Saratoga weekend

[rkoretzky]

Friday night at SPAC carried a special treat: a partially new casting of Stravinsky Violin Concerto that was electrifying. Alexandra Ansanelli is the one to see in the Kay Mazzo role, no doubt about it. It's not even fair to Yvonne Borree to cast the two women in the same roles, just days apart. Alexandra has so far surpassed Yvonne in every area--technically and stylistically--that seeing Yvonne is inevitably going to be a let-down. In VC, as well as in Rubies on Saturday afternoon, the differences are glaring. It's like watching two different ballets. Yvonne does the steps (for the most part).....with Alexandra it is more, More, MORE, always more. Every performance that she does gives more to the audience. It's hard to believe that she has only been a principal for just over a year.

As much as I enjoy Wendy Whelan in VC, it was a pleasure to see someone different in Karin's role--Sofiane Sylve, who was fantastic. The flexibility and depth that I didn't see on Thursday's "emeralds" was there in spades. It was my last Saratoga look at Jock Soto (in for Sebastien) since I skipped last night's gala. Plenty of time to see Eifman this week. My only regret was the missed opportunity to see and hear SPAC's only performance of Barber, which my daughter tells me was the highlight of the evening.

Friday night also brought Wendy Whelan's Mozartiana--an interpretation that I like. And an audience-pleasing performance of "Zakouski" from Millepied and Fairchild. The music is overly familiar, the choreography is not especially inventive, and yet the performance was so enjoyable to watch. Not everything has to be a ground-breaking masterpiece.

Saturday afternoon's Emeralds was my preferred cast, but Rubies lacked oomph and Diamonds doesn't look impressive in the sunlight.

[KayDenmark]

Interesting to hear that someone else is performing "Zakouski." I don't think I've ever seen anyone but Hübbe cast in it.