Papagena

Interesting - I'm really looking forward to see if the fire bit works for me. Not sure if anyone saw The Met's Don Giovanni, but there were zero bells and whistles / special effects until the end, when the hellfire scene used a projection tactic that was shockingly effective - I can't stop thinking about it. Regarding the spirit of the mother - my biggest question when I saw they were making LWFC a ballet, was a question of tone. Was there an overall tone to the ballet? Did they get it right? Or is it a bit of a mess? LWFC and magical realism can have a charming ability to lean into camp quite seamlessly ... but only when it's done right. I guess I'm just always curious about the overall feeling audience members are left with after the ballet is over. Looking forward to more reports - I'm catching it next week.

For me, Wheeldon's storytelling argument only really works for family-friendly works like Alice, Whipped Cream, and Nutcracker. Does nobody in the ballet world understand that many new ballet goers buy tickets for Swan Lake and Giselle for the same reason new Met Opera goers see La Boheme? It's not the storytelling, it's the overall experience of people 'going to the ballet' and dressing up and experiencing something they've heard or seen in movies etc. These works live in the cultural imagination ... it's like going to Paris and waiting in line to see the Mona Lisa. Tapping into cultural relevance or assessing why something new is a 'must see' is extremely important. Not 'here's a story and theatrics that happens to be ballet.' I'm baffled by Wheeldon's comments here. LWFC has been billed as too sexy for kids and I wouldn't say it's been widely culturally relevant for a while (and they can't really talk about LatinX cultural relevance since few people who worked or starred in it are actually Mexican or Central American). Of Love and Rage was anti-culturally relevant, I saw very little reason to pour tons of money into a production like that. Side Note: 'cultural relevance' does not need to mean throwing away classical ballet technique or heritage works, nor does it simply mean commissioning pop stars to do the music. A one-act classical/neoclassical adaptation of 'Giovanni's Room' might drum up more public interest than LWFC, because James Baldwin is eternally relevant and is still on everyone 'must read' list (also, put Calvin Royal III in the lead and take my money!). A production like that would also be WAY less expensive (outside of book rights ... I admit I have no idea how that works).

Pretty sure that was not much of a consideration ... a white choreographer, composer, and (from what I can tell) not a single lead with Mexican heritage (although Cornejo + Carmago are Latin American).

Honestly LWFC is selling better than I thought it would given that there are so many performances. I've been to a lot of ABT shows in the past that have sold fewer tickets than a lot of the LWFC performances I'm seeing here. I think this is not that far off from how things were selling in 2018/19? Am I wrong? Have my expectations just bottomed out? Besides the Vishneva/Osipova/Copeland showcases, spotty audiences were the norm. I always tell ballet skeptics about ABT rush tickets because they're almost always available (this is not even true for The Met Opera, where they are harder to get).

Agreed 2x. This was a very tactful callout by Kourlas, as she does frame it as a casting mistake. I imagine the critics of yesteryear would be less kind.

I adore his work as well. The only role that hasn't suited him imo was Harlequin in Harlequinade (which I didn't like Hallberg in either). He has such a youthfulness and fresh presence on the stage that even in moments of wobblier technique, it's not a problem for me. What the company is also missing right now are more pairings with strong chemistry. Most of the lead duos seem kind of haphazard and if there is one thing that can lift a dusty old war horse ballet, it's chemistry between the two leads. Hearing great things about Park / Carmago and Bell / Hurlin (although management seems intent on pairing Bell with Teuscher all the time which never quite works for me). Any others I should be looking out for? I tend to purchase full-length ballet tickets based on either interesting debuts or well-paired leads.

Yes, the thrill is gone. One year I saw 4 Onegins ... Onegin! Not the greatest ballet in itself, but every performance was pure gold with a ridiculous amount of talent stacked in all roles. I'm hoping Jaffe pulls off what McKenzie did in his earlier years with the company and more - back then nobody really believed in the artistic resurrection of ABT either so perhaps there is hope.

So jealous of SFB audiences' proximity to Nikisha Fogo! Her dancing is so unmannered and youthful. I imagine these qualities carried over to her Juliet (I've seen many mannered/or over-rehearsed Juliets in the past decade). Ms Fogo's performances never cease to feel like a breath of fresh air to me.

Too many principal dancers, too few shows. Seo is the only repeat for SL (which baffles me, frankly) so I suppose Trenary could have taken one of hers, but R&J is crowded to the point where there are no repeats. Short season with 8 principal women (9 if you count Copeland, who is on leave) doesn't leave much room for debuts in the full length classics. This of course could have been alleviated a bit if they sliced out some LWFC performances. I imagine Murphy is retiring next year, and we'll be seeing a couple new O/Os as a result

Question: Assuming there are no odd AD changeover rules for casting - I assume these are Jaffe's decisions? If so, I'm pleased - her surprise casting of Sun Mi Park feels really fresh and exciting!

A great Lady Capulet is such and underrated asset for this production. Sometimes it feels like dancers treat the role like a day off. I too have really enjoyed Basmagy's LC - she brings some major, very believable Italian noblewoman energy to it.

Peck has lost a lot of her extension and back flexibility in the past few years (though it was never her primary asset). I believe this is in part due to her severe neck injury. I approach her performances now with a different level of expectation, but she still shines brightly in other areas. And I agree about Megan Fairchild - 6 years ago I didn't seek her out often, now she is one of my favorite performers in the company!

Have seen this production a couple times (and have very mixed feelings about it) but Whiteside is perfect for this scene! Love watching him really let loose on side projects.

I really want to be able to enjoy a Cathy Marston piece (she adapts a lot of interesting material) but it feels like she shuffles through the same sequence of moves over and over. Floor bound and whirly.

For those without the time to watch, she mentioned choreographers David Dawson and Helen Pickett so I imagine we'll be seeing their work in the Koch.

If anyone has any recommendations for great Auroras (past experience or speculation about new debuts is fine!) to look out for on casting sheets I'd love to hear as I only have the budget for one SL show.

Oh interesting - reminds me a bit of the Duchess role in La Fille du Régiment (played semi-recently by Kathleen Turner and Ruth Bader Ginsburg), except more prominent?

Yes - both Shostakovich Trilogy and Serenade after Plato's Symposium are keepers and my comment was generally referring to the expensive story ballets. I think the attempts at story ballets have been the major issue (especially since that's ABT's bread and butter) as they land with a louder thud than any other type of ballet when not received particularly well.

Very true. For full/half length story ballets, his Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and Firebird seemed to be the only pieces with staying power. Although most of The Firebird success has been the Osipova + Copeland star power factor (with both Hallberg and Gomes in the A cast - was this the end of ABT's star power?). I can't even think of a current choreographer who would be worth the commitment. Ratmansky has a rare balance of international prestige and a brilliant ease with classical vocabulary ... but even then it often didn't quite work out for general audiences. His interests always seemed a bit niche, which is artistically valid but perhaps not business savvy. I loved bits of Harlequinade to death because of the gorgeous choreography and enjoyed the novelty, visuals and flashes of brilliance of The Golden Cockerel, but would never suggest them to a casual ballet goer. I do hope they keep many of his works in rotation, especially the shorter works that really let his choreography shine. This has also, obviously, been a difficult year for him with his family and colleagues being directly affected by the invasion of Ukraine. I wish him well and look forward to his new work - I'm betting he will freelance for a while.

For years I've been wondering why she hasn't been offered more starring roles (she first caught my eye as one of the four women in Mozartiana, so much so that she took my attention away from Mearns front-and-center role) - but I found out that she is 5'10! Even most ballerinas considered 'very tall' are 5'8/5'9. Maybe a lack of partners is the major roadblock to advancement in the ranks? Otherwise I can't see the holdup. Would love to see her in Prodigal Son, Firebird, and the Glass Pieces pas (among other things).

Thank you for this! Happy that after not being cast in (almost) anything last Spring, Trenary is shining. She and Royal really do possess stage magic. I've never sought out Whiteside in the past (except for Harliquinade and Jane Eyre, where he seemed the best fit for a lead), but I find that I miss him a lot in things like Nutcracker and Swan Lake. He imbues the classics with a modern, slightly rebellious energy and is such a good partner.

@canbelto this is such a beautiful writeup - I hope that somehow Hyltin sees this, as you are one of the few people I've seen who can put what was so special about her dancing into words.

Out of curiosity since you've gotten a thorough experience with the piece, which ABT dancers would you anticipate being the best choices for the two leads? I imagine they'll pull from both soloist and principal ranks (although I wonder if there will be a corps wild card candidate with so many performances). Trenary seems the obvious choice for Tita (and has been photographed in the costume) but I'm not sure about the others.

I think Le Corsaire is off the repertoire for a long time. La Bayadere has much more artistic merit and iconic scenes across all acts to justify putting in the work to keep it. I imagine the most of the (for me, welcome) choreography changes would involve side characters - like the Fakir costumes and choreography need to go. I would love to see the Corsaire pas de deux (Ali / Medora version) stay on mixed bills. I'm fine with tossing all other parts of the ballet. It was a fun McKenzie era favorite but it feels more and more dated each time they bring it back.

Wow, they are stunning and Cornejo looks as good as ever. Even though Trenary has danced with Royal before (including the balcony pas), it must be a bit heartbreaking to rehearse such a connection-base role for her debut - her only major role of the season - and then have to swap partners at the last moment. I did enjoy Royal's recent post on R&J prep and can't wait to see what he brings to the Saturday performance: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cf_nRw-ge-7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link