69 replies to this topic

[bingham]

Ambonnay, on 16 October 2010 - 01:58 PM, said:

Some additional thoughts on the Met season.

1) As mentioned by other members, Sarah Lane has not received any principal casting opportunities. What is more disconcerting for her is that Daniil S, who would be one of the more direct routes, if she were to find a relatively stable set of partnering opportunities with him, to her getting more principal roles, seems to have been paired with Y Kajiya.  See Daniil's Don Quixote debut; Nutcracker performances by the same pair.

2) Hee Seo debuts as Giselle with Hallberg. She has worked with him some before (eg La Sylphide) and I think they make a nice couple on stage. I see Hee Seo also gets the second female part in Bright Stream.  She is clearly still very much on track towards promotion possibilities in several years.  S Abrera also has the same Bright Stream role casting, as well as a Myrta in Giselle.

3) Interesting that Stiefel pairs Herrera in Swan Lake, with Hallberg (as well as Carreno, in the special performance with the split Odette/Odile) pairing Murphy.

4) A repeat of the Osipova/Hallberg pairing for Sleeping Beauty will be interesting.

I didn't see Osipova listed as a Giselle on the calendar -- did I just miss the listing?

5) I don't see Vishneva listed on the calendar for a Swan Lake.  There is a "cast to be announced" indication a Saturday evening Swan Lake, but that might not be hers. Also, the matinee performance on the same day already has Gomes dancing Siegfried, so, if she were dancing that Saturday evening, she wouldn't be dancing with him (maybe Hallberg, whom she paired in 2010)?

5) Maria Riccetto gets a Coppelia.

6) The casting reflects, appropriately of course, Cornejo being honored in his final ABT Met season.

       Of course, you meant Carreno instead of Cornejo.

[canbelto]

I'll be more than happy to be "stuck with" Osipova even if she's dancing the phone book.

[Waelsung]

canbelto, on 16 October 2010 - 04:54 PM, said:

I'll be more than happy to be "stuck with" Osipova even if she's dancing the phone book.

As the saying goes: be careful what you wish for - you might get it

[Waelsung]

papeetepatrick, on 16 October 2010 - 12:56 PM, said:

Gimme a break--'stuck with Osipova?'.  And maybe we'll even be 'stuck with Vishneva' too.  Quel horreur!  

Don't get me wrong - I like Vishneva as much as the next guy, but have you never wished we would be able to see other world-class ballerinas instead of the same shtick every year over and over again? Of course, there's no way to tell for sure, but maybe, just maybe, if ABT didn't stick us with Vishneva every season, New York would get to witness, let's say, Lopatkina in at least some of her signature roles (Odette/Odille or Giselle, for instance).

What's more, I have a very strong suspicion that this ABT obsession with Vishneva and Osipova cannot be explained by purely artistic reasons. After all, aren't both of them being represented by Sergey Danilian? Sapienti sat

[Batsuchan]

Well, I am excited that Alina Cojocaru will be back, but I agree with Waelsung--I would love to see Obraztsova and Semionova and some of the other young stars guest at ABT as well.

I have to admit, I am THRILLED that they are bringing back "Lady of the Camellias"!! Yes, I know all the critics hated it, but I loved every minute of its guilty pleasure goodness!!  I'm taking everyone I know to see Vishneva/Gomes in it!  

Speaking of which, I am also excited to finally be able to see Vishneva/Gomes do "Giselle" together.  Though I am very surprised that Osipova is not doing "Giselle." And not "Don Quixote" either (as of yet).  I wonder if that was her request, or ABT's decision?

Like some of the other posters, I am disappointed that Stella is not getting a "Giselle."  And what about Angel?!  After seeing him in "Fall for Dance" last week, I remembered just how much I've missed him!  I sincerely hope we'll see more of him than that single performance he's scheduled for (and the gala).

I'm shocked that Vishneva hasn't been cast for a "Swan Lake."  I have my fingers crossed that the TBD will end up being Vishneva/Hallberg, since their performance this past season was absolutely stunning!

Well, I guess the calendar isn't set in stone; it will be interesting to see what changes are made...

[RUKen]

Deleted--Bingham spotted the typo before me regarding Cornejo/Carreño.  (I should finish reading all the posts in a thread before I reply to one of them.)  

[RUKen]

California, on 16 October 2010 - 01:14 PM, said:

I can't find dates for the Kirov visit to the Met on-line. Are those available somewhere?

Have a look at the Mariinsky forum on this site.  Apparently the tour has been modified to exclude New York.

[canbelto]

Waelsung, on 16 October 2010 - 08:18 PM, said:

papeetepatrick, on 16 October 2010 - 12:56 PM, said:

Gimme a break--'stuck with Osipova?'.  And maybe we'll even be 'stuck with Vishneva' too.  Quel horreur!  

Don't get me wrong - I like Vishneva as much as the next guy, but have you never wished we would be able to see other world-class ballerinas instead of the same shtick every year over and over again? Of course, there's no way to tell for sure, but maybe, just maybe, if ABT didn't stick us with Vishneva every season, New York would get to witness, let's say, Lopatkina in at least some of her signature roles (Odette/Odille or Giselle, for instance).

What's more, I have a very strong suspicion that this ABT obsession with Vishneva and Osipova cannot be explained by purely artistic reasons. After all, aren't both of them being represented by Sergey Danilian? Sapienti sat

well ... Lopatkina doesn't guest. She doesn't seem to want to, for that matter. But personally I like seeing guest artists have a continuing relationship with a company. You get to follow their growth as a dancer as you wouldn't if they only appeared once every five years or so. But whatever.

[Drew]

I actually prefer that ABT build consistent relations with certain guest artists rather than simply import this or that dancer for a one-off, changing the guest artists every season or two and I cannot but applaud their choices! Of course it's great to have opportunities to see many new dancers, but I can only wish I could see Vishneva, Osipova, and Cojocaru (simply three of the greatest in the world, all with possible claims on being among the greatest ever) regularly over the course of their careers. I also think there is a better chance that such dancers can impact the quality of the company as a whole--and presumably they, too, may sometimes have something to gain from working in a new atmosphere that is not simply a fly in and fly out situation. Surely it can't be hurting Osipova to have the chance to work with Kolpakova over time!

Even though I am unlikely to make it into New York for more than one trip (I have to save something for retirement--and groceries) I was still disappointed on principle not to see Hallberg and Osipova paired for more than one performance. These dancers have shown that they make a genuine partnership--not just that they are "good" together, but that they inspire each other to new and deeper performances. This seems to me something to be cultivated. Certainly I would have loved to see them dance (or hear/read about them dancing) another Giselle.

I am a little skeptical about the suggestion that there could be plans in the works for an Osipova Swan Lake debut. I am passionate about Osipova, but Odette/Odile is not an obvious role for her at all. I suspect that any debut in that role would be a work in progress to say the least.  Swanilda IS an obvious role for her and I adored her in it when I saw her dance the role in London. However, my memories of the ABT production are that it is indeed very different from the Bolshoi production; I wonder how much 'compromise' they will judge appropriate to offer Osipova in doing the version she knows and if that approach would even work within the ABT production or if she will simply learn the ABT version. If the performance comes close to what I saw in London, then it should be wonderful.

For the rest, a season with premiers by Wheeldon and Ratmansky plus Millepied for good measure is nothing to sneer at -- though I suppose it does raise the problem of a certain homogenization between ABT and NYCB, but since the two companies are still quite distinct in repertory and style, the problem does not worry me TOO much. As for Bright Stream: I am one of those who think 'hijinks on a Soviet collective farm in the 1930's' is...uh...a little problematic as the topic of a ballet in the context of the Bolshoi repertory (even if the ballet itself was banned by the Soviets in its original version), but at least the ballet -- and its topic -- does have an understandable relation to the Bolshoi's history.  It is (arguably) at once a more 'innocent' topic for an American company and yet all the more absurd.  (Do American dancers know what a Kulak is or how many of them died while farms were being collectivized?) Of course, American dancers dance works with princes and princesses etc., but those are longstanding 'classics' that have been adapted over time and well...for me personally at least...hijinks among the ancien regime aristocracy is just not quite as queasy-making. Maybe because the world has largely gotten over those wounds.

That said, I have read such positive things about the ballet and so hugely admired Namouna (more than the other Ratmansky works I have seen) that I would be very curious to see Bright Stream.  Moreover I am sure it will garner a ton of good publicity for the company.

[angelica]

Wish list: More Veronika Part--partnered by Hallberg. Stella in Giselle title role. Osipova with Simkin in Don Q. Something else, not Cinderella--there's nothing I like less than a ballerina dancing with a broom! Enough time and money to see every performance!

[canbelto]

What's more, both Osipova and Vishneva have been able to dance roles denied to them for a long time by their home companies, or not in their home companies' repertoire. Juliet and Aurora for Osipova, and for Vishneva, she danced Sylvia, Dame aux Camelias, On the Dnieper, and she danced Swan Lake at the ABT before she was allowed to dance it for the Mariinsky. The Royal Ballet's last tour to NYC was 2004, and Cojocaru made an indelible impression then. It was great then to see her last year in Sleeping Beauty, and I saw that time and injuries hadn't taken away her enchanting qualities as a dancer.

[abatt]

I'm praying hard that the two TBAs for DonQ are Osipova and Vasiliev.  As discussed previously on this board, ABT could use an infusion of an exciting male lead virtuoso.   Now that Carreno is retiring, it would be great if ABT could develop a relationship w. Ivan Vasiliev.

[Barbara]

Abatt, good idea but I'd rather have Osipova continue her partnership with Hallberg while she's dancing at ABT  

[abatt]

California, on 16 October 2010 - 04:14 AM, said:

They don't seem to have on-line ordering yet for the subscriptions for the spring season.

You can now order your subscription on line.  (If you go to ABT's website, it links you into the Met Opera website to make the purchase.)  I had to laugh out loud when I read this warning on the subscription page:

"If a child becomes disruptive during a performance, the Met’s ushers will require the child and accompanying adult to leave the auditorium to watch the remainder of the performance in List Hall without refund of the ticket purchase."

I wish they had a similar warning/threat/policy at NYCB. It's hilarious that they have to specify that both the disruptive child and the accompanying adult must leave.  I guess there are some parents who are more than happy to get rid of junior for safekeeping with the usher while the parent continues to watch the rest of the ballet in peace.

[California]

California, on 16 October 2010 - 04:14 AM, said:

. . . I can't find anything about single tickets on their site.

Single tickets will go on sale to the public April 3. That information is buried on the subscriber benefits page under "free ticket exchange privileges":
http://www.abt.org/p...berbenefits.asp