Helene

Yes, that's what Ismene Brown is reporting that the Russian news is saying. Critic Sarah Kaufman is reporting that sources close to Filin say the reports are wrong.

I think there's a big difference between "stale," and "dated." Something that appears dated can be appreciated for what it is and in context. Something stale, not so much, and, of course, lots of opposing views have been expressed among critics and among ourselves.

I know he has to sell tickets, but "Death of Klinghoffer" is replaced by "Barber of Seville" on the Met in HD schedule. Cast as of now on the Met website is:

Critic Sarah Kaufman tweeted:

Just in from Ismene Brown's blog: http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2014/6/28_Filin_in_intensive_care-_shock.html He had a life-threatening reaction to a medication related to his eye injuries.

We generally notice this when it happens to the Principals, unless we know a company throughout the ranks and wonder why someone isn't dancing or why the program doesn't match who's on stage. Although we've heard from Womack how she was sidelined, on the other side of the spectrum Mariinsky and Bolshoi dancers have been vocal about overwork.

Ekaterina Shipulina danced almost the entire run of Medoras when the Bolshoi brought "Le Corsaire" to the Kennedy Center at the end of the 00's, including back-to-back evening and matinee performances, about which she had been told during dinner after the evening performance. Alexandrova flew to Moscow after the opener, and Osipova ended up in the hospital.

And I always thought Tsiskaridze wore hair nets out of vanity .

Whatever one thinks about why Macaulay thinks what he does about Forsythe, critic Marina Harss tweeted yesterday, I'm waiting to read her full review when it comes out, but "stale" is the word I was searching for by couldn't put my finger on when I saw National Ballet of Canada, on whom it was choreographed, perform it in Vancouver a few years ago. I love "in the middle" -- and I saw Carla Korbes and Maria Chapman do a fantastic job with it -- and "Artifact II" -- I've seen a range of performances in that, but "The Second Detail," not at all, nor did I like the one NYCB did for the American Music Festival in the 80's. Harss writes incisively about a wide range of dance, and she's never seemed to me to be wedded to genre. It's possible that this piece is weak. All great choreographers have made them.

I started to respond to the discussion of Macaulay and Forsythe when I realized this is the Boston Ballet forum. I've moved the posts about the issue to the "Writings on Ballet" forum, where critics are discussed: http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/38989-macaulay-on-forsythe-boston-ballet-tour/ If you saw the program, we want to know what you thought of it.

Welcome back! I'm very glad to hear the the Saratoga season will be up a week next year. And we still mourn Carley here and welcome all remembrances and mentions of her.

Welcome, Suereview! We hope you'll tell us about what you see. I'm not sure if you know, but the story behind the name "Ballet Alert!" was a fictitious phone tree to keep people up-to-date with NYCB casting by the critic Arlene Croce.

But PR is McKenzie's creation, and the Prince, that secondary character, is only Petipa's

There's only so long that they can act as if Gomes is made of titanium, although it's worked for them so far.

When Casey Herd guested at PNB to partner Carrie Imler in "Swan Lake," he was injured, and he dropped the Prince's Act I solo. (Batkhurel Bold danced Act III.) Is there any reason they couldn't drop the Purple Rothbart solo, if they are concerned about casting/teaching someone at the last minute? It would give a good opportunity for someone in the lower ranks to get most of the part under his belt, and it's not like they'd be dropping the White Swan PDD.

Eli Wallach died on Tuesday at age 98. Like the length of his life, the obituary in The New York Times is long: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/movies/eli-wallach-multifaceted-actor-dies-at-98.html?_r=0 Rest in peace, Mr. Wallach.

I wish Ekaterina Yalynskaya could go to Royal Danish Ballet for one of their summer exchanges. I thought she looked idiomatic in "Konservatoriat."

Tonight starting now EDT is the last USA IBC segment. The winners are scheduled to be announced starting Saturday, 28 June at 7pm EDT, with a gala performance by the prize winners on Sunday, 29 June. The first round rep and the requirements are listed here: http://www.usaibc.com/round-i-classical-repertoire/ Here is a list of the semi-finalists, who selected from a set of contemporary pieces by Matthew Neenan and Trey McIntyre, who were there to coach them: http://www.usaibc.com/2014-usa-international-ballet-competition-announces-semi-finalists/ Here is a list of the finalists, who perform a contemporary piece and either one solo from Column A and one from Column B or, if competing as a couple, one selection's entree, variations, and coda from this list, http://www.usaibc.com/2014-usa-international-ballet-competition-names-finalists/

Another celebratory photo: https://www.facebook.com/238016752994482/photos/a.397105897085566.1073741826.238016752994482/530737063722448/?type=1&theater

I knew lots of people living in the suburbs who made the Met a "date night" and got a hotel room in the city. It was very convenient when at least one of them worked in the city. Weekend rates made it affordable, as many business customers check out on Friday morning. Speight Jenkins has been very enthusiastic about HD's. He said that when records came out, people thought that was the end of live music. When CD's came out, people thought that was the end of live music. When bandwidth became big enough and streaming prevalent, rinse and repeat. The reason the Seattle Ring isn't on DVD is a combination of the cost of the production and the fear that any money targeted at special productions will be transferred from the general fund. Otherwise, Jenkins might have been on the side of a city bus advertising it, without fear that people would stop coming to Seattle to see it in person. The Met still has many traditional productions. The classic is the Zefferelli "La Boheme" with at least 90 extras in the Cafe Momus scene; it was one of the HD's. As far as the way it was directed, the Lepage Ring, cludgy as The Machine is, is a traditional production. The HD's suggest that the Met is a lot more out there than the general rep. You won't see a string of toilets or giant rats at the Met. I don't think Gelb didn't think out Klinghoffer. I think he was blindsided by AMC. (The labor issues are another matter.) Aside from "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk," which was bypassed, like the much-lauded "From the House of the Dead," Chereau's last production, "The Death of Klinghoffer" is the HD I most wanted to see, and now it's history .

The ICB (International Ballet Competition) Istanbul ended today. While the final results are not yet posted to the competition website, Maria Sascha Khan (Bayerisches Staatsballet) tweeted congratulations to her brother, Julian MacKay, a student at the Bolshoi's affiliate school, for winning the gold [in Men's Junior, given his age]. Here is the Instagram message and photo linked in the tweet: http://instagram.com/p/puVJB-xNsH/ Congratulations to him

According to this article from 8 June, Corella said,

Julius Rudel, conductor and Director of New York City Opera from 1957-1979, has died. Most of the first half of the obit in the New York Times is devoted to Rudel and New York City Opera. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/27/arts/music/julius-rudel-longtime-city-opera-impresario-dies-at-93.html?_r=1 I heard him conduct many times there in some glorious productions. Rest in peace, Mr. Rudel.

Seattle Opera announced that the Ring CD's,with a 54-page book about the production and artists and the four libretti, is available for pre-order on the Seattle Opera site ($150) and is slated to ship in August. It will be released on iTunes on 9 September, the commercial release date of the CD's. More info on how it was recorded, the producer, and the list of unions that agreed to the project is on the Seatle Opera blog: http://www.seattleoperablog.com/2014/06/our-2013-ring-now-on-cd.html

Thank you so much for the photo and the ID's.