferri continues to amaze me with her Juliet. I typically like to sit fairly close to the stage, but not close enough to see them sweat. Last night they were right in my face, and it may have been the most remarkable performance I've seen. It can't hurt that Ferri & Corella are both not only great dancers & great actors, but also very attractive people. Last night's R&J was captivating - it lost nothing from close scrutiny. It was wonderful to see the seamless integration of great dancing, great acting & great storytelling through movement. (Interesting aside - Christopher Wheeldon was there, sitting first row center so I guess my aversion to close seats is not universally shared).

When I get the season brochure & think about what I want to see, I usually cringe at the thought of another R&J. Yes, Ferri is wonderful, the costumes & scenery are wonderful but my recollection is always that there's lots of pageantry & so little dancing. Last night I felt differently. It really struck me that there may only be isolated instances of bravura dancing, but every movement and all of those crowd scenes create character and advance the plot through the choreography.

The big surprise of the evening for me was how much I loved Corella's Romeo. I've always admired his technical abilities, but he's never been a favorite of mine. His style of dancing was so well suited to this role. Romeo's youthful passion, the blush of first love was really embodied in the abandon of his multiple pirouettes & turns in his solos (tour jete's? I can't believe after watching dance for this long I still don't know what the steps are called!). His acting was excellent & very natural and he and Ferri had great chemistry together. I may never love those harlots, but last night at least Erica Corrnejo, Abrera & Boone made them interesting! It was a wonderful evening, perfect in every detail thanks not only to Ferri & Bocca but also to Franklin's priest, Parkinson's Lady Capulet, Susan Jone's nurse, the rest of the cast and the orchestra.

During the curtain calls I saw something I don't recall having seen prevoiusly. Instead of bolting as soon as the curtain came down, 5 or 6 orchestra members stayed & applauded Ferri & Corella right through the last curtain call. McKerrow & Stiefel have a hard act to follow tonight!

[kim006]

I agree about the Ferri-Corella R&J, which I saw Tuesday night. They were fantastic. It was lyrical and heartrending, and the final scene, where he tries to dance with Juliet's lifeless body, was so real it was painful to watch.

I also saw McKerrow and Stiefel on Wednesday night, and they didn't generate nearly the excitement and passion that Ferri and Corella did. Also the orchestra appeared to be having an off night -- much better on Tuesday. Herman Corjeno as Mercutio was amazing, though.

By the way, does anyone know what is up with Misty Copeland? She was listed in the program both nights as one of Juliet's friends, but didn't dance either night, and was also listed but did not dance as one of Swanhilda's friends in Coppelia (Gillian Murphy on June 23) last week.

[jimmattimore]

I had a real fine time at ABT on July 1, seeing Paloma and Gomes dance R and J; I have always loved Paloma, and I thought she was most tragic. Some incredile lifts in this ballet,eh? Not a great ballet for a pas loving man such as I. Too much sword play, too many people, but just for the balcony scene an ejoyable use of 20.00

[nysusan]

I enjoyed the McKerrow/ Stiefel R&J, but agree that it was in no way comparable to Ferri/Corella. Stiefel's Romeo was very poetic, and totally desperate at the end. In the crypt pas de deux he made it look like McKerrow weighed a thousand pounds - if you can imagine that. His dancing was clean & elegant as always. I thought McKerrow portrayed Juliet as very childlike & naive, she seemed trapped in a free fall that she had no idea how to deal with, but it seemed as much about her fear and panic as it was about her love for Romeo. I think it's a valid interpretation, but one that really didn't allow for the kind of heat that Ferri & Corella generated the night before.

I didn't realize that Gomes was dancing Romeo with Hererra - he must have been wonderful

[tendumom]

My daughter and I saw Paloma and Gomes on Thursday night. . It was our first ABT performance..... and we were stunned. It was absolutely gorgeous. Thw whole company is amazing. Paloma was lovely. After watching Ferri on video for years, we were not sure what she would bring to Juliet. But she REally did justice to the role. Gomes was a fantastic Romeo. The pair seemed quite suited to each other. Craig Salstein was our Mercutio and was a crowd favorite. I wonder if it has something to do with the role????

One question... our program does not show Malakov as a principal dancer... has he left ABT?

[canbelto]

I saw Ferri and Corella, and I'll just say that the image of Corella carrying Ferri's lifeless body in the tomb was unforgettable. Ferri was enchanting. Those feet! Corella was a wonderful Romeo -- his natural sunniness and charm work really well in this role, as, of course, do his leaps. And I know this might be "show" but I loved how Corella had his arm around Ferri during the curtain calls -- they both looked exhausted but they also looked like good friends. I always think its sweet when the male and female lead dont just seem like coworkers.

[Toby]

I went to the Stiefel/McKerrow performance Wednesday night and was very pleased with the complete cast. Amanda was wonderful as the young Juliet, and I felt she and Ethan made their R & J quite believable. The audience members sitting around me were completely "into" the balcony scene until Stiefel caught his head up in McKerrows gown... It was unplanned comedy in our section of the Met!

I was backstage after the performance, and the way Stiefel greeted Frederick Franklin was something I'll never forget. He gave Mr. Franklin a hug, and let him know how honored he was to be able to perform with him. I found this to be an endearing gesture from someone "young" to someone from a "more mature" generation, although I hesitate to use "gesture", as I feel it was truly meant from Ethan.

[Watermill]

Anyone see Tuttle/Corella last night?

[Colleen Boresta]

I saw the Saturday matinee with Stiefel and Xiomara Reyes. As has already been mentioned, Stiefel was a very ardent, poetic Romeo. I'm really impressed at how much his acting has improved in the past few years. Reyes was a very young, very innocent Juliet. Her acting was so natural she became Juliet for me. There was a time when I really didn't like this ballet. I thought there wasn't enough dancing. But if I'm able to believe that the dancers on stage really are Romeo and Juliet - at least for the course of the afternoon - then I find myself really loving this ballet. This was the case last year when I saw Corella and Tuttle as "Romeo and Juliet", and of course this year with Stiefel and Reyes dancing the main roles. I really hope to see Ferri as Juliet before she retires, but living in Staten Island it's difficult for me to go to evening performances.

It was amazing seeing Frederic Franklin as Friar Lawrence. It's only a small part, but he really brought the good friar to life. (And it's very hard to believe he's 90.)

Erica Fischbach was a stern, but loving Lady Capulet. Susan Jones was very warm and funny as Juliet's nurse. Carlos Molina was an extremely powerful Tybalt. And Herman Cornejo as Mercutio really stole he show every time he was on stage. What an exciting performance he gave!