nanushka

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."

8 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

I think they're just trying to stay in business.

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

36 minutes ago, canbelto said:

Back to NYCB -- got an email for Nutcracker tickets and uh ... sticker shock. Fourth Ring tickets START at $89. 

Sounds like they’re hoping to cash in on people’s pent-up desire for live entertainment and holiday cheer.

It's possible that Abi Stafford herself requested that J. Stafford and Whelan not come on stage. We don't have the full story.

I agree, @vipa.

Yes, @BalanchineFan, without knowing much context the Instagram message struck me initially as perhaps referring to the general experience of being in the company, not to one or another administration.

Yes, correct, but almost surely not the same. If the company can afford to promote for a “full” standard roster, they should, IMO.

That said, I’m delighted and satisfied by those promotions that have been announced.

Well, yeah, but personally I think it's a good thing when workers are appropriately compensated for their labor. I understand if there's a need for caution now, financially, but I certainly don't think promotions should be withheld for any sort of "motivational" purpose. Promote them and pay them, if they're dancing the roles.

Until tonight, I had never truly gotten the appeal of Megan LeCrone. I loved her in Agon.

Maria K was fantastic. Those legs will be missed.

Yeah, check your email for the original PDFs. (I think mine took a little longer than usual to arrive.)

Mine too look normal: one page, with area/section listed.

12 minutes ago, Helene said:

While it's pretty much a truism  at this point that Wagner would be composing for -- and possibly directing -- film instead of, primarily, for the stage, composers are still writing stupendous classical music and/or in classical forms, even though it's hardly a lucrative field or the popular music of its time.  in interview after interview of American and Canadian opera singers -- and the occasion Welsh and English singer -- they spoke about being raised in and interested in any other vocal form but opera, until it hit them on the head, and they were hooked, which is exceedingly risky, since so few voices are fully mature until the age of 30.

So, whether Mozart chose classical music would have dependent on a lot of factors, including exposure and whether his stage parent pushed him into the family business.

Exactly, chance plays a huge role. Mozart’s father was a court musician. It’s not like he surveyed the field and chose the most lucrative path. And his achievements likely contributed to the very endurance of (some of) his chosen forms.

Love that story, @Jacqueline!

And I agree about the Royal Navy — and about Woetzel!

I have to say my own response to Union Jack wasn't all that terribly different.

(Exaggerating.)

((But only somewhat.))

11 minutes ago, FPF said:

Also, I think that the longer/bigger mens' hairstyles in the earlier post were just the general style at that time.

Shaved heads on men have been quite in style for some time now.

Jeez, a guy doesn't have a full head of hair so we can't accept his dancing in a non-narrative neo-classical tutu ballet?

The dance world has (mostly) gotten used to other ways, equally irrelevant to actual dancing, in which dancers were previously thought to "not look the part" (e.g. skin tone). Maybe over time we'll all get a little more used to this too and find the lack of a full head of hair to be less distracting?

I certainly found Angle's former fake hair to be pretty distracting too.

I was not able to attend but heard from an audience member in orchestra that Angle had a shaved head. I think that's great. It's about time that a male principal with significantly thinning hair be able to present in a way that is maximally attractive, rather than having to mess around with prosthetics that look obviously artificial just to uphold an outdated danseur ideal.

I can't believe they're allowing an extended pre-performance period of maskless refreshments but no intermissions. That's ridiculous. What on earth is the rationale?

14 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

...it looks like they're trying to underplay the fact that these films are musicals...

Yes, that's exactly the sense I got. I didn't fully realize it until you said it.

12 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Are we really sure it's no intermission? 

I'm not sure of anything — it's possible the indication on the casting sheet is a mistake, carried over from a draft they had when no intermissions was the plan. But that would seem unusually careless, and the current designation certainly communicates (rightly or wrongly) a plan for no intermissions. (That's how they've always indicated a pause without intermission on casting sheets in past seasons.)

I'm quite disappointed to see that they are going forward with no intermissions, just "pauses." The YOUR SAFETY page on their website no longer indicates that there wouldn't be intermissions, and when they went ahead with the mandatory vaccination policy there was good reason to think they'd dropped that plan. It's frustrating — and fairly nonsensical — that they have not.

25 minutes ago, cobweb said:

But where is the casting??

They haven't had a regular season in a year and a half. I'm okay cutting them some slack this time. They may have needed more time than usual to work some of it out.

The principal casting page is here, accessible from the main page via the upper left menu SEASON & TICKETS --> PRINCIPAL CASTING. So it appears it's just not up yet.

13 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

We salute your enthusiasm.

...or your funding!

4 minutes ago, sandik said:

I'm seeing an interesting phrase in many of these announcements -- "closely held religious beliefs."  Has anyone else seen this turn of phrase in local announcements?  I'm wondering what that might entail, and how one would prove it as you filed into the theater.

Maybe they’d ask for a letter from a religious leader? (Is the burden on the individual to follow up and find that out?) Otherwise yeah, I don’t know.

There were some training videos of Copeland posted on YouTube awhile back (maybe late 2019?). I didn't look at them closely, but I recall some people writing on the forum about some visible difficulties she seemed to be having.

8 minutes ago, Helene said:

PNB is joining a number of other arts organizations in Seattle in requiring full vaccination and (mostly) masks in the theater for Fall 2021.

I hope we see more of this. It may be the only way for performances to continue throughout the coming seasons, unless the broader situation takes a significant turn for the better.

13 minutes ago, Syzygy said:

Did I miss a release about Misty's retirement? I know they keep some of those (weirdly) quiet, but hers seems like one they'd mention. 

Copeland is on the ABT roster; my understanding is that she's not performing in the fall season but is still in the company, and that's not unheard of for higher-profile ABT principals. I think the next Met season will be where to look in order to get a sense of the current state of her technique and her position in the company.