Helene

Ballet Arizona has announced casting for "Don Quixote", which opens on 10 Feb with an early 7pm curtain and will be performed Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm: http://www.balletaz.org/index.taf?mnid=team&ecid=1277370746 Casting Kitri/Dulcinea: Paola Hartley (10E, 11E, 12E); Ginger Smith (12M, 13M) Basilio: Astrit Zejnati (10E, 11E, 12E); Shea Johnson (12M, 13M) Don Quixote: Daniel Baudendistel Sancho Panza: Sergei Perkovskii Dulcinea Vision: Amanda Eddleman Lorenzo, Kitri’s Father: Donald Dadey Gamache: Joseph Cavanaugh Queen of the Dryads: Kenna Draxton (12M, 13M); Chelsea Early (10E, 11E); Tzu-Chia Huang (12E) Cupid: Kendra Mitchell (10E, 11E, 12E) Jillian Barrell (12M, 13M) This is a wonderful production, by Olga Evreinoff after Petipa, with both Kitris reprising their roles from the production premiere in 2008, Paola Hartley with Astrit Zejnati in the evenings and Ginger Smith with Shea Johnson in the matinees. If you have a chance to see it, do -- it would be a shame to miss this -- and we'd love to hear about what you think!

According to the PNB website, "It was last performed in Seattle in 2002 at the Mercer Arts Arena." I thought I saw all of the programs there, but I must have been away on a business trip when it was performed. The last time I saw it was in 1999, with Louise Nadeau and Paul Gibson, with Kimberly Davey and Jodie Thomas as the Stepsisters, and Batkhurel Bold as the Evil Sprite.

Rodrigo has to behave that way in public, or he'd lose Phillip's confidence completely and be banished somewhere, if not assassinated. Phillip knew what that gesture cost Rodrigo. Don Carlo, as the King's son, might be rehabilitated, but not Rodrigo.

Looks like Jessika Anspach to me. Indeed it is. Casting is up for Week 1, with many debuts (*): Friday, 4 February, 7:30pm: Cinderella: Lesley Rausch* Prince: Jeffrey Stanton Godmother: Carrie Imler Stepmother: Ariana Lallone Father: Uko Gorter† Stepsisters: Lindsi Dec* Chalnessa Eames ACT I Memory Mother: Carrie Imler Memory Father: Jerome Tisserand Spring: Maria Chapman* Summer: Brittany Reid* Fall: Sarah Ricard Orza* Winter: Laura Gilbreath* ACT II Jester: Jonathan Porretta Evil Sprite: Jerome Tisserand* Good Fairy: Carrie Imler Harlequin: James Moore* Columbine: Rachel Foster* Saturday, 5 February, 2pm: Cinderella: Rachel Foster* Prince: Lucien Postlewaite* Godmother: Kylee Kitchens* Stepmother: Brittany Reid* Father: Uko Gorter† Stepsisters: Lindsi Dec Chalnessa Eames ACT I Memory Mother: Kylee Kitchens Memory Father: Jerome Tisserand Spring: Maria Chapman Summer: Lesley Rausch* Fall: Sarah Ricard Orza Winter: Amanda Clark* ACT II Jester: Benjamin Griffiths* Evil Sprite: Jonathan Porretta Good Fairy Kylee Kitchens* Harlequin: Seth Orza* Columbine: Sarah Ricard Orza* Saturday, 5 February, 7:30pm Cinderella: Carla Körbes* Prince: Batkhurel Bold Godmother: Laura Gilbreath* Stepmother: Ariana Lallone Father: Olivier Wevers* Stepsisters: Jessika Anspach* Abby Relic* ACT I Memory Mother: Laura Gilbreath Memory Father: William Lin-Yee Spring: Chalnessa Eames* Summer: Lesley Rausch Fall: Lindsi Dec* Winter: Kylee Kitchens* ACT II Jester: Jonathan Porretta Evil Sprite: Jerome Tisserand Good Fairy :Laura Gilbreath* Harlequin: Lucien Postlewaite* Columbine: Lesley Rausch* Sunday, 6 February, 1pm: Cinderella: Carrie Imler* Prince: Karel Cruz* Godmother: Ariana Lallone Stepmother: Brittany Reid Father: Olivier Wevers Stepsisters: Lindsi Dec Chalnessa Eames ACT I Memory Mother: Ariana Lallone Memory Father: William Lin-Yee Spring: Rachel Foster* Summer: Stacy Lowenberg* Fall: Margaret Mullin* Winter: Laura Gilbreath ACT II Jester: James Moore* Evil Sprite: Jonathan Porretta Good Fairy: Ariana Lallone Harlequin: Seth Orza Columbine: Sarah Ricard Orza

I also remember this being a church close to the theater. I never knew about the pattern of the cross, but Farrell said that Balanchine said Farrell resembled the woman in the painting and took the overhead arm position from the painting.

Taper described in his Balanchine bio how during one summer break, Diaghilev led a mini-tour of Italy with a handful of the company and taught Balanchine about visual art.

Keenleyside explained his character when he said Rodrigo was a zealot and (not exact words) was doing a balancing act between Phillip and Don Carlo. Rodrigo cares about the liberation of Flanders -- he reminds Don Carlo of their youthful pact to accomplish this in the libretto -- and while I doubt Don Carlo would have been his choice, Don Carlo is his only choice, since, although Rodrigo keeps having the conversation with Phillip, Phillip tells him the Church is pulling the strings, and Don Carlo doesn't have much connection or respect for the Church and its power. He decides to use the material he has to work with; it proves inadequate. As for his appeal to Elisabetta, she's a young woman who was promised to Don Carlo, meets him, and realizes he's not an old, protocol-bound guy and that she's been luckier than most, since even with Don Carlo, it's a political marriage. Don Carlo has plenty of time to become king. Add in young angst and that he falls for her, too, and he becomes catnip. She never has to deal with the reality of a real relationship with him.

In "Apollo" before the Pas de Deux begins, Terpsichore's and Apollo's fingers touch each other. Isn't that from the Sistine Chapel?

I find Wagner's "Rienzi" crass, and other great composers had a bomb or two -- and Mozart was the king of recyling -- but I think that was the exception to the rule.

If Tommasini were interested in ballet at all, he would have noted Stravinsky's partnership with Balanchine when he listed Stravinsky as a world changer. Verdi and Wagner wrote little beyond opera. I suspect that if Tomassini had considered ballet, Tchaikovsky's other works, the majority of his output, might have neutralized selecting him.

"Cinderella", with choreography by Kent Stowell, opens Friday, 4 February. The company has added three weekend performances: a Sunday Matinee to Weekend 1, and a Saturday Matinee and early evening Sunday performance on Weekend 2 and is offering special activities for children for all matinee performances starting one hour before curtain for Prince and Princess dress-up matinees. Having seen the dressed up kids at two "Nutcracker" matinees, watching the kids was an added bonus. There are two preview videos so far, and they reveal some casting. In the "Cinderella" trailer video, Maria Chapman dances Cinderella with Seth Orza as her Prince: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=948QPJQzwYc In the stepsisters video, I recognize Lindsi Dec (black turtleneck) and Chalnessa Eames (red thin strapped leotard) as one pair, and Abby Relic (red leotard, black sweatpants) and a dancer I don't recognize by face ( ) (steel blue leotard with black trim, she's in the still) in her sister. It looks like Carla Korbes (red v-neck long sleeved leotard, black sweatpans) is Margaret Mullin's (blue leotard with red, blue, yellow bodice) fellow stepsister, and Ariana Lallone is stepmother in at least one cast. At the beginning, Kent Stowell coaches Kiyon Gaines. I don't remember if the role is dancing master or dress designer; it's been a while since I've seen it.