zerbinetta

Oops, sorry. Another heresy. :-D How do you feel about Miss Julie?

:-D I suppose I am not surprised but I am shocked.

Might there not be a difference between enjoyable trashy ballets & great bad ballets? Spartacus has a plot & tells a story clearly & efficiently. The characters are clearly delineated. There is no argument between the score & the choreography. It arcs to a climax & resolves in apotheosis. It makes sense. Its "badness" to me lies in the fact that it is outrageously manipulative & moralistic. It's characters are totally one dimensional. &, yes, it has a good deal of trashy choreography. But it is pure in a balletic sense. Enjoyable trashy ballets (Petit's Coppelia comes to mind) don't pretend to greatness or purity. They are pure entertainment. The suggestion of Spring Waters & Walpurgisnacht (Bolshoi version) along with Diana & Acteon & that ilk would seem to me to fall into the trashy ballets that we love anyway category. I hope this makes sense.

In Rockwell's review of Spartacus (today's Links), he tells us the Bolshoi hasn't done the ballet here in 30 years. As Mukhamedov didn't begin performing the role until 1988 & performed it at the Met after that, it would appear a good deal less than 30 years since NY has seen Spartacus. Is anyone else shocked at the lack of background & fact checking this indicates in the NYTimes first dance critic?

Herman as Basil??? Oh, lucky Japan!

Acosta: Apollo Fang: La Sylphide H Cornejo: La Sylphide Bouder: Rubies Sylve: Chaconne Part: Lilac Fairy Gomes: Troy Games

This is heresy, I know, but I'd also cast a vote for Balanchine's "Adagio Lamentosa". When Ballet Review had their category list for reviewing, this ballet fell into the "insufferable masterpieces" box. A special case, perhaps worth a category of its own; it was wrenching & dreadful & made me blub. Mr B, with diminished means, letting us know we would survive his passing. I think Massimo Murru was also one of Guillem's partners for M&A.

nysusan, I don't think your unwellness Friday tainted your appreciation of Klevtsov. To my mind, the one essential ingredient in order for Spartacus to work is for the title character to have star power. He doesn't need to be a great classical dancer (Mukhamedov was very effective in the role) but he does need charisma & one needs to feel the power of his presence. Klevtsov just doesn't cut it. His weak dancing skills are less obvious here than they were in the Don Q on Tuesday & he is a ham handed partner, although he had the strength for that very long one handed lift, for which I was grateful. Antonicheva was gorgeous! What a melting & luminous Phrygia. & such a musical dancer. I did like Volchkov a lot. He seems a better classicist than most of their principal men so far seen & he had a genuine Roman flair. I liked Allash less. My memories of Timofeyeva were left intact; she was far more vulgar & "out there" in her sexuality. Allash is wonderful in the character dances but not really up to Aegina, IMO. The role is in Alexandrova's rep; it's curious that she wasn't cast here. She would have been wonderful. This is possibly the most wonderful bad ballet ever choreographed. I do think it would be great fun on ABT & had Acosta & Gomes in mind as well - but with each of them doing both roles, one against the other.

She looks enchanting! Any relation to the great mezzo Yelena O? I see Igor Kolb is back to his former haircolor, which is a very good thing. He was a blonde Lensky in Santa Fe last summer. Exceptional dancing but bad hair.

Seems like career suicide to me. Unless he hopes for a lot of press on this & maybe get some soloist gigs. The classical music world is very small. On the face of it, it doesn't seem like a smart move.

Interesting, Alexandra; I didn't know this. It seems, from current perspective at least, to take away somewhat from the theatricality of ending with Albrecht's redemption. Curtain.

Oberon: that sounds almost as much fun as the Giselle production we saw in New Jersey in which an overenthusiastic Hilarion knocked over Giselle's (styrofoam, apparently)tombstone in an excess of grief. Needless to say, it took some time before we were able to compose ourselves for the remainder of Act II.

McKenzie mentioned what a privilege it had been to have had Ferri in the company for 20 years & that she had told him of all the companies she has danced with she felt most at home with ABT as the company & the audience all seemed like family. I thought it was extremely generous of Kent & Bocca to turn over the limelight to her, especially Kent. They only took one front of curtain call & then the curtain went up again for the Ferri tribute. Ferri did not acknowledge Kent during this tribute, which would have been a gracious gesture. Kent actually seems stronger to me this season than for a couple of seasons pre-maternity. There were no problems & if she seemed "careful" it could be that she needs to save a little something for tomorrow night. I also love Bocca & love how he's pared down his Albrecht characterization as he's aged. He used to be the passionate 21 year old & now he's a more mature & assured Albrecht. There was a particularly lovely moment when Giselle is starting the business with the daisy. He gazed down at her & gently brushed the side of her face. Act I had 2 special highlights: the amazing dancing of the recently returned Erica Cornejo, who danced full out & gorgeously. & the imperious Bathilde of Bystrova - this was not a Bathilde to fool around with - an Empress in training. It would be fun to have them resuscitate the old trick of having Myrta & Bathilde danced by the same ballerina. It doesn't make much sense textually but it can be dramatically powerful. & Bystrova would be a wonderful Myrta. Act II's highlights were, of course, Part's Myrta and the amazing Fang as Zulma. A secure & gorgeous performance. Cornejo & Fang alone would have been worth the price of admission. And again Jesus Pastor inhabited Hilarion. He seems to have the gift of spontaneity as it was a rather different performance from Wednesday & equally rivetting. It really helps dramatically to have a strong Hilarion & one who isn't a thug. The gamekeeper, after all, held a notable position in that society & Giselle would have been marrying up had she chosen Hilarion.

.. and 27 minutes of curtain calls! No one wanted to say goodbye.

Aw, fer cryin' out loud! Will these people stop with the retirements, already. Please!

My vote for the Profiteer goes to Jesus Pastor after his very well acted Hilarion. Death: maybe Underwood or Stappas? But the roles probably won't go to corps members.

Not to belabor this, Leigh, but to me it isn't a matter of semantics. Don't the words affected & mannered imply a certain amount of dishonesty? I did not feel Vishneva's performance was in any way dishonest, only calculated in the sense of lacking spontaneity. Perhaps I should have used the word "constructed"?

Well, who'd a thunk? If Vishneva couldn't break my heart, how could I have expected that Herrera would? It wasn't that I didn't like Vishneva; I did. I find her a very interesting, sometimes fascinating, dancer. Loved her Don Q & Rubies with the Kirov & enjoyed her Don Q, Swan & attempt at Bellet Imperial with ABT. Her Giselle was totally engrossing, but in a cerebral way. I didn't find her mannered or affected, as did carbro & Leigh. I found it calculated, though. Some gorgeous effects but they appeared to me as "effects" not as integral & inevitable results of her characterization of Giselle. I enjoyed watching a wonderful ballerina mind at work but missed the breath of soul which, for me, makes a great Giselle transcendent. My eyes were glued to her but I was unmoved by her. She's a wonderful ballerina, though, no question about that. Strong technique, great strength on pointe, lovely & always interesting arms, musical (if sometimes musically wayward, but that's OK). I did miss the Romantic line in the spine & from the ear to the longest finger, though. And she certainly brought out the best in Angel, though, although I think we can forget about more than generic characterization from him. He partnered her & deferred to her beautifully &, if this is indeed a new partnership, she could do a lot worse. I just wish his Albrecht & Siegfried & Jean de Brienne, etc. weren't all the same fellow. I did think Part was rather scary but in a positive way - such a force of vengeance, the air around her fairly glittered with implacable hostility, which made her "weak" moment, when confronted by Giselle's equally implacable love, more electric than I think I've ever seen it. The Herrera/Gomes Giselle, on the other hand, moved me a lot. It came as no surprise that he was extraordinary; it surprised me a lot that she was, as well. She has a wonderful stage smile (different from her curtain call grin) which suits her sweet Giselle really well. Her "mad" scene was distrait rather than very theatrical - a gentle soul who does not comprehend events. She's always been cherished & believes that is the way of things. Her II was beautifully danced, especially the variation beginning the pas & she was quite effective in the "fading away" at the end. The chemistry (yup, we'll have to come up with a new word) with Gomes was there, on her part as much as on his, which isn't always the case with her. A really lovely performance. Gomes: what can one say? A great dancer who is also a great partner & a great actor, to boot. A real change from Act I to II. Carelessly in love in I & distraught & guilt-ridden to the point of insanity in II. At but never over the top. And we got the entrechats huits. I know Gomes does fine brisees vole but they somehow never look wonderful on a big man. A good choice plus, musically & dramatically, they do make more sense (I may re-think this if Cornejo ever gets to do Albrecht). Wiles did well as Myrta, very well. She improves constantly &, although her Myrta may not be altogether there yet, it probably will be by the next round. It was a great improvement over her last ones. and Jesus Pastor! Wow! A very powerful Hilarion, which gives hope that he will eventually conquer Rothbart in his own way. Every movement thought out carefully, every action & reaction. Palpable pain at the Act I curtain, folding into himself. The first Hilarion in my experience who made us feel the actual weight of the cross & the actual effort of putting it in the ground. He also threw in a split jete in his dance of death, not gratuitous at all, quite fitting. And now comes Amanda, whom I've loved since she was 15. I doubt I'll post about it & probably will be such a blub queen I'll miss half of it through tears. Three gut wrenching retirements in a few weeks. Too many too soon too sad ..

rkoretsky: the press release on the previous page says "includes the birth scene" so I think it's safe to assume they will also climb the stairs at the end. Yes, this is the way ABT has done it in the past.

P.S. Carol Vaness also made her Met debut in that Rinaldo production, later in the season. & I believe it was Frank Corsaro's directorial debut as well. I'm smiling, remembering it as something very special.

Ramey arrived on a large ornate platform, carried by 4 or 6 attendants & there was a bit of a bobble in their coordination as they reached stage front center. Sam wasn't phased a bit & then proceeded to sing the "Sibilar" like no one had ever heard it sung before. A triumph & quite thrilling for all the Ramey fans in the audience as well as the newly created Ramey fans.

After 8 Swans in 9 nights (we actually had tickets to the Sat Matinee Vishneva/Saveliev performance but didn't make it, having seen the one earlier in the week), I am coming out of my coma & of the following opinions: Best Act II: Part/Gomes Best Act III: Wiles/Acosta Most satisfying complete performance: Wiles/Acosta Very little has been said here on the Wiles/Acosta performance. They are not ideally matched, but he is such a great partner & dynamic presence that it worked. What is fascinating about Michelle's Odette is how she is slowly working it to suit her body. From last year to this season, she has clearly worked very hard. She isn't built to be an ideal Odette but was quite a convincing one. She needs to work on the hip to foot line a bit, maybe cheating out from the hip a bit to give a longer line. Their Act III had more dazzle & fireworks than any other .. & believe me, we saw them ALL .. at least once. A wonderful coup de theatre was the casting of Hallberg as the blond, cool Nordic villain against Acosta's dark & hot-blooded hero from Southern climes. A lovely smashing of stereotypes. But I still missed Nina.

Ramey certainly was overdue but what a smasher of a Met debut he finally made! & he's been on their regular roster ever since. & we shouldn't forget Julius Rudel either.

The current casting policy under Paul Kellogg is to use very young & relatively inexperienced singers. Stars are rarely asked to sing there. A rare exception will be Carol Vaness in the fall season's Ariane et Barbe Bleue by Dukas. So it will be a while before any of these younger singers make it to the Met. The Met's Lindemann Young Artists Program, however, has been developing wonderful young singers for years & those young singers are frequently used in smaller roles in Met productions.

So few? It was almost a training company for the Met. Samuel Ramey. Jose Carreras, Carol Vaness, June Anderson, Renee Fleming, Ashley Putnam, Gianna Rolandi, Erie mills, Jerry Hadley, Richard Leech, Vinson Cole,Justino Diaz, Mark Delevan,Olga Makarina, Maureen O'Flynn, Elizabeth Futral .. .. & Beverly Sills. Another dozen or so will occur to me as soon as I post this.