Helene

Besides having rubbed solid water on his face, he was helped by the security guard and his wife to his apartment, where he went directly to the shower to flood his face with liquid water. This was explained in great detail in Remmick's article in "The New Yorker." Tsiskaridze said nothing about how snow coud not possibly have worked, but flushing would have: he claimed that the use of snow -- ie, the use of water -- would have caused a chemical reaction that would have damaged Filin's face -- as if Filin had added water to sulfuric acid in a lab container -- when, in fact, flushing with water is standard protocol.

There are plenty of reasons to like London better than NYC: it depends on the person. If she's be happier there, then it's up to McKenzie to decide after her current contract is over whether it's worth it to him and the company for her to go back to a guest arrangement and be scheduled for what she can give him, like Cojocaru, Vishneva, Bolle, etc.

I still remember the moment when Thomson's Dr. Coppelius came into his studio at the beginning of Act II, after he had just lost his key, been roughed up by Franz and gang, and found his studio door open -- just being the end of Act I -- and he sat at the end of the chair, diminished, a frightened, diminished man trying to gather himself. It was one of the most moving details in any portrayal of that character that I'd seen.

The costs of acquiring are almost always much more expensive than the costs of retaining. Ballet companies will take most new audiences that they can get, especially when there's valuable, free publicity involved. tutu just posted a link to a Sesame Street segment in which four NYCB ballerinas appear. I bet some kids who have no idea what ballet is saw that video. Some people will try lots of things, and only some things will stick. If an opera company has an acting/super character from the community, and some people come because of it, they'll think that opera is "Turandot" or "Die Meistersinger" or, what's being advertised right now in Vancouver, "Tea." That may make them stay away forever, or it may make a lifetime fan out of them. Neither opera nor ballet should be a club with a secret handshake and an admissions test, although Lincoln Kirstein tried that with Ballet Society. Someone who buys a ticket a mixed bill with "Slaughter" with Mike Piazza will certainly see that ballet isn't one thing, much more so than someone who sees "Swan Lake" or goes to "Marriage of Figaro." If something clicks, people who tend to want to know lots will start to read about ballet, check out YouTube videos, go to pre-performance lectures, just as they might delve into baseball statistics. For others they might go again to be entertained. Still, new audiences are being developed, just as ballet companies have groups for younger, usually single, people, and there are online meet-up groups for seeing various cultural events for people who want to share the experience. George Balanchine had his dancers shilling cars at a Worlds Fair and choreographed for elephants. They're not dumbing down "Slaughter" by having Mike Piazza play Gangster, in my opinion. They didn't cast him as Drosselmeier, nor is he taking part in Felix's version of "Swan Lake."

I look forward to seeing what Thomson will do with Wolfgang. He's been doing more and more character roles, like Dr. Coppelius and Mercutio, and even his first forays into the roles have moments of keen insight and a very personal approach.

I don't think they could go and actually watch a ballet and not think it's hard, even it if the difficulty is only recognizable in the Hoofer. Besides, a sports hero told them it was hard. Aha! Could you elaborate on how ballet became important to you? I saw some ballet excerpt either on the Ed Sullivan show or Firestone Theater or Bell Telephone Hour and was hooked, just like the first time I saw figure skating and gymnastics. I think my sister just wanted to get out of the house

I wondered whether the music track was not in synch with the video track. It didn't look like Bournonville to me.

The articles are pretty clear that Vasiliev isn't joining the Royal Ballet, and there's been no word of him leaving the Mikhailovsky.

Emerging Pictures did a short interview with Gary Avis, who played the character role of Alain's father (Thomas) in the "La Fille Mal Gardee" that was broadcast in cinemas: http://www.emergingp...-ballet-master/ The intro paragraph states, "Lauded by critics, Gary has been described as one of the greatest dance actors in the history of The Royal Ballet." For those who've seen the Cojocaru "Sleeping Beauty" on DVD, he's the suitor who does most of the partnering, and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. The Encore screening is tomorrow, 9 April, at these US cinemas: http://www.emergingp...e-royal-ballet/

The gangster is a very small cameo, and I've never seen a seasoned actor perform it. For me, it's usually the thrill of hearing a dance speak that one line, and a little awkwardness is no big deal to me. A baseball player like Piazza has far more experience in the public eye -- attendance at a rainy, cold mid-week afternoon game in April from perpetual cellar-dwellers can exceed the total number of people who see "Slaughter" in a run -- performing, making public appearances, and having a microphone stuck in his face -- than the average dancer who performs the role. Sportsmen especially are brought in to counter the idea that ballet is a sissy activity. Without a culture like Russia's that extols its dancers (ballet, ballroom) and skaters, despite rampant homophobia, this is about the only sell to most men in North America, like it or not. Every time an athlete is interviewed and talks about how difficult ballet is and how the men are athletes, and about their (often newfound) respect for their temporary colleagues, this is a win, and ballet companies can't buy that kind of publicity or the example of the macho guy who shows humility and genuine appreciation, in short, who recognizes. I don't care if he does it for his daughters, which I find kind of sweet: my father brought us to the ballet when we were young because it was important to us, and the sight of a 6'8" basketball player holding his little niece's hand in the lobby when "Nutcracker" or "Cinderella" is playing -- (Oh, where is my tissue...)

I saw "Damnation" both in HD and at the Met, and he was no stranger to big spectacles with many moving parts, which was why I thought Lepage was an inspired choice for The Ring. The combination of inexperience with Wagner and thetechnological/engineering approach resulted in having bitten off far more than he could chew.

There's much more detail in this article by Ismene Brown, including Kommersant's characterization of McKenzie's reaction: http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/ex.bolshoi.star-natalia-osipova-joins-royal.ballet

bing translator results in the following: http://www.bing.com/translator/ also: https://translate.go...a/?hl=en&tab=wT If dropping in the website URL doesn't work, you can cut and paste the article's text.

The biggest draw from the Royal Ballet now is Cojocaru (rightfully so). (For me, Yanowsky is the other.) If ABT wants to play the "Osipova can't guest in the RB tour" card, the Royal Ballet call play the "Then Cojocaru can't guest in ABT's Spring 2014 season" card, and that would help no one.

The huge disappointment was this: "it was a reminder that the key to the “Ring” is not the loud, flashy parts, but the small eddies of emotion that find no home in Mr. Lepage’s frigid production." because in his other non-Cirque productions, it's the way the two play off of each other that's the strength of his direction. As he implied in the "Wagner's Dream" documentary, The Machine disappointed him, too. It's too bad they didn't give him a "Dutchman" or "Lohengrin" to start with, or a "Meistersinger." Sigh.

Official news only, please.

If you want to see a beautiful, traditional Ring, come to Seattle this summer. There are a couple of lower-voiced veterans that I don't love, but the core cast, some veterans -- Grimsley as Wotan; Blythe as Fricka, 2nd Norn, and Waltraute in "Gotterdammerung"; Fink as Alberich, Skelton and Wray as Siegmund and Siegliende, Harmer as Freia, Zetlan as Forest Bird, and Collins as Froh -- some highly regarded and experienced "newbies" -- Dennis Peterson as Mime (Met Opera), Mellor as Brunnhilde (Paris Opera, Opera North), and Vinke as Siegfried (Koln and Berlin) and a lot of wonderful singers in smaller roles (Rheinmaidens, Valkyries) might be the best ensemble assembled in Seattle. It's going to be Speight Jenkins' last Ring -- he retires after the third Wagner Competition in August 2014 -- but, even so, there are a lot of opera houses competing for singers in this Wagner Bicentennial birth year. The sets are stunning -- the forests of the Pacific Northwest were the inspirations -- and it's directed by Stephen Wadsworth, one of the most renowned of American theater directors. It's character-driven, and even if you sit all the way on the far sides of the top tier, you'll be able to see. Did I mention you should come to Seattle this summer? (And bring your Mom with you!) I don't know much about the Erda, Lucille Beer, or the Loge, Mark Schowalter, but I've been hearing nothing but raves about Stefan Margita, who sang the Loge at yesterday's Met performance, and whom I heard in San Francisco last year. Did you like any of the voices, despite the production?

Yes. Unlike many things that cost money, the improvements to the stage are there as long as the stage stands, and I think in one of the HD's one of the technical people say that something would not have been possible without the reinforcements. Vancouver got infrastructure changes that were languishing only because of the Olympics. It's not the way I would have preferred they had gotten them, but I'm willing to recognize the improvement I don't think The Machine was a monstrosity. I think it didn't work well and the technical issues overwhelmed other concerns, like direction.

It had some very nice effects in the HD broadcast, which isn't the same as in the house, but I think it was a disappointment: it took too much of LePage's focus -- in other of his productions, opera and theater that I've seen, he was far more focused on the interaction of he characters. The Met did get a newly reinforced stage out of it, but I suspect the stagehands wish the fire at the end of Gotterdammerung would really subsume the set.

Thank you, sandik! I've edited my post so that people don't have the wrong expectations. Usually the website says "General admission" for lec-demos.

Australian Ballet tweeted: We have a new principal artist ... Ty King-Wall! Announced just now after dancing Basilio in Don Quixote @ SydOperaHouse Congrats Ty! to Mr. King-Wall!

I think that's going to be a stellar cast, too. It's a non-subscription performance, like second Saturday matinee and both Sunday evening performances, so you probably had a wider selection, too.

Wow, sounds wonderful!

Yes, if you have official sources to dispute other official sources, please elaborate.

That's ironic, since it was Terfel who won the Lieder Prize at Cardiff. He's only three years younger than Hvorostovsky, but had never performed with an orchestra until Cardiff, and I think that was only during the finals. I don't know how Terfel and Hvorostovsky can be compared except on the recital stage: their voices -- one a bass-baritone, the other a lyric baratone -- and their opera rep completely different.