Roberta

Due to COVID-19, the rest of The Washington Ballet's season, including next month's Swan Lake at the Kennedy Center, is now cancelled. Already postponed once, the Swan Lake is now rescheduled to end the 2020/2021 season, in mid-May 2021. Source: TWB's Facebook page. edit - I see that California beat me to it. Sorry!

Is it something about the English stiff upper lip - Keep Calm and Carry On? Related somehow to this, the Sarasota Ballet has not cancelled its upcoming revival of Ashton's Romeo & Juliet, set for next weekend (25 March). Sarasota definitely has a senior population. They should reconsider keep the theatre open.

So there goes this year's Mariinsky Ballet Festival unless they are somehow exempt from this rule, which would make no sense.

You're welcome, ksk04. I can't get that tune out of my mind. It's followed me back home from Costa Mesa. It's way too early to speculate on when the NYC theatres - all US theatres? - will reopen but, gosh, I hope that the ABT and NYCB spring/early summer seasons take place. Surely we'll all be back to normal then? At least the US hasn't had it as bad as my country (Italy) or China.

Different strokes for different folks, as I found Hurlin to be a more compelling actress, more fluid in delivery (Russian "plastique") and just-plain-beautiful (lines, face, that fire-red hair!). Of course, Shevchenko has perhaps the more steely academic technique - I love her great leaping Myrtha! - but, to me, the role of Callirhoe is all about "plastique." Needless to say, Aran Bell was her perfect hero - great soloist and steady partner. They make such a lovely pair in every sense! Which is not to say that Shevchenko/Forster were not very fine in cast 2. Now that I've seen Of Love and Rage in Costa Mesa, the one performance to which I am most looking forward at the Met this summer is Catherine Hurlin's Aurora debut on (I think) June 17, with Forster as her Prince Desire. Promote her (and Bell) pronto, please, Mr Mckenzie! It's the 80th Anniv of ABT but we don't have to wait for the 100th anniversary for Hurlin to become prima ballerina. (wink) OK - promote Forster too. We've been waiting seemingly 100 years for that one.

Not all music utilized is from the ballet Gayane. One of the loveliest pieces of music heard is the 2nd movement of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto, during the first pdd adagio danced by Callirhoe and Dionysius (particularly poignant when danced by Hurlin and Whiteside). The Pacific Symphony Orchestra did it great justice at all Costa Mesa performances, particularly because audiences had the rare opportunity to hear it as Khachaturian had intended, with the musical saw (or "flexatone") instrument during the repetition of the main theme. One of the few recordings of this movement, with this eerie instrument, is the following. Forward to the 2:38 mark to hear the segment of the musical saw. It lends a truly haunting sound to the work, echoing the sentiments that were racing through Callirhoe's mind. I wonder if the presentations at the Met this summer will include a musical saw in the orchestra pit? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qaQXk-fKdc

It appears that this was postponed/canceled, due to coronavirus precautions (other thread with the announcement from Dale - https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/45440-abt-postpones-abu-dhabi-festival-perf/).

Yes. Act I lasts exactly 60 minutes, while Act II is 44 mins. The lone intermission was about 30 minutes. The ballet began about 5-6 minutes after the 7:30pm official starting time. No complaints. It went by very quickly. Such a great ballet, especially the Hurlin/Bell/Whiteside-led cast, although I also enjoyed Shevchenko/Forster/Hoven. The corps de ballet was spectacular in all shows, dancing difficult, substantive choreography in every scene. I missed 3rd-cast Seo/Bell/Ahn on Sunday. Bell subbed for an indisposed Calvin Royal, who was originally announced to partner Seo on Sat night. Switches were made so that Bell would not have to do two performances in one day. Wishing Royal a speedy recovery.

Smirnova is an extraordinarily lithe and lyrical Odette and a glamorous Odile. I don't quite understand the negativity, although I get that fans of other ballerinas such as Stepanova become frustrated. Not so long ago, many were complaining that Zakharova got all of the cinemacasts. Krysanova also had a good share of the full-length classical cinema events, for a while. Schipulina seems to be in that "dependable house ballerina" category - sort of like Eleanor d'Antuono at ABT in the 1970s.

Costa Mesa-Segerstrom recently published an initial playbill and a feature story on Of Love and Rage. https://www.scfta.org/scfta/media/General/389-ABT-OLAR-for-web.pdf (not yet detailed casting; Lane still on the roster) https://www.scfta.org/scfta/media/General/0220-p14-16-Of-Love-and-Rage.pdf (learn to pronounce "Callirhoe"...)

To me, it sounds as if we are witnessing the beginning of the "PART-ing" (as in Veronika Part) of Sarah Lane. How sad to inject bitterness into the matter. I hope that we are all dead wrong. With regard to Lane not being cast in the new Ratmansky full-length ballet, I'm not reading as much into that as are others. Just nine months ago, Lane was cast in a featured role (Rose) in The Seasons and reprised the role during the fall run. Of Love and Rage seems to be one of those ballets with only one featured female classical soloist role...like Romeo & Juliet. You're either the lead or you're not named in principal casting. Furthermore, with so much great dancey music in Khachaturian's Gayaneh score -- what's being used in Love & Rage -- how do we know that there may not be a classical divertissement of some sort in the ballet, with many solo-dancing opportunities? Remember that Ratmansky did "luxury casting" in The Seasons, with principals like Hee Seo cast in the winter divertissements (tiny but lovely solos). I'm still holding out hope that Lane will appear in a featured solo in Costa Mesa. p.s. - Correction: Love & Rage principal cast roles include another female: Queen of Babylon - but is this a "character principal" role or a classical one? I keep thinking of Ashton's Sylvia in which the role of Diana -- a smallish mime role lasting all of two minutes at the end of the ballet -- is included with the principals. Do the King and Queen of Babylon (Zhurbin/Teuscher or Roberts/K. Williams) dance a classical pdd?

One of the Kennedy Center-based incarnations of Farrell's company performed Tzigane. As I recall, it was not very long...the pdd and a bit more...maybe 8 -9 minutes? Lovely, nonetheless. I'd love to see Pavane (a brief solo created for McBride, later danced by Nichols) and Hungarian Gypsy Airs (created for Von Aroldingen, for the 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival, although it's since been discovered that it may have been composed by Liszt, orchestrated by P.I.T.).

I was wondering how long the older, traditional ballet competitions would last. There are other, faster ways for young dancers to get noticed and hired by top companies. Even among competitions, Varna was becoming a bit of a dinosaur. We now have the more popular and all-geographical-encompassing YAGP, for example. Also, wasn't there a political component to the Varna and Moscow competitions, at least in the early years? I may be wrong but it seemed to be, in part, a showcase for socialist values/communist systems. Whenever a dancer from any place but the USSR or a satellite of the USSR (including Cuba) won, it made headlines because it was such a rare occurrence. I'm thinking of N. Am. dancers like Fernando Bujones or Evelyn Hart, who won gold medals despite representing the wrong side, if you will.

Dreams Do Come True!

Exactly. I felt embarrassed for kids sitting in front of me. They shouldn't go to a ballet matinee and see such costumes, themes, etc. I did not even bother going to the Washington Ballet's "three new works" program this fall.

Best: Sarasota Ballet's recon of Ashton's "Apparitions" and the chance to enjoy the art of guest star Marcello Gomes The Royal Ballet's gala in honor of Fonteyn's 100th birthday NYCB's "Scotch Symphony" in the spring rep - a Balanchine ballet not seen often enough Ratmansky's "The Seasons" at ABT, despite sparse and often-goofy designs The Danes' rare visit to the USA, despite the program being too brief. Ratmansky's "Valse Triste" for Osipova and Hallberg in her "pure Dance" program of mostly-modern works Ratmansky's "Bayadere" in Berlin (premiered in 2018 but I caught in 2019) Revival of a Joffrey treasure - the Pas des Deesees - in Oklahoma City Worst: Just two simple words: JANE EYRE (ABT) Not far behind, the Washington Ballet's celebration of bondage in its tasteless "Teeming Waltzes" by Trey McIntyre, as part of its spring 2019 mixed bill of new works. Johann Strauss Jr must still be turning over in his grave. The first two acts of the Mariinsky's full-length "Paquita". Pass the No-Doze!

I don't care much for Medora's variation in the "Jardin Anime" scene, in the Kirov-Mariinsky version (a.k.a. "Pygmalion variation" - originally in Petipa's "Pygmalion"). The first half sounds and looks like a series of thuds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnYuMP-p9yc

Thanks. Reston, VA, is somewhat in the neighborhood.

It seems as if this is finally coming to North America?

Is Ovation no longer doing a "Battle of the Nutcrackers"? I recall that they did it last year (Dec 2018) with films from Zurich and Prague among the novelties. In 2018, they were shown in the wee hours...not the prime-time showcase as in the past.

I agree with all above that the Ratmansky edition of Bayadere is fantastic in every way - steps, musical arrangement, decors. The corps may not be the strongest around but they are well served by the simpler Petipa choreography, an example of "less is more." Having seen both the Vikharev and Ratmansky versions several times, it's obvious that Vikharev felt pressure to retain large parts of Ponomarev. As I mentioned in another thread, the long article by his associate P. Gerzhenson in a 2002 issue of Ballet Review gives a complete listing of the numbers that Vikharev restored and intended to set on the Mariinsky troupe. Half of what's listed never made the light of day but we see them fully realized in Ratmansky. [Gerzhenson's interview predates the Mariinsky premiere of Vikharev's Bayadere on May 31, 2002.]

This GISELLE sounds like a winner. Two more excellent reviews in English, with lovely photos: Catherine Pawlick, for Vaganova Today: http://www.vaganovatoday.com/giselle-restored-ratmanskys-revival-at-the-bolshoi-november-2019 Marina Harss for Dance Tabs: https://dancetabs.com/2019/11/bolshoi-ballet-giselle-ratmansky-premiere-moscow/ Lastly, folks with access to Instagram will be able to see chilling photos of the Willis' famous formation of the Christian Cross:

The new-old Bolshoi version will be cinemascast live on 26 January. The presenter in N. Am. is Fathom Events. You can search for a theatre near you via this website: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/bolshoi1920-giselle As for a commercial DVD being issued, we don't know yet. Some of the Bolshoi Ballet screenings, such as the recent Coppelia starring Margarita Schreiner, make it onto DVD/Bluray. We'll just have to wait. I wouldn't be surprised if there's an unofficial link between the two productions. Although not specifically mentioned in the Kommersant interview, I wouldn't be surprised if Ratmansky is aware of the details of the PNB production. Ratmansky has collaborated in the past with Doug Fullington (Munich Paquita and, to a lesser degree, the ABT Sleeping Beauty). A friendly meeting of minds!

This is all very tempting for a trip in April, Sandik. Thank you! Cubanmiamiboy, having carefully re-read the Ratmansky interview in Kommersant, I can confirm that his version of Giselle for the Bolshoi will include the rare "Fugue of the Willis" repeat near the end, when the Willis try to ensnare Albrecht. Ratmansky mentions this, in the context of the importance of Giselle's tombstone in the form of a cross...the Willis become angry and form a circle around Albrecht, trying to pull him to his death, when they see the rays of sunlight making a shadow in the form of the Christian cross. Very interesting stuff. I also love that Ratmansky pointed out, in answer to Kommersant's Qs about possible resistance to changes, that the Bolshoi dancers were all very positive and did not resist the changes to their existing version(s) of Giselle. Ratmansky also noted, near the end of the interview, that the idea to create a new-old Giselle based on historically-informed sources, was that of Bolshoi Ballet A.D. Vaziev. Ratmansky himself had not even thought about tackling Giselle until Vaziev's invitation. He could not resist.

Cubanmiamiboy, according to this Nov 15 interview in Kommersant, it appears as if your wishes will come true, such as seeing the original ending of Giselle, in which Giselle points to Bathilde and the court entourage, directing Albrecht to go back to his fiancée. He'll do so and give her flowers - forgiveness all around! https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4149723 This new-old Bolshoi version should be a real treat, in which Ratmansky has consulted all known 19th-C and early-20th-C sources on Giselle, not just the Petipa-era Harvard Stepanov notes but also sources that Doug Fullington and Marian Smith used to stage their version of the ballet in Seattle a few years ago (for ex., Paris repetiteur Titus' notes on Adam's score, Henri Justamant's 1860s manuscript describing the Paris version, even drawings by Imperial Ballet First Soloist Pavel Gerdt detailing the Act III pdd-adagio). The Seattle version included lost bits, such as the Fugue des Willis, so I'm hoping that we'll see that at the Bolshoi, although Ratmansky does not specifically mention it in the Kommersant interview. (He does specifically mention the new-old final scene with Albrecht returning to Bathilde. Ratmansky also seems to chuckle that he's pretty sure that Russian audiences will be surprised!) How lucky for all of us to be seeing this version in cinemas, come January 26!