2018 Met Season

[abatt]

9 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

How is it that Family Circle for the June 6 matinee of Harlequinade is sold out? I thought it might be the "Misty effect" but the rest of the house is relatively unsold. And there's still tons of availability in Family Circle for Copeland's more in-demand performances, like Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. 

Do they ever make Wednesday matinees school group days and set aside Family Circle for that purpose? I've been to many Wednesday matinees and have never noticed anything special on those days, though. 

Yes, either a sponsor or Board member bought all of the family circle tickets, or they reserved all tickets in that section for school groups.   I've been to Wed matinees where the balcony level was full of school groups.  The group I was near  a season or two ago was from LaGuardia High. You would think that they would be more interested because it's a performing arts school.  However, they were just as unruly and noisy as any other group of kids. Before the performance their teacher came over and said if she saw anyone with a phone on during the performance that person would get zero credit.  One boy near me took out his phone during the show, and at intermission the teacher came over to him and told him he would get no credit for attending.  Amusing stuff.

Edited March 26, 2018 by abatt

[canbelto]

52 minutes ago, abatt said:

Yes, either a sponsor or Board member bought all of the family circle tickets, or they reserved all tickets in that section for school groups.   I've been to Wed matinees where the balcony level was full of school groups.  The group I was near  a season or two ago was from LaGuardia High. You would think that they would be more interested because it's a performing arts school.  However, they were just as unruly and noisy as any other group of kids. Before the performance their teacher came over and said if she saw anyone with a phone on during the performance that person would get zero credit.  One boy near me took out his phone during the show, and at intermission the teacher came over to him and told him he would get no credit for attending.  Amusing stuff.

I have accompanied school kids on these field trips and want to say that puh-leeze don't blame the teachers when this happens. School kids tend to get very hyped on any field trip and that energy is often very difficult to contain. I've been the subject of some extremely demeaning, insulting comments. One person said "How do you deal with these animals? I'd be afraid for my life." Right in front of a kid. It was very upsetting. 

[fondoffouettes]

I can only imagine how teachers take the heat in situations like this, but I didn't take abatt's comments to be a criticism of the teacher in the scenario described. 

I've sat in balcony and orchestra at Wednesday matinees but have never seen any school groups. I get pretty annoyed by any distractions around me, so if there were a group of noisy high schoolers near me, I'd find it difficult to focus on the performance. But, I've found there are no rules as to who might be inconsiderate during a performance. I've sat near people who are clearly longtime performance-goers who hum along to the music, conduct with their hands, and rifle through their bags for candies. 

It sucks, and I always just hope I don't sit near a person who doesn't have the ability to sit in a plush seat for two hours without making a fuss. I've had so many WTF moments ... as I'm sure we all have ... when it comes to people doing ridiculous things during performances. 

[abatt]

9 hours ago, canbelto said:

I have accompanied school kids on these field trips and want to say that puh-leeze don't blame the teachers when this happens. School kids tend to get very hyped on any field trip and that energy is often very difficult to contain. I've been the subject of some extremely demeaning, insulting comments. One person said "How do you deal with these animals? I'd be afraid for my life." Right in front of a kid. It was very upsetting. 

As the daughter of two retired high school teachers, I would never blame the teachers for the conduct of the kids.  I admire teachers very much.

[Vs1]

I have seen Hallberg many times and cannot understand the hype.  He cannot lift very well.  He is very slight.  He does not have a beautiful face.  He seems very inward, rather than focusing on his partner. His book was very self-centered, too, as well as boring.  (I can't believe what he said about Michele or that he thought leaving her last name out was meaningful. He also ignored half the company.)  Half of what he said sounded like a cliche.  He is always seemingly injured.

I keep asking for enlightenment, but all anyone ever says is conclusory.

[angelica]

22 minutes ago, Vs1 said:

I have seen Hallberg many times and cannot understand the hype.  He cannot lift very well.  He is very slight.  He does not have a beautiful face.  He seems very inward, rather than focusing on his partner. His book was very self-centered, too, as well as boring.  (I can't believe what he said about Michele or that he thought leaving her last name out was meaningful. He also ignored half the company.)  Half of what he said sounded like a cliche.  He is always seemingly injured.

I keep asking for enlightenment, but all anyone ever says is conclusory.

Just a few brief thoughts: Hallberg has proportions that are ideal for ballet, and has always achieved a beautiful ballet "line." Before his injuries, I found him gorgeous to watch. When he jumped, he seemed to "float" in the air. When he was younger, his face seemed rounder, less pointed, and rather handsome. Admittedly, he had difficulty lifting ballerinas, which I was told was related to an earlier shoulder injury. IMHO, the worst mistake he made was going off to Russia and trying to become a Bolshoi dancer. If he had stayed here, built on his strengths and worked on his weaknesses, he might not have the tortured look on his face that he projects nowadays. And yes, the book portrays him as totally self-absorbed. 

[nanushka]

I think Hallberg is a beautiful dancer but I also admit to feeling he is sometimes overhyped. To me, he lacks the charisma that certain other top dancers have to a greater extent — e.g. Marcelo Gomes. Gomes is also a superior partner, but I'm mostly just thinking of how they compare when dancing solo. Marcelo is not as ideally proportioned, perhaps, and he lacks some of David's elegance; in certain ways, David is "better," and yet I find Marcelo's stage presence to be more engaging. Vs1's term "inward" is a perfect one for David. ("Chilly" might be another.) In certain roles, this quality can be an asset, but I almost always find that it's also something of a liability.

Edited March 26, 2018 by nanushka

[fondoffouettes]

As a showcase for Hallberg's beautiful lines, airy jumps and inward style of dancing, I can't think of any better piece than Ashton's Dance of the Blessed Spirits.

In terms of Hallberg being "slight" -- well, he's never been uber muscular, but his time in Russia seemed to make him slighter. There are videos of him dancing this same piece at the Kremlin in 2013, and it's pretty clear he's lost muscle mass in his upper body and butt. 

I, too, recall the mention of a shoulder injury, maybe in an interview. I think that's why Wiles and Part were doomed partnerships, even though a man of Hallberg's height should have, theoretically, been able to partner them.

I loved the warmth and generosity in Marcelo's dancing, as well as the sunny, boyish effervescence of Corella's. These aren't qualities I associate with Hallberg's dancing, but I never got the sense that he wasn't giving 100% to his partners or trying to overshadow them in any way. I think he's just a more reserved presence onstage, which could work to convey the noble hauteur of a prince. And then there times -- as with the explosive R&J  with Osipova -- that the passion in him was awakened.

The best dancing I saw from Hallberg was in the four or five years before he left for the Bolshoi, and in the couple of years after he joined. I agree that things probably would have gone better for him if he had never left for Russia, but from his memoir, it seems as if he was bored artistically at ABT and relished the one-on-one mentorship and coaching he received at the Bolshoi.

Hallberg's memoir wasn't a particularly fascinating read, but I didn't find it to be self-absorbed. However, I went into it expecting it to be all about him -- it was marketed as such -- so I wasn't surprised that he didn't cover lots of dancers in the company or describe things outside of his own personal experiences.

Edited March 26, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[abatt]

41 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I think Hallberg is a beautiful dancer but I also admit to feeling he is sometimes overhyped. To me, he lacks the charisma that certain other top dancers have to a greater extent — e.g. Marcelo Gomes. Gomes is also a superior partner, but I'm mostly just thinking of how they compare when dancing solo. Marcelo is not as ideally proportioned, perhaps, and he lacks some of David's elegance; in certain ways, David is "better," and yet I find Marcelo's stage presence to be more engaging. Vs1's term "inward" is a perfect one for David. ("Chilly" might be another.) In certain roles, this quality can be an asset, but I almost always find that it's also something of a liability.

Completely agree with that re Hallberg.  Perfect proportions, but not much stage presence, acting ability or charisma. He improved after his stint at the Bolshoi.  I always enjoyed Gomes more, despite the fact that he didn't have the perfect ballet body like Hallberg. 

[nanushka]

34 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

Hallberg's memoir wasn't a particularly fascinating read, but I didn't find it to be self-absorbed. However, I went into it expecting it to be all about him -- it was marketed as such -- so I wasn't surprised that he didn't cover lots of dancers in the company or describe things outside of his own personal experiences.

Yes, it seemed intended as a narration of a very personal journey — one that was obviously initiated by external physical experiences (the experiences of injury especially) but that was primarily unfolding within.

[Vs1]

Just now, abatt said:

Completely agree with that re Hallberg.  Perfect proportions, but not much stage presence, acting ability or charisma. He improved after his stint at the Bolshoi.  I always enjoyed Gomes more, despite the fact that he didn't have the perfect ballet body like Hallberg. 

" As a showcase for Hallberg's beautiful lines, airy jumps and inward style of dancing, I can't think of any better piece than Ashton's Dance of the Blessed Spirits. "

 

He is gentle an moving, but he seems to drag his feet, not float.

I agree, Gomes has charisma and stage presence.  He also has partnering strength and selflessness.  Maybe that is why I never understood the hype elsewhere.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Vs1
fix

[nanushka]

6 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

There are videos of him dancing this same piece at the Kremlin in 2013, and it's pretty clear he's lost muscle mass in his upper body and butt. 

Pardon the possible indelicacy, but I was pleased to see that the missing tuchus, which he seemed to have lost in Moscow, had by his return to the Met last spring found its way back to him. 

[Drew]

8 hours ago, Vs1 said:

I have seen Hallberg many times and cannot understand the hype.  He cannot lift very well.  He is very slight.  He does not have a beautiful face.  He seems very inward, rather than focusing on his partner. His book was very self-centered, too, as well as boring.  (I can't believe what he said about Michele or that he thought leaving her last name out was meaningful. He also ignored half the company.)  Half of what he said sounded like a cliche.  He is always seemingly injured.

I keep asking for enlightenment, but all anyone ever says is conclusory.

People do react to dancers very differently and no-one can talk someone into liking a dancer they don't like. But I'm puzzled by the remark that Hallberg is "always seemingly injured." There is no reason to think his injuries are not very real. As for hype--I take it that that can mean he is overpraised, and perhaps that was what you meant by the term. But for many, the word "hype" implies the praise is the result of a publicity machine. I don't think the praise for Hallberg over the course of his career has been "hype" in that latter sense--people genuinely admire his qualities and for reasons that can be clearly articulated--and have been articulated on this thread.  (Not everyone agrees; that's normal.) The move to the Bolshoi was "hyped," in that it got a lot of publicity and even publicity that crossed over to the general public -- perhaps that led to more attention/publicity to his career separate from consideration of what kind of dancer he is. But Hallberg seems to me to have earned his status.

I always liked seeing Hallberg but found his qualities as a performer a hint underwhelming until I saw him dance with Osipova. I thought those performances marked a breakthrough. He was surely  focused like a laser-beam on Osipova every time I saw them dance together. The Bolshoi helped develop him further as a performer too. For myself, I have greatly enjoyed the beauty of his dancing--and do find that that sort of pleasure is hard to put into words. But, say, I admire not just the line but the silky quality of the movement, the line "in motion" as it were.  I will admit I haven't always seen the quicksilver fluidity in his movements that I associate with, say, Anthony Dowell -- another "slight" dancer, legendary for his line to whom Hallberg is sometimes compared.

"Does not have a beautiful face"? I personally find Hallberg's slightly angular and unusual face rather striking and, I would say, even beautiful. When he is on stage--which is all I'm concerned with--he sometimes looks to me like a figure from a Burne-Jones painting.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Drew

[nanushka]

12 minutes ago, Drew said:

But I'm puzzled by the remark that Hallberg is "always seemingly injured." There is no reason to think his injuries are not very real.

I didn't write the remark you're responding to, but personally I read "always seemingly injured" with the seemingly modifying always rather than injured — i.e. "it seems like he's always injured" (with always being obviously somewhat hyperbolic), not "he always has these so-called injuries that may not be real."

I may, of course, be wrong.

Edited March 26, 2018 by nanushka

[nanushka]

12 minutes ago, Drew said:

For myself,  I have greatly enjoyed the beauty of his dancing--and do find that that is hard to put into words. But, say, not just the line but the silky quality of the movement, the line "in motion" as it were.

This is a very nice description and captures something that I, too, have seen in Hallberg's dancing at its best — with the above-posted video as an example (limited, of course, by its medium).

Edited March 26, 2018 by nanushka

[Drew]

8 minutes ago, nanushka said:

I didn't write the remark you're responding to, but personally I read "always seemingly injured" with the seemingly modifying always rather than injured — i.e. "it seems like he's always injured" (with always being obviously somewhat hyperbolic), not "he always has these so-called injuries that may not be real."

I may, of course, be wrong.

I bet you are right about that.

[Vs1]

Just now, nanushka said:

I didn't write the remark you're responding to, but personally I read "always seemingly injured" with the seemingly modifying always rather than injured — i.e. "it seems like he's always injured" (with always being obviously somewhat hyperbolic), not "he always has these so-called injuries that may not be real."

I may, of course, be wrong.

nope, not wrong

 

[Fleurfairy]

What’s the deal with the Met Opera’s online system? I was trying to get Parterre tickets for the Lane/Simkin Giselle and it’s not letting you choose your particular seats, just the section. It also won’t let you see which seats are available or already sold. Is this just because I’m using my iPhone or did they change their system? 

[nanushka]

20 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

What’s the deal with the Met Opera’s online system? I was trying to get Parterre tickets for the Lane/Simkin Giselle and it’s not letting you choose your particular seats, just the section. It also won’t let you see which seats are available or already sold. Is this just because I’m using my iPhone or did they change their system? 

I noticed it was glitchy on Sunday, so perhaps that's just the case again. I'm not aware of any policy/system change.

[laurel]

28 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

What’s the deal with the Met Opera’s online system? I was trying to get Parterre tickets for the Lane/Simkin Giselle and it’s not letting you choose your particular seats, just the section. It also won’t let you see which seats are available or already sold. Is this just because I’m using my iPhone or did they change their system? 

iPhone may be better for viewing and moving around the new website, but ordering tix still best on a laptop or tablet.  I had zero problems with seat selection when I ordered via laptop yesterday.  Plenty of great seats available for Lane/Simkin Giselle!

[fondoffouettes]

32 minutes ago, Fleurfairy said:

What’s the deal with the Met Opera’s online system? I was trying to get Parterre tickets for the Lane/Simkin Giselle and it’s not letting you choose your particular seats, just the section. It also won’t let you see which seats are available or already sold. Is this just because I’m using my iPhone or did they change their system? 

Yes, it’s an iPhone thing. I’ve never been able to choose an individual seat on my phone (or at least I haven’t figured out how). I’ve always had to use my laptop for Met tickets.

If there’s truly no way to choose your seat on a phone, that’s so dumb! NYCB’s ticketing system does let you do so... I believe both organizations have custom-built online ticketing systems, too.

Edited March 27, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[seashell]

I found two tricks around it: 

1. Agree to the unspecified seat, go to checkout, and then click on "change my seat". That should bring you to the full seat map

2. In the url, replace "best-available" with "seat-selector". That will take you straight to the full seat map. For instance, the url for the May 29 Bayadere should look like this: https://www.metopera.org/seat-selector?perf=15043#/

This seems to work consistently on my tablet but not on my phone.

Edited March 27, 2018 by seashell

[Marta]

DREW said:  

I always liked seeing Hallberg but found his qualities as a performer a hint underwhelming until I saw him dance with Osipova. I thought those performances marked a breakthrough. He was surely  focused like a laser-beam on Osipova every time I saw them dance together. The Bolshoi helped develop him further as a performer too. For myself, I have greatly enjoyed the beauty of his dancing--and do find that that sort of pleasure is hard to put into words. But, say, I admire not just the line but the silky quality of the movement, the line "in motion" as it were.  I will admit I haven't always seen the quicksilver fluidity in his movements that I associate with, say, Anthony Dowell -- another "slight" dancer, legendary for his line to whom Hallberg is sometimes compared.

"Does not have a beautiful face"? I personally find Hallberg's slightly angular and unusual face rather striking and, I would say, even beautiful. When he is on stage--which is all I'm concerned with--he sometimes looks to me like a figure from a Burne-Jones painting.

I thought Hallberg was great with Osipova in Giselle in 2012.  I would like to see them dance together in other works.  I was not at all impressed by his Apollo. Interesting that you made the comparison to Dowell--they have a similar beauty of line. I saw Dowell long long ago in Bayadere.   I appreciate Hallberg's  unusual face.  That he resembles someone from a Bourne Jones painting makes me smile. Very true! It sounds ridiculous even as I write it, but if he were an actor I think that face  would be perfect as Hamlet. 

[Fleurfairy]

Yes, the problem was the iPhone. Thanks for your help guys!

[ivypink]

"Does not have a beautiful face"

That's a bit cruel. Having a beautiful face is not a prerequisite to being an excellent dancer. I can think of many dancers whose face is less than handsome/beautiful.

I think David Hallberg has a beautiful physique, especially his high arches.