terrynyc Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Magnificent performance tonight for Kent's farewell. Luxury casting indeed to have Cornejo as Mercutio. He was brilliant and acted the role for real. He was a real friend, and his death scene was absolutely real. Nothing exagerated, nothing csmpy. It is not a comic moment. His "plague on both your houses" was not as showy as some either, as if Mercury barely has the energy for this last curse before he expires. He and Bolle were so magnificent, that the splendid Blaine Holton hot a bit lost. With two friends like that, the dancer and the director really need to figure out who Benvolio is. Bolle and Kent were totally on and in sync. I have always felt Bolle , is superb in this role, and I felt it was truer than ever tonight. Every moment is worked out and true having fun with the guys, flirting with thecgirls, teasing the nurse or making love with Juliet, everything is true. Kent was so energized by the warmth from the audience and the two ire with Bolle. She was exquisite. Nolle's anguish at killing Tubal was devastating. I liked Patrick Ogke'Tubal very much. Hammoudi disappointed slightly as Paris. He was not as sympathetic as I have seen. Overall, I was enthralled. Bravo Julie et al. Link to comment
Amour Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 OK, an overview of Julie's farewell performance. I admit, I have never been a fan of Julie's and I remember her since when she joined ABT in 1986 (I had 2 friends in the corps). But this was an emotional night, even for me. Was Julie's dancing great? No, she simplified much of the choreography (an example in a minute) and her back is just not flexible anymore. Can she act? Yes and no. No, she was not at all convincing as a young 14 year old in love, in Act 1. Unlike Ferri (or even Vishneva) she does not have the ability to convey-through a mixture of dance and acting-youth. She also (like virtually every Juliet except maybe Obraztsova) used her downstage arm for balance in the press lifts. However, once past the balcony scene she did a credible bedroom scene and pretty great crypt scene. I especially liked her decision to kiss Roberto Bolle on the lips, before dying herself, rather than hold his hand which everyone else does. Interesting choice. Now as for the simplified choreography, Julie did things like omit the small, rapid ronds de jambe en l'air and instead just brought her working foot to her standing leg. I would liken this to doing a pas de chats when the choreography calls for gargouillades (like Semionova does in T&V).but once Julie got past the first intermission the acting greatly improved. She was able to communicate her despair at her husband leaving the bedroom through a mixture of dance and acting. Though she did not move me quite as Obraztsova did, she was a far cry from the zombie stare of Hee Seo Roberto Bolle, OTOH, it's not his night. I found his acting quite deficient and his dancing well past its prime. I will say he is a good and caring partner, probably the reason Ferri brought him from Italy to dance HER R&J farewell in 2007, thus introducing him to ABT. But I found that the characterizations I'd seen from both Herman and Marcelo was far more nuanced than anything I saw from Roberto. Marcelo, in particular, (and having just seen him Friday night) is heads and tails a better actor and dancer than Roberto, From Marcelo I saw the youth and passion of a boy, that Romeo could go from being a jokester to a peacemaker. To me, Roberto walked around the stage with little expression on his face (I sat in row J orchestra and used my opera glasses). And his ability to really stretch his legs, arms and feet is diminishing. The person who really impressed me onstage was Herman Cornejo. His Mercutio was WONDERFUL. He was able to be completely virtuosic yet serious where Daniil and Craig have turned the character into a kind of cartoony caricature of itself. Instead of being silly and over the top, Herman's Mercutio death was solemn and moving. His fencing skills were also great. Twice, he jumped over Patrick Ogle's (Tybalt's) sword. He got almost as many cheers and bravos as Julie and Roberto. Finally, we had the wonderful Stella Abrera as Lady Capulet and Susan Jones returned to her role as the nurse. They far exceeded anyone else I'd seen in those roles on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I only wish Tom Forster had been Tybalt. He has a lot more dramatic heft than Ogle. Blaine Hoven was fine as Benvolio and the PDT before the 3 men go into the ballroom was also the best I'd seen it this week. In attendance in the audience were Paloma, Angel, Jose Manuel, Xiomara, Tiler Peck, even Isaac Mizrahi. David Hallberg, Alex Ferri, Ratmansky, Sascha Radetsky and Makarova were just some of the luminaries who appeared on stage in tribute. Of course, all the principals came out and gave her flowers. Both Marcelo and Jose Manuel lifted Julie in a faux R&J lift. Julie's children and husband Victor all gave her flowers. Kevin knelt down in appreciation.Julie kept wiping the tears from her face throughout the farewell. It looked like she was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. But she did. So a lovely, farewell for Julie. I wish her the best as she retires and keeps coaching the younger dancers, crucially passing on this art form we love - ballet. Link to comment
Natalia Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Some 17 minutes of bows at Julie Kent's farewell have just been posted by YouTuber "La Karsavina"! 2015-06-20 - ABT - Julie Kent farewell LaKarsavina 10 views Somebody pls post actual link. I could only copy above title. "Brrrrravvvvvaaaaaa!" Link to comment
miliosr Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Was Baryshnikov in the audience? I didn't see him onstage in the LaKarsavina video. Nice to see Robert Hill there as he was a steady, if unheralded, partner for her. I geeked out seeing Makharova and Kolpakova standing next to each other on stage. Link to comment
terrynyc Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 To each his own.Obviously, I completely disagree with AMOUR about Roberto Bolle. Marcello is also wonderful in this part, but his interpretation is very different. The same is true of their Albrechts. Some people evidently don't respond to Roberto's, perhaps more subtle interpretstion. But I find it detailed and compelling - and moves me like no other. The way he tosses the "dead" Juliet around is remarkable. I love the way his line extends clear to the end of his fingers. But I do agree that Cornejo was a fantastic Mercutio. Link to comment
angelica Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 No, I believe the no same day exchange policy is also ABT's policy. When there was a blizzard a few years ago, ABT instructed BAM representatives to tell all ticketholders that there were no exchanges. (That was when ABT was doing Nutcracker at BAM.) You're right, abatt, I remember that ill-fated Nutcracker performance because my son and family had driven down from New Hampshire (5 hours!) to see it. But we couldn't get from Westchester out to BAM because of the blizzard. When I made a terrible fuss to someone at ABT, they gave us comp tickets for the spring season, from a list of performances THEY chose. What a stupid policy! If they had given us exchanges, say to a Nutcracker two days later, there wouldn't have been so many empty seats at BAM for performances later that same week. PLUS, the next year ABT issued a draconian statement that no matter what the weather they would perform and if you couldn't get there you were out of luck. This is just another way that ABT alienates its audience. Link to comment
Just an Observer Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Also the press lifts. Do they now just let every Juliet use her downstage arm to balance on Romeo's shoulder? Every Juliet I saw except maybe Obraztsova (I can't remember) did that. Did the arms lifted skywards die out with Ferri? Macmillan would not be happy methinks. YouTube search for Rome juliet balcony yields multiple performances. For someone relatively new to this, could you explain what ferri does differently? Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 YouTube search for Rome juliet balcony yields multiple performances. For someone relatively new to this, could you explain what ferri does differently? In the press lift here, Ferri's arms are both extended and expressive. In many of the performances this week, Juliets have used their downstage arm for support, holding onto Romeo's downstage shoulder or upper arm. Link to comment
California Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 In the press lift , Ferri's arms are both extended and expressive. In many of the performances this week, Juliets have used their downstage arm for support, holding onto Romeo's downstage shoulder or upper arm. Wow! Ferri is gorgeous in that lift. Thanks for posting. I don't remember seeing anybody else do that this week. Link to comment
CTballetfan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Some 17 minutes of bows at Julie Kent's farewell have just been posted by YouTuber "La Karsavina"! 2015-06-20 - ABT - Julie Kent farewell LaKarsavina 10 views Somebody pls post actual link. I could only copy above title. "Brrrrravvvvvaaaaaa!" Yes please post the link. All I could find on You tube is a video by someone else taken from so far away and above and so blurry that I could not make out the faces of those who came on stage to greet Julie. Link to comment
onxmyxtoes Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Yes please post the link. All I could find on You tube is a video by someone else taken from so far away and above and so blurry that I could not make out the faces of those who came on stage to greet Julie. Link to comment
onxmyxtoes Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 In this video of Kent/Stiefel (from Center Stage, none the less!): and even in this video of Ferri/Corella: Both Juliets have the hand down on the press lifts. I'm not sure what the whole fuss is about. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Both Juliets have the hand down on the press lifts. I'm not sure what the whole fuss is about. The hands-free version looks far superior to me. Much more expressive of the passion of both characters. These two (the Center Stage one especially) pale by comparison to that moment in the Eagling/Ferri video. Much stiffer and less fully engaged in the moment. Link to comment
CTballetfan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Thank you, onxmyxtoes, for the video of Julie's farewell. This is great! Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I'm not sure if we're all talking about the same lift. What I think Amour is referring to is the lift at 6:15 in this video. Two of the three ABT's Juliets I saw this season had their downstage arm on Romeo's shoulder for balance, here you can see that Ferri is not holding onto him, and at the end of the lift she stretches both arms behind her, which Copeland & Seo did not do. I don't remember this particular moment from the Obraztsova/Cornejo performance. Amour, is that the lift you were referring to? Amazing how dizzyingly in love and abandoned Ferri & Eagling look here, this may be my favorite video of the balcony scene, ever. I don't see any pretty poses like I saw with Seo - just a whirlwind of beauty & emotion Link to comment
onxmyxtoes Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 The hands-free version looks far superior to me. Much more expressive of the passion of both characters. These two (the Center Stage one especially) pale by comparison to that moment in the Eagling/Ferri video. Much stiffer and less fully engaged in the moment.Oh yes, I understand aesthetically that the no-hands is superior. What I meant to show is that it looks like the hand-supported one has been done for a while. This isn't something new that the dancers have recently adopted. Heck I think even Vishneva/Gomes use a hand, but I could be mistaken Link to comment
Moonlily Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 On the DVD of the Royal Ballet featuring Federico Bonelli and Lauren Cuthbertson in the title roles, you can also see the lifts being done without the arm support, at around 5:50 of this clip. Not sure now if it's the same lift we're talking about, but at the 6:15 mark of the clip posted by nysusan, not both arms are lifted skywards but maybe Amour didn't mean really upright towards the sky anyway. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Just for further comparison: Fonteyn does a modified "hands-free" version (holding on at first then -- tentatively, and with much less abandon than Ferri w/Eagling -- letting go. The cued video is here. Gelsey Kirkland does a hands-free version here with Dowell. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Amazing how dizzyingly in love and abandoned Ferri & Eagling look here, this may be my favorite video of the balcony scene, ever. I agree, nysusan! This scene was on my very first ballet video, a VHS called Ballet Favorites purchased in the lobby at a Cleveland Ballet performance of Swan Lake. It also had Makarova and Dowell in Act II of Swan Lake, Galina Mezentseva's Giselle mad scene, and Baryshnikov and Harvey's Don Q wedding PDD, among others. What an introduction! All four of those scenes have remained real touchstones for me. Link to comment
nanushka Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 I'm not sure if we're all talking about the same lift. What I think Amour is referring to is the lift at 6:15 in this video. Two of the three ABT's Juliets I saw this season had their downstage arm on Romeo's shoulder for balance, here you can see that Ferri is not holding onto him, and at the end of the lift she stretches both arms behind her, which Copeland & Seo did not do. I don't remember this particular moment from the Obraztsova/Cornejo performance. Ah. I see now we're not. I thought the term "press lift" was referring to the one where he lifts her up and down repeatedly while he's kneeling. Link to comment
nysusan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Ah. I see now we're not. I thought the term "press lift" was referring to the one where he lifts her up and down repeatedly while he's kneeling. Actually, Amour could have been talking about either one, since the difference in both is very clear comparing the Ferri and Cuthbertson videos to what we saw from ABT. Link to comment
Kaysta Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Ah. I see now we're not. I thought the term "press lift" was referring to the one where he lifts her up and down repeatedly while he's kneeling. That is the lift I thought was being discussed as well. I'm pretty sure Gillian did not put her hand down on Whiteside's shoulder during the Wednesday matinee, if that is the lift we are talking about. Link to comment
GeorgeB fan Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Juliet not using her hands in terms of support while being lifted I think has a great deal to do with how Romeo is supporting and lifting her. In the Ferr/Eagling, Cuthbertson/Bonelli, Girkland/Dowell pairings when Romeo lifts Juliet he's not only using his hands and also his forearms when lifting Juliet which gives Juliet a greater sense of support making it possible for her to rise both her arms. At least that's how I'm seeing it. Link to comment
aurora Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 While we are speaking of steps done in a simplified way, was anyone else disappointed with the way Obraztsova altered the skimming runs around Romeo in the Balcony Scene, where the initial leg should be stepping up onto pointe each time? She just did a skimming step, omitting the leaping up onto point. It had a totally different effect and for me that's a rather iconic moment for Juliet in the ballet. Link to comment
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