ABT Fan

I’m also shocked that Cornejo is doing 2 T&V less than 24 hours apart! I hope he eats his Wheeties (anyone else remember that?). I was wondering if removing Bell/Shev was a proactive move for R&J next week, for Bell really. We all know Theme is a killer. Bell has 2 Romeo’s starting Tuesday. Carmago, a guest artist is doing 3 shows to cover Stearns. Whiteside is out. If any other guy goes down from illness or injury they will be screwed. Forster/Royal only have one but this is both of their debuts and R&J is no picnic plus it has a lot of difficult partnering. Forster is getting up in years, would he have the stamina to take a second one (or a third?!) with very little rehearsal time with a new partner? Royal is younger but inexperienced with lead roles and again he’d be thrown in with very little rehearsal time with a new Juliet. Cornejo isn’t tall enough to partner any other Juliet but Boylston but she has Carmago (and no way could Cornejo take his shows heaven forbid he can’t dance). Of course, I could be way off and maybe Bell/Shev or at least one of them will be removed any minute now from the rest of the mixed bill, then we’ll know. Or it’s some other reason that we may never know.

I really wish I could have seen her debut.

Tonight was an interesting mixed bag. I went solely to see Forster, Curley and the pas de trios (Misseldine, Park, Han) but I was glad to see Murphy as this will probably be my last time seeing her in a lead role. It was a packed house and the audience was committed (and they loved Murphy). She is imo glaringly past her prime, but her devotion, artistry and depth of experience were still evident. Wonderful little nuances, esp in Act II, like a flick of the hand or a tilt of her head spoke volumes. Technically, I found it difficult to watch at times. She has always had legs of steel and is a born turner and she relied heavily on those natural talents throughout the ballet. I think tonight was very hard for her to get through and no doubt the pandemic and loss of subsequent performance opportunities were a cruel blow to this older artist. She seemed to be muscling through many passages, like the developes a la seconde in Act II - it was more like a kick or a whack to gain momentum so she could get up on her leg and complete the phrase. She's lost a lot of flexibility in her back, especially her upper back, and in her shoulders, chest and neck - I think the lack of movement of her upper body bothered me the most. Forster seemed to be picking her up more than he should have, there seemed to be little jump from her to aid in certain lifts. Always the queen of fouettés, she did all singles traveling forward a good deal and stopped around 25/26 clearly running out of gas while her elbows drooped low distorting the arm position. Her lower body was all power, while from the waist up she was weak and stiff (she did strike a few lovely attitude arabesques with a rather deep back bend, which I found surprising given everything else). I suppose when you know a dancer from when they were in top form, it's harder to see them at this stage. But, again despite her technical limitations now, she is still a queen and a superior artist. I was a bit disappointed in Forster, whom I love so much and am so glad to see he's finally getting the opportunities he should have had several years ago. Several of the more complicated turns (into arabesque for one) were botched a bit or he came out of them early and had to cover. His jetes were gorgeous as always and pirouettes were mostly very clean. What I found most surprising in him was a lack of character development, as he is one of the company's most gifted actors. It was a bit one note. I didn't feel his lament and struggle in Act I, while he pondered his mother's orders to marry. And, his grief was not palpable enough when he realized he betrayed Odette. His partnering was extraordinary though. Curley: wow, wow, wow! I had high hopes after seeing his Mithridates twice and man he did not disappoint. No one since Gomes has come even close to the authority, manipulation and sleazy charm necessary for a successful Purple VR. From his first entrance when he turned his back to the audience and swung his cape, he had everyone's attention. When all four princesses fell in line at his feet it was believable. This guy can't be more than 22 (he joined the corps 4 years ago) but he projected such natural power that it's hard to fathom his youth. Misseldine, Park and Han are the new dream team. Han has been in the corps for 9 years - where have they been hiding him?? I have never noticed him much and I think I had a rather neutral opinion of him. What incredible height he gains on every jump, with crisp, quick pirouettes. Misseldine I think will promoted at the end of the Met season. She is a very rare talent, much like Bell with a maturity and artistic sense way beyond her years and experience. All 3 danced with such natural joy, no forced or pasted on smiles, such an openness and expansiveness of their faces and upper bodies, and beautiful technique. Misseldine is going to sky rocket through the ranks. The corps from the swans to the aristocrats to the Act III character dancers looked better than I've seen them in years. I thought that after DQ and L&R as well. As noted in the other thread on SS casting the corps is chocked full of talent, bursting at the seems really, with hardly any place to go. The soloist roster needs to be either expanded and/or a few retirements are needed asap - it would be a real shame to keep some of these promising dancers metaphorically standing in the back waving a rose back and forth. And, they need soloists who can take on actual soloist, and some principal roles when principals fall ill or become injured. Misseldine, Park, Han, Curley, Coker, McBride are amongst those.

I’ve been wanting them to bring back Paquita for years now. They have so many dancers who would be brilliant in this, even at the corps level.

In case folks didn't see their ad on IG, ABT is offering a substantial discount (roughly 35% off) on the rest of the season using code ABTPRIDE. Not all performances and not all seats, but definitely some of the cheaper (on the side) orchestra seats (again, not all performances). I just snagged good orchestra seats to Murphy/Forster's SL on Wed and to Trenary/Cornejo's R&J on the 16th using this code (waiting to buy paid off). I noticed the discount works on some seats at tomorrow's SL (Seo/Bell) and the Wed matinee (Hurlin/Ahn) - if only I could go to those two, discount or not. It also works on some seats for T&V on the 8th and 9th matinee.

Anyone happen to know who is doing peasant pas tomorrow? And big swans?

Thank you for the much needed laugh! I think I will refer to this character like this from now on... So great to hear that Curley was as amazing as you said he was - his L&R last week was tremendous. I appreciate everyone's reviews. I still haven't bought a SL ticket so need to get on that.

I’ve not seen any announcement as to why and I see nothing on his IG.

R&J casting update: Carmargo replaces Stearns w/ Seo on opening night and is still paired with Boylston on 7/13. Stearns is still listed on 7/15 but I have a feeling that'll be updated soon. Poor Stearns, missing the entire season after 3 years - I hope he's ok.

T&V casting switch: Teuscher/Ahn now have 7/7 and 7/9 (evening) Shev/Bell now have 7/8

I also agree with this and I seriously doubt he’s on the principal track.

Anyone have a detailed report on Brandt/Cornejo last night?

Do you mean WILL be turnover? We’ll have to wait and see what she does, but new leadership usually involves changes so I’m hoping she will make some in favor of promoting some corps dancers (if McKenzie doesn’t do it himself before he leaves).

I’m having the same problem as you all above. Still haven’t bought a ticket. Do not have the time or the money to see multiple casts and every cast has one principal I want to see and one that I don’t. Also really want to see Curley and Ischik as Purple VR. I saw Shevchenko’s debut years ago and she was gorgeous, but as much as I like Royal in certain things I’m not convinced he can handle the technical and dramatic demands of Siegfried. She was incredible with Forster yesterday in L&R - if only they were paired in SL. Boylston’s O/O was bland when I saw it last. I would imagine Seo’s Odette would be wonderful (Odile I’d have low expectations) and I’d get to see Bell. If only one of my preferred PVR’s was cast with them.

I'm quoting myself because I thought of a few more things: I thought the same-sex partnering for both the men and the women was marvelous, cleverly constructed and added to the narrative (and it did not look like "and, now we're going to do some same-sex partnering" as I've felt when watching some other ballets). Frenette as the head suitor was superb in both performances yesterday - he always brings depth and dramatic intensity to everything he does (Wilfred, one of the Toreadors) and I'm glad he's finally getting some meatier roles this season. I thought the company as a whole looked fantastic, especially the corps which is chocked full of talent. So many women and men corps dancers are able to do so much more as we've seen the past two weeks alone. Yet, the problem is where do they go with a soloist rank that is full with dancers (except one, maybe two) who have been at that level for years and do not have what it takes to move up thus making room for others. Coker needs to be made a soloist already and there are several men who could easily take on that title as well. It's a great thing for the company to have so much corps talent but it's a problem when there isn't room for them to move up to the level they deserve.

Just back from today's double-hitter. I had only planned on seeing the matinee, but even though L&R is an imperfect ballet there are fantastic elements in it so I decided to stay for the last performance. I loved the sets, costumes (truly gorgeous) and the music. The ballet has a full scale opera feel to it that I mostly loved - lots of moving bodies and scenery. Fantastic dancing opportunities for everyone - the corps had a LOT to do, sometimes too much (he needs an editor) and I love how he frequently has so many juicy roles in his ballets. Ratmansky doesn't always choose dance-able scores IMO, but I loved this one. Like others, I was disappointed in the book that he chose - I don't need or want every new ballet to be progressive, woke, enlightened or the like, but a story revolving around a young woman who is passed from man to man and lusted after by every single man - oh, and almost killed by her husband and then she forgives him - is not very 2022. He really couldn't have chosen something different? That said, I admire his choreography and wanted to see what he would he would do with it, and see the up-and-comers. Hurlin/Bell were very young lovers - innocent, naive, and despite their technical virtuosity they were lacking in dramatic depth here. But, their youth and technique still served the ballet fairly well. Like others said, I didn't see much character development with either of them. By Act II, watching Hurlin being tossed around by every man on stage started to feel icky. When Bell is brought out and he and Hurlin are reunited to their surprise after many years, they were emotionally blank - what a lost moment. Technically, they were both incredible. The choreography was clearly made for them being first cast, and the fast and furious nature of some of the partnering, turns, and leaps suited Hurlin really well. They had no trouble with both of the torch lifts - Bell made it look easy. On the contrary, Shevchenko/Forster were mature adults who demonstrated the rage, conflicting emotions, forgiveness and compassion that Hurlin/Bell were missing. Forster is a gifted actor and his anger and frustration were palpable. He was clearly devastated over how he treated Callirhoe. When Shevchenko/Forster were reunited, you could see the disbelief and love by both of them as well as Shevchenko's uncertainty and unforgiveness. I had less of an uncomfortable feeling watching Shevchenko being tossed around by the men - yes, same undesirable story but her maturity and depth as an actress made me feel like she could handle it better or maybe even get herself out of that situation somehow. When she and Chaereas came together at the end, it was poignant, touching and I could see Shevchenko working out the emotional logistics of forgiving her love for what he had done. Technically, I thought Shevchenko struggled during Act I with some of the quick choreography but other than that she was expansive and secure. The first torch lift was fumbled, but the second one was a success. Forster's menage of jetes were extraordinary. Camargo was a strong, dramatic and technically terrific Dionysius - I felt his grief over his dead wife and his love for Callirhoe and her son. Hoven in the same role in the evening lacked that dramatic weight - his dancing was fine, a few bobbles, but emotionally flat. Curley was Mithridates at both shows and, wow! For someone so young and inexperienced he held the stage and has the most piercing eyes which he used to great effect. He made great choices dramatically, small nuances that made big impressions and he had wonderful jumps. His purple von Rothbart will be powerful. Misseldine was an absolute queen as Queen of Babylon. Williams was very good but she didn't make as strong of an impression. I absolutely loved the section with Dionysius' Soldiers - 6 men in gorgeous teal coats exploding across the stage, especially the incredible de la Nuez with his menage of jetes. I've no doubt left some things out, good and bad. There was a lot that liked about it and I'm so glad I went despite my reservations. I just wish he could have chosen a more, yes, enlightened story.

Waski posted this: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfKf2MEANkx/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Interesting casting update on the Met Opera's site: it says that Jose Sebastian is doing Siegfried June 27 and July 1 (ABT's site says that is Ahn). I think the Met Opera just mixed the two up, but their casting sheet is usually the one that's correct, not ABT's. https://www.metopera.org/season/2022-abt/swan-lake/

Eric Tamm was never a soloist. He was a very promising corps dancer, who was given some soloist opportunities, before he left. I always felt he was on track for promotion and was very sorry when he stopped dancing.

Frankly they should be preparing Ahn anyway. What if someone else gets injured or sick? Forster isn’t any older than Whiteside or Stearns, he’s about 35/36. Is Camargo tall enough to partner Seo?

Yikes. And, not surprisingly that means Ahn has been replaced as Purple von Rothbart, by Sebastian and Curley. It's not looking good that Stearns will be able to dance this season. Are they giving Ahn a crash course in Romeo so he can cover that too? They have no other choice really.

So, Curley is now playing Mithridates 6 times?! I haven't seen the production yet, just rehearsal clips - it seems to have some difficult choreography, but maybe it's a short role. Still. Wonder why they didn't spread the love amongst him and Frenette, the later who is only doing it twice. Sorry to hear that Stearns is either ill or injured. But, a good opportunity for the corps fellas. I wonder what the Plan B is for SL which is only the following week, in case Stearns is out of that as well. He has 2 shows.

Boylston and Simkin blew the roof off tonight! They got an even bigger reception than Brandt/Cornejo at the matinee. This is a great role for Boylston: she has a big, high jump, great extensions and a vivacious personality. Fast turns, good hops on pointe (though Brandt’s traveled much further) and fast fouettés, though she nearly lost it at the end. Simkin brought his usual bag of tricks: 540’s, endless pirouette revolutions, beautiful, high jumps, plus charm, wit, and impeccable timing. Overhead lifts were solid. Teuscher was an underwhelming Mercedes; no sass, spirit or flair. Such a contrast to Trenary’s fiery interpretation at the matinee. Her Queen of the Dryads was lovely but her lack of an arabesque muddled some lines. Forster was a very good Espada. Williams and Waliski were fine flower girls. Klein was outstanding as the lead gypsy - so glad he’s getting Mercutio, he needs to be featured more. Coker and Granlund stood out in the corps, both need to be promoted. Crispino again caught my eye; he was a Toreador and played it up magnificently. A wonderful double-feature day at the ballet.

Brandt and Cornejo were fantastic this afternoon! But, Cornejo was truly exceptional. At 41 with a long history of injuries, he was in truly magnificent form. He pulled off multiple pirouettes with ease, leaped high with no strain, and his swagger, charm, dramatic and comedic abilities are unparalleled. Only a few times did his age show - in Act III his jumps to arabesque gave away a reduced flexibility in his back and leg but it didn’t matter. He also dances with intelligence but no ego - maybe twice I saw him attempt a crazy turn that you could tell he couldn’t quite complete or at least complete cleanly but he quickly shifted gears and ended the turn with a flourish and additional step or two that beautifully covered it up without it being obvious. The one arm overhead lifts, and all overhead lifts, were effortlessly and beautifully done. Brandt was also exceptional but there was something missing which I can’t quite articulate. She had some amazing balances which drove the audience wild. Hops on pointe covered the entire stage with ease. But her Plisetskaya jumps were a bit sloppy and she didn’t hit the shape. She’s really turned into a marvelous actress. She and Cornejo had some funny, natural moments. Her maturity really comes through now, she’s an intelligent dancer with lots of confidence but I think sometimes she vears too close to boasting. She also juts her head out a lot which breaks her alignment. McBride and Granlund were lovely flower girls, but McBride needs to ease up on her megawatt smile. More soloist opportunities for Granlund please. Trenary was a gorgeous, sexy, commanding Mercedes and a beautiful Queen of the Dryads with secure Italian fouettés. Shayer was ok as Espada. He lacked Spanish flair and bravado; he did really well with the cape though. He has extreme flexibility but he needs to reign that in at certain moments. Coker was a lively and sassy gypsy lady and her partner, Magbitang, wow! I see him as the next Cornejo - technique, charm and great stage presence. Incredible that he’s only an apprentice and probably still a teenager. Always great to see Ribagorda as the hilarious Gamache. Rachel Richardson was a last minute sub for Amour; she was spritely and charming. Luigi Crispino caught my eye in the background- he has a very animated face and fabulous technique. He’ll make a great Basilio some day. The company really looked great and I almost couldn’t believe I was finally back at the Met after 3 years. I did miss the extra supers on stage, especially the man with the bushy white beard who used to super in all the full lengths.

Fantastic to see two deserving corps dancers get cast, Klein and Pogossian. Anyone else remember Jeffrey Cirio in this part? Wow. Hope to see a few other corps fellas get Benvolio.