nysusan

WOW, lucky us - sorry west coasters!

cubanmiamiboy, thank you for resurrecting this old topic. It was interesting for me to re-read the remarks I posted here a few years ago. After another season of Martins Swan Lake and what feels like interminable viewings of McKenzies I have to admit that my assessment has changed. While I still think it’s shame that we here in NY have to chose the lesser of two evils I’m starting to think that I prefer the Martins version.

I go to see ABT’s only when there’s a dancer whose Odette I feel I must see - and who can resist going to see the likes of Nina, Part and Vishneva. But even with those great artists, their production never moves me. On the other hand - there are things I absolutely hate about the NYCB version but there are also things that I love about it and the ending has moved me to tears. The last time they did it (was it last year?) I planned to go only once. But during that first performance I was struck by the power and the beauty of the score as the NYCB orchestra plays it. It just seemed so passionate and alive. Then, when Mearns and Bouder were cast - you guessed it- I wound up going 4 more times. And if Kowroski had been cast I would have gone again.

I detest the first act scenery and costumes so much that I only got through those last few performances by taking Balanchine’s advice. I closed my eyes and listened to the music during most of the first act. Hardly what you want from a Swan Lake, but at least the rest of the ballet presented a clear, unified story with some emotional punch.

I’m still waiting for a plain vanilla Swan Lake. Maybe someday...

Yes, thank you all for the reports! It's great to hear how well the Lane/Cornejo debut went, and I'm so relieved to hear that the changes they've made are for the better...hopefully there will be more changes before we see it again at the next Met season.

Did anyone see Part's Lilac Fairy? That and Lane's debut are the 2 performances I really wish we'd gotten to see in NY!

That "long & languid" description of Sarah made me laugh. She is a beautiful dancer and she does have long lines, but that's not the way I'd describe her!

Marga, she is noticably smaller than Xiomara. It's noticable when they're on stage together and also in relation to Cornejo. I'm sure she is the shortest dancer in ABT right now.

I voted for #2 because that's how I felt, even though I went quite often this season. My attendance was up because the rep they offered was so good, many individual dancers are looking wonderful lately and because they offered $10 fourth ring tickets. How can you not go at that price? But I find the season much more interesting when they mix the rep, and I'm reluctant to go see multiple performances of a piece I like when it's coupled with one I dislike. After seeing Dybbuk 3 times last season I decided I only had one more in me this year. But I wanted multiple performances of Raymonda and SVC. I wound up choosing 2 performances and taking a long tour of the Kirstein photo exhibit during one of those Dybbuks. It's no big deal to sit through a ballet I don't like once – I like to revisit things to see if my feelings have changed. The problem is having to sit through multiple viewings of the same piece you don't like to get your fill of the ones you love!

Unfortunately I missed the entire week of "For Lincoln" Balanchine black & whites – but I love maddam's idea of a weekly "wild card" to break up the block programming – surely Martin's can give us that much!

One note that I have to make: WHY is Rothbart an evil, giant owl?? It just seems so bizarre to me...an owl is completely non-threatening, IMO. And the costume was jsut ridiculous, not scary or menacing at all.

That was a really ugly owl costume in the 4th act!

I guess high expectations got the best of me on Friday night. I went in expecting to love this production and wound up liking it a little. Before seeing it I couldn't really sympathize with all the complaints the Brits had about the costumes, scenery & misbehaving aristocrats. After what passes for Swan Lake in NY I figured that as long as it had the authentic dance text how could it be anything but wonderful? Now I know what all the fuss is about.

I dislike the switch from Medieval Germany to what, 18th or 19th century Vienna? I guess it's still supposed to be Germany but in the first act Rosato's Queen Mother & Pennefather's Siegfried kept making me think of Sisi & Rudolph. I have to say that while the costumes & scenery were fussy & overdone they were also very beautiful & rich looking, nothing like some of the cheesy stuff we've seen lately from ABT. And the company looked wonderful – I love their open, expansive style of dancing. I was more impressed with the women than the men and really enjoyed Sara Lamb and Lauren Cuthbertson in the pdt.

As the curtain closed on the first act I 'd just about convinced myself that I could live with an 18th century Swan Lake. Then it opened for act 2 and revealed a set that I can only describe as sci fi Goth. And it only got worse for act 3. Again – it was all really well done and very effective in its own way but I found it so distracting that despite the authenticity of the dance text I would hardly call this a traditional Swan Lake. The thing I disliked most was the costumes for the swan corps. Their dresses were romantic length tutus but multi layered with shredded ends and they were bright shiny white. Even their swan headpieces looked like some kind of filigreed, stylized feathers rather than natural looking ones. They looked more like a bunch of maniacal wilis than enchanted swan maidens and as much as I loved seeing the choreography the costumes really obscured the dancing for me. There were a couple of things I liked a lot about the production – I loved the mime. I'm familiar with the first act mime but I don't think I've seen the 4th act mime in years, and it was great to see it again. There was also a moment towards the beginning of the 4th act when the swan maidens mimed something like "where is Odette – what happened". It was all of a few seconds long but they all did it in unison and it was a beautiful moment.

Nunez & Pennefather were both good, but I didn't think either one was outstanding in their roles. Pennefather has nice long lines and cuts a very elegant figure. His acting was strong, partnering was solid & his dancing was clean but not exceptional. Nunez looked very strong technically. Her Odile was great, charmingly seductive and her dancing was spectacular throughout the black swan pdd. She's a great turner, her balances were extraordinary and her fouettes were beautiful and secure. Unfortunately I'd been marveling at her technical prowess all the way back in the second act, in the white swan pdd. I don’t want to see technique in the lakeside acts, I want to see magic. Her arabesque is beautiful, but there were way too many 6 o'clocks & not nearly enough poetry for me.

Thanks for the reviews, I can't wait till tonight!

Thursday, July 12 Swan Lake-Tamara Rojo, Federico Bonelli

At the end of the 30 minute (!!) intemission, Monica Mason came onstage and announced, to my deep disappointment, that Rojo was injured and would be replaced in Act 3 by Roberta Marquez. She apologized for the long intermission and explained that Marguez and Bonelli had needed time to rehearse as they had never danced together before.

That must have been strange, and very distracting! I also heard that the audience was very unruly.

FYI - I haven't seen much of Rojo but Marquez is TINY. Certainly no more than 5' 2", probably closer to 5 feet. And von Rothbart is traditionally represented as an owl, though the major complaint I've heard about this production is about the costumes & scenery...

This is wonderful news, congratulations Sarah AND Herman!!!!

Art, you should go. This production was disappointing for it's lack of dramatic focus (too many additional plot elements) and the fact that it approaches the ballet as a children's fairy tale (especially in terms of the costumes), but the dancing is glorious, and there's plenty of it. And recent interviews have indicated that the artistic team looks at it as a “work in process” and has already made significant changes to it. It's not in the same league as the RB's beauty, and while the major disapointment here was that it could have been so much better there's still enough Petipa to make it worthwhile for adult ballet lovers.

Lane is a beautiful young dancer who is being groomed for stardom. A couple of years ago she danced the lead in Theme & Variations (with Cornejo), but this is her first classical leading role, and I’m sure she will be wonderful as Aurora. Cornejo is amazing - he's really a startlingly beautiful classicist.

This is casting that many of us in NY were hoping for, and we’re all very jealous of our OC friends who’ll get to see their joint debut.

Here’s a recent interview with Lane where she talks about Sleeping Beauty (but not about Aurora- must have been from before she was cast):

http://www.pe.com/entertainment/stories/PE...13.162494e.html

In fact, I think any future contracts offered to KMcK should have a "no choreography" clause.

Amen to that, and to losing the block scheduling. I know it would be fruitless to ask them not to cast every single female principal in every title role but that would also go a long way towards improving the spring season.

I would love to see ABT do more Ashton - Monotones, Les Patineurs, Symphonic Variations, Rhapsody & The Two Pigeons are on my wishlist.

In addition to commissioning new work I'd also love to see them present a little more from their own past (Massine, Lichine and keep reviving Fokine, Tudor & de Mille) as well as bringing in productions from current and recent ballet choreographers like Bejart, Cranko, Petit, Neumier and Forsythe.

Gala Performance sounds perfect for the Tudor Centennial, and Dale suggested perfect casting. In addition to Tudor's R&J (which I've never seen) I'd love to see a revival of Lilac Garden. I can see the first cast - Kent as Caroline, Saveliev as The Man She Must Marry, Gomes as her Lover and Murphy as the Other Woman. Then Abrera/Stappas/Corella/Boone. Or Lane/Radetsky/Cornejo/Copeland…

Whatever the cause for the cancellation, I hope it's not serious or enduring.

Me too. Right now I'm still feeling a little sorry for myself, though. Aside from crushing disappointment at being deprived of the performance I've been waiting for all season - I'm going with some friends, so there's no cancelling plus they prefer to sit up close - so I'll be watching from the 5th row of the orchestra!

Should I conclude that I was the only person who liked Irina's Odette/Odile on Monday night?

Well, I didn't see her on Monday, but I'll bet you get lots of feedback after Irina & Max sub for Part & Gomes at tomorrrow's matinee!

... Misty Copeland continues to charm in the first act as the woman who flirts with the prince's friend & winds up with the prince...

Well, not quite! I always enjoy Mr. Franklin's intense concentration as the Tutor. While Misty dances with the Prince he watches with such stern disapproval, even commenting on the Prince's misbehavior to some people near him. But once the Prince leaves, it is Mr. Franklin, grinning happily, who, arm around Misty's waist, leads her off. So, score one for the faculty!

It has been another of those seasons where everyone notices Misty, but will management ever? Promotions, so many are deserved...

Yes, the tutor was upset, the Prince was amused, the other aristoctrats were jealous, but I was still charmed

Regarding those promotions, I'm sure management notices Misty, and all the other talented dancers in the corps. Problem is there are so many who deserve a promotion! The soloist ranks are looking pretty thin at this point so hopefully there will be a few promotions soon. I think Lane and Matthews are the ovbious front runners, I'm also betting on Misty, Fang & Issaac Stappas

James Wolcott's blog indicates that Part is injured and can't dance. ABT's website confirms that Dvorovenko and Beloserkovsky will dance instead. Part/Gomes are still listed on the ABT calendar but if you go to "purchase tickets" and click through to Swan Lake you will see the substitution

I will still dare, even though probably will make everyone hate me ;-(( (and I have to admit i am a russian classical school and ballet fan).....

I don't think anyone will hate you, though some of us may disagree just a little....

I thought Nina was wonderful last night. Definitely better than her Bayadere earlier this season and better than the New Haven Giselle (although conditions here were more in her favor - in New Haven she had to contend with a tiny cramped stage, very bright lighting for the first act & an auditorium where people in the first rows of the orchestra & mezzanine were practically close enough to kiss her).

I love both Filin & Corella but they are completely different in technique, temperament etc. I won't compare them but I agree that Angel did seem to have a tiny bit of trouble in some of the lifts. I don't even know if I'd call it trouble, just a little more effort showing than I would have liked. But they were both exciting & fearless in their dancing and I found Nina to be very moving as Odette and perfectly seductive as Odile. Their chemistry together was great. What I love about Nina in SL is that she doesn't just trade on her soulful face, she really shapes her movement and her phrasing to express Odette's feelings which is the kind of expressiveness I want to see in this ballet. The only thing I don't like about her interpretation is that I think she overdoes the swan arms, especially in the first lake side scene. It has to be very tempting for her since the audience bursts into applause each time she does it but I find it distracting when done so often and I think it dilutes the power of the imagery.

In the black swan pdd it looked like she did 32 fouettees to me, with multiples thrown in and several changes in arm position. Her fouettees didn't start out as fast as some, they did slow towards the end and the leg worked it's way down a bit as she approached the finish but these are all such minor flaws, they really don't matter to me anyway. She didn't travel side to side, or fall off point, or panic, or grind them out, she finished in control and facing forward and that's more than good enough for me. What matters to me is that she danced it well, with confidence and in character. I don't think I've ever seen a "perfect" Black Swan pas de deux in the full length ballet (not even from Murphy or Bouder) and I think it's unrealistic to judge a live performance against a classroom conception of perfection.

Abrera was lovely in the pdt and I think this is also one of Saveliev's better roles. Misty Copeland continues to charm in the first act as the woman who flirts with the prince's friend & winds up with the prince, and I couldn't take my eyes off of Fang as one of the Princesses. She has such a special quality I hope she doesn't get lost in the shuffle if promotions are made this year. Speaking of soloist candidates - it was great to see Jared Matthews as von Rothbart, he is really developing wonderfully. All in all it was a very exciting evening.

I 've found much of Macaulay's writing for the Times entertaining & thought provoking, and there's no doubt that he's a huge improvement over Rockwell - whose appointment as chief dance critic was simply inexcusable. I even prefer Macaulay to the other dance critics at the Times these days, however the more comfortable he get's in his new position the clearer it becomes that he has axes to grind, and I find that very disturbing.

Yes, a head critic is entitled to opinions and preferences, but I find it very disingenuous for him to display them in such a backhanded way. There is no question that referring to Nichols as "this greatest ballerina of the past 20 years" on the same weekend that Ferri retired was a backhanded slap at Ferri - but it's also an insult to Susan Jaffe, Nina Ananishvislli, Wendy Whalen and a host of other ballerinas. If he truly thinks that Nichols is in a class above all others then he should have told us so overtly - and told us why. And if he had any sense of decorum he would have found a more appropriate time to make this pronouncement. Slipping in that comment at the end of his review was malicious and divisive - and told me more about his personality than I really want to know.

The same goes for his comment about V. Part in the review of Romeo & Juliet. We all understand that he doesn't like Part - that's clear, and that's understandable. She has her fans and her detractors, and for good reason. Let him criticize her technical deficiencies as he sees them, her style, whatever - but to criticize her performance of a mime role - that's just being mean. I could understand if he felt that her personality wasn't forceful enough to put the role across, or if he felt that she was overacting but she pretty much plays the role the same way that everyone has every time I've seen ABT do this ballet.

It's starting to look as though when Macaulay doesn't like someone, he'll take any excuse to jab at them, overtly or obscurely. It's a very unattractive trait, and it's not good for dance. Now that it's become apparant I'll read his reviews with a big grain of salt.

The Review is up on the times.

It is not by Mr Macaulay though, but by Gia Kourlas. It is of course a glowing review, if not as efflusive in its praise as was Mr Macaulay's of the farewell performance of Kyra Nichols on Friday.

Too bad it was buried on page 5 while the article on Nichols' was twice the length and featured so prominently on page 1. Considering Ferri was an international ballet superstar (while Nichols was not), to have the adjacent Macauley article state that Nichols was the "greatest ballerina in the last 20 years" was disrepectful to Ferri and an indirect jab at her.

Buried? It was adjacent to the "jump" on the Kyra article and both the photo of Kyra and of Ferri were wonderful.

Well it depends if you are looking at it digitally or in the old school paper manner ;)

it is indisputable that Kyra Nichols' review was linked via image from the main page (speaking digitally of course), while Alessandra Ferri's was not. Whether this is unfair is, I suppose, a matter of one's opinion of the two dancers.

They did not receive equal treatment by the Times however.

I agree that the Time's coverage was unequal, and although I enjoy Macaulay's writing his prejudices are becoming glaringly obvious and very annoying. I'll address that a little further on the Macaulay thread in the "Writings on Ballet" forum, but just wanted to note here that the digital version of today's NY Times (6/26) has a 3 1/2 minute video from Ferri's farewell on the front page. Go to www.nytimes.com and scroll about halfway down the page to their Video section

Susan

Thanks for the updates Natalia. Glad to hear that Obraztsova's Giselle debut went so well, she was just the perfect Juliet earlier this year when the Kirov was in DC. I wish I could see them more often so your reports are really a life line to the company for me. They have such talent there, from the ranks on up. I find it almost unbelievable that as much as I love Vishneva when I think about the Kirov she's only my 3rd or even 4th favorite ballerina (after Lopatkina, Pavlenko and now Obraztsova). That doesn't sound very flattering to Vishneva but it's really not a reflection on her - she's amazing - it's just that they have so many exquisite ballerinas in St Petersburg right now and I gravitate towards the more traditional ones. Hopefully we'll get to see plenty of them all in NY next year, I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Thanks for the wardrobe advice Ray, and thanks to dufay for that very generous transportation offer. I envy you getting to see the Royal in R&J and am especially sorry to miss Tamara Rojo's Swan Lake - but it just didn't make sense for me to travel in from NY mid week. I'm going to come in for the Friday night SL and stay at a hotel near Rittenhouse square. I'll rely on the special shuttle to get me there & back - so I'll be wearing my running shoes...

My only complaint: Lousy recording, sounded like an old LP. Second complaint, I could hear the dancers talking, The Shubert has excellent acoustics!

...

I hope the New York dance critics took the train up to see a wonderful performance. They can still catch a performance tomorrow.

Oh, no - recorded music, how disapointing! It never occured to me that Nina's company would use recorded music for Giselle. That's a real shame.

I thnk the NY critics may have all been in New Haven tonight - I didn't see any of them at the Met for Vishneva's Manon. Of course, some of them could have been across the Plaza but I'll bet a few of them made the trip to CT.

Thanks for the review

Susan

Friday, June 15, 2007

When she enters the prison's port she is all weakness. Helpless, half dead, her only strength is Gomes. She is taken to the gaoler, and is so frail and without hope that she can barely offer resistence. The humiliation, as he forces the bracelet on her wrist. Marcelo enters, kills the gaoler with a knife in the back, she is nearly blank, a quiet horror at what she's led him to, but just enough strength to drag him out.

In the swamp her eyes are wide but with a catatonic blankness. A moment of seeing, as in the background the card game is recalled, then blank again. For both triple spins, at the zenith of each lift's toss, her body goes lifeless, outstanding partnering. After the second, Diana is to our right. Her eyes suddenly see Marcelo, a great smile dawns on her face as she charges toward him. The lift. She is dead.

drb, that is a perfect description of her last act - it was amazing.

Unfortunately I wasn’t as taken with her first 2 acts as you were. As the performance began I was a little disappointed in Vishneva’s Manon. Her dancing was beautiful but her phrasing had none of the sweep and flow of Ferri’s, in fact it looked kind of static and I felt like she did a lot of posing.

With this most dramatic of ballerinas I was very uncharacteristically aware that she was ACTING, rather than letting the story flow through her dancing. While she & Gomes related well to each other I didn’t think their first act pdd (the one in his room) conveyed the same degree of rapture that I’ve come to expect. There was ardor, to be sure - but not that blissful, crazy love that changes your life or that unbreakable connection that colors Manon’s choices from that moment forward. Not for Manon, anyway. Des Grieux was madly in love but - it was far too easy for her to forget him the moment GM dangled that jewelry in front of her.

In the second act she seemed so hardened to Des Grieux, as if she would have been happy to live the rest of her life as GM’s pampered mistress if Gomes’s Des Greiux had not been so passionate and so persistent in his pursuit. Dramatically speaking, I felt that Gomes drove the action in this pairing, much more so than other pairings I’ve seen. He was wonderful from his first scene to his last, so in love with Manon that nothing she did could turn him away. His dancing was gorgeous. He doesn’t have the highest arabesque but he has such beautiful, noble line and tonight those plush landings were very much in evidence.

Definitely a different Manon from the one I’m used to. A valid interpretation from this great artist, but not one that I found really touching until the very end.

The curtain calls alone were worth the price of admission, Vishneva could not have been more demonstrative towards Gomes. Either he really pulled her through the performance tonight or she’s found a new favorite ABT partner. Can't wait for their Swan Lake!

I hope ABT can convince Alessandra to do another R and J before her soldout farewell.

So do I!!!

I have avoided reality shows since their inception - I think they're a lazy producer's way of filling airtime and I'm sure viewing them leads directly to brain rot but still - there comes a point where you just can't say no. Had to tune in to "So you Think You Can Dance" once I heard that Danny was a contestant. Wow, he sure can dance - even though I think this is a huge waste of his talents I still can't take my eyes off him. Guess I'm hooked for as long as he's in the running, and he seems to be one of the judges favorites. Nice splits, Danny!

ABT's site has just replaced Reyes by Ferri for Wednesday matinee.

Wow, she's dancing Manon 3 times in 4 days? Talk about going out with a bang. She was so beautiful on Monday night that it seems criminal for her to retire now. But it sounds like she's made up her mind and it was a privilege and a pleasure to witness her genius once again in this role. And very generous of her to give us Roberto Bolle as a parting gift. He certainly is a beautiful dancer and a great partner for her. I wasn't bothered at all by the age or size difference. In fact I felt as though the size discrepancy allowed her to be really free and daring and completely abandon herself to the moment without a thought to the mechanics of those treacherous lifts. Not that she wouldn't take the same approach with someone closer to her own size - or doesn't all the time - but with Bolle you never wondered for a moment if the partnering was secure - when they whipped into those lifts it looked like they threw caution to the wind and saw only each other. It was a very powerful performance which left us all emotionally drained, and it was rewarded with many curtain calls, at least one after the Met had turned all the house lights up. I don't love this ballet - in fact I don't even like it but I still can't wait for Ferri/Bolle II on Thursday. I thought Bolle's acting was fine here, if he and Ferri were any more demonstrative they would have had to give this a XXX rating - lots of those kisses really didn't look like stage kisses at all. But one of the things I dislike about Manon is how over the top it all is. I expect everyone to chew the scenery in this one, so considering the production I felt the drama and passion level was appropriately high. I would love to see him in something classical and I'm hoping that he'll be back again next year - we need another big, tall danseur noble.

I agree that Stiefel was fabulous as Lescaut - it looked like he was having the best time of his life playing the bad guy, while all the pressure was on the new guy. He and Murphy were just hysterical in the drunk scene, it's really wonderful to watch them dance together.

I managed to get back from my business trip just in time to drop my bags off at home and run up to the Met for Vishneva's second ABT Aurora, so you can imagine how disappointed I was to hear of her "illness".

Why? is there any reason to believe she wasn't truly "ill"?

My apologies for implying that there were reasons other than actual illness for the cancellation of Vishneva's second Aurora. There was no basis for it, other than my own personal hunch which was obviously wrong. Yet another good example of the wisdom of Ballet Talk's no gossip rule...

I managed to get back from my business trip just in time to drop my bags off at home and run up to the Met for Vishneva's second ABT Aurora, so you can imagine how disappointed I was to hear of her "illness". I guess it was just as well, I still cherish the memory of the astounding Aurora I saw from her when the Kirov toured the Sergeyev version. Better to keep that picture in my mind than to replace it with a tentative outing.

All in all, I was glad for the choice of replacements. Miss Hererra won me over last night. Her first Aurora at the Sat matinee was very good, but this one was really beautiful. She was charming, modest, sweet – a pearl of an Aurora rather than the blazing radiance of a Vishneva. She was secure enough with the technical demands of the role to throw them off as though they were nothing – and gave us a wonderful, appropriate reading of the character & the story. Her interactions with the suitors, her family and eventually her true prince were all perfectly delineated, all while she was tossing off heart stopping balances & jetes, delicate hops on pointe, etc. All of this with perfectly coordinated flow through the torso and beautiful epaulment - the lack of which has often plagued her in the past. After a great Rose Adagio I thought she'd lack mystery in the vision scene but I was wrong – she gave us all 3 acts, all danced well and each one characterized just right. Damn, the last thing I needed was another ballerina I'll want to see in every production at ABT!

I loved Kirkland as Carabosse – she was much less campy than van Hamel. susibee described her perfectly – her Carabosse was no joke – this was the ruins of a beautiful, powerful fairy pushed over the edge and dead serious about extracting her revenge.

There were so many excellent performances, I'll just single out Hee Seo as the fairy of sincerity and Melissa Thomas as charity. Also Abrera's Lilac has grown much more expansive since her first outing and Lane's Florine was just as delicate and magical as I remembered. I haven't mentioned Corella, he has been dancing wonderfully this season. Aside from his own bravura take on Prince Desire, he and Paloma have great chemistry together. In the last act you really sensed their delight each time they looked at each other and knew that that they would live happily ever after.

After a week away from it I've looked at this production with fresh eyes and I don't think it's nearly as bad as I did at first. My first reaction to it was colored by anger at McKenzie & co for messing up an opportunity to give us a truly great staging of Sleeping Beauty – and dumbing down yet another great classic. This is not a great staging (in comparison to the Kirov, Royal or even NYCB) but it's not horrible, either – it presents most of the Petipa well and the dancing is beautiful. This is no small feat and I think a lot of credit should go to the coaches. While NYCB's staging is cleaner and more dramatically cohesive, their style of the dancing is so wrong in this that it's hard for me to watch it (not saying they aren't great dancers – they are fantastic, but they're not coached to dance in the classic Petipa style). Last night I went with a friend who absolutely loved the production, she had no problem with any of the embellishments. I'd be happier with less glitter on the tutus, but the only costumes that really bother me are the yellow & turquoise get ups for the villagers and the last act courtiers' costumes. I could live without the "river of tears" addition, but they're not likely to change that and seriously – unless you read the synopsis you have no idea what's going on with that anyway. I think that banishing the King & Queen is a mistake, but if they'd just jettison the whole Prince caught in the spider web concept and lose some of the smoke & pyrotechnics it would be a much better production. And that would give them back enough time to give us back the 4th act divertissements.