Batsuchan, on 04 July 2011 - 11:52 AM, said:
And Marcelo’s acting was top-notch, as always. Thanks to his performance, it was the first time all week that I felt like the Queen Mother and Wolfgang were actually meaningful presences in his life. He gave the Queen Mother a look of such adoration when presented with the crossbow, and when he turned to Wolfgang for advice later in the scene, it felt like they were having a conversation.
Then, in the beginning of Act II, he made me see Siegfried catch sight of Odette. This moment was lost on me with the other Siegfrieds, but Marcelo pointed out something in the sky, went around the stage following its path, and saw it land somewhere beyond the wings. Excitedly, he reached for his crossbow and prepared to shoot, but then he realized, “What’s this?! Something’s not right!” and ran off the stage. “AHA, so THIS is what this scene is supposed to be about!” I thought.
...
And then, at the end of Act III/beginning of Act IV, Marcelo’s Siegfried was simply wild. After discovering his mistake, he pounded on the doors with such force I thought they might actually fall down, and when he came on the stage at the beginning of Act IV, he collapsed from the weight of his grief.
On another dancer, or in a different performance, these actions may have seemed way too over-the-top, but with Marcelo, it looked just right, because you could just see how inspired he was by Semionova. I have always thought Marcelo to be unrivaled as a partner and an actor, but up to now, I had never considered him to be one of those show-stopping virtuosos the way, say, Simkin or Carreno (with his pirouettes) or Corella can be. But his variations in Act III blew me away! Semionova held her ridiculously long arabesque balance in the black swan pas de deux, and Marcelo answered with some extra-long balances of his own.
And my goodness! I was not expecting to see Carreno-style multi-revolution pirouettes with the leg fully extended! To me, it felt like Gomes was so amped up by the performance that he was really going for it, taking risks, almost making it up as he went along. It was like his performance as Albrecht earlier in the season when he was so impassioned that he threw back his head after he landed his moves. Simply mesmerizing! Bravo!
Phew, can’t believe the season is almost over!
I agree that Marcelo is a great dancer, but FYI much of what you describe above is part of the McKenzie SL choreography already, NOT an inspired-by-the-moment invention of Marcelo Gomes. Watch the PBS video and you'll see the same motions in Act II when Siegfried first spots the swans arriving etc., grabs his crossbow, 'sees' something wonderous/odd and precipitously leaves only to return to discover Odette. Ditto, the Act III BS variation with turns a la second (ie.with the leg extended) and then pounding the door after Green Monster Rothbart appears in a puff of smoke and slams them shut. The collapse to the floor in Act IV (though in the video its in response to the storm and corps swans leaping past in close proximity)is also seen in the video so I assume part of the original KM choreography.
But as you say, Marcelo Gomes has marvelous balance, and NO ONE at ABT does a sissone like he does. He is a great dancer (technically and artistically), a sensitive actor, and strong partner. And I am very glad he is at ABT and that you got to experience his many performances there.
5
I couldn't agree with you more.
