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2015 Met Season (Wish Lists and Predictions)


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I don't think Vikharev's reconstructed Raymonda makes sense in ABT, the costumes are dated and won't look good on modern day dancers, and there is always the "politically correctness" issue in this ballet.

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What is the PC issue in Raymonda? Just curious.

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Essentially, Raymonda portrays Muslims as barbaric and evil. It portrays white European Crusaders as good. We've had this conversation before on this board, noting that many other ballets (Corsaire, Bayadere) also portray certain groups as either evil or stupid.

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"I think it is a bit of both. Those ballets are probably technically challenging for her now (or rather, it is challenging for her to perform the classics up to her standard, as I can't imagine her ever omitting the hard stuff or marking the steps a la Kent/Cojocaru), but also that she doesn't like the ABT productions, so it's not worth the effort.

I think there's a possibility she might do Ratmansky's SB, since they seem to have a good relationship, and she seems to like to do his ballets (she's dancing his "Psyche" this weekend at POB, then his "Cinderella" in London, and she did "Lost Illusions" at Bolshoi earlier this year). I guess it will depend how much he changes the traditional choreography.

Also, I think she'd only do it if she can dance with Gomes. Ratmanksy has used Gomes as the male lead in the premiere of all his ballets for ABT ("On the Dnieper," "The Bright Stream," "Firebird," "Tempest," and arguably "Nutcracker" too). Would Ratmansky cast Vishneva & Gomes as the opening cast? My feeling is that Ratmansky might go for a "home-team" ballerina or an up-and-comer instead..."

You've given me hope, thank you Batuschan! flowers.gif

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The Saracen (=Arab) Knight Abherakhman depicted like evil or maniac with exaggerated makeup, and the crusader knight Jean de Brienne wins over him.

Would the ballet work (and be acceptable )if the Saracen knight is portrayed as a romantic, misunderstood figure?

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Saracen is a direct reference to Muslims. That was the term used to refer to Muslims during medieval times. You would have to entirely purge that word, and the basic underpinnings of the entire libretto, to make this ballet PC.

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Mussel's "crystal ball" has always been spot on.......this time it came with a lot of details and is SPECTACULAR.

Thank you mussel for sharing the results !!!

I am beyond happy to read that the company will have such an unbelievable 75th anniversary celebration.

all are great news, restoring act4 score in SL !!! OMG, New SB, Paquita, Re-staging of Bayadere, Raymonda back !!!! amazingggg

Part is a spectacular Raymonda, one of her best roles..I hope we can enjoy a few evenings of her next year, in the new SL, Bayadere, SB and Raymonda.....I think it could be an amazing season for her and for all her fans !!!

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Yeah, I think Paloma was close to her prime at that time, i remember liking her too

I would guess she would retire with SL, she has gotten good reviews in SB, although not sure if she would dance the new one

i always thought she would retire with Don Q, it was definitely her signature role...but looks like its out of the equation now

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That's my day-dreaming list with a dash of reality. Be real, even if ABT got a big fat check from Koch, do you think ABT would have enough time to rehearse all those new productions?

Mod, should I start another thread (not a wish list) for the line ups that shows up in my crystal ball?

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That's my day-dreaming list with a dash of reality. Be real, even if ABT got a big fat check from Koch, do you think ABT would have enough time to rehearse all those new productions?

Mod, should I start another thread (not a wish list) for the line ups that shows up in my crystal ball?

Please do.beg.gif but still would love to see Paquita and Raymonda in the 76th and 77th season.

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As always, highly educated guesses are fine, as long as their inspiration isn't unofficial news.

PNB's Doug Fullington and musicologist Marian Smith, who were instrumental in staging PNB's "Giselle," are assisting Ratmansky on the Bavarian State Opera "Paquita":

http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/922-ZG9tPWRvbTImZmxhZz0xJmlkPTMzODQmbD1lbiZ0ZXJtaW49MTQ3NTE-~spielplan~ballett~veranstaltungen~vorstellung.html

Costumes are by Jerome Kaplan, which means gorgeous.

No mention I can see on the Bayerisches Staatsballett site that it is a co-production, in German or English versions.

When I asked about the possibility of this being done in Seattle, the answer was that it was far too expensive. Of course, "expensive" for PNB is probably the cleaning supplies budget for ABT.

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As always, highly educated guesses are fine, as long as their inspiration isn't unofficial news.

PNB's Doug Fullington and musicologist Marian Smith, who were instrumental in staging PNB's "Giselle," are assisting Ratmansky on the Bavarian State Opera "Paquita":

http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/922-ZG9tPWRvbTImZmxhZz0xJmlkPTMzODQmbD1lbiZ0ZXJtaW49MTQ3NTE-~spielplan~ballett~veranstaltungen~vorstellung.html

Costumes are by Jerome Kaplan, which means gorgeous.

No mention I can see on the Bayerisches Staatsballett site that it is a co-production, in German or English versions.

When I asked about the possibility of this being done in Seattle, the answer was that it was far too expensive. Of course, "expensive" for PNB is probably the cleaning supplies budget for ABT.

I would love to be a fly on the wall for those rehearsals!

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Essentially, Raymonda portrays Muslims as barbaric and evil. It portrays white European Crusaders as good. We've had this conversation before on this board, noting that many other ballets (Corsaire, Bayadere) also portray certain groups as either evil or stupid.

Are we going to expurgate the Chancon de Roland from Western Literature and delete references to the Siege of Vienna next?

Seriously better to teach historical context than to throw out chunks of somebody elses culture AND history - in this case my culture.

Perhaps this view can be held if one is born in the US which has never been invaded on a obliterating level by any other nation or peoples.

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No. Not for her retirement. Because there are very few roles Kent can still perform. The Merry Widow is an easy role that she can perform twice in one week.

Why retire when you can go on dancing a handful of nights each season and making $187k per year?

Why, indeed.

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The fall season will be at the Koch Theater (the former State Theater), after the NYCB season and before the Mikhailovsky season.

Interesting. Has ABT ever performed at the Koch-State Theater before? I guess Mr. B is on the repertoire.

With the demise of the NYC Opera, the Koch theater has become the world's best stage for dance.

They performed at the Koch last fall (2013). I doubt they'll return to City Center when the Koch is a bigger stage with much better audience sight lines.

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I don't think Vikharev's reconstructed Raymonda makes sense in ABT, the costumes are dated and won't look good on modern day dancers, and there is always the "politically correctness" issue in this ballet.

.

What is the PC issue in Raymonda? Just curious.

Also, in the Russian versions the kids come out in either black face or garbed in brown leotards, head to toe. Very insensitive racially.

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