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ord7916

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Everything posted by ord7916

  1. Ideally, I would see Part / Gomes, but that day does not work for me. So it will be either Lane / Simkin or Kotchekova / Cornejo. I saw Cornejo in DQ and while I liked him, he didn't blow me away as I thought he would. But everyone is raving about his Swan Lake yesterday. Incidentally, if this makes a difference: the Weds eve with Cornejo has row G on the left aisle available and the matinee with Simkin has row K in the center. Any thoughts?
  2. Interesting to read that everyone had a much better impression of Stearns than I did. I really didn't get any kind of feeling from him. Perhaps it's from sitting too high up. But the orchestra did so wonderful from up there.
  3. Didn't she write a rave review of this very same performance last year?
  4. Just returned from the Met. This is only my second full length ballet, and nearly all of what I know is based on Youtube and what I've read on here, so bear with me. I chose the Part / Stearns cast based on recommendations on here. Part was excellent and the audience loved her. Stearns, except for a brief moment during the pas de deux, seemed to just be "there". I never got the feeling that these two were in love. When she jumps into the lake and he jumps in after her, I couldn't help but wonder Why? Rothbart the human was played by Vasiliev and the beast by Roman Zhurbin, both of whom were a treat to watch. Vasiliev had a great stage presence, albeit without the acrobatics that he's famous for. And I really liked Zhurbin. I'd rather they let him do both versions of Rothbart and let Vasiliev do Siegfried. Incidentally, at the end of act three when there's an explosion and he turns back into the beast, it happens so quickly and is so dimly lit that if you're not familiar with this version, you'd really have no idea what happened. The pas de trois was great, led by Sascha Radetsky, as were the four swans (not sure what that part is called). And the two guys doing the Neapolitan dance were great as well. And the group swan scenes were impressive. Aside from the the above, the Rothbart scenes, parts of the pas de deux and some of Odette's scenes, I found my mind wandering. To my surprise, having looked forward to this night for quite a while, I found I actually enjoyed Don Quixote with Cornejo and Reyes more. Though it is certainly sillier, I found it wowing me again and again, something I only felt a couple of times tonight. Now I'm debating whether to spend the money for Sleeping Beauty and, if so, with which cast.
  5. Thanks for the replies. I may do the NYCB on Friday 6/7, though not for $155. Perhaps the $89 at the rear orchestra, but will that be too far away? For the moment, I think I'll skip Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty and R&J and ABT, but as the dates get closer, who knows?
  6. Lots of votes for the NYCB. But where are the cheaper tickets? It looks more expensive than ABT, at least for the good seats. I could possibly do Romeo and Juliet on 6/10, but listening to the music just now, I'm not so sure. What about Sylvia with Murphy and Gomes?
  7. To partly answer my own question, it looks like the only one I can fit in my schedule is Le Corsaire on 6/7/ or 6/8. Is it worth seeing? And would you choose Osipova and Vasiliev or Herrera and Gomes? Everyone raves about Osipova and Vasiliev but everyone on here seems to love Marcelo Gomes.
  8. I am new to ballet. I saw the opening night gala two weeks ago, and then Don Quixote with Reyes / Cornejo. Based on recommendations on here, I'll be seeing Swan Lake with Part and Stearns on 6/18. If I were to go to one other this year, which of the three above would it be? And any particular stars worth seeing?
  9. Cornejo linked to this review on his Facebook. Lots of praise for him and Alexandre Hammoudi, but a lot less for Osipova and Vasiliev. A little surprising that he'd post a less than flattering review of his colleagues.
  10. I saw Cornejo and Reyes on Friday and it was excellent. Reyes was terrific throughout. Cornejo was great as well, but not quite as dramatic as I'd hoped in the grand pas de deux, compared to what I've seen, albeit on youtube, from Angel Corella and Ivan Vasiliev. But the two of them are great together. Hee Seo was good, as was Alexandre Hammoudi, though I see what others have said about him not being as refined as the others. The audience around me was on its very best behavior, which was a welcome contrast from the opening night gala when i-phone flashlights kept lighting up the whole place and two ladies kept arguing over who got to use the binoculars. One thing that struck me was how much down time there is. Act I is 40 minutes, then a 20 minute + intermission, 30 minutes for Act II, another 20 minute intermission and Act III could not have been more than 25 minutes, plus 10 minutes of curtain calls with confetti. Admittedly, this was my first full length ballet. Is this typical?
  11. The performance I attended on Monday at the Met was the opening night gala with scenes from six or seven different ballets. So the flashlights were mostly an effort to read the program and see what was what and who was who. Like many others, I was also curious as to exactly what I was watching, but most of us knew to wait until intermission to find out. I do wish that theaters would do a much better job of reminding the audience of proper conduct. There are usually announcements regarding no cameras or recording devices and to "silence", though not turn off, cellphones. A no texting, emailing, Angry Birds or flashlights announcement would come in handy. Incidentally, at the Met, there was no announcement at all, just large signs in the lobbies, though most people were too busy trying to spot celebrities to notice.
  12. Thanks again. The idea of seeing it twice would be nice, but pricey. And considering I've yet to see a full length ballet, I'm not sure I'd notice much difference between different dancers. However, I did also buy tickets for the opening night of Don Quixote with Herman Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes. That night is their 10th anniversary at ABT so should be nice. Not sure why I'm suddenly spending all this money for ballet tickets, but we shall see...
  13. Thanks for the replies. I did opt for Part. Regarding the suggestion to buy it and then see if something else becomes available at the last minute - Is that possible? It says everywhere that tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged, although Broadway theaters also say that and they do let refund or exchange.
  14. So this is only my second post on here. I've become obsessed with Swan Lake and want to see it at ABT in June. I'm not familiar with most of the principals aside from Gillian Murphy and Angel Corella, who is not there anymore. The one with the best seats available is Part and Stearns. Would you recommend that one? there is also Boylston and Simkin, Murphy and Whiteside or Cocojaru and Cornejo (who I'd love to see but that date might not work.) Any recommendations? And is it every worthwhile getting orchestra seats (row F) or is that too close?
  15. Hi, I just returned from the ABT Gala Opening. As far as I remember, this was my first ever ballet and my first time at the MET since 1985. What struck me most was the bad behavior of the audience. People kept lighting up flashlights in the middle of the performance to read the programs. It must have happened at least 20 times. Do they not see anything wrong with that? And then there were those who kept talking and had to be told more than once to be quiet. And others taking flash pictures during the curtain calls. Is this common at the ballet and the MET? It certainly doesn't happen in Broadway theaters. I really thought they'd be much stricter in enforcing the no electronic or recording devices rules. For those of us who are easily distracted, it was quite distracting.
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