Farrell Fan

The situation Sandik describes in Seattle is also the case in New York City. Reviews appear two days after the performance -- but not always. The review of NYCB's first performance of Coppelia late in the winter season did not appear in the Times until a week later, when it was combined with a review of a subsequent performance with a different cast. :confused:

He and Maria Calegari have never been surpassed in the pas de deux in Glass Pieces. He was the funniest cigar-smoking husband I ever saw in The Concert. And he created a highly unusual ballet for NYCB called Into the Hopper, suggested by Edward Hopper paintings.

I saw this wonderful program on Sunday, March 16, closing night of the NYC Taylor season. I was glad to again see so many young, or at least youngish, people in the audience, cheering lustily. I agree with Glebb about Black Tuesday looking better on the Taylor dancers and at City Center. I'm still bothered though, that the recorded singers are not identified in the program. (It was the same at ABT.) I recognize Connie Boswell singing Boulevard of Broken Dreams and, of course, Bing Crosby in Brother Can You Spare a Dime? But who is that great singer on Sittin' on a Rubbish Can? Is that Bessie Smith? Does anyone know? Anyhow, having seen programs A, B, and C, it seemed to me this was a brilliant Taylor season. If only Cascade, Images, and Esplanade could have been performed to live music!

It's hard to think of two more dissimilar works of art than Don Quixote, the novel by Cervantes, and Don Quixote, the ballet by Petipa. The novel is a satire on the romances of chivalry popular at the time, as well as an extraordinary panorama of 17th century Spain. The ballet is basically the story of Basil the barber, Kitri the innkeeper's daughter, and her foppish suitor Gamache, with cameo appearances by the Don and Sancho. I had the atypical experience of having seen Balanchine's Don Quixote before Petipa's. When I finally did see it, every time the Don and Sancho walked out on stage looking forlorn, I thought they were looking for Balanchine's ballet. But Balanchine's Don Q was not a success, even though it definitively established the greatness of Suzanne Farrell. There's talk of a revival, a prospect which I know plunges such fine people as Mel Johnson into deep gloom. I saw the ballet many times and saw something new every time. (There WAS something new every time.) I'd love to see it again. I don't know when the character of Don Quixote evolved from that of dotty old coot into noble visionary, but it was yet another art form -- the American musical -- which firmly established him as striving to reach the unreachable star. In Holding on to the Air, Farrell writes of being taken to see Man of La Mancha, "The musical version of Don Quixote had received far more acclaim than Balanchine's version, and I was determined, out of loyalty, to dislike it. Despite this, I enjoyed it thoroughly and cried voluminously." I am determined to cry voluminously at the revival of Balanchine's ballet.

Offenbach Overtures, Snow White, Promethean Fire -- 3/11/03 There may be dark shadows somewhere behind the humor and laughs of Offenbach Overtures and Snow White, but one is hard put to discern them. At the center of Offenbach Overtures is a duel between Patrick Corbin and Richard Chen See, with Michael Trusnovic and Robert Kleinendorst as their seconds. The duelists are soon winking and blowing kisses at each other, leaving their seconds to continue the fight. There's lots of boy-girl stuff as well, and on more than one occasion the women seem on the verge of busting into a can-can, without ever quite doing so. There are only five dwarfs in Snow White. Asked why once, Mr. Taylor is supposed to have said, "It's a small company." To make up for the diminution of dwarfs, there is Rose Red, or, as she is known here, "A Bad Apple," danced by Annamaria Mazzini. On the other hand, as Snow Wite, Heather Berest was the apple of any dwarf's or prince's eye. All sixteen members of the company are onstage for Promethean Fire. Whether or not it was inspired by the events of 9/11, it is a powerful and moving work, to Bach, orchestrated by Stowkowski. (Toccata & Fugue in D minor; Prelude in E-flat minor; Chorale Prelude, BWV 680.) Bach purists might cringe, but the music is perfect for the piece. I just wish City Center had a better sound system. Both women and men are in similar black costumes by Santo Loquasto. There are intimations of mayhem and death, but in contrast fo the hopelessness of Last Look, the overall effect of Promethean Fire is cathartic and uplifting.

dirac wrote of Beverly Sills: "Many fans didn't care for the popular Bubbles persona, either. Too wholesome. Too pop." Too low class,according to Sir Rudolf Bing. How else is one to interpret this idiotic passage of noblesse oblige in his memoir 5000 Nights at the Opera, about the relationship between the Met and New York City Opera -- "There was a brief fight a while back about Donizetti's three queens, which was a project Montserrat Caballe very much wanted to undertake for us; but we finally accepted the fact that Beverly Sills of the City Opera, having been born in Brooklyn, was entitled to priority in the portrayal of British royalty." He sounds like he was still miffed about the fiasco of the Met's opening night in the new house at Lincoln Center, when the grandiose shipwreck of the Franco Zeffirelli production sank poor Samuel Barber's Antony & Cleopatra. At the same time, Brooklyn's Own was singing Cleopatra in Handel's Giulio Cesare at the State Theater, opposite the great Norman Treigle. It was the music critics from across America, who'd ventured across Lincoln Center Plaza,who made Sills a star. She had already had a long and distinguished career at that point, starting with The Ballad of Baby Doe, and it went on for many more years. By the time she was admitted to the snooty precincts of the Met, her best singing was behind her. Bing was to blame for that.

I'm reminded of W. C. Fields, who hated children AND animals. It wasn't just an act. My wife used to recall that when she was a child and lived on Long Island next door to Fields, he'd come out of his house and throw rocks at her and her playmates. She and I both loved seeing children on the ballet stage -- particularly in the NYCB Coppelia and Midsummer. I don't know how she would have felt about this Cupid, however.

It's fortuitous that you brought up this subject now, Ed, because Paul Taylor choreographed a piece, "Promethean Fire," to Bach-Stokowski last summer for the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, which is being seen during his company's current NYC engagement. I'll see it next week. According to the NY Times review yesterday, "The piece is set to music by Bach, orchestrated by Stokowski, whose overarching grandeur sets the tone for the new work even before the curtain rises." There's been talk that "Premethean Fire" was Mr. Taylor's response to 9/11. But in typical Taylor fashion, he's said he was more influenced by "Fantasia."

In his wrapup of the winter season, Michael cited as a cause for worry his impression that "the new audience on the weekend seems to prefer Tanner/Martins/Wheeldon to Balanchine." I've noticed this too, not just on weekends, and Bobbi has expressed similar concern. On one Friday evening last month, Lynn Taylor-Corbett's "Chiaroscuro" was more enthusiastically received than either Concerto Barocco or Chaconne. The following Tuesday, it got more applause than Agon. Of course, this ballet featured Jock Soto in an unusually bravura role for him, and it could be the audience was expressing its pent-up appreciation for his years of self-effacing service. But there were other occasions throughout the season when the gymnastic, aerobic repertory was cheered, while the Balanchine received only dutiful applause. This is annoying, to say the least. On the other hand, some of us bemoan the graying of the NYCB audience. So if there is a new audience, and it prefers this kind of thing, why should we worry, as long as they like what they see and keep coming back? Is Michael correct that this has been the aim of the managment all along? And does the lack of enthusiasm on some evenings for the Balanchine repertory reflect lackluster performances, audience indifference, or both?

I sat in the back of the orchestra, where a couple of rows were mostly populated by young people -- in their late teens or early twenties, I'd say -- who appeared to be members of a group. Though they were quiet and well-behaved, they were noticeable because most of the Taylor audience is indeed graying. (Not me; I've been bald for years.) Anyhow, the young folks' reactions to what they saw were pretty uniform -- they applauded all three works with the same degree of modest enthusiasm. None of them laughed at anything in Dream Girls, nor did anyone seem in the least disturbed by the horrors of Last Look. However, one young woman rose to give Mr. Taylor a solitary standing ovation at the end. I generally agree with liebs about Program A, but found Dream Girls quite amusing. I don't know anything about The Buffalo Bills (neither the football team nor the quartet), but it struck me that these songs are not exactly typical of the barbershop quartet repertory, certainly not "Hard-Hearted Hannah" or "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long." In the latter, Patrick Corbin was hilarious in an old-fashioned vaudeville way. The last song in the piece, "Now The Day Is Over," was a puzzling choice to end what was essentially a knockabout comedy -- with everyone gone suddenly prayerful. Nice, though. I agree that Cascade is not among the best of Taylor's "pure dance" works, and, in fact, becomes a little tedious. Last Look is shattering, unsparing in its darkness, and a great work. I know someone who feels about Lisa Viola as liebs does. But I like her a lot.

To AmandaNYC -- The Balanchine quote about Apollo goes: "I look back upon it as the turning point of my life. The score was a revelation. It seemed to tell me that I too could eliminate. I began to see how I could clarify by limiting, by reducing to the one possibility that is inevitable."

This is not new information, but I was told there'd be a six-week tour in October/November and the Kennedy Center engagement this year would be in December.

Bobbi's objection to the Wheeldon choreography suggests the question: Are there certain bodily positions in ballet that are inherently in bad taste, or at least unseemly? I'm thinking of someone I used to know who considered the way the women spread their legs in Agon to be in bad taste. Presumably not many of us here would think so. But while recognizing that there's no arguing over taste, is there something I might have said at the time to explain why the Agon choreography is not in bad taste?

I was there Friday night too, and was struck by how the program represented the best of NYCB today: a fine performance of a Balanchine masterwork; a Balanchine showpiece for the tambourine kids; a surprise hit by the Resident Choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon; one of Peter Martins' better recent pieces, Hallelujah Junction; and the Robbins favorite, I'm Old Fashioned. The audience was large and enthusiastic, and on such a night it was possible to think that all's right with the world. I certainly agree that Millepied was this season's MVP.

I've been thinking of Chris d'Amboise ever since this subject came up, because his book, Leap Year, published in 1982, was filled with this stuff. But he didn't glory in his masculinity. Rather, he bragged ridiculously about how sensitive he was -- in contrast to those boys in the corps who bragged about their sexual prowess. "I overheard Bobby and Sebastian talking about the women they had conquered. Neither man ever ranked high with me, and their conversation unredeemingly lowered them in my estimation. Bobby was speaking of a girl he had entertained the previous night. Sebastian asked, 'So did you get her?' At that my stomach twisted. Bobby answered, 'Yeah, I porked her good!' 'Jesus Christ!' I wanted to scream! "'Porked her!' What an ignoble thing to say. How vile he seemed to me. Like a slimy insect that steals goodies in the dark and rushes back to tell his fellow roach. Oh, men can be the basest of caitiffs! They are so reduced by their weaknesses, and put such importance on status and machismo!" I don't suppose "caitiff" is a word that has ever appeared in Details. Chris's inflated prose makes "titties" sound rather innocent. I should point out though, that the book has some admirable things in it, including passages about the not always serene relationship between Chris and his father. And it has a foreword by Lincoln Kirstein.

Right. And Balanchine was still very much alive and in charge when Peter Martins danced Frantz.

Wasn't changing choreography to fit the dancers an important characteristic of Balanchine's NYCB?

Tommason is not a large man, Kate, but Peter Martins is. And Peter's Frantz was quite wonderful. As was Helgi's, of course.

I'm glad you found it, Calliope. This was a frustrating experience for me, because I'm a subscriber to The Nation, but never saw the March 3 issue. I waited for it patiently and then early this week received the March 10 issue. It could be that I inadvertently threw out the March 3 issue. The magazines pile up until, in a fit of neatness, I throw them away without looking. At any rate, her desire for more Russian teachers at SAB harks back to the article by that other SAB alumna, Jennifer Homans, in the Times a while back. Remember how she mourned their absence? As for NYCB looking better in Robbins, there are people who feel exactly the opposite -- that it's the Robbins rep that's really in trouble at NYCB.

I thought all the other soloists were fine -- Amanda Edge in Waltz of the Golden Hours; Abi Stafford as Dawn; Dana Hanson, Prayer; and Pascale van Kipnes, Spinner. I hope others who are more technically versed than I would say what they thought. But apropos rehearsals, I thought that one of the flaws of the evening was that the corps members looked at various times as though they could have used MORE rehearsal.

Hi, BW -- The program notes consisted of short bios of the choreographers and the dancers. It was only by reading them that the Rochester connection was revealed. The sole mention of Mr. Draper's name was in Jamey Leverett's bio: "Ms. Leverett is currently assistant artistic director of the Draper Center for Dance Education and teaches master classes throughout the United States."

Thanks for posting this, kfw. Epstein's writings are usually entertaining and this was no exception. I'm not sure I understand your remark about being reminded of Kirstein and Balanchine. Do you mean that Kirstein put words in Balanchine's mouth?

I agree that Borree and Millepied were excellent. Millepied invested Frantz with more charm and brio than one usually associates with this character. And Borree seemed to be having fun. Robert La Fosse's Coppelius had none of Shaun O'Brien's gothic greatness, but he was appealing in a kooky way. Too bad that the tepid audience response to Act II deprived him of a solo curtain call. Although Borree's dancing in that act was, as Michael indicates, inspired, the automatons left much to be desired. Their names in the program meant nothing to me. I guess they're apprentices. For stretches of Act II nothing much seemed to be happening on stage. Perhaps La Fosse's performance was a little too subtle. And his Coppelius failed to affix the Scottish scarf securely on Swanilda so that it came instantly undone. He made an attempt to fix it, to no avail. Thankfully, Borree did not trip over it. Another apparent costume mishap occurred in Act III, when Aesha Ash's debut in Discord and War was made tame by a cape that seemed somehow stuck to her. Adam Hendrickson, however, was a high-flying warrior. And nobody's lances got stuck on the stage. As always, the most applauded performers of the night were the little and slightly older girls from SAB, who have such a key part in Act III. And, as always, they deserved it.

An Evans Orpheus would be cool, indeed. Maybe for the Balanchine Centennial? However. judging from the response the last couple of times Orpheus was back in the repertory, the NYCB audience doesn't "get" Orpheus any more.

There's a lot more to remember of Heather Watts. Toward the end of her career, I agree that she was somewhat painful and annoying to watch. But she was a good dancer for a long time. Even Arlene Croce admitted to enjoying her dancing and once called her "the ideal Robbins dancer," or some such thing. Of course, some of us on this board might not consider that a compliment.