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ABT 2015 Met season


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From the company (excuse all the "more" and "second page" references - I'm on a crappy computer):

NEW YORK PREMIERE OF ALEXEI RATMANSKY’S

ALL-NEW PRODUCTION OF THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

TO HIGHLIGHT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE’S

2015 SPRING SEASON AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

MAY 11-JULY 4, 2015

75TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON TO OPEN WITH WEEK OF REPERTORY PROGRAMS FEATURING HISTORIC WORKS

75TH ANNIVERSARY GALA

SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, MAY 18

GUEST ARTISTS FOR THE SEASON TO INCLUDE

SEMYON CHUDIN, MARIA KOCHETKOVA, DENYS NEDAK,

MARIANELA NUÑEZ, EVGENIA OBRAZTSOVA,

NATALIA OSIPOVA AND OLGA SMIRNOVA

American Ballet Theatre’s 2015 season at the Metropolitan Opera House was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The season will be highlighted by the New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s all-new production of The Sleeping Beauty, a revival of Lar Lubovitch’s Othello and repertory programs featuring historic works in celebration of the Company’s 75th Anniversary Season.

Principal Dancers for the 2015 Metropolitan Opera House season include Roberto Bolle, Isabella Boylston, Herman Cornejo, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Polina Semionova, Hee Seo, Daniil Simkin, Cory Stearns, Diana Vishneva and James Whiteside. Guest Artists for the season include Semyon Chudin, principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, Maria Kochetkova, principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet, Denys Nedak, soloist with the National Ballet of Ukraine, Marianela Nuñez, principal dancer with The Royal

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ABT SPRING SEASON AT MET ANNOUNCED – Page 2

Ballet, Evgenia Obraztsova, principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, Natalia Osipova,

principal dancer with The Royal Ballet and Olga Smirnova, leading soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet.

75th Anniversary Gala

Breaking with tradition, ABT’s annual Spring Gala, this year in celebration of the Company’s Diamond Anniversary, will be held during the second week of the Met season, on Monday, May 18 at 6:30 P.M. The evening will feature performances spanning ABT’s seven and a half decades. With guest speakers and film excerpts, the evening will honor the historic of ballets and the dancers who have shaped the Company's identity. For information on ABT’s 75th Anniversary Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3310.

New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty

The New York Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty will take place on Friday evening, May 29 led by Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg. This all-new production set to the classic score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, with original choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, will receive its World Premiere on March 3, 2015 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. The Sleeping Beauty will be given eleven performances at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 29 through 30 and June 8 through 13.

Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty will feature scenery and costumes by Tony Award®-winning designer Richard Hudson. Hudson’s designs will be based on the historic work of Léon Bakst, who created a seminal version of The Sleeping Beauty for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1921. The production represents Hudson’s third collaboration with Ratmansky for American Ballet Theatre, having previously designed scenery and costumes for The Nutcracker (2010) and costumes for Dumbarton (2011).

Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty is American Ballet Theatre’s fourth production of the full-length ballet. The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere by the Imperial Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg on January 15, 1890. ABT presented its

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ABT SPRING SEASON AT MET ANNOUNCED – Page 3

first full-length production of the ballet with choreography by Mary Skeaping from the original of Marius Petipa and the staging of Nicholas Sergeyev, at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, on June 15, 1976. The Sleeping Beauty, with choreography after Petipa and staging and additional choreography by Kenneth MacMillan, received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre at the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, on February 11, 1987. A new production with choreography after Petipa and additional choreography and staging by Kevin McKenzie, Gelsey Kirkland and Michael Chernov received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on June 1, 2007.

ABT gratefully acknowledges Lead Sponsor of The Sleeping Beauty, David H. Koch. Additional leadership support is generously provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation. ABT gratefully acknowledges Linda Allard for her generous support of costumes for The Sleeping Beauty. Additional support is generously provided by The Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, Caroline and Edward Hyman, Howard S. Paley, and The Ted and Mary Jo Shen Charitable Gift Fund. Support has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production of

The Sleeping Beauty is a co-production with Teatro alla Scala.

Historic Repertory

American Ballet Theatre will open its Spring season with a week of repertory programs celebrating the Company’s heritage. Eight performances, May 11 through 16, will include Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Antony Tudor’s Pillar of Fire and Jardin aux Lilas, Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo.

Hee Seo will lead the season’s first performance of Michel Fokine’s Les Sylphides on Monday evening, May 11. Set to music by Frédéric Chopin, Les Sylphides, a one-act plotless work, was given its Company Premiere at Ballet Theatre's inaugural performance on January 11, 1940 at the Center Theatre in New York City. The ballet received its first performance at the Maryinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg on March 8, 1908. This production of Les Sylphides features scenery by Alexandre Benois and lighting by Nananne Porcher.

The Company will give the season’s first performance of Antony Tudor’s Pillar of Fire on Monday evening, May 11, with Gillian Murphy in the role of Hagar. Pillar of Fire, set to Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), received its

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World Premiere by Ballet Theatre on April 8, 1942 performed by Nora Kaye (Hagar),

Lucia Chase (Eldest Sister), Annabelle Lyon (Youngest Sister), Antony Tudor (The Friend) and Hugh Laing (The Young Man From the House Opposite). ABT's current production was revived in 2003 with scenery and costumes by Robert Perdziola and lighting by Duane Schuler. Pillar of Fire is staged for ABT by Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner.

Jardin aux Lilas will receive its first performance of the season on Tuesday evening, May 12, led by Hee Seo (Caroline), Cory Stearns (Her Lover), Veronika Part (An Episode in His Past) and Roman Zhurbin (The Man She Must Marry). Jardin aux Lilas, choreographed by Antony Tudor for Ballet Rambert in 1936, entered the repertory of Ballet Theatre on January 15, 1940. Set to music by Ernest Chausson, Jardin aux Lilas features sets and costumes by Peter Cazalet. Amanda McKerrow and John Gardner staged this production for ABT.

The first of four performances of Fancy Free on Monday evening, May 11 will be led by Herman Cornejo, David Hallberg and Marcelo Gomes. Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, the story of three sailors on shore leave in New York City during World War II, is set to a score by Leonard Bernstein and features scenery by Oliver Smith, costumes by Kermit Love and lighting by Jennifer Tipton after original designs by Nananne Porcher. Robbins’ work received its World Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on April 18, 1944 at the Metropolitan Opera House. Fancy Free is staged for ABT by Jean-Pierre Frohlich.

George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations will have its first performance on Tuesday evening, May 12, led by Polina Semionova and Cory Stearns. Theme and Variations, set to music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, received its World Premiere on November 26, 1947, danced by Alicia Alonso and Igor Youskevitch. This production, featuring sets and costumes by Zach Brown, with lighting by Brad Fields, received its World Premiere at the David H. Koch Theater on October 30, 2013, led by Gillian Murphy and James Whiteside.

Xiomara Reyes and David Hallberg will lead the season’s first performance of Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo on Tuesday, May 12. Rodeo, featuring music by Aaron Copland

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ABT SPRING SEASON AT MET ANNOUNCED – Page 5

and scenery by Oliver Smith, was first presented by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at

the Metropolitan Opera House on October 16, 1942, with Agnes de Mille as the Cowgirl, Frederic Franklin as the Champion Roper and Casimir Kokitch as the Head Wrangler. Rodeo was first performed by Ballet Theatre in Wiesbaden, Germany on August 14, 1950. A new production, featuring sets by Oliver Smith and costumes by Santo Loquasto, was given its Revival Premiere in 1989 in St. Louis, Missouri. Rodeo will be staged for ABT by Paul Sutherland.

Revival Premiere

Commissioned by American Ballet Theatre in 1997, Lar Lubovitch’s Othello, last performed by ABT in 2007, will have its Revival Premiere on Tuesday evening, May 19 with Julie Kent as Desdemona and Marcelo Gomes in the title role. Choreographed by Lubovitch and set to a commissioned score by Elliot Goldenthal, the full-length work features scenery by George Tsypin, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward and projections by Wendall K. Harrington. Othello received its World Premiere on May 23, 1997 at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City led by Desmond Richardson (Othello) and Sandra Brown (Desdemona). Othello will be given four performances through May 21.

Full-Length Ballets

American Ballet Theatre’s 2015 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House includes five additional full-length ballets beginning with the classic Giselle on Friday evening, May 22 led by Hee Seo in the title role, opposite Cory Stearns as Albrecht and Gillian Murphy as Myrta. Set to music by Adolphe Adam, with scenery by Gianni Quaranta, costumes by Anna Anni and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, Giselle features choreography after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa and has been staged for ABT by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The world premiere of Giselle, one of the oldest continually‑performed ballets, occurred at the Theatre de l’Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on June 28, 1841. The ballet was first presented by ABT (then Ballet Theatre) at the Center Theatre in New York City on January 12, 1940 with choreography by Anton Dolin and scenery and costumes by Lucinda Ballard. The leading roles were

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danced by Annabelle Lyon and Anton Dolin. American Ballet Theatre’s sixth production,

featuring scenery by Gianni Quaranta and costumes by Anna Anni, was created for the film Dancers, produced in 1987 by Cannon Films. This production’s first public performance was given on March 20, 1987 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Marianna Tcherkassky as Giselle and Kevin McKenzie as Albrecht. The current staging is by McKenzie, using the Quaranta and Anni designs. Giselle will receive eight performances through May 28.

The first of eight performances of La Bayadère on Monday, June 1 will be led by Polina Semionova as Nikiya and Gillian Murphy as Gamzatti. Choreographed by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa, La Bayadère is set to music by Ludwig Minkus, specially arranged by John Lanchbery, and features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. The full‑length La Bayadère received its World Premiere by the Imperial Ballet at the Bolshoi Kamenny in St. Petersburg on February 4, 1877. La Bayadère, Act II (The Kingdom of the Shades) was first performed in the West by the Leningrad‑Kirov Ballet in 196l. Natalia Makarova first staged The Kingdom of the Shades scene for American Ballet Theatre in 1974 and it received its premiere at the State Theater in New York City on July 3 of that year, danced by Cynthia Gregory as Nikiya and Ivan Nagy as Solor. Makarova subsequently produced and choreographed the complete version of La Bayadère (in three acts) for American Ballet Theatre, which received its World Premiere on May 21, 1980 with Natalia Makarova as Nikiya, Anthony Dowell as Solor and Cynthia Harvey as Gamzatti.

Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet will be given eight performances beginning Monday evening, June 15 with Polina Semionova and Cory Stearns in the title roles. Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 1985 with Leslie Browne and Robert La Fosse in the leading roles.

Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and set to the score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, will be given eight performances

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beginning Monday evening, June 22 with Gillian Murphy as Odette-Odile, Marcelo Gomes

as Prince Siegfried and Cory Stearns as von Rothbart. The first production of Swan Lake, with choreography by Julius (Wentzel) Reisinger, received its World Premiere by the Russian Imperial Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow on March 4, 1877. Swan Lake as we know it, with the Petipa/Ivanov choreography, was given its first full‑length production at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, on January 27, 1895. This production of Swan Lake, featuring scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler, premiered on March 24, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. with Julie Kent (Odette-Odile), Angel Corella (Prince Siegfried) and Marcelo Gomes (von Rothbart).

American Ballet Theatre’s 2015 Spring Season will conclude with eight performances of Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, beginning Monday evening, June 29, with Hee Seo and Cory Stearns in the leading roles. Set to the score by Sergei Prokofiev, Cinderella features sets and costumes by David Walker. The ballet received its World Premiere by Sadler’s Wells Ballet on December 23, 1948 at London’s Royal Opera House with Moira Shearer as Cinderella, Michael Somes as the Prince, Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann as the Stepsisters and Alexander Grant as the Jester. The ballet received its ABT Company Premiere on June 9, 2014 led by Hee Seo (Cinderella) and James Whiteside (The Prince). Cinderella was directed, supervised and staged by Wendy Ellis Somes amd Malin Thoors.

ABTKids

ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet, is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 13 at 11:30 A.M. All tickets for ABTKids are $25.

Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2015 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, on sale beginning Monday, October 27, are available by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org.

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ABT SPRING SEASON AT MET ANNOUNCED – Page 8

Othello is generously supported through an endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman. This production has been made possible with public funds from the New York State

Council on the Arts.

Les Sylphides has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pillar of Fire is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Avery and Andrew F. Barth and Carmen Barth in honor of Antony Tudor.

Jardin aux Lilas has been generously underwritten by Marjorie S. Isaac.

Fancy Free was originally underwritten by a grant from David A. Klein and the Equitable Financial Companies. Fancy Free is underwritten by an endowed gift from Avery and Andy Barth in honor of Laima and Rudolf Barth.

ABT gratefully acknowledges Mr. and Mrs. John C. Sites, Jr. for their generous support of Theme and Variations through both an endowed gift and an additional special Leading Sponsor gift for costumes in 2013. Cindy and Chip Murphy are also Leading Sponsors of Theme and Variations. Additional support has been provided by the Lloyd E. Rigler-Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation, Richard S. Ungerleider, M.D., and Rose Ellen and Gerald Greene.

American Ballet Theatre's performances of Giselle are generously supported through an endowed gift from Sharon Patrick.

La Bayadère is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Drs. Philip and Marjorie Gerdine. La Bayadère is presented in loving memory of Mrs. Caroline Newhouse. A generous grant from the Rockefeller Foundation has made this production possible. Major funding for this production has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

American Ballet Theatre's performances of Romeo and Juliet are generously underwritten through an endowed gift from Ali and Monica Wambold.

Swan Lake has been generously underwritten by R. Chemers Neustein. Costumes for Swan Lake are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.

Cinderella is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production is generously supported through an endowed gift from Monica, Stefano, Cosima, and Tassilo Corsi. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre. 
Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. 
ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

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Oh my goodness. So much to absorb here.

Biggest shocker - Hallberg and Osipova are NOT dancing in Giselle together. Or has the casting administrator gotten things mixed up, because Gomes is dancing with Osipova, but Hallberg is dancing with Vishneva. Huh? That's an odd switcheroo.

Lane gets a SB, thank heavens.

Copeland is doing R&J - and w/ Gorak? Cannot see her as Juliet in a million years.

Copeland is getting her NY SL, but Hammoudi is only doing Purple von Rothbart, not Siegfried.

Abrera gets 2 Cinderella's. Hooray!

Gorak is definitely being pushed w/ quite a few leading and plum secondary roles in: SB, Romeo, Cinderella, Othello.....

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Obratsova, Smirnova, Chudin, Osipova, Nunez. Better start savin' my pennies now.

Is Osipova not participating in the US Royal Ballet tours? She seems to be spending lots of time at ABT during those tour weeks.

Agree. Can't imagine Copeland as Juliet.

Also can't imagine Kochetkova as Nikiya.

It seems like they couldn't pair up Hallberg and Osipova in Giselle because Hallberg is doing the world premiere of SB the next night. Maybe Osipova could not alter her schedule due to RB commitments for an alternate Giselle date for the ABT season. Gomes Osipova will be thrilling!

Good news: Vishneva is taking on a tutu role as Aurora after years of doing only long skirt roles.

Bad news: Vishneva is not doing Bayadere this season.

Has ABT cut ties with Cojocaru? She's not on the schedule at all.

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Glad to see Lane getting 2 Sleeping Beauties and Abrera doing Cinderella. I'm disappointed that Lane didn't get Juliet. I too have trouble picturing Copeland in the role. Nunez is a nice surprise. I'm a little disappointed that Kochtakova is a guest again. Don't get me wrong. I've seen her, and she is an excellent dancer. I just don't see her as outstanding enough to use instead of the home team. Maybe ABT is trying to sign her as a company member.

From the casting I don't see a promotion for Lane or Abrera in the future. Neither are being given a whole lot of opportunities. Copeland maybe. KM seems to be casting her in a lot.

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So happy for Abrera getting 2 Cinderella's (how long has it been since she's gotten cast in a lead classical role?) and Lane getting 2 Sleeping Beauties. flowers.gif Also nice to see them pushing Gorak. ABT really needs to develop another great male principal, especially after the last 3 questionable male principal promotions.

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I did a rough tabulation of the distribution for the men (any errors are entirely mine). Principals are in bold:

01 Stearns (16)

02 Hallberg (15)

03 Whiteside (12)

04 Cornejo (11)

05 Gomes (9)

06 Gorak (8)

06 Hammoudi (8)

08 TBA (5)

09 Bolle (4)

10 Forster (3)

10 Simkin (3)

12 Salstein (2)

12 Zhurbin (2)

14 Baca (1)

14 Chudin (1)

14 Nedak (1)

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From the casting I don't see a promotion for Lane or Abrera in the future. Neither are being given a whole lot of opportunities. Copeland maybe. KM seems to be casting her in a lot.

vipa, do you think there's any possibility of Abrera getting a Giselle in the season after this one, when Kent, Herrera, and Reyes will be retired, or should I give up all hope?

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From the casting I don't see a promotion for Lane or Abrera in the future. Neither are being given a whole lot of opportunities. Copeland maybe. KM seems to be casting her in a lot.

vipa, do you think there's any possibility of Abrera getting a Giselle in the season after this one, when Kent, Herrera, and Reyes will be retired, or should I give up all hope?

Angelica my opinion is that if KM hasn't given Stella a shot at Giselle yet, he isn't going to. I think it's crazy that Kent is doing Giselle this season. Also I think Stella should have been given Giselle before Boylston. That was not to be. Seo, Boylston & Copeland are KM's favored ones. Abrera and Lane are not. That's the way it seems to me. I don't know what is going to happen in terms of promotions but I predict Copeland and maybe a poaching of Kochtakova (if she's willing). I'd love to hear more thoughts from others.

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Exciting casting for the season overall. I'll admit it that I'm pretty heartbroken to not see Part listed for Sleeping Beauty. Her last performance as Aurora (with Gomes) was such a triumph -- probably one of her all-time best performances with the company. I wouldn't be surprised if Ratmansky casts her as the Lilac Fairy for the premiere, but that's a small consolation. I suppose it's also possible that Part is planning to retire Aurora from from her repertoire. I'm pretty surprised to see Vishneva returning to such a demanding tutu role when she'll be nearly 39 years old. I'm fascinated to see what she'll do with the role. Her O/O with ABT was gorgeous and I only wish we could have seen her dance more classical roles with the company.

It's really very hard for me to imagine a Gorak/Copeland partnership for R&J. That ballet depends on swoony lifts that should not be modified, so how exactly is this going to work out? It's easier for me to imagine Copeland flinging Gorak around than vice versa. Also, Copeland is a pretty mediocre actress whose simpering facial expressions do her no favors, so I hope she gets some expert coaching from Ferri or someone equally qualified. I'm not really a fan of Lane's per se, but I think she would make a heartbreaking Juliet. I don't get the sense that she has a fantastic rapport with Gorak, though. Maybe Copeland and Gorak will have onstage chemistry? That's a factor lacking from so many of ABT's recent partnerships, so I'll sit back and hope to be surprised...

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Obratsova, Smirnova, Chudin, Osipova, Nunez. Better start savin' my pennies now.

Is Osipova not participating in the US Royal Ballet tours? She seems to be spending lots of time at ABT during those tour weeks.

Agree. Can't imagine Copeland as Juliet.

Also can't imagine Kochetkova as Nikiya.

It seems like they couldn't pair up Hallberg and Osipova in Giselle because Hallberg is doing the world premiere of SB the next night. Maybe Osipova could not alter her schedule due to RB commitments for an alternate Giselle date for the ABT season. Gomes Osipova will be thrilling!

Good news: Vishneva is taking on a tutu role as Aurora after years of doing only long skirt roles.

Bad news: Vishneva is not doing Bayadere this season.

Has ABT cut ties with Cojocaru? She's not on the schedule at all.

I must be blind because I can't find Smirnova or Chudin on the schedule. Very excited to see Nunez! And Obraztsova! And Osipova!!!! We get Osipova back for a large part of the season.

I know I'm in the minority but after her Giselle (plus 2 years of SL cancellations) I was not surprised to not see Cojo on the calendar. I'm not at all upset about that.

I'm glad that Sarah gets SB (and evening ones). I don't plan on seeing Misty but can't see her as either O/O or Juliet.

I also think they must have mixed up the pairs with Diana and Natalia's Giselles. But can't wait to see them!

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1. interesting to see that Gomes is actually doing Purple Von Rothbart TWICE this season...never thought I'd see the day when he's be cast in the role again that many times, barring injuries to other dancers...but I guess that's what happens after the departures of Radetsky and Matthews

2. there's a 3 evening stretch of R&J that I'm VERY intrigued by (W, Th, F evening)...if i were to be in NYC that week, i guess that's where all my money will go...oh and the i'll need lots of tissues too!

3. FINALLY!!!!! Thrilled to see Sarah and Stella get principals roles...BOO there aren't more. At this point, I get the sense that Sarah is just not KM's type, as for Stella, I wonder if she's personally chosen to not push harder -- I mean, her husband has "retired" and she has other interests and endeavors. SB for Sarah is LONG overdue. Cinderella for Stella is PERFECT.

Yes, I those of us on this board would give A LOT to see a SB or Giselle for Stella too, but if this year was a perfect time with the new SB, and she doesn't get an Aurora...I don't think that's going to happen. I'll personally, still hold out for Giselle since with the THREE retirements this season, there are some openings for that role (Kent, Herrera, and Reyes have one each this year)...provided of course that the ballet will remain as an "annual" Met season full-length -- will KM give her a chance? (when will he start realizing that she often outshines the lead/principal when she's in secondary/soloist roles?) -- I get Giselle isn't SL or even SB or R&J...but does it sell well to the general public?

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It's really very hard for me to imagine a Gorak/Copeland partnership for R&J. That ballet depends on swoony lifts that should not be modified, so how exactly is this going to work out? It's easier for me to imagine Copeland flinging Gorak around than vice versa.

Thanks for the good laugh (and visual)!

I don't understand this pairing at all (or Copeland being cast as Juliet). Gorak and Copeland are such opposites, and I don't see that working to their favor here.

Also, I thought it surprising that Bolle is doing two farewell performances - with Kent in R&J and Herrera in SB. I really thought Gomes would do Kent's at least.

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I think Gorak could be pretty wonderful as Romeo as far as the solo dancing goes, but the fact that various lifts of Xiomara Reyes were modified for him last season in Cinderella makes me wonder. If he can't do difficult lifts with the wispy thin and tiny Reyes, how is he going to manage the unwispy Copeland? He better start eating his Wheaties now.

ONe thing that struck me as odd is that most of the guest artist spots are for women. Their problem is when the ABT men start getting injured. There is a TBA slot for the Solors who will dance with Semionova. I wonder if they will teach Solor to Hammoudi.

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I'm really surprised Hallberg is getting such a heavy workload. He's been injury prone the last couple of years and I hope he can make it through this season's ABT.

Excited for Stella getting Cinderella, Veronika Part once again getting evening performances, and Evgenia Obraztsova as a guest, as she doesn't tour much with her home company (Bolshoi).

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We'll see how much of the Hallberg casting ends up being ficitional. He is still in recovery mode. Last time he was returning from a long term injury he was replaced in numerous ballets a few weeks before the ABT season started, diminishing his appearances by about half. Stay tuned.

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In clicking through the principal bios to compare workload, I noticed that Simkin is cast in very few things. Seems very odd, though I suppose this year's rep. doesn't really alight with the types of roles he usually dances.

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I think Gorak could be pretty wonderful as Romeo as far as the solo dancing goes, but the fact that various lifts of Xiomara Reyes were modified for him last season in Cinderella makes me wonder. If he can't do difficult lifts with the wispy thin and tiny Reyes, how is he going to manage the unwispy Copeland? He better start eating his Wheaties now.

ONe thing that struck me as odd is that most of the guest artist spots are for women. Their problem is when the ABT men start getting injured. There is a TBA slot for the Solors who will dance with Semionova. I wonder if they will teach Solor to Hammoudi.

I think Thomas Foster would make a wonderful Solor.He has the height,strength and some acting ability.

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Yes, Simkin does seem very underutilized. I'm sure he'll end up as Bluebird in SB, but even so that's a very light load for a principal dancer.

Also, it appears that McKenzie has determined that Murphy is not suitable for Nikiya. She's done it for two years, but this year only Gamzatti. Can't say I disagree, having seen her Nikiya. In addition, McKenzie has not cast her as Giselle, even though she performed the role with New Zealand ballet. Maybe next season?

Surprised they cast Misty in a Wed matinee. Is school out by the time SL week begins. Otherwise all of her adoring young fan base will have to cut school.

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