2013 Met Season--Pre-Season and General Info

[aurora]

Vishneva learned the role of Aurora for the ABT production and performed it exactly once during the initial run of this current production. (She called in sick for performance number two of that run.) She has never done it at ABT since (though I did see her do SB with the Mariinsky in DC 2 or 3 years ago). I would not expect to see her Aurora at ABT again.

I have no idea what her motivations are, but if she REALLY IS acting the way people on this board credit her with (and you all do it without criticizing her)--refusing to dance with anyone but Marcello, refusing to do roles to the point of calling in sick to avoid them, etc--then I really think she should be a "guest artist" and free up one of the principal positions. I know she is a star, but that is being a Diva.

If you are going to be in a company you should treat it with a modicum of respect.

I have no idea if any of this is true. Its the impression, however, I've gotten from what people here who seem to be her fans are saying.

[Natalia]

Birdsall, thanks for the explanation. Mussell is indeed super-accurate.

Aurora, I must agree on the need for a professional artist to treat his/her employer with respect. So Vishneva is set to perform two consecutive Juliets in St Petersburg/Mariinsky, tomorrow and Wednesday nights, for the filming of a long-planned DVD of the full Lavrovsky production. Hopefully she will follow through with this important project! (Same casts both nights; Ivanchenko as Romeo, Tybalt-Kuznetsov, A. Sergeev-Mercutio.)

Links to tomorrow and Wed casts: http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2012/7/10/1_1900/ and http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2012/7/11/1_1900/

(Sorry for cross-over topic but we were discussing Vishneva, who is principal in both troupes.)

[Drew]

I've long had the impression that Orange County (now Segerstrom) has some kind of special relationship with Ardani Management. They've had Kings of Dance, Tour de Fource, Reflections, Eifmann, and the Firebird premiere in recent years. Next year, they'll have Mariinsky and Eifman again. All are on the Ardani "projects" list, as is Osipova.

http://www.ardani.co...anyprojects.php

I have no idea what the connection is, but Segerstrom gets almost all of their attractions performing in the U.S. But Osipova doesn't seem to do the grinding ABT tours otherwise (Chicago, Asia, etc.)

Osipova danced with the company in Chicago this past March (I saw the performance); According to the listings on the ABT website for their last Asian tour, she also was scheduled for an R&J w. Hallberg in Japan. I assume it happened but don't know. I do not see her scheduled for their Asia tour this year.

[Birdsall]

Birdsall, thanks for the explanation. Mussell is indeed super-accurate.

Aurora, I must agree on the need for a professional artist to treat his/her employer with respect. So Vishneva is set to perform two consecutive Juliets in St Petersburg/Mariinsky, tomorrow and Wednesday nights, for the filming of a long-planned DVD of the full Lavrovsky production. Hopefully she will follow through with this important project! (Same casts both nights; Ivanchenko as Romeo, Tybalt-Kuznetsov, A. Sergeev-Mercutio.)

Links to tomorrow and Wed casts: http://www.mariinsky...12/7/10/1_1900/ and http://www.mariinsky...12/7/11/1_1900/

(Sorry for cross-over topic but we were discussing Vishneva, who is principal in both troupes.)

Super cool info, Natalia! Thanks!!!!

[California]

I've long had the impression that Orange County (now Segerstrom) has some kind of special relationship with Ardani Management. They've had Kings of Dance, Tour de Fource, Reflections, Eifmann, and the Firebird premiere in recent years. Next year, they'll have Mariinsky and Eifman again. All are on the Ardani "projects" list, as is Osipova.

http://www.ardani.co...anyprojects.php

I have no idea what the connection is, but Segerstrom gets almost all of their attractions performing in the U.S. But Osipova doesn't seem to do the grinding ABT tours otherwise (Chicago, Asia, etc.)

Osipova danced with the company in Chicago this past March (I saw the performance); According to the listings on the ABT website for their last Asian tour, she also was scheduled for an R&J w. Hallberg in Japan. I assume it happened but don't know. I do not see her scheduled for their Asia tour this year.

I'm impressed! I didn't realize she was doing so much touring. I know she (and Vasiliev) cancelled on the second Tour de Force (the gala at Segerstrom), but don't know about other commitments. I was stunned to see Vasiliev doing four consecutive Corsaires earlier this month. Perhaps they both want to show they're reliable team members. Osipova is listed now as a regular principal, but not Vasiliev. Perhaps that will be next. Now that they've cut ties with the Bolshoi and Mikhailovsky couldn't perform at Lincoln Center, they need a high-profile home, and that would seem to be ABT.

[Birdsall]

I've long had the impression that Orange County (now Segerstrom) has some kind of special relationship with Ardani Management. They've had Kings of Dance, Tour de Fource, Reflections, Eifmann, and the Firebird premiere in recent years. Next year, they'll have Mariinsky and Eifman again. All are on the Ardani "projects" list, as is Osipova.

http://www.ardani.co...anyprojects.php

I have no idea what the connection is, but Segerstrom gets almost all of their attractions performing in the U.S. But Osipova doesn't seem to do the grinding ABT tours otherwise (Chicago, Asia, etc.)

Osipova danced with the company in Chicago this past March (I saw the performance); According to the listings on the ABT website for their last Asian tour, she also was scheduled for an R&J w. Hallberg in Japan. I assume it happened but don't know. I do not see her scheduled for their Asia tour this year.

I'm impressed! I didn't realize she was doing so much touring. I know she (and Vasiliev) cancelled on the second Tour de Force (the gala at Segerstrom), but don't know about other commitments. I was stunned to see Vasiliev doing four consecutive Corsaires earlier this month. Perhaps they both want to show they're reliable team members. Osipova is listed now as a regular principal, but not Vasiliev. Perhaps that will be next. Now that they've cut ties with the Bolshoi and Mikhailovsky couldn't perform at Lincoln Center, they need a high-profile home, and that would seem to be ABT.

I think those two simply want to get out on stage and dance. They love it. You can tell.

I think that was one of their reasons for quitting the Bolshoi. They sat around waiting to dance (Bolshoi requires a commitment to be available for many months supposedly and then they have to give roles to other principals) while getting offers from all over the world. They said they want to dance. The Mikhailovsky apparently told them they would be able to dance wherever they want. At the time we thought they were CRAZY to leave the Bolshoi for the Mikhailovsky, but from what I've read it has mostly to do with freedom, so it sort of makes sense.

Sorry to go off on a tangent......I am wondering how scheduling will be for the Met 2013 season. This past one for the most part had one ballet all week long (for most weeks that is). For us out-of-towners that is not ideal, although I did love seeing three Bayaderes back to back. I remember previous season schedules had two or three ballets playing at the same time so you could actually see two or three ballets in one week. I wonder what the pros and cons for both types of scheduling are, and I wonder if they will go back to rotating the ballets. The Met backstage certainly handles rotating productions.

[mussel]

So Vishneva is set to perform two consecutive Juliets in St Petersburg/Mariinsky, tomorrow and Wednesday nights, for the filming of a long-planned DVD of the full Lavrovsky production. Hopefully she will follow through with this important project! (Same casts both nights; Ivanchenko as Romeo, Tybalt-Kuznetsov, A. Sergeev-Mercutio.)

Links to tomorrow and Wed casts: http://www.mariinsky...12/7/10/1_1900/ and http://www.mariinsky...12/7/11/1_1900/

(Sorry for cross-over topic but we were discussing Vishneva, who is principal in both troupes.)

Natalia, thanks for exciting news. I'll definitely add that to my Blu Ray collection. Hope it'll be ready by Christmas. There's dearth of Vishneva video on the market.

[MRR]

I'm glad they're finally bringing back Manon. Casting for this should prove very interesting. I assume Dvorovenko, Murphy, Reyes, Semionova, and Vishneva would get cast as the title-role. But then, who else? This is assuming that they show Manon over a full week (meaning eight performances), and that they give each ballerina one show. If Kent still feels physically up to the challenge, she could dance it. I'm sure Osipova wants a stab at the role. Part would be out of left field, but she might work, especially as the complicating partnering in Manon would practically force management to pair her with Bolle or Gomes, which would be nice. There is also a possibility Cojocaru could be brought back to guest. Herrera and Seo don't seem suited to Manon at all.

[puppytreats]

Part played the role of Manon in Lady of the Camillias.

[nanushka]

Part would be out of left field, but she might work, especially as the complicating partnering in Manon would practically force management to pair her with Bolle or Gomes, which would be nice.

I don't recall every precise detail of Manon's choreography...but are there 7-10 men in the company who can gracefully and reliably perform challenging lifts of Veronika Part?

Part played the role of Manon in Lady of the Camillias.

The role of Manon in Lady of the Camellias is not at all the role of Manon in MacMillan's Manon.

Don't get me wrong -- the role of MacMillan's Juliet has long been a fantasy part for me to see Veronika in. I just don't see Manon happening for her in this company.

[MRR]

Nanushka--That's why I said it was out of left field. I don't think Part being cast as Manon is particularly likely to happen, but I don't find it to be out of the question. Zenaida Yanowsky of the Royal is about Part's height, and she's danced Manon.

[nanushka]

Nanushka--That's why I said it was out of left field. I don't think Part being cast as Manon is particularly likely to happen, but I don't find it to be out of the question. Zenaida Yanowsky of the Royal is about Part's height, and she's danced Manon.

My question is not so much about Part herself and her dancing -- but rather about the partnering abilities of the ABT male corps/soloists. Perhaps I'm too pessimistic, though.

[puppytreats]

Is Part really as tall as Zenaida?

[Batsuchan]

First, thanks to mussel for the inside info!! I'm already excited about next year's season!!

Vishneva learned the role of Aurora for the ABT production and performed it exactly once during the initial run of this current production. (She called in sick for performance number two of that run.) She has never done it at ABT since (though I did see her do SB with the Mariinsky in DC 2 or 3 years ago). I would not expect to see her Aurora at ABT again.

I have no idea what her motivations are, but if she REALLY IS acting the way people on this board credit her with (and you all do it without criticizing her)--refusing to dance with anyone but Marcello, refusing to do roles to the point of calling in sick to avoid them, etc--then I really think she should be a "guest artist" and free up one of the principal positions. I know she is a star, but that is being a Diva.

If you are going to be in a company you should treat it with a modicum of respect.

I have no idea if any of this is true. Its the impression, however, I've gotten from what people here who seem to be her fans are saying.

I totally agree that a dancer needs to treat a company (as well as his/her fellow dancers, choreographers, staff, etc) with respect!

But let's not jump to conclusions and malign someone's character based on nothing more than some speculation!

I was not around for the 2007 season, so I can't comment on Vishneva's withdrawals then, but since I've been watching her (from the 2009 season, since she was injured for all of 2008), she's only withdrawn FROM one performance with only a few days notice--this year's 5/25 "La Bayadere." I too may have been suspicious/cynical about her motives (OHHH, maybe she doesn't want to share the stage with Natasha??!), except that I had seen her with my own eyes at the stage door after her 5/19 "Giselle," when she emerged wrapped in a down jacket and sporting a nasty-sounding cough.

As for her preference for dancing with Marcelo Gomes--and she does make it quite clear on her Facebook page that he is her favorite partner--I don't think that is necessarily unreasonable and a sign of a difficult diva. For me, personally, all their performances together over the past two seasons have been magical, and it seems that Marcelo enjoys dancing with Diana just as much as she enjoys dancing with him. At the ABT Spotlight Seminar I attended on June 5, Marcelo could not have been more effusive about Diana, sentiments that are echoed in his interviews:

http://www.ocregiste...ister-peck.html

Register: What's it like dancing choreographer John Neumeier's "Lady of the Camellias" with a superstar like Diana Vishneva?

Gomes: It's such a big pleasure for me to be with her.

...and on his Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/...tus/15627488723

cant wait to dance armand in lady of the camellias tonight with the very inspiring diana vishneva.

So when Diana and Marcelo are cast together, it seems like a win-win situation to me: Diana's happy, ABT'S Most Valuable Player Marcelo is happy, and the audience (hopefully) is happy.

One of my friends remarked that it is a privilege and a pleasure to watch their partnership grow, and I totally agree.

Needless to say, I would be beyond thrilled to see them cast together in "Manon."

As for the other casts, I bet Julie Kent would also be one of the Manons, and they could certainly bring back Cojocaru. They could also give one of the ballerinas two of the shows, as they did with Vishneva in "Giselle" last year, or Cojocaru in "La Bayadere" this year. I also suspect that they would give Hee Seo the opportunity since they seem to be grooming her for these dance-actress roles...

@ Birdsall - I'm guessing part of the reason why ABT doesn't alternate ballets during the week is because of money--it's expensive to move sets around.

[Batsuchan]

So Vishneva is set to perform two consecutive Juliets in St Petersburg/Mariinsky, tomorrow and Wednesday nights, for the filming of a long-planned DVD of the full Lavrovsky production. Hopefully she will follow through with this important project! (Same casts both nights; Ivanchenko as Romeo, Tybalt-Kuznetsov, A. Sergeev-Mercutio.)

Links to tomorrow and Wed casts: http://www.mariinsky...12/7/10/1_1900/ and http://www.mariinsky...12/7/11/1_1900/

(Sorry for cross-over topic but we were discussing Vishneva, who is principal in both troupes.)

Natalia, thanks for exciting news. I'll definitely add that to my Blu Ray collection. Hope it'll be ready by Christmas. There's dearth of Vishneva video on the market.

@ Natalia, given the amount of coverage Vishneva has devoted to these performances on her Facebook page (2 posts), I'm guessing that she plans to participate in this engagement.

http://www.facebook....252826048061382

Personally though, I'd much, much rather see her cast with someone other than Ivanchenko--like Kolb, or even Zverev!

Going back on topic--I'm excited about "A month in the country," though I've never seen it so can't really comment.

I'd also be excited to see an Osipova/Vasiliev Don Q, or even a Osipova/Simkin Don Q, though I'm guessing they might cast Simkin with Kajiya as they did on the Japan tour last year.

[ksk04]

Is Part really as tall as Zenaida?

I would say they are pretty close, no? I don't think they brought Bolle in for Zenaida's Manon but instead got some Danish fellow. Bolle was used to do Manon with Darcy Bussell who seems a touch shorter than Veronika or Zenaida.

Count me among those who would love to see Part as Manon (or Juliet) and I think she would absolutely excel given a well suited partner. I don't see it happening though, as even when Bolle is brought in he isn't being brought to dance with her now coupled with the Diana/Marcelo situation.

Veronika would be great in "A Month" as well...it's been a "tall" girl role at the Royal for awhile. It would be a great showcase for her, though again I guessing she'd get put in line behind Julie, Diana, and Alina (who just did it at the Royal). Damn frustrating to be a fan of hers!

EDIT: I wouldn't count Paloma out for Manon. I read an interview awhile ago saying it's her dream role and Kevin said it would be coming. I don't think this is the wisest idea, but maybe she's got it in her.

[Batsuchan]

Count me among those who would love to see Part as Manon (or Juliet) and I think she would absolutely excel given a well suited partner. I don't see it happening though, as even when Bolle is brought in he isn't being brought to dance with her now coupled with the Diana/Marcelo situation.

Well, perhaps Alex Hammoudi could partner her in these ballets? I also would not mind seeing Tom Forster or Eric Tamm get more lead roles, both of whom have partnered her recently (albeit not for the lead roles in a full-length ballet).

[canbelto]

What about Sylvie Guillem? She was pretty tall and danced Manon a lot.

[Birdsall]

@ Birdsall - I'm guessing part of the reason why ABT doesn't alternate ballets during the week is because of money--it's expensive to move sets around.

That makes sense now that you say it. I guess in this economy they have had to figure out how to cut costs wherever they can.

I have to say that I enjoyed Ratmansky's Symphonic Dances (world premiere in Miami this past March and playing in the regular MCB season this coming season). I have seen his Humpbacked Horse and Flames of Paris on dvd and clips of his Cinderella. I tend to like his ballets from scratch (at least Symphonic Dances) better than his reworkings of ballets originally done by other people. So I think the triple bill might be a better experience for many people next season compared to Firebird. I think when you take a work people already know and love and change it, it is harder to accept. I think his original stuff is probably easier to judge on its own merits, so I wouldn't write off the Ratmansky evening.

[Drew]

For me, the Ratmansky Shostakovich evening is the most exciting event of the season. I can't always get to NY for exactly the ballets or casts I want to see, but if it's being done during a week I can travel, then it will be my number one priority. And if the company is indeed dancing A Month in the Country, then that will be a very close second with pretty much any cast(s), though certainly I have some preferences.

Otherwise I'm less interested in the coming season's twentieth-century options. (Love Symphony in C but don't feel profoundly curious to see ABT dance it.) However, I have concluded that my buying a ticket for Vishneva in one of the nineteenth-century classics is very close to a jinx on her actually dancing it so I will have to debate whether or not I owe it to other ballet fans to quit trying to see her in those roles...Which is not quite the same thing as saying I'm eager to sit through Manon without Anthony Dowell as Des Grieux...

[Natalia]

Nanushka--That's why I said it was out of left field. I don't think Part being cast as Manon is particularly likely to happen, but I don't find it to be out of the question. Zenaida Yanowsky of the Royal is about Part's height, and she's danced Manon.

Manon should be a petite or 'normal height' dancer to do justice to MacMillan's choreography, lifts being only one part of it. The large/big boned ladies like Bussell, Semionova, Cuthbertson, Makhalina are 'heavy loads,' no matter how strong the Des Grieux who is lifting her. Even if they can be lifted and hoisted into positions, the audience cannot help but notice the strain. Just thinking about the perils of lifts takes away from the magic. We should not even be thinking about the effort. [This was one of the few 'negatives' of the recent Boylston/Simkin Swan Lake...the lifts turned out well but one was aware of the effort.]

[fondoffouettes]

Nanushka--That's why I said it was out of left field. I don't think Part being cast as Manon is particularly likely to happen, but I don't find it to be out of the question. Zenaida Yanowsky of the Royal is about Part's height, and she's danced Manon.

Manon should be a petite or 'normal height' dancer to do justice to MacMillan's choreography, lifts being only one part of it. The large/big boned ladies like Bussell, Semionova, Cuthbertson, Makhalina are 'heavy loads,' no matter how strong the Des Grieux who is lifting her. Even if they can be lifted and hoisted into positions, the audience cannot help but notice the strain. Just thinking about the perils of lifts takes away from the magic. We should not even be thinking about the effort. [This was one of the few 'negatives' of the recent Boylston/Simkin Swan Lake...the lifts turned out well but one was aware of the effort.]

I agree with Natalia and Nanushka. I am a huge Part fan, but Manon essentially gets thrown around like a rag doll (if you'll pardon the expression) in the final Louisiana pas de deux, so much so that it verges on being overwrought, though I still revel in it most of the time. It's too bad because I could imagine her vamping it up as Manon à la Netrebko, though with a touch more subtlety.

I also agree with Nanushka's assessment that there may not be enough strong partners in the ranks. I have some scary memories of tense partnering from corps/soloist dancers for that crazy barrel roll drop in Raymonda (not sure what you would call it).

[FauxPas]

Casting predictions/suggestions:

Swan Lake: Semionova/Hallberg; Part/Bolle; Boylston/Simkin; Osipova/Hallberg or Gomes; Herrera/Stearns; Murphy/Mungatirov; Vishneva(?)/Gomes; Dvorovenko/Matvienko. Other possibilities - Messmer/Forster; Abrera/Radetsky; Cojocaru/Hallberg

Sleeping Beauty: Osipova/Hallberg; Part/Gomes; Herrera/Stearns; Dvorovenko/Muntagirov; Cojocaru/Hallberg; Reyes/Cornejo; Murphy/Matvienko. Possibilities: Lane/Simkin; Boylston/Gorak; Abrera/Radetsky; Kajiya/Matthews

Don Q: Osipova/Vasiliev; Murphy/Gomes(?)or Matvienko; Dvorovenko/Muntagirov; Herrera/Bolle or Stearns; Semionova/Hallberg; Cornejo/Reyes. Other possibilities: Boylston/Simkin; Lane/Phillips; Copeland/Salstein; Novikova/Sarafanov or Obraztsova/Sarafanov

Le Corsaire: same as this year. Add Bolle as Conrad, Matvienko as Ali, Semionova as Medora, Muntagirov as Conrad, Zhong-Jing Fang and Christine Schevchenko as Gulnare

Onegin: same casting as this year. Add Cojocaru/Kobborg. Give Cory Lensky and put in someone like Forster or Hammoudi as Onegin.

Manon: Vishneva/Gomes; Kent/Bolle; Reyes/Cornejo; Cojocaru/Hallberg; Dvorovenko/Bolle or Gorak?

New Ratmansky full length

A Month in the Country: This will be the same trio as "Lady of the Camellias" - Vishneva, Kent and Dvorovenko. Part could do this part too I suspect.

Symphony in C: 2nd movement will be Part, Vishneva, Kent and Semionova. Add Hee Seo to the mix as well.

[fondoffouettes]

I really wish they were not doing Onegin again, though I realize it's standard ABT policy to bring back new productions and revivals for a second Met season. Every year it seems like there is one silk skirt/petticoat ballet, be it Lady of the Camellias, Onegin, or that ghastly Merry Widow, and to my mind at least they seem like frothy filler. I think the general consensus was that Onegin was only really effective with one cast (Vishneva/Gomes), which doesn’t seem to justify a revival. The one upside is that the ballet allowed for some non-principals to shine, Joseph Gorak being the prime example. His dancing was absolutely glorious.

[puppytreats]

Part played the role of Manon in Lady of the Camillias.

The role of Manon in Lady of the Camellias is not at all the role of Manon in MacMillan's Manon.

Don't get me wrong -- the role of MacMillan's Juliet has long been a fantasy part for me to see Veronika in. I just don't see Manon happening for her in this company.

Yes, I was in quite a silly mood last night.