Farrell Fan

True enough! Funny, though: I misread "1993" at first as 1933! 1933 saw an act of extreme ballet civility -- the founding in Paris of Les Ballets 1933 by Edward James as a gift to his wife, the dancer Tilly Losch. Just to clarify -- I was born in 1932.

I don't know about "most major ballet companies," but I haven't expected acts of civility, random or otherwise, from NYCB, since 1993.

Well why should they spell it the French way, like we do? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to spell it Chaikovskii or Chaykovskiy? Yes. it would make more sense to spell it either of those two ways, but that doesn't explain "Cajkovskij."

Cajkovskij? I am mystified by this rendering of the composer's name. Is it Milanese dialect or what?

A few years ago, the taped music stopped just a few seconds after the start of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet's performance of "La Sonnambula" at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The dancers stopped dancing and the curtain came down. It seemed to take forever before the problem was fixed but eventually the performance was restarted, from the beginning. That seemed a much better option than dancing a ballet like Sonnambula in silence.

This is somewhat off-topic, but permit me to indulge myself. A long time ago, the logo of NYCB was Orpheus's lyre as designed by Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi's design found its way into a few items for sale on the Promenade of the NY State Theater, among them an attractive necktie that I always wore at gala NYCB occasions. One year I wore it at one of the annual SAB Workshop performances. At intermission, I said hello to Suzanne Farrell, who gently touched my tie and told me she liked it. Noguchi's design is no longer the NYCB logo, and I no longer see Suzanne at the Workshop. For years now, the Noguchi necktie has resided safely in the closet, and when I go to SAB or NYCB performances these days, I never wear a tie.

Shaun O'Brien, also my favorite Drosselmeyer, is quoted in Repertory in Review: "He's changed over the years -- changed and darkened. In the beginning, he was fat, in a Biedermeier costume. Now he's slim and wears period clothes, more like the original illustrations. I devised a lot of the new things with the clock. Once Balanchine told me to look a little more like Robespierre. Balanchine himself played the part rather like a very dotty old doctor, with glasses."

"As the young balletomane seated next to me at Saturday's matinee breathlessly asked, "Is that real snow, Mommy?" The adult eye sees creaky sets, hopelessly dated costumes and intricate choreography. The child sees magic." As the grandmotherly woman seated near me yesterday was overheard saying during the Waltz of the Snowflakes at NYCB's Nutcracker "The snow is so beautiful. It looks real." Adults are not immune to Balanchine's magic.

Thanks, rg and Mel.

I am puzzled by the phrase, "prepared with Balanchine's participation."

Since the Viking edition came out in 1984, I've pretty much left the original Eakins Press tome alone, unless in need of exercise, specifically heavy lifting. Time will tell whether the on-line work will similarly supplant the Viking book, but in any event, it's nice to know it's there. Thanks for the news, rg.

I'm curious about a couple of Balanchine ballets from the fifties -- "Roma" (1955) and "Native Dancers" (1959). The first was the other Balanchine ballet to Bizet, and the second, named for a famous racehorse, was a showcase for a pair of NYCB thoroughbreds: Patricia Wilde and Jacques d'Amboise. I never saw either ballet, and I'm not optimistic about ever seeing them. Peter Martins seems uninterested in Balanchine revivals. Perhaps Suzanne Farrell's Balanchine Preservation Initiative might be interested, but maybe not, since they predate her arrival at NYCB. Does anyone remember them?

I have a friend who, on gala occasions at the NY State Theater, is able to identify celebrities on the promenade just by looking down at the tops of their heads. Such a talent is required here. But seriously, it's a beautiful photo -- thanks for posting it, rg.

Tanaquil Le Clercq used to constuct Times crossword puzzles ocasionally. I particularly remember one on Valentines Day which had little hearts in it. Also there was a daily puzzle some fifteen or twenty years ago the theme of which was Balanchine and Stravinsky. I sent a note to the woman who did it, whose name I've forgotten, alas. She wrote back charmingly and gratefully. Apparently she never got much fan mail.

I wish I"d written this. God bless Alistair Macaulay!

I was going to ask if all those people fit in that extraordinary-looking plane, but Major Johnson anticipated the question and provided all relevant (and fascinating) information.

Thanks from me, too, Jack, for your comprehensive and, despite any technical difficulties, seamless report.

I can't answer your questions, Mike, but I very much appreciate your post. Thanks.

Condolences. Sad that this happened while Suzanne Farrell's season is going on. She never wavered in her gratitude and devotion to him.

It's hard for me to believe that what used to be a major event on my calandar in decades gone by -- Opening Night of New York City Ballet -- came and went while I remained oblivious. This is partly because it conflicted with Opening Night of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center. I didn't go to that either, but I would have liked to. At any rate, thanks to drb and ViolinConcerto for the reports from Chief Martins's territory, and to zerbinetta for rightly calling attention to drb's way with words. So far, no reports from Washington.

Thank you, Major.

I see that in a couple of early performances of the NYCB Nutcracker, Drossselmeier will be portrayed by a pair of extremely familiar "guest artists," Robert LaFosse and Andrei Kramerevsky. I'm not sure that "Krammy" was ever on the roster of NYCB, but he's been on the SAB faculty for years. As for LaFosse, he went from NYCB Principal to Guest Artist almost overnight, as I recall. I suppose it has to do with how the dancer is compensated, but can anyone shed some light on this comewhat myterious transformative process?

Two or three times in my many years of NYCB attendance, I have sat next to or behind one or another former dancer who used to dance the ballerina role of the ballet being performed that night. This has had an inhibiting effect on me, and rather than concentrating on the performance and my own reactions, I have surreptitiously paid attention to the reactions of the former dancer, wondering why she chose to applaud at one point but not another, what she just whispered to her friend; whether that was a look of boredom that just shadowed her countenance, etc. I realize this is just a weakness in my character and sheds no light on this subject.

I'll be there in spirit, but I can no longer make it to the Kennedy Center in person for the this week's performances. Looking forward to BTers reports. Thanks very much. Lou

Thanks for the lovely reminiscences, Ms. Leigh.