Farrell Fan

My memories of Doris Day predate her movie career, to when she was a great "girl singer" with Les Brown and his Band of Renown. She sounded a bit like Peggy Lee in those days.

What might help in this regard is a brief note in the program about the plot. Mr. Kirstein seemed to think his audience was educated in the classics and required no such asistance, but this is no longer the case, if it ever was.

You didn't ask me, but I think it's because Orpheus is not a favorite of the company's current audience. The audience just doesn't respond to it.

The Verdi Requiem is so wonderfully operatic that I wonder if anyone ever even tried to limit the applause for it. And of course the Pope gets a lot of applause from the faithful, even if he has a shaky voice.

Thanks, Bart. I wonder what Nora Barnacle would have thought of such a gathering.

As a sponsored audience member I would want to be consulted on repertory and casting, and require free admission for life for me and a guest. The guest might be my sponsor but not necessarily. For the City Center season, I would need a guarantee that nobody taller than 5' 5' be allowed to sit in front of us. In return, my sponsor would be granted a discreet credit in the program in no larger than 10 point type. Thanks for asking, Zerbinetta.

The last time I looked, all the ABT principal dancers had sponsors listed in the program. Now will the ABT principal dancers all sponsor students? Anybody want to sponsor this audience member?

Amen.

I didn't see her do it, FF, but I think I saw photo(s) of Ashley Bouder barefoot in BVC, hair in a top-knot. Oops! I did see Bouder in the part, but didn't notice her hair. Apologies for the misinformation.

You're right about the dancer under the hair, drb. Everybody who did the role subsequently also did it with short hair, but the memory of Kate Johnson remains indelible.

Was it the New York City Center Opera? Perhaps it was. I do know that Ed Sullivan, not so nimble of tongue, introduced Villella and MacBride on one or more occasions as being from the New York City Center Ballet.

This is an enjoyable subject. I want to thank carbro for mentioning the great Christine Sarry and canbelto for mentioning Suzanne's current hairdo. Although not strictly speaking a ballerina, the short-haired Kate Johnson has never been equaled in "Barber Violin Concerto."

When Morton Baum, president of New York's City Center, invited the group known as Ballet Society to become the New York City Ballet in 1948, it was a great moment in dance history. Balanchine and Kirstein had arrived, in more ways than one. The groups organized by Mssrs. K and B in the thirties and forties had a variety of names -- American Ballet, Ballet Caravan, American Ballet Caravan, Ballet Society. But the emergence of New York City Ballet gave the company stability and led to its international fame. Incidentally, the Feld Ballet changed its name to Ballet Tech a few years ago. I suppose the name is meant to have a scholastic sound, since many of its dancers come from the New York City public schools, but the name doesn't do it for me.

The dancer is identified in the ad as Vivienne Wong. I agree it's a stunning photo. As a former copywriter I was interested in the copy. No breakthrough there.

Oct. 4, 1982: Apollo, with Martins, Farrell, Nichols, Calegari.

According to the Kennedy Center, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet's next appearance there won't be this fall, but in June 2007, as part of the "Shakespeare in Washington" festival. Last year I saw references in print to the National Ballet of Canada bringing Balanchine's Don Q to Toronto this year. Anyone know if that's still the plan?

It seems to me that Balanchine was not a man of his time, but, like his ballets, way ahead of it. What other man of his time could have had as many wives and muses while remaining on good terms with all of them?

Me, too. I hope this program comes off. Something like it was scheduled for this past November, but was eventually replaced by an all-Balanchine program -- not that there was anything wrong with that. Excerpts from the love scene from Bejart's "Romeo and Juliet" can be seen in "Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse," danced by Farrell and her great partner during the Bejart years, Jorge Donn, who died in 1992. In her autobiography, Suzanne says she and Donn had in common being idolized by their ballet masters, and expresses great affection for him.

Very much enjoyed what you had to say this time. Hope to read you again soon.

I know money for the arts is tight, but is it necessary to charge admission for an event like this?

You would have been happy this weekend, Kay. It was a barechested, double-barrelled triumph for Craig Hall -- on Friday night in "After the Rain" and on Sunday afternoon in "The Cage." At intermission on Friday night, an acquaintance claimed to have been distracted by his chest tattoo, but her vision must be a lot better than mine.

These reviews of Friday night make great reading and I don't disagree with anything. But I found the rondo in Brahms-Schoenberg totally lacking in schmaltz, both in the orchestra and the dancing. Some might consider that a good thing, but I missed the schmaltz.

Perhaps you thought of Lesley Stahl because she's on the NYCB Board of Directors. Some years ago she did interview Peter Martins and Suzanne Farrell at the New York State Theater, for a Guild seminar. Although she doesn't have Charlie Rose's annoying habit of talking just when his guest is starting to say something, as a moderator she was not a success. Her knowledge at that time of NYCB, Balanchine, and the Farrell-Martins partnership, were quite limited. I felt that Ms. Stahl set the possibility of a Farrell-Martins reconciliation back by years on that occasion and maybe permanently.

I have been known to describe myself as a Suzanne Farrell groupie. At age 73, I can get away with it. And I flatter myself that Suzanne actually likes seeing me and expects to. She has told me as much. In the instance you describe, bobbi, your co-worker probably meant it jocularly rather than pejoratively.

Just wanted to say that I'd been to the old Met, the new Met, the State Theater and lots of other places including City Center, the Center Theater, and Randalls Island when the Salmaggi Opera Company used to perform there, before I saw "Rent." I loved "Rent" so much I bought the cast album. I also saw the Broadway "La Boheme," which I didn't like as much. I'm not sure what my point is here other than one shouldn't close one's mind to anything or necessarily believe the hype on anything.