nanushka

They may not do a full week of every ballet or program — particularly since they've been doing some shorter runs of select works (not just mixed bills) in the past several Met seasons, and since they only have 5 weeks now.

There's a lovely article in the Times on Tom Forster's New York debut in Giselle, and his broader career trajectory. I'm not seeing Friday's performance, but I'm really hoping to see his Albrecht (among other new roles) at the Met next summer, if they do it again. I hope anyone who sees Friday's performance will report on how he does.

Mask mandates will likely not be permanent, no, but if vaccination rates remain about where they are it’s likely that highly contagious variants will occasionally emerge and there will be periods when mandates do come back. The politicization of vaccines, and the lower rates that result, will likely continue to have consequences for all our lives.

That's Stephanie Petersen, formerly Williams. She has not danced Myrta before, but she has danced Zulma, according to her bio. Also, Swan Lake PDT, Gold and Fleur de farine in Sleeping Beauty, Lady Capulet, Summer in Cinderella, and a few others. But nothing as big as Myrta before, no.

I am not a historian, but my understanding of the history of pandemics is that pandemics change history.

Yes, and “always” is an unwise word to use, I think, when considering world-historical events — especially those that get highly polarized by partisan politics.

I agree, @vipa. As annoying as I often find Macaulay, and as clueless and self-serving as the piece was at times, I think it did raise some good questions — ones that I've found myself thinking about in the past and ones that could be further considered by critics and critical viewers.

Ah, the cast sheet must have been wrong then, as they both had stars for "first time in role."

Before I even clicked on them, I just knew the comments would be warm and lovely! That story from Whelan about Apollo was no surprise, given Kowroski's stage presence.

I'd love to hear how LaFreniere and Danchig-Waring do in their Chaconne debuts tonight, if anyone's there! I'll be seeing the same program and mostly same casts tomorrow night.

Yes, it'd be nice if they included this info elsewhere for program listings. I always look up the times and note them before performances.

Timings are listed on the repertory pages. For La Valse, it says 29 min.

I wasn't there, but according to the cast list... AGON: Kowroski, Ramasar, Huxley, Adams, Hod, LeCrone, Zuniga, Villarini-Velez

Personally, I think Philadelphia Ballet does sound less provincial — not inherently, perhaps, but by association and tradition. The Cleveland Orchestra is not the Ohio Orchestra; the BSO is not the MSO; Houston Grand Opera is not Texas Grand Opera; Lyric Opera of Chicago is not Lyric Opera of Illinois; San Francisco Ballet is not California Ballet, or even Bay Area Ballet. Major performing arts organizations in major cities tend to be named for the city they're in, not the state or region. (Perhaps it's a way of signaling something about the prominence of the city and, by extension, the organization. I'm not sure.) Those that aren't are often more regional companies/ensembles, with less prominent profiles. There are probably exceptions, but I think there are far more examples that fit the "rule."

Yes. That too. The two work together. (My previous comment was description, not criticism.)