terrynyc

Two years ago closing night SLEEPING BEAUTY was Part and Gomes. They were repeating their roles in the last performance of that pridyction, just as they had performed the premiere performance some years earlier. I did a "prep" before attending that performance, watching countless other versions (video), immersing myself - Fonteyn, Cojucaru, Vishneva, Gregory, Zakharova, etc. Part blew me away. I still hold that performance as one of the finest I have ever seen - and for my money, way better than this year's SLEEPING BEAUTY, Disney sets and all.

Sorry. Above was part of a different conversation!

I ate the yogurt. Glad I did.

Saw SWAN LAKE tonight. Nobody is a bigger fan of Bolle and Gomes than myself. I think Seo is lovely. Still, I was hoping for a "hotter" performance than tonight's. Seo WAS lovely, technically secure, not dull, everything executed well, especially when assisted by Bolle's expert partnering. She got the audience going with the foutee's, which she does while trsveling in a straight path downstage. It kind of works that way, if you forget that she isn't really supposed to travel. You do wonder if she might mis-judge and end up headfirst in the tuba, but nevermind. Bolle was dazzlingly beautiful to look at, and his first act adagio's were gorgeous, with sustained lovely lines. Gomes did his signature role with the usual fire and a couple of great evil looks. AND YET, I felt it was an evening of everything being "correct", but not going that extra step into magical. It did result in one of the very best PDQ I have ever seen. How did everyone else feel?

It would be Bolle, since he is scheduled anyway, with Gomes as (the definitive) Rothbart. I don't share the "hate on" for Seo, but I would love to see Part's O O.

To each his own.Obviously, I completely disagree with AMOUR about Roberto Bolle. Marcello is also wonderful in this part, but his interpretation is very different. The same is true of their Albrechts. Some people evidently don't respond to Roberto's, perhaps more subtle interpretstion. But I find it detailed and compelling - and moves me like no other. The way he tosses the "dead" Juliet around is remarkable. I love the way his line extends clear to the end of his fingers. But I do agree that Cornejo was a fantastic Mercutio.

Magnificent performance tonight for Kent's farewell. Luxury casting indeed to have Cornejo as Mercutio. He was brilliant and acted the role for real. He was a real friend, and his death scene was absolutely real. Nothing exagerated, nothing csmpy. It is not a comic moment. His "plague on both your houses" was not as showy as some either, as if Mercury barely has the energy for this last curse before he expires. He and Bolle were so magnificent, that the splendid Blaine Holton hot a bit lost. With two friends like that, the dancer and the director really need to figure out who Benvolio is. Bolle and Kent were totally on and in sync. I have always felt Bolle , is superb in this role, and I felt it was truer than ever tonight. Every moment is worked out and true having fun with the guys, flirting with thecgirls, teasing the nurse or making love with Juliet, everything is true. Kent was so energized by the warmth from the audience and the two ire with Bolle. She was exquisite. Nolle's anguish at killing Tubal was devastating. I liked Patrick Ogke'Tubal very much. Hammoudi disappointed slightly as Paris. He was not as sympathetic as I have seen. Overall, I was enthralled. Bravo Julie et al.

In the past several years, Bolle has been an incredibly consistent and reliable artist. 2 years ago, when Hammoudi was first injured, Bolle and Marcello each picked up one of his performances. I had tickets for Hammoudi/Seo in R&J because I had seen great potential from Hammoudi in the past. Of course, I was thrilled that Bolle was the replacement. He was wonderful with Seo. A truly expert partner, he really helped her to be her best as Juliet, and I thought she was lovely and moving in every way. Later that week I saw Bolle with Kent, and I have to say, that for me, that is the ultimate partnership in this ballet - I can't wait for tomorrow night. By the way, I went to Bolle's book signing last week at Barnes and Noble. They showed the little film, PASSAGE, that he and Semianova did. Turns out that was filmed at a warehouse in Red Hook that same week ad the R&J's. The water was evidently really cold and Bolle said he was sure he was going to get bronchitis. Anyway, to have 2 such experienced, gorgeous dancers as Gomes and Bolle at the top of their game at ABT is something to celebrate. Also, Bolle hired Seo for his Bolle & Friends. I already liked her, but the fact that he puts his faith in her gives her extra points in my book. She is not just some favorite of KM's.

In the past several years, Bolle has been an incredibly consistent and reliable artist. 2 years ago, when Hammoudi was first injured, Bolle and Marcello each picked up one of his performances. I had tickets for Hammoudi/Seo in R&J because I had seen great potential from Hammoudi in the past. Of course, I was thrilled that Bolle was the replacement. He was wonderful with Seo. A truly expert partner, he really helped her to be her best as Juliet, and I thought she was lovely and moving in every way. Later that week I saw Bolle with Kent, and I have to say, that for me, that is the ultimate partnership in this ballet - I can't wait for tomorrow night. By the way, I went to Bolle's book signing last week at Barnes and Noble. They showed the little film, PASSAGE, that he and Semianova did. Turns out that was filmed at a warehouse in Red Hook that same week ad the R&J's. The water was evidently really cold and Bolle said he was sure he was going to get bronchitis. Anyway, to have 2 such experienced, gorgeous dancers as Gomes and Bolle at the top of their game at ABT is something to celebrate. Also, Bolle hired Seo for his Bolle & Friends. I already liked her, but the fact that he puts his faith in her gives her extra points in my book. She is not just some favorite of KM's.

I am so looking forward to Saturday's performance: Kent's farewell with Bolle. I have seen them several times in this ballet. For my money, there is nothing like the way their bodies intertwine. They look so beautiful together and Bolle tosses her around like she weighs nothing (which she probably does, but still).

I think somehow the focus of the discussion got a-kilter. It isn't really about providing more space for all the dancers, or whether SB is a star vehicle or not. The fact is, done this way, the evening was very dull. There was no more space for more dancers (although that was a huge number of garlands). The fairies were still there, but the Lilac Fairy very diminished, with a loss of impact. The fairy tale characters were all still there (Puss, Wolf, Bluebird). No, the "room" seems to have been made for more pantomime, which is tedious. In the meantime, most of the roles were somehow "made less". Vishneva was exhilarating in her entrance, but once the Adagio started I found myself thinking "It is expertly done, but 'earth-bound' in some way". There is something for Aurora to convey here. I don't like it when the ballerina makes her too "little girl" because she isn't Juliet, she is 16, not 13. But still, the challenge is to show her in the first flush of womanhood. The choreography gives her opportunities to express, alternatively, sexuality, demureness, shyness, flightiness, etc. I think the "earthbound" aspect I felt has to do with the "concept" and the way everyone had been directed. One thing no one has mentioned was the way Prince Desire was directed. I only saw Gomes (the final). Marcello is a wonderfully expressive, masculine dancer. But for reasons known only to himself, Ratmansky directed him to be extremely 'effeminate', with very "dancery" posing and attitude. Like some kind of parody of a 'primo uomo ballerino'. In the last act Marcello returned to his usual self. Somehow, it all seemed part of the plan to diminish the role of the Prince, which I think was the real big problem. In order to make this ballet live for modern audiences, the role of the Prince needs to be augmented, not diminished. If the Prince is just a 'tool' (so to speak) then we really don't care about this whole story. There isn't a lot of 'drama' to work with. Still, in the second act, it seems to me that the challenge is to humanize the Prince. Show that he is 'yearning', 'looking' for something. The Vision Scene is about the Prince falling in love with the magical vision of Aurora that the Lilac shows him. Whatever things were cut for the Prince in that scene again lessened the impact of the ballet. And then, in the final pas de dieux, to take away the fireworks for the Prince again, just flattens everything out, and leaves us uninvolved. Perhaps that wasn't the way it was "originally" done. But this is the 21st Century, and this company is the ABT, known for its devotion to the "story ballets" and for stressing the drama and acting in their performances. This evening felt a bit like a homework assignment, and I am not sure for what purpise. Petipa was brilliant, and the very best parts need to be maintained in any production of SLEEPING BEAUTY. But, the real challenge is to bring the ballet alive, to make the fairy tale moving and romantic for modern audiences. That is a challenge that was not met with this scholarly, didactic and flattened out rendering. Where was the Romance? Where was the Fun? the Magic?

Well, frankly, I feel like this SLEEPING BEAUTY is a big bore. A pedantic experiment that dampens the efforts of the finest dancers and flattens the whole evening out. Is this what is necessary to achieve a "better unity" of style and coordination of the company as a whole? I thought Trenary/Simkin looked very good in their costumes, and Carabosse's look was great. But everyone else looked less than their best. Combination of wigs, costumes, makeup and lighting had the principals mostly looking haggard, drawn and elderly. No wonder Paloma didn't want to go out in this production. Concepts like blond wigs just don't work for everyone - or in this case, really, for anyone. I thought the Vision Scene was a big bore. Gomes and Vishneyva were fantastic in the fish dives in the last act. However, when I got home, I played the video with Fonteyn and Michael Somes and with Bolle and Vishneva (Nuryeyev staged) and found myself saying "wait a minute! I don't remember Marcello doing all this great stuff" (cause he didn't). Cutting or toning down the most challenging and exciting parts rob the artists and the audience of the optimum experience. I think it is a great thing that over the years, ballet has lifted the importance of the male dancers to equal that of the female. McKenzie has contributed to that development. I think trying to turn that clock back is a big mistake. I can't wait to see R&J and Swan Lake and see some real DANCING!

I didn't intend a criticism of the discussion. Just an observation that so far the emphasis seemed to be much more on the production than the dancing and interpretation. Perhaps that is natural with an important new production. I look forward to seeing it myself to see if that is the reason, or if the dancers are not really well served by the concept

I can't wait to see SLEEPING BEAUTY. The discussion is very interesting, but I do not hear much raving about the dancing itself. More about the sets, costumes and textual comparisons. I saw BEAUTY a couple of years ago with Part and Gomes and was wiped out by the dancing. I still think of Part's performance and how she captured so well, not a 'playing at' being a 'little girl', but a 16 year old in the first full flush of sexuality and womanhood. I don't hear those kind of observations in the above discussions. I have to say, I am not so excited about the bent knees and demi pointe. You know, in 1841, Gilbert Dupre was the first tenor to sing a full throated high C "from the chest". Before that, men sang everything above anovel the chest in a cultivated falsetto. Dupres changed all that (Rossini said it sounded like a chicken being strangled"). Would we really like to mount a production that adhered to the way it was actually sung then? As a special event, maybe. But as a repertoire constant? Wouldn't it give way in the next seasons to doing it as singers actually perform today? That is what I am wondering about this production. I want to see these great dancers do their very best, to demonstrate their amazing technical and acting abilities. Not to fulfill some sort of academic rendering.

It is interesting about Thomas. I felt in the first act he was very naturalistic and a bit understated in the role (Wed matinee with Herrera), not actually a bad thing. I remember thinking he doesn't really look like a dancer. His posture was slightly hunched. He was very much the average peasant guy. But then in Act II when he danced, he was wonderful, and I felt there was real terror in his face. I like him a lot.

I just have not been able to bring myself to enter a theater named afer David Koch. If Bolle does Apollo this fall I may be forced to try (wuth a clothes pin on my nose), but I wish they were at City Center.

You are right MIMSYB,it was 38 entrechats. Bolle was amazing. His solo was excellent also, though for some reason he started from stage right instead of his usual stage left. Paloma was radiant and assured. She seemed to really be happy to be sharing the performance with Roberto. There were many little "moments" between the two of them. The lifts were beautiful. Aaron Scott and Skylar Brandt were charming as the peasants and Thomas Forrester was impressive in his second act torment scene. A memorable performance all around.

Kent was radiant and her repoire with Marcello was evident. Still, it wasn't an example of great dancing. I like the balllet because if the commitment of all of the leads, but GISELLE it ain't.

I completely dusagree wuth the negative comments about Whiteside. I think he did a marvelous job. His turns were great, the male oartnering with Gomes and Gorak excellently executed. And to hold your own in a one to one with Marcello is no small feat! You can't blame him for the perhaps unsubtle moves such as the "hair stroke" pose. The ballet is a "short hand" of the psychologies in this presentation, and he is the villain. I think he did thst very well and danced very well besides. There are other roles that csn offer him mire of a chance for subtlety (Romeo, for instsnce).

Sure would! We are losing a legacy.

Yes, blu rays or dvd's are great and I would love to have a Gomes/Vishneva Giselle on blu ray. ABT is way behind other companies in that regard - on the other hand other comoanies get mu h more gov't support. Still dvd's are cor the already addicted. What was so great (and I admit it pbly wouldn't work today) about Ed Sullivan is that you got a small taste of what was going on: a scene from MY FAIR LADY witb Juoie A drews and Rex Harrison, Maria Ccallas and George Lk don doing a scene from TOSCA, Jose Himanez doing a omey routine and a grea pdd with Nureyev and Fonteyn. Everybody knew at least a little a out what was going kn and tbe small dose was nust enough to maybe interest tbem in seeing a little more. Ob, well....

Agreed! I would add that the availability of DVDs is also relevant. Thanks to La Scala's release of performances videotaped live, I have DVDs of Bolle in Bayadere, Giselle, and Swan Lake (partnering Zakharova in all three). What's available commercially for Gomes? Purple Rothbart in the ABT Swan Lake, from 2005 (with Corella and Murphy in the leads). Serious fans can find snippets on YouTube and the NYPL/Dance Collection has archival tape of several ballets with him you can watch there, but none of that has been released for commercial distribution. This is a raw nerve on this site, for sure.

Thanks for your post C-Green. I agree with your observations. It is so interesting that there can be two (well even more really, but we are talking about Gomes Bolle right now) very different interpretations within the same production with the same director. I would not give either one the "best" award. We are talking about two very accomplished and seasoned artists wbo bring all their years of technical achievement and artistic and even life experience to their dancing. I went to get tickets to ghe Bolshoi today and was unable to get even a single seat to any performance I wanted. I thought Geez, nothing like taking the Home Team for granted. ABT sbould be better sold out than it is. Why doesn't all of America know who Marcello Gomes is? Bolle is famous in Europe.because of many broadcast performances, but also they seem to be more aware of fine arts there. Also he has done modeling and commercials. But here only Ballet Geeks know who he is. Where is Ed Sullivan when you need him? Thanks to him Americans were sort of aware of all the stuff going on artistically from ballet to opera and comics, jugglers and the Beatles. By the way I also did a comparison of Albrecht in Giselle with Gomes and Bolle which is also fascinating because in that case I felt Bolle was the "sunnier" intrepretation and Gomes the "darker" and again both were terrific.

Thank ypu Coleen for your review of Swsn Lake with Semianova/Stearns. I completely agree about Polina. And I am very glad to hear these good reports about Cory's dramatic involvement. We need him to get better in that department because we need him to partner these spectacular large women like Semianova and Part.

Re: SWAN LAKE. Sat. Nite. Seo/Bolle. I saw both Wednesday night (Semianova/Gomes) and this performance. Both were excellent though quite different. I am a little surprised by how many people seem so dismissive of Semianova. I found ber to be astonisbing - authoritative, technically flawless (ok maybe the arms in Act I could use a hair more fluidity). I did not find her "cold" or uninvolved as some above and certainly not boring. There were many nice moments of contact with Marcello. Her Black Swan had the same great authority and was a real Vixen, but not super evil. All in all, a dazzling and exciting performance and in my opinion, one very difficult to top. The Sat nite was a all around lovely performance. Not as astonishingly accurate as the Seminova/Bolle, but in some ways even more moving. On tbis evening it was Story First. Both Seo and Bolle seemed quite steeped in the actual story. I want to say especially Bolle, but really Seo's acting and attention to little nuances were terrific and in some instances even went beyond some of the fine tender moments Semianova had. Bolle gave a masterful performance. He said on instagram that these Swan Lakes were the first since bis last Swan 5 years ago. He has obviously thought long and hard as he readied himself to return to the role. Marcello's Siegfried is young man who is a bit scattered and unfocused, but he is still pretty exuberant. Bolle's Siegfried, on the other hand is a bit of a "lost soul". He doesn't fit in that comfortably anywhere. Even with his best friend he is a bit removed. He adores his mother, but is basically a loner otherwise. There was something a little dark about the way Bolle approached it, and sometbing sad, long before we got to the tragic ending. He expressed that sadness, loneliness and isolation very well in bis adagio in Act I. I liked it very much when the mother took the cross-bow from Marcello and he sort of reached for it as if to say"wait! That's mine!". With Bolle, once the mother took the cross-bow and she wanted to talk to him, his entire attention was on her, with some trepidation, keeping with his darker approach to Siegfried. If you are going to get into this story as if it were true and not just a ballet performance, then Bolle's approach made it very clear why he would be so attracted to this mysterious creature in the forest - so different from anyone at court. The two of them are sort of "outsiders" in their own worlds. At first Seo is frightened of him, and rebukes all of his advances. Hurt, he turns from her. All of a sudden she seemed.to sense his sorrow (perhaps like her own?). In that moment she seems to fall in love with him and goes to him and caresses his cheek. Maybe that moment has always been there, but it never affected me as it did when Seo and Bolle did it. In the great PDD, Bolle was alternately dazzled and delighted and then hurt and confused by Seo's hot and cold manipulations. His horror (especially when he runs to his mother's arms) was really moving. I love the way Bolle's shoulders and face express anguish. Marcello's banging the big doorknobs was great, but Bolle's crumpling against the door with one arm stretched upward was equally moving. Nobody leaps to his death like Marcello, but on the other hand it does get a big laugh and the story goes out the window. I wouldn't want to tell him not to do it, because it is astonishing and fun and is his thing. But I don't think it should be anyone else's standard. The way Seo and Bolle handled the jumps was moving and still rooted in the reality of the story. Seo was pretty technically secure, but not with Polina's incredible backward arch, with every sinewy muscle evident. She did not hold that moment as she Black Swan as long or as bigh as Polina. Her foutees traveled downstage (but straight downstage so you could almost believe it was on purpose - I doubt Polina moved even two inches). I thkught Bolle might have made some adjustments to get himself through these back to back performances, but I went back and looked at the Grand PDD from the Golden Jubilee in London with Zanaida Yanowski (early 90's) and it doesn't look like he made any major compromises, other than a little leeway from the conductor. His lifts were easy and assured and his partnering excellent. Whiteside was.more bravura and flamboyant than Hammoudi (who still seems to be being cautious from his injury) but not every single thing was absolutely perfect. This small role is evidently very difficult. No one but Marcello seems to have mastered it completely. Blaine Holven and Grant DeLong were excellent as the twins, as had been Aaron and Craig on Wed. Luis was also excellent as the friend. I am very happy to have seen both of these performances - both unforgettable in their way. There is so much perfection these dancers are striving for: perfection of steps and moves, truth of relationships, dramatic truth etc.. it is.endlessly fascinating to see each cast reach for the (unattainable) perfect achievement.