nysusan

Hello Jack! Thanks for your posts, I always look forward to reading them. I'll be in DC for the Sunday matinee performance - would love to know who's dancing. Anticipation is building...

Sunday matinee cast is same as opening night:

Serenade - Elizabeth Holowchuk, Audra Johnson, Courtney Anderson, Momchil Mladenov, Ted Seymour

Barocco - Violeta Angelova, Kara Genevieve Cooper, Kirk Henning

Diamonds - Heather Ogden, Michael Cook

Thanks cinnamonswirl, thats just the casting I was hoping for. I'm really looking forward to Holowchuk in Serenade and Ogden in Diamonds.

Hello Jack! Thanks for your posts, I always look forward to reading them. I'll be in DC for the Sunday matinee performance - would love to know who's dancing. Anticipation is building...

This is wonderful Natalia, thanks for bringing it to our attention. I wish I could go to Milan this year but unfortunately its not in the cards. Can't wait to hear your impressions!

I saw opening night with Bouder & Veyette. As much as I love La Bouder and as often as I've disagreed with Macaulay's writing - if I'd written his opening night review it would have been even harsher.

I know Bouder isn't an adagio dancer but her approach to Odette - in purely dance terms, and in terms of her musicality and interpretation - was completely unfathomable to me.

For starters she managed to make Ivanov's beautiful choreography look awkward and unmusical. Can you imagine watching someone "punch out" the entire first lakeside scene?

But equally disturbing is the fact that her Odette was not the least bit emotionally engaging. At least not to me. Macaulay likened her to a hornet. I think a wasp is more like it. There was not one iota of vulnerability or sorrow or pathos to be found. Nor was she a regal Odette. She seemed like a pissed off Odette. I can't imagine why the prince fell in love with her and I couldn't have cared less about her plight.

What about the rest of the cast and the production in general? I find the first act of Martin's Swan Lake so appalling that I'm used to gritting my teeth and waiting for Odette's entrance. This time it brought no relief. I enjoyed parts of the 3rd act - especially the pas de Quatre, Lowrey's Hungarian and the Somogyi/Askagard Russian Dance. And Ubricht's Jester is always a highlight - it's so over the top it suits this production perfectly.

Bouder's Odile was a killer but at that point - who cares? If all Swan Lake amounts to is an excuse for some flashy dancing in the ballroom scene it makes for a very boring evening.

That was a terrible way to start the season; I'm ready for some Balanchine now!

I've seen Somova many times in the past 6 years. During the City Center run a few years ago it was impossible not to see her - they did 3 pieces a night and rotated the casting so if you wanted to see Lopatkina's 3rd act Raymonda you had to see her Paquita, or her Bayadere etc.

In the Mariinsky's other tours I sometimes saw her because I bought tickets before they announced casting, sometimes because they switched the casting, and sometimes because I loved the ballet they were performing, wanted to see their fabulous soloists and corps one more time & was interested in seeing if Somova had improved - because I do believe that she has potential.

Bottom line - in the 15-20 times I've seen her dance I saw her give 2 performances that I thought were outstanding (1 of 3 performances of the Bayadere shades scene I saw her give and an Etudes - both during the NY CC season). I also enjoyed her recent Tsar Maiden, I felt that the role suited her very well and that she'd improved greatly. However, like Faux Pas, I saw all 3 NY casts and she was definitely my least favorite of the 3.

The reasons why? They have all been stated previously in this thread:

From Helene: What both Tereshkina and Obratztsova had (live) that Somova shows little of in the clips is a sense of the musical and dance line: there's not much connecting between the steps and mini-phrases, which are more like text-speak than sung lines.

From Faux Pas: Somova who has a remarkable physical endowment and flexibility, is a dancer of individual effects or even individual steps

From Batsuchan (by way of Faux Pas): due to Somova's overly flexible limbs she basically throws her legs up into positions without engaging the whole body to give them line and physical definition. No control and the connecting steps are messy. Batsuchan also had problems with Somova's turnout.

From YID: Since i attended all performances and seen Somova (dancing in person) through a number of years, i should say that her style became softer in years, and more tamed. But her musical phrasing is almost always off, and occasionally the edginess and "non-vaganova" lines pearsed through in July. She's as cute and pretty as a woman can be - that i give her...

To summarize, I agree with the above opinions - she lacks a cantilena flow, her steps often appear to be unconnected, her limbs often look floppy and unconnected to her body. Her turnout can be weak, her line is not always harmonious and her musicality is questionable.

However she does have a striking and unique physicality, a charming personality (when not leading by her chin) and is very obviously talented. I hope her new coach is able to help her realize her potential.

I thought Carmen Suite was trash. The "choreography", if it can be called that, consists mainly of Vishneva wiggling her hips and standing in sexy poses. It looked like a strip tease act, not a ballet. Why would a virile man like Don Jose wear a hot pink shirt with red polka dots? I don't have my program, but the man who danced the bull fighter role did not have an ounce of charisma. He looked very uncomfortable executing the choreography. Bizet must be turning in his grave. The arrangement of the score butchered it. Awful in every way.

Lopatkina was a dream in the second movement of Symphony in C. She was exquisite and riveting. In fact, the entire cast was wonderful, although Somova lapsed into some of her bad old habits in the first movement with hyperextension of her leg. I thought the tutus were too wide in diameter, and I prefer the all white tutus used at NYCB.

I agree on both counts. Carmen was the worst ballet I've seen in a long time - worse than Anna Karenina and even Vishneva couldn't save it. The music was awful , the story muddled (and how is that possible, really?) the choreography banal. The dancing was mostly wonderful but Ivanchenko looked really silly as Escamellio.

I was a bit disappointed in Symphony in C. Lopatkina and Korsuntsev were gorgeous in the 2nd movement and the 3rd movement wasn't bad but I thought the 1st was noticeably off the music (though it was wonderful to see Fadeyev) and the 3rd missed most of the Balanchinian accents. In fact, I thought the whole thing was pretty un-Balanchinian, missing a lot of the humor in the steps and and the music was played too slow. Still, it's great to see these dancers in anything, and especially in a tutu ballet

A bunch of us generally meet up on the balcony level, on the odd numbered side...

Another male dancer I'd love to see at ABT: Fabrice Calmels. He might be too committed to the Joffrey to be persuaded, but maybe they could get him to guest. I've only seen him dance twice, but I've been very impressed with him. I'm not sure if he has real virtuoso technique but he has beautiful line, he's tall, handsome and a really great partner. Gomes can't do all the heavy lifting!

What about Martin Harvey? Is he too old (not sure how old he is). Has he been away from classical ballet too long? He looked great with Kowroski in Wheeldon's pas de deux for the Met's Carmen. And he seems to be hanging around NY these days...

I also think Sarabita might be a good pick up.

The problem with promoting from within, as I see it, is that most of ABT's soloist men really don't seem ready for a move to principal. And some of their most talented men (Simkin, Phillips, Ilyin, Gorak) are too short to partner a lot of their ballerinas. ONE of these guys is likely to make it to principal in the next few years, but I don't see there being room for more than one of them at the principal level.

There are a lot of talented men at the corps and soloist level, and they definitely need development. I don't know the inner workings of ABT, but I suspect that coaching may be a problem. But then, you never know. Take Jared Matthews. I liked him when he was in the corps but he seemed to flounder once he was promoted to soloist. This season he's been fantastic. Maybe it just takes time.

I think ABT has a bigger problem with its female roster, and they really don't have a good track record when it comes to developing their female talent. Apologies to those who champion Riccetto, Boone, & Lane - but I don't see any one of them as a principal. Maybe Lane - but I'm not convinced & she still needs a lot of work. I agree that her T&V was great and her Sleeping Beauty showed a lot of promise but neither one was really a knockout. I'd also like to see her get another Beauty - I really don't understand why she hasn't, except that ABT only gives X number of performances of each ballet and they'd have to leave someone off the rotation to make room for her. Who should she replace this season? Part, Reyes, Murphy, Hererra, Dvorovenko, Osipova, Cojocaru? I'd love to see her Giselle - I'd prefer to see hers than Seo's or Abrera's, but that's my preference. Each dancer has her own fans and again, who should lose their Giselle to make room for Sarah? This season in addition to Seo's Giselle debut we had Vishneva (twice), Dvorovenko, Cojocaru, Herrera, Kent & Reyes. It's not so easy to make room for soloists to develop.

The issue isn't so much casting corps members in the leads in the full-lengths, but that the full-lengths don't have the enough parts, in general, to develop the corps members into the leads, especially Romantic and Classical leads. The male virtuoso dancers have it easier with jesters, Golden Idol, peasant pas, "Swan Lake" pas de trois.

That's why I mentioned that the full-lengths are ABT's bread-and-butter. I don't think people would necessarily boycott if one of the names was home-grown and less than a star, but I do think McKenzie has to hire from the outside to sell tickets.

Totally agree. There just are not enough opportunities for the corps to really dance. Every dancer needs stage time, in addition to special coaching and training to feel comfortable in a role. At NYCB, everyone dances every night, sometimes in two or three ballets. And not usually stage decoration roles like peasants, etc. Whatever one felt about the most recent three ballets done at ABT during their recent Classic to Premiere week, both Ratmansky and Wheeldon used corps dancers in their ballets and they danced beautifully! Whenever we see them dance in ballets like 'T&V 'and "Leaves Are Fading", etc. they look like remarkable technicians AND partners. I saw many dancers in these ballets who looked like they had very real potential for upward movement. ABT has a problem with their insistence on doing so many story ballets that have limited opportunities for the entire company. I think after awhile the dancers forget how to really do what they trained to do for so many years. And after many years of this, even the corps dancers get older and no longer look so motivated. As someone noted on this thread, if management keeps bringing in the stars, there's no real hope of going forward. There seems to be a lack of mentoring, along with great teachers working with the dancers to bring them along. It must be very discouraging for a corp dancer. I realize that stars sell tickets, which is maybe our fault as an audience too. And most of the audience (other than we, the balletomanes) really only want to see "Swan Lake" and "Giselle". It's a conundrum, for sure.

While we're at it, my vote for male dancer movement would be Joseph Phillips, Mikhail Ilyin, and Roman Zhurbin. (outside of all those crazy disguises he wears, he's a wonderful dancer!). I would have added Isaac Stappas, as I think he is amazing, but I understand he is leaving after L. A. A real loss for ABT.

I have to respectfully disagree with some of the above statements. I don't think ABT "has a problem with their insistence on doing so many story ballets that have limited opportunities for the entire company." I think ABT has an identity - a longstanding identity as a classical ballet company that performs classical & full length story ballets. Like the Royal, Mariinsky, Bolshoi etc - their rep is built around full length story ballets. I'd love to see them add more 1 acts as well - things like Les Partineurs, Rhapsody, Jeune Homme, etc - but their bread & butter will always be full length ballets and box office names.

I can understand the proclivity of fellow New Yorkers to constantly compare the opportunities young dancers receive at NYCB vs at ABT but I think its very wrong headed. Is there anyone who wants to see ABT become a rep company? That would be suicidal, their audience would desert them in droves.

There will be lots of opportunities for corps and soloists in the upcoming week long City Center season, but how many people will be there to watch them? Almost everyone I know has expressed disappointment with their choice of rep and plans to see VERY few performances. They typically have trouble filling City Center even with their normal City Center season. Their audience (myself included) comes to see world class dancers in the classics and in more recent story ballets. It's fine to have a soloist debut on a Wed or Sat mat, in fact I think it's a good policy, but beyond that - when I go to the Met I want to see a great performance from the principals, not a work in process.

I voted for them to import male dancers. I think Simkin,Hammoudi, Matthews and Philips are all possible future principals, but IMO none are ready for promotion now. Looking further into the future, Forster and Gorak both seem very promising. On the female side the only dancer I think is ready for promotion to principal is Abrera, and her injuries may be a limiting factor. All of them need development, and those opportunities exist in soloist roles and incremental opportunities in leading roles.

I've only seen ABT and NYCB's versions of "Swan Lake," so I'm totally clueless about other stagings of Act IV. (Other than the Soviet version with the happy ending, which I suspect I wouldn't like.) Perhaps this is a topic for a separate thread, but could someone please tell me about the more satisfying versions that they've seen?

Actually, though I prefer a tragic ending the Mariiinsky's happy ending doesn't bother me much. It literally comes in the last 60 seconds or so (during the apotheosis) and everything leading up to it is so overwhelmingly emotional that it kind of comes as a relief. It can also put an interesting spin on Siegfried's character because it provides an arc for growth, other than just "gee, I'm sorry, I made a stupid mistake".

I even prefer Martin's last act/scene over at NYCB - because it is very dramatic & tragic.

My favorite ending is from ABT's old Blair staging - their first staging of SL and IMO, their best! BTW, it's 18 1/2 minutes long. In the old days Swan Lake was a real 4 act ballet with 3 intermissions. Thanks to MarloManners66 for putting the whole thing on youtube - in 16 segments:

act 4 part 1

act 4 part 2

Also - I agree with ABATT about the Part/Stearns performance last night. Part is always lovely, but sometimes she is sublime. Last night she was just lovely. I wish they would pair her with Gomes or Bolle for Swan Lake. There was really no chemistry between her and Stearns and I don't think that will ever change.

I'm a big Hammoudi fan, so I was disappointed to see him encountering difficulties as the purple pimp Von Rothbart. Was this a debut? I believe it is only the 2nd leading role he's been given. He has a lot of work to do. Jared Matthews was very impressive as Benno. On to Semionova/Gomes tonight!

Tuesday night's Swan Lake was such a schizophrenic experience for me. It started out wonderfully. Unlike some other posters I thought the corps looked great and the act 1 waltz was beautiful, musical & joyous.

Hallberg was perfection, period. His line was stunning from his perfectly placed hands and arms through his body to the tips of his gorgeously stretched and pointed toes. His dancing was superb, his bearing regal, his acting sincere & engrossing.

Pavam & Messmer were wonderful in the pas de trois. Unfortunately Radetsky was frustrating. There are so many wonderful things about his dancing but he hits the floor like a hammer. Can't this guy find a plie?

Then Murphy leaped onstage in the first lakeside scene. What an amazing change she's undergone in the 3-4 years since I last saw her O/O. She's found a new softness and flow to her upper body and her Odette now displays genuine vulnerability. She was passionate & emotional, relating really well to her Siegfried. Despite her newfound lyricism she was still able to pull off some stunning technical feats that fit the music and the drama perfectly - the slow triple (or maybe quadruple) pirouette and lightning fast chaine turns Batsuchan noted in Odette's solo. Unfortunately, I also noticed how harsh her developpe's looked without the battement but that was a tiny flaw in what I considered to be a really lovely first act.

It went downhill from there. Murphy's Odile was the most nasty, over the top BITCH I have ever seen. Her phrasing was so harsh and jarring and she was so mean & RUDE that Siegfried had to be a bumbling idiot to mistake her for Odette, or to be tempted by her in the least. Her technique was prodigious but she was not sexy, or charming or mysterious - just harsh. It made no dramatic sense. And I can only think that Saveliev must have been ill or injured because about halfway through his variation he stopped completing the phrases - he was just marking it.

There were some high points in the ballroom scene - I enjoyed Kristi Boone in the Czardas and Joseph Gorak showed effortless extensions in the Neopolitan, but it was too little & too late.

Then came the world's worst 4th act, once again. By now I know what's coming yet somehow I'm still always surprised at just how bad it is. Why doesn't Odette seek out her swan sisters to share her grief? Why does she run out to the edge of the rock like she's ready to throw herself in before she even confronts von R or sees Siegfried again? What's noble or heroic about that? Lord knows I disagree with Macaulay often enough, but his SL review really expresses my feelings about this act perfectly. Done well, the first 3/4 of this staging isn't bad but the last lakeside scene just robs it of any emotional impact. And what good is Swan Lake if it fizzles out at the end?

Unlike the two women I overheard in the restroom state how they saw it years ago at ABT--Did they ever do it?

ABT did it often in the late 60's-mid seventies. I recall Fracci, Kirkland and Makarova as The Sylph, though I'm sure I also saw others. And they revived it just a couple of years ago.

Ballet has always been expensive to produce and I don't believe the box office has ever covered costs - this is not something new. Ticket prices at ABT are on the high end, but have remained relatively stable. But what's going on at City Ballet is a huge change in direction. They are raising prices considerably all over the house, but especially in the 4th ring.

The pricing listed in the brochure their subscribers received was unclear which necessitated many calls to the box office. When you speak to a representative you are told that "they would like their patrons to enjoy a more intimate experience so they want to fill the house from the bottom up". They are discounting certain seats in the extreme sides of the orchestra, 1st & 2nd ring, but are now charging $49 for 4th ring side arm tickets (AAs), $89 for 4th ring side sections and $100 (or maybe it was $120) for Rows A&B and the center section all the way up to the top! These seats used to cost $30 and were $15 with a 4th Ring Society membership. PS - they are not accepting new subscriptions for the 3rd & 4th rings and have said that they do not expect to offer 4th Ring Society memberships next season.

City Ballet has spent years educating & cultivating their audience. In a time when arts organizations are trying to find ways to build a loyal, engaged audience they have done an exemplary job - and now they're throwing it all away.

Not only will NYCB not increase their revenue with this scheme, they will lose their audience. It's happening already. I go to NYCB 3-5 times a week and see a lot of people there night after night. Everyone I've spoken to since this new pricing scheme came out is outraged. Most are not boycotting, and neither will I. But everyone I've spoken to - whether they sit in the orchestra or 4th ring - has decided to reduce the number of performances they will see next season to compensate for the price increase. I know someone who had 5 subscriptions in the orchestra for many years - he's reduced that to 3 in a less expensive section. Most 4th ring subscribers that I know have refused to move down to the lower rings. They're paying the new prices but reducing the number of their subscriptions.

I'm sure that there will be discounted tickets available but what I don't think NYCB realizes is that their core audience is not going to wait till the day of performance to see if they can score a cheap(er) seat. Nor will they spend all of their newly free nights sitting at home on their couches. This is NYC - there are lots of cultural events going on every day of the week and we are often forced to chose between several options on the same night. We will find different companies to attend and our loyalty to NYCB will be even further diminished.

Coppelia has never been one of my favorite ballets. I love the music but somehow the story just doesn't engage me. I was soooo bored through the first 2 acts with the Reyes/Vasiliev cast. I can't blame the performers, Reyes was lovely & Vasiliev is one of the most exciting, charismatic dancers on the stage today. I just felt that the ballet was really plodding. The acts are quite short - no more than half an hour each, but each one felt like an eternity.

The third act finally brought some relief because it contains such beautiful dancing. I love the Prayer and Dawn solos and Abrera & Riccetto performed them very well. Reyes was lovely in hers, and Vasiliev brought the house down when he finally got to do some dancing in the 3rd act. I agree that he is not a particularly elegant dancer, but his leaps and turns are amazing and has such a warm, engaging stage presence. I really hope we get to see more of him here!

I saw The Lesson 4 times when the "Kings of Dance" program was here a few years ago and hated it each time. Nor am I a fan of Elo - so I skipped the mixed bill in favor of The Bright Stream across the plaza.

Last night I timed my arrival just perfectly - with 10 minutes left in the long intermission between The Lesson & La Sylphide.

The Danes' staging of La Sylphide was as beautiful as I remember. The sets are gorgeous, the mime and action is clear and the dancing is wonderful. The company dances this ballet with a gentle, generous spirit that is just enchanting. Gudren Bojeson is a childlike Sylphide, completely innocent. Her dancing is graceful and buoyant - utterly charming.

I enjoyed Ulrik Birkkjaer's James and Nicolai Hansen's Gurn immensely. Their acting was convincing and they both put on a textbook exhibit of batterie & leaps, all in that wonderful Bournonville style. And, of course, Sorella Englund's Madge nearly stole every scene she was in. What a force of nature - her Madge was chillingly vindictive.

For anyone who's interested in some additional casting info, according to the playbill Mette Bodtcher is Madge at the Sat & Sun matinees and Lis Jeppeson takes the role tonight (Sat). Amy Watson dances Naopli with Alban Lendorf at the Sat matinee and with Alexander Staeger on Sat night (Lendorf also does a solo at the evening performance).

I agree that this was an absolutely gorgeous and emotionally gut wrenching performance. Vishneva's Giselles have become more traditional over the years and while her early "wild" Giselles were fascinating I think this is a good development.

She and Gomes had great chemistry and, of course, he was an impassioned Albrecht. They should dance together much more often!

Part was a brilliant, implacable Myrtha and both Kajiya and Boylston were excellent. I was surprised at how much I liked Kajiya - she is such a lovely, lyrical dancer I don't know why ABT always seems to want to force her into virtuoso roles.

I was also impressed by Maria Riccetto in the peasant pas. Her dancing was pristine, as always, but last night it also had a great delicacy and lovely phrasing.

Just found casting info for the NYC performances of La Sylphide & The Lesson on their U.S. Tour website. We get Bojeson, Cavello AND Grinder as the Sylphide, Ulrik Birkkjær, Marcin Kupinski and Mads Blangstrup as James. No info on Madge or the secondary roles:

http://kglteater.dk/...aspx?sc_lang=en

I went last night specifically to see this cast of Apollo and left after Faune (too may nights at the ballet these last few weeks!)

I loved Apollo but it was not without its problems. Chase did slip during the part where he pirouettes down to the floor right before Terpeschore enters for their pas de deux.

The partnering in the pdd was shaky but there were no calamities and Maria handled the less than perfect partnering beautifully.

I agree with Eileen that Finlay's interpretation has deepened since his first performances with Hyltin but I think that at this point he is not quite strong enough or experienced enough to handle a ballerina as tall as Maria. In fact, the partnering with the 3 muses was also a tad rough.

All 3 muses were wonderful - Maria was beautiful and lyrical, Sara was so dynamic and incisive as Polyhimnia and I don't think I've ever seen Calliope danced as well as Theresa did it last night. Bravo to all 3 of them.

Despite its flaws this was such a rewarding performance and I look forward to watching Finlay develop in this role throughout the year.

Janie and Craig were pure perfection in Faune and I left the theater on a real high!

1. The company seems to be having a hard time finding an apt ballerina pairing for this work. Back to the drawing board, folks -- Kowroski + Mearns just doesn't work. They're radically different in style in a way that isn't complementary. Mearns' volcanic 2nd violin made Kowroski's polite1st violin look puny. ( And I'm absolutely shocked to find myself writing "Kowroski" and "puny" in the same sentence!) Asking anyone to dance 1st violin opposite Mearns – a 1st violin if there ever was one – is probably unfair.

I had a similar reaction when I saw this pair at the Kennedy Center last month. I've seen Kowroski in the role before and I love her in it, but the two of them seemed to be dancing on two different dynamic levels. I missed Hyltin's Terpsichore, but I'm not surprised by Macaulay's criticism. The role is not without playfulness at times, but it needs gravitas too, and that doesn't seem to be within her natural personality onstage, at least from what little I've seen of her. Perhaps I'm wrong.

Well, here's a dissenting opinion - I absolutely loved Kowroski, Mearns and Askagard in Concerto Barocco.

Yes, Mearns danced the 2nd Violin with a vitality that we don't often see and with very strong attack but she also showed a wonderful response to the music.

Most importantly, she and Kowroski seemed to be on the same wavelength in the way they heard and responded to the music, something that has been missing in most NYCB pairings in this piece for the past several seasons.

I felt that Kowroski and Mearns also shared enough phsical & stylistic attributes - the expansive phrasing, the endless arabesque - that their appearance was complimentary, and the fact that Kowroski's interpretation was more lyrical and Mearns was more dynamic simply served to differentiate the two violin strains.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

I also really loved Fairchild & Huxley in Square Dance on opening night (Fairchild's stage presence has deepened and her feet were so beautiful here) and Fairchild & Finlay in Duo Concertant. She brought a lyricism and vulnerability that I just don't see in Hyltin, though she has other gifts.

Hoping that this link works...

Bouder/Matvienko DON Q photos here (as well as pics of some other perfs):

http://www.kommersan...84&l=1&stpid=21

Fabulous photos, thanks Natalia!

BTW, Bouder posted on Twitter what a blast she had & that she'd love to dance Kitri again

And there are bonus photos of Hallberg & Kondaurova's Swan Lake! Those 2 look gorgeous together - double thanks Natalia!

The Black Swan Saga continues...

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/

...

By the way, Ashley Bouder states on her twitter page that she will debut in the 4Ts tonight in Choleric. The casting notice (posted on Mar 25) on the NYCB website lists Lowery for that role.

WOW. That should be interesting!

My apologies, that was indeed a typo. The Carreno farewell is 6/30, not 5/30. In fact, since 5/30 is Memorial Day you probably won't have any trouble getting good seats for that performance

I'm curious: have subscribers who went to the box office yesterday or today to exchange discovered that any performances are sold out or nearly so?

In a mailing I got from ABT, they said they expect the most limited availability to be May 16 (opening gala), May 21 mat (Don Q), May 24 (premieres), June 30 (Swan Lake). Is that what you're experiencing so far?

I exchanged my tickets on Sunday and was able to get everything I wanted.

The 5/30 performance is the Carreno Farewell - it will definitely sell out

I doubt that any of the other performances will sell out but they may well sell out certain sections for those performances, so whether or not you should rush out to buy tickets as soon as single seats are offered depends on how picky you are about where you sit

There is always strong demand for the Gala, but it's a big house, it's hardly ever 100% sold out. The 5/21 Saturday matinee is Paulina Semionova's ABT debut. She isn't exactly a household name in NY so I don't think you have to worry about the house selling out. Mixed rep programs also don't typically sell out at the Met, even with new choreography.

Typically when there's high demand the best seats in the house and the cheapest seats in the house sell very well so, once again, it all depends on where you like to sit!