nysusan

drb - sorry to have deserted you but that darn job of mine is consuming way too much of my time. I do wish the Bolshoi was going to be here longer, with the performances more spread out... all these new productions and dancers (new to me) are a lot to process over such a short time. Tsiskaridze was brilliant as the ballerina's partner, but it's such a specialized role, with most of his dancing done en point and in a romantic length tutu so it hardly seems fair to try to assess his talents based on that one performance. I was planning to hold my comments until after I saw him in Pharaoh's Daughter, but I know what it's like to wait for people to post about a performance you wanted to see, so... His was a charming, forceful presence in this very sunny,feel-good production. I also enjoyed Godovsky on Monday night - it's a funny role with the laughs underlined by the fact that both dancers are actually quite good on point, but Tsiskaridze really made you gasp on occasion - punctuating the joke by throwing in a 180 degree split jete here, and some marvelous musical phrasing there. Anastasia Yatsenko was also very good as Zina. She was completely different form Lunkina but I liked them both. Lunkina's characterization was very meek, a dutiful, good girl but Yatsenko's had a lot of spunk, you could see why she and the ballerina had been such good friends - her style of dancing mirrored Alexandrova's much more than Lunkina's had. Lunkina had a beautiful lyricism to her dancing, Yatsenko was more in the big Bolshoi tradition (she wasn't big but her dancing was). I liked both Klevtsov and Neporozhny as Pyotr, and of course all the secondary roles were wonderfully done. There were a few changes to the secondary cast on Tuesday - Andrey Melanin danced the Old Dacha Dweller and Andrey Bolotin took over the role of the Tractor Driver. I absolutely loved Ksenia Pchelkina's schoolgirl both nights- what a gem of a performance, beautifully danced and perfectly realized. Despite all the wonderful performances,I think that ultimately both nights belonged to Alexandrova. She is really a very rare & unique dancer. She has all the skills you'd expect plus the most buoyant jumps I've ever seen from a ballerina, and the warmth & humor of her personality make her a pleasure to watch, especially in this role that seems tailor made for her. In case anyone is contemplating buying tickets for tonight - JUST DO IT! It's a very charming production, great music and great fun. Not necessarily one where you'll want to see each different cast 3 times - but lot's of fun for one viewing.

Well, Polovtsian Dances, for sure! Even with a chorus & well done it's still the height of kitsh. But I love it. Also Marguarite & Armand, though to a lesser degree. I don't consider that to be a bad ballet, just not a great one. But with the right cast it's pretty irresistible

Exactly - that’s a perfect description of it! What a wonderful idea. But don’t you think some of the other men on ABT’s roster might object to a Gomes/Acosta marathon? I think ABT has some of the best male dancers in the world today, so it’s fun to speculate on what they could do with Spartacus - but you’re both right, the company as a whole would not do it justice - especially the male corps. Plus - it’s long, just over 3 hours and McKenzie would never stand for that. He’d probably eliminate 1 intermission, chop out at least 45 minutes of dancing and market it as a story about a man who had to make a choice between the woman he loves and the men he leads... But I would bet that for a first seeing of the ballet, the heir-apparent for the role, Vorobiev, would have been the better choice. Please, could you tell us a bit more about his performance? Especially after Klevtsov's underwhelming Basilio (in fairness, a substitute situation, and not well-matched with Alexandrova), his effort as Spartacus was a happy surprise. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I had no idea that Vorobiev was considered the “heir -apparent”, like Colleen I was just trying to see Lunkina! But after the ballet ended and I looked him up in the program I was surprised to see that he was listed at the lowest soloist level. Is he very young? He looked kind of small - small boned and fairly short. I was thinking during one of the intermissions that my ideal Bolshoi cast would be Vorobiev with Antonicheva, Shipulina and either Neporozny or Volchkov as Crassus (I liked them both) till I realized that Vorobiev was probably several inches shorter than Antonicheva - no way could he handle her in those lifts! There are undoubtedly other posters who could be more specific in balletic terms about the differences between Kevtsov & Vorobiev, but I’ll tell you what I can. I felt that all of the dancers from top to bottom in both casts had a high level of intensity and really put the theatrics over well, but I noticed a little more ballon in Vorobiev’s dancing - the leaps seemed to hang in the air a little longer and the positions in the air may have been a little crisper. I thought Klevtov was very believable in the role, certainly very moving but the biggest difference for me was in their dramatic interpretations. They were both equally good at inhabiting the role of Spartacus , but I felt that Klevtsov’s was more of a tragic hero who accepted the destiny that was thrust upon him (including the inevitability of his defeat), whereas Vorobiev’s seemed to be a common man who rose to the challenge and fought till the end. Shipulina’s Aegina also made a big difference in the intensity level of the performance. In addition to her gorgeous, lush dancing, she also presented a very strong personality and another focal point for the drama.

I think of Spartacus as a theatrical experience as much as a ballet. Kind of like a danced play. It certainly is epic. In commenting on their Don Q people have mentioned that the Bolshoi’s great strength is in the depth of their soloists and the cohesion of the company as a whole. In Don Q this was demonstrated again and again by soloists and corps members in wonderful character and soloist roles. Spartacus didn’t offer many individual opportunities beyond the 4 principle roles (ok, there was a gladiator and 3 very impressive shepherds, but it’s not the same kind of thing). There were some great individual performances, but in Spartacus the ensemble, the story and the staging were the stars. I went to the Friday night and Saturday matinee performances. On Friday, I left the Opera house with images of Phrygia & Aegina emblazoned on my consciousness. That’s not a good thing when the ballet is supposed to be centered on the men’s roles. To be fair, I didn’t feel well on Friday night and had a difficult time focusing for parts of the evening, but still.... Klevtsov was Spartacus to Volchkov’s Crassus. It wasn’t as though I thought either of them were bad, they were both quite good. But I didn’t think either one was phenomenal, and I think Spartacus needs 2 male dancers with phenomenal leaping abilities and strong dance/acting skills in the lead roles if it’s really going to work. Both of them were able to synthesize the dancing and acting in a way that was very satisfying, but somehow it just didn’t compare with even the very vague memories I had of Vasiliev and Liepa from 30 years ago. And Klevtsov’s take on the role didn’t really seem very heroic to me. He gave us a deeply moving Spartacus in many ways - but he seemed defeated almost from the first, there was a fatalism about him. And at the end, he just seemed to give up and accept inevitable defeat. There was a lot more fight in Vorobiev’s Spartacus at the Saturday matinee, and I much preferred his interpretation. Antonicheva was Phrygia on Friday night, and she was superb. She looks very big, not heavy but tall, with never ending extensions and a very long line and she gave a very big performance - lyrical and filled with pathos, devotion & dignity. I really liked Maria Allash as Aegina, another very tall Bolshoi ballerina but thin and with very long limbs. The sharpness and extreme extentions in Aegina’s choreography looked like it was tailor made for her. At least that’s what I thought right up until the very instant on Saturday afternoon when Shipulina took the stage in the same role. Wow. It may have been the most complete performance I’ve seen from a Bolshoi dancer yet. Allash was very, very good - evil & scheming. But Shipulina just oozed sex. She was imperious and scheming - in some ways she really overpowered her Crassus - she seemed to be the protagonist, always pushing him and spurring him on. Despite some of the extremely inventive lifts for Spartacus & Phrygia, Aegina really has the best dancing, or at least the most bravura dancing. Shipulia managed to invest those 180 degree splits and jetes, and those ear scraping devlopees with a creaminess and lasciviousness that was just amazing. Nina Kaptsova danced Phrygia at the matinee. She was lovely, but she is a small woman, and her Phrygia was danced on a much smaller scale than Antonicheva’s. Both Volchkov on Friday & Neporozny on Saturday were fine as Crassus. More than fine, really. I don’t want to make it sound like they didn’t do a good job, I just think I’m really spoiled from seeing ABT’s men on such a regular basis. Kept thinking about what it would have looked like with Acosta soaring above those Roman legions and Gomes rousing the gladiators... Osipova was easy to pick out among the shepherdesses at both performances. I had mixed feelings about her variation in Don Q, but she’s certainly one to keep an eye out for along with Krysanova and Kobakhidze. If anyone was at tonight’s performance, please report. The only reason I got tickets for the matinee was to catch Lunkina’s Phrygia, and then they bumped her up to the evening performance. I’d love to hear what people think of her in this role!

ABT's Met season was wonderful this year, but with the Bolshoi’s visit coming right on the heels of their closing performances I really hadn’t had the time to sort out my feelings about what I had seen. Tonight I went through my ABT programs so it seemed like a good time to take stock. High points Spectre de la Rose - it seemed a better fit at the Met, or maybe the company just grew into it. McKerrow’s young girl was beautiful, and the opportunity to see Cornejo, Corella, Acosta and Tidwell as the Rose was priceless. Erica Cornejo -her peasant pas practically stole the show from Kent’s Giselle - let’s hope she stays healthy Part’s successes in Ballet Imperial, Raymonda & Swan Lake. This was the first time I’d seen her Swan Lake and it may have been THE highlight of the season for me. She & Gomes are wonderful together, and I hope to see more of them! Zhong Zing Fang , Melissa Thomas, Melanie Hamrick, Grant DeLong & Jared Matthews all getting wonderful opportunities so early in their careers with ABT - and making the most of them. Sylvia - what a wonderful gift for ABT to have chosen to present Sylvia. It’s a great addition to the repertoire, and a great role for both Murphy & Wiles. And now if we could only figure out a way for Gomes to dance Amnita and Orion at the same performance (and then carry it forward so he could dance Sigfried and Von Rothbart in the same performance...) Marcelo Gomes.. in everything he did Carlos Acosta - I’m praying to the ABT gods -please bring him back next season! Diana Vishneva. I missed her Don Q & Giselle but her Swan Lake was wonderful. Even though I preferred Part’s Ballet Imperial I was very glad that I had the chance to see Vishneva’s and make the comparisons. Same prayer as for Acosta... Low points - I’m tempted to list Polovtsian Dances among the low points of the season, but I feel the same way about their Polovtsian Dances as I do about their Raymonda - even though I thought ABT’s staging & execution left a lot to be desired, I’d still rather have their version than none at all. Anyway , the real low points of the season were the absence of so many favorite dancers, from Misty Copeland, Irina Dvorovenko and Max Belosekovsky to Ferri & Ananishvili

Ooops. It seems that the reason I liked Maria Allash so much better than last time was that this time I was crediting her with both her own dancing & someone else’s. Two other dances, in fact! I’ve had a hard time differentiating between the Street Dancer and Mercedes in the Bolshoi’s Don Q. When I saw it on Monday I thought that Allash’s Street Dancer appeared in both the first and second acts - in the long black dress dancing on point in the first act and in the long red dress doing the character dancing in the second act. I also thought she did the Bolero in the 3rd act. I guess I should use my opera glasses more often because tonight it was obvious that Allash only appeared in the first act. On Monday night the second act character dance (long red dress - Mercedes, I guess) and the 3rd act Bolero were both danced wonderfully by Irina Zibrova. Tonight Allash reprised the Street Dancer, Zibrova danced Mercedes and Anna Antropova did both the Gypsey and the Bolero. Sometimes I thnk I need a scorecard I guess I did look away for a minute on Monday night, because tonight Alexandrova did the Italian Fouettes in Kitri’s dream variation. They didn’t go on as long as I remember though.. Alexandrova was very charming as Kitri, and her jumps, turns & balances were awesome. The overhead lifts weren’t as impressive as Zakarova’s and some of her supported pirouettes were a little shakey but I think that might have been because Klevtsov was a little small to partner her. I thought she really shined in the Dryad scene - we got just a glimpse of what a beautifully classical ballerina she can be. Shipulina did the Dryad Queen and she is another one of my favorites. Based on their dancing in the Dryad scene Shipulina & Alexandrova would both be beautiful Auroras or Sugerplum Faries so it’s kind of a shame that we won’t get to see either of them in that type of role this trip.

My one disappointment is that it doesn't look like Yulianna Malkhasiants made the trip. She did such a memorable gypsy dance in their Boston performance last year that I was looking forward to seeing her again. Anna Antropova did it this time, and she did a great job, but it was different. A younger, less world weary gypsy. Loved Maria Allash as the street dancer, I'd seen her previously in classical roles (Dryad Queen & lead in Raymonda) and found her bland. Last night her character dancing was great, she was very fiery & I'd love to see her Aegina! I missed the developes-a-la-second into fouettes in the Dryad scene - I know in this version Kitri does them rather than the Dryad Queen but last night I don't remember seeing them at all. Was I snoozing? Nellie Kobakhidze is back & lovely as ever - she did the 2nd varaiation in the Grand Pas. Haven't seen Ekatarina Krysanova yet, but she's listed in the corps so hopefully she'll get some featured roles again this trip. More later.

I’m afraid that was Hallberg,Wiles & Simone Messmer, not Monique Meunier. Christine, you are so right, those crying kids were maddening! I actually had tickets in a balcony box, but decided that I had enjoyed Vishneva’s Thursday performance so much I wanted to see her from closer up so I upgraded that $25 ticket to center orchestra. Not only were those screaming babies a constant distraction (not only from the balcony, but from all over the house) I also had the pleasure of having as neighbors someone behind me snoring through the first lakeside scene and 2 women in the middle of the row in front of me who felt the need to get up and make their way out of the auditorium just after the start of the white swan pas de deux! When someone exclaimed “you’ve got to be kidding” (I think it was me!), one of the ladies muttered “sorry, it’s an emergency”. Whatever. I’m afraid I didn’t find Vishneva’s 2nd performance quite as magical as the first, but I think it was the circumstances, rather than anything she did. I’ve really come to accept screaming babies as a given at matinees, and avoid them like the plague. The only time I’ll go to a matinee is when there is an artist of Vishneva’s caliber performing and I have to see every one of her performances, or if it’s something/someone I couldn’t see any other time. This was my third matinee of the season, after a Jewels matinee & Part’s Raymonda. I take it for granted that it’s going to happen at a matinee but I will not put up with it at an evening performance. At City Center last season there were a bunch of kids at an evening performance of the repertory program that included Les Sylphides. Just imagine how distracting that was! I actually left my seat about 10 minutes into Les Sylphides,went right to the usher & complained. During intermission I went to the house manager & they comped me for another performance. Somehow I doubt that the Met would be as generous but it never hurts to try... I’m so upset to have missed Hallberg’s vonR but Saturday was also my 5th SL and you’ve got to stop somewhere. Especially since I keep liking the production less & less each time I see it. Lately it has been bugging me that not only do the peasants dance the waltz & the aristocrats dance around the maypole (it should be the other way around) but the peasant boys lift the aristocrat ladies while they’re doing their maypole dance. Sure, that makes sense! That’s very true. Yesterday when I got home from the matinee I had a little “dueling Swan Lakes” festival - pulled out my new Murphy/Corella tape and my 3 favorites - the Makarova/Nagy ABT version, Makarova/Dowell RB and Mezentseva/Zaklinsky Kirov tapes. The initial reason I decided to do that was because I remembered how much I loved the Kirov’s version of the pas de trois. When I saw it, it seemed so different from the RB/ABT versions I was used to that I thought it might have different choreography. Nope. The Kirov just dances it completely differently - the timing,phrasing & plastique are completely different. ABT/RB dancers bring a very lilting, flowing quality to it, and usually dance it demi character while the Kirov dancers really separate the phrases, and dance it with very classical plastique. I also took a long hard look at Murphy’s line vs. Makarova’s. I realize that they are starting with very different bodies, and temperaments, but there are also some very clear, deliberate differences in the way they use their bodies. The first time I saw Murphy’s SL my reaction was that she’s all arms and legs. Upon viewing the tape - she is! She holds her arms stretched above her head a lot, and her high extensions give her a very vertical line. In contrast, Makarova rarely kept her arms stretched out above her shoulders for more than a moment. They’d stretch up, but then come right back down below her shoulders, with her head dipped down as well. And her arabesques were rarely over 90 degrees - when they were it was for emphasis but most of the time they were less than 90, resulting in a visual image of sadness and being pulled down by her sorrows, vs Murphy who was IMO had a very upward, stretched out look, and a very sharp, acute line. That’s just my attempt to analyze one tiny bit of Murphy’s Odette vs my favorite, to try to understand why I admire Murphy’s but don’t love it.. Finally - this is an exchange I heard between 2 people sitting behind me when they came back to their seats after intermission Sat aftenoon. She: “that was amazing, so moving, it was the best Act 2 I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen Makarova, but now I understand what people mean when they talk about her, Vishneva must be almost as good. He: I’ve seen Makarova, and Vishneva is better! Well, I can’t quite agree with that but I will agree that Vishneva and Part were both very, very good, and in the Kirov tradition. Now, if only we could get Pavlenko & Lopatkina to dance Swan Lake in NY....

Paul, have you seen the excerpt of Dudinskaya & Sergeyev from the old Kirov film of Raymonda? It's wonderful. Dudinskaya approaches the variation with such zest. It's on one of the Kirov compilation tapes and is my co-favorite along with the Kolpakova excerpt. I just got the Bolshoi Bessmertnova tape but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

drb - I wish I could describe the way Gomes' finished his turns after Odile's fouettes, but all I can say is that they were phenomenal! Everybody was really on tonight, the orchestra sounded better than it had all week. Gomes made a fabulous Siegfried. This is usually such a thankless role, but he really made something of it in his own right, and in relation to Part. The connection between them was electric. Part’s Odette was not what I expected it to be. Reading some of the posts I expected her to be “Makarova” like, and didn’t find her to be that way at all. How could she be, she’s a very different dancer with a very different physique. It will take some time for me to really sort out my thoughts about her O/O, but here are a few impressions. I expected her to have that super expressive “russian” back, which is something I always look for. Instead I was really struck by how beautiful her legs and arms were, and how beautifully she used them. She also used her head, shoulders and neck in a way that I haven’t seen since - well, maybe since Fonteyn. She didn’t use them for those quick birdlike motions like Murphy did, they were expressive, yearning and completely un-bird like. Her Odette was a woman, a beautiful, passionate woman trapped in a swan’s body. As far as I’m concerned, my enjoyment of Swan Lake really hinges on act 2. A ballerina can do 52 fouttees, alternating triples & quadruples on a dime but if Odette doesn’t doesn’t draw me in, break my heart in that 2nd act, it’s over and I spend the rest of the night analyzing the performance instead of feeling it. Tonight was different. Part’s performance was wonderful on many levels but despite it’s beauty, she didn’t have me 100% in act 2. I chalked it up to her not being the kind of fragile Odette in the Fonteyn/Makarova/Pavlenko/Vishneva mold that I really look for. Then came Act 3, and she and Gomes blew me away. It was like they turned everything up a notch. She was a siren, a real seductress, and Siegfried was completely taken in. In a million years, I never would have expected Part to win me over with her Odile, but that's exactly what she did. Other ballerinas bring more firepower to the black swan but she dazzled me, and truly captivated Siegfried. Gomes brought a flourish to his 3rd act variation that was both technically stunning & dramatically appropriate. Then, when he realized what he had done, he was devastated. I truly think Part must have changed some of the 4th act staging, because it moved me for the first time. Not completely, not the way it should, but much more than in the past. It seemed like she made small, subtle changes. For instance, when Odette makes her appearance out on the cliff she usually comes out & “poses” there for a minute. That always bothers me, it seems so incongruous. Part didn’t do it that way. She must have come out a few seconds later than usual because she ran out,hit the mark, saw Siegrfied, and came running down to embrace him. Her second act had been very restrained, but her fourth act was extremely emotional. I wish I’d been able to see both of her performances, this is an O/O that will fascinate me for a long time to come. I really hope they let this partnership between Part & Gomes develop, the chemistry between them was great, much better than between any of the other principles I’ve seen this season. This was truly an evening where both of the principals contributed equally to the success of the performance, technically, artistically and emotionally. Neither of them would have been quite as good without the other, and that’s one of the ingredients of a great partnership. Saveliev, Reyes and Kajiya danced the pas de trois, and did very well. I really liked Saveliev’s Benno, his dancing was very clean and it was well acted. Arron Scott & Jared Matthews were both great in the Neopolitan dance, but they are quite a mismatch in height, I prefer when the two men are more similar in stature. It was also wonderful to see Erica Cornejo back in the Czardas!

Giselle05, thanks for posting this - I would never have thought to look this early. My guess is that they’ll have casting up by August, but that it will change a great deal by October. Wow, very interesting repertory choices - The Green Table, Dark Elegies, Rodeo, Afternoon of a Faun & Apollo!!!!!!!!! I’ll bet we’re going to get to see David Hallberg in Apollo I’ll bet we’re going to get to see David Hallberg in Apollo :huepfen024: :huepfen024: :huepfen024: I’ll bet we’re going to get to see David Hallberg in Apollo Think I'm excited?

For me, the Kirov’s act 4 is just about perfect right up until Siegfried tears off von Rothbarts wing. Which, if I recall correctly is about 3 minutes before the end. I just love the choreography for the corps, and for Siegfried & Odette. Love the way vonR batters her and tosses her around until she’s so exhausted she can’t even stand anymore, and that’s what motivates S to make one final lunge at vonR. Now, if only O would take that opportunity to get up,run to the cliff & jump off while S fights with vonR it would be the perfect ending (with S following O off the cliff, vonR stripped of his powers and dying and the lovers united forever in heaven...). But since the Kirov is unlikely to see things my way Ashton’s old act 4 circa 69-70 (the one Paul Parish described) or Blair’s act 4 for ABT would do fine.

That's my biggest problem with this staging - there is no catharsis or release in act 4. I don't think that had anything to do with the dancers, I feel that way whenever I watch this staging. I could live with all the other flaws, but no matter how touching and tragic acts 2 & 3 are all the momentum is killed in this 4th act. I don't think any ballerina can really overcome that, but I never stop hoping that one will. We'll see what Part can do on Thursday.

Anyone who is waiting for rational will have to wait for someone other than me. Tonight Vishneva gave me back Swan Lake, in fact she almost overcame the limitations of the staging. She danced it for real, completely in the moment and beautifully modulated. Her Odette was frightened, mistrustful, hopelessly trapped & yet at the same time meltingly hopeful. At times her adagio was exquisitely slow but then in the coda when she does those passe's she was so fast & wild & abandoned - like at that very moment she had just finally allowed herself to see the possibility of freedom and was both exhilarated & terrified by it. She has gorgeous long arms & legs but did not go for the neoclassical line and hyper extentions she is capable of (except in act 3, where that belongs!). She was absolutely beautiful in every pose, but the poses were never static. Each beautifully outstretched arm reached it’s zenith & then crumbled in. Her Odile was truly von Rothbarts daughter -gleefully malevolent as if ripping Sigfried’s heart out was the most fun she could imagine. Yet enough mimicking of Odette at the right moment to make his confusion believable. Can’t say enough about her. Saveliev replaced Beloserkovsky and did fine. Cornejo,Kajiya and Reyes did their usual great job in the pas de trois, Sascha Radetsky wasn't bad as the purple von R but Gomes is a tough act to follow. Special mention to Jared Matthews as the swamp thing - he actually brought a lot of authority to the role.

drb & Ceeszi - thanks so much for the reports! I'm going to see the same cast on Thursday but it seems so far away...

I had a great time watching the 4th of July fireworks tonght. If anyone opted for Swan Lake instead please share any of your impressions of the Part/Gomes cast... Please!

This is not an answer because much can change in 13 years, but if you click on the Amazon link and search Swan Lake Perm, you will see the VHS with Nina Ananiashvili from a 1992 Perm performance. Richard <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks Richard. I actually have that video somewhere but after I posted my question I did a little research on the web and it seems that Makarova is doing a new staging for them, which is the one they are bringing on this tour. Which leaves only one question for me - see it at NJPAC or at both Princeton and NJPAC! Road trip, anyone?

Somehow with the performances I've picked I've managed to miss Lunkina entirely. I'm sure I'll want to see her at least once - though I think I'll wait till they're actually here to buy that ticket! She's scheduled for Bright Stream, Spartacus & Pharoah's daughter. Any thoughts on which one suits her best?

I went to the 7/1 Murphy/Carreno/Gomes performance. One of the things I love about this site is being able to hear so many different reactions to the same performance. It really gives you a great perspective! I read Rockwell’s review and I’m afraid I have to disagree with him, but then I can’t give much credence to a critic who thinks this is a “traditional” version of Swan Lake anyway. This production is so cold that I don’t know if Makarova herself could make me believe in Odette’s plight. I’m with drb & klingsor on this one when it comes to Murphy & Gomes. I didn’t think the performance was flat at all. Gomes is wonderful as vonR, his portrayal is almost enough to justify McKenzies’s reinterpretation of the role. Murphy was magical. This is the 3rd time I’ve seen her SL live, and the first time that I’ve come away loving it, without any qualifications. I’ve always liked her Odile, I think this type of role comes very naturally to her. Her technique has always been awesome, her line beautiful but when I saw her in 2002 & 2003 the image I took away of her Odette was that she was all arms & legs. She really didn’t express much through her back & shoulders and there was just way too much unnecessary motion. I felt that she hadn’t really found the “center” of the role, her own interpretation, and was just flapping those arms & legs because she didn’t know what else to do. I still prefer a more fragile Odette, the helpless/hopeless type with the kind of pliancy & fluidity that was Makarova's hallmark. Murphy’s Odette is definitely cut from a different cloth - strong & proud...so she may never be my ideal Odette but I think her interpretation has come a very long way and was as emotionally engaging as possible in this production. I thought she integrated her acting & dancing very well and has overcome her tendency to appear distant & reserved, at least in this role. IMO Odette/Odile is the most difficult role in all of ballet and it takes many years for a ballerina to really develop her interpretation. Aside from technique, there are so many levels of the character that have to be thought out and conveyed to the audience in a cohesive manner. Murphy may not be all of the way there yet, but at this point I think she is well on her way to becoming a great interpreter of the role. This is the second time I’ve seen her with Carreno, and I like them together. Rockwell may have had a point about the music. I usually sit in the side boxes but this time I was down in the orchestra, and the music sounded a little strange. There was also a loud, high pitched noise down there that continued throughout the evening and was very distracting. And the lack of synchronization between Part & Corella as the big swans was really disconcerting. I know it was a last minute substitution & they may never have danced it together before, but still...it looked really bad!

I voted for the Kirov. I haven’t seen the POB or Royal productions, but of the current productions that I’ve seen (ABT,NYCB, Kirov & Bolshoi) the Kirov’s is definitely my favorite. I don’t even consider Martin’s worthy of discussion. It’s as if he’s saying to the audience - ok, we’re going to put on this old chestnut (wink, wink), don’t worry about anything any of those silly characters appear to be doing, we’ll just get thru it as quickly as possible, throw in a few new steps & then get you to some of the iconic Ivanov/Petipa stuff so you can say you’ve seen it and our ballerinas can say they’ve danced it... The Bolshoi’s is very dramatic but strangely unmoving. McKenzie’s misses the mark so often that it can be really frustrating. I’ve gotten used to his prologue and swamp thing/von Rothbart split but I just can’t accept what he’s done to the lakeside acts, especially act 4. In a good performance you come out of Act 3 with all of that stormy, swirling emotionalism and instead of bringing it to a climax his act 4 just lets it dissipate. The part he leaves out where Sigfried is searching through the groups of swans for Odette is so integral to the resolution of the drama it’s absence always kills the magic for me. I hate the way your first glimpse of Odette after the betrayal finds her standing alone on the cliff instead of being comforted by her swans. I also dislike the way this production forces the prince to be a wimpy outsider. I consider that to be a valid interpretation, but McKenzie’s production makes it the only one possible. I really like the Kirov’s. I don’t mind the jester at all, I think he is entertaining and can work as a kind of “narrative device” to help move the plot along. I’d prefer a tragic ending but the happy ending doesn’t bother me that much because there is more drama and pathos in this version than any of the “tragic” versions around these days. The one thing I really miss in the Kirov staging is Odette’s mime. That's certainly a flaw in my eyes, but despite it's flaws the Sergeyev production is one of the few left that really gets to the heart & soul of the story. I also really love their version of the first act pas de trois, and the way that each member of the corps brings total commitment and and conviction to even the smallest role. My favorite past productions were the ones I grew up with, Ashton’s for the RB (I loved his first act waltz) and Blair’s for ABT. I would love to see a plain vanilla traditional Swan Lake. Does anyone know what the one the Perm ballet is bringing to NJPAC & Princeton is like?

Ceeszi is right, it was a wild night at the Met. The house was very full, the family circle looked like the only section that had more than a few empty seats. The crowd was definitely ready to rumble, they started roaring early on. But why not? Bocca,Carreno, Corella & Cornejo are something to see. Each one of them was really on tonight, it was fun to watch them trying to outdo each other. I was also very impressed with Reyes, she has developed a great deal in the past few seasons. I was not prepared for how sharp & precise her technique was, and she really gave Gulnare a very layered personality, lots of charm & flirtatiousness, but more multidimensional than I might have expected. Kent was quite lovely. She’s not one of my favorites but she’s great in certain types of roles, and this is one of them. Tonight I noticed what beautiful line and soft port des bras she has. I thought the Odalisques looked a little out of synch when they danced together, but their individual variations were great. Hamrick’s dancing is very light & delicate, Bystrova was good and Part was incredible. So regal and expressive. Hamrick & Bystrova were lovely,I mean to take nothing away from them, but Part simply dances on an entirely different level. She is a ballerina, from head to toe & no matter how small the role. Giselle05 - thanks again for giving me the push I needed to go see this cast, I would have regretted missing them!

I became obsessed the first time I saw Fonteyn & Nureyev in Swan Lake, though my love of ballet started earlier than that and the actual obsession didn't really take over till later. My grandmother started taking me to the ballet when I was very young, I have vague recollections of being only halfway interested, then I recall waking up (!) in the middle of the Black Swan pdd and paying attention. I don't know how old I was, or what company we were watching but I loved it. I was 9 years old in 1964 when Lincoln Center opened - I know I went to many performances before then, but I don't really remember them. The State Theatre and Met Opera House are the places I remember, and I loved them both. My grandmother used to buy 5th ring tickets to ABT & NYCB at the State, which may be why I've always liked those side arm seats!. We went to the Met much less often, and for me it was a really beautiful & special place. I still get goose bumps sometimes looking down that grand staircase. It was there that I first saw the Royal Ballet, and Fonteyn & Nureyev in Swan Lake. I'm not sure if I saw them in Romeo & Juliet and Giselle the same season, or if those came later, but I was hooked after their Swan Lake. I went fairly often with my grandmother, then when I was high school age I took some open classes at ABT's old studios and started going by myself - all the time. The State Theatre sold student rush tickets even then, and that's how I was able to go so often. Lucky me because those were the Fracci/Makarova/Kirkland/Gregory/ Baryshinov/Bujones/Nagy years at ABT. I also remember Balanchine's Stravinsky festival in 70 or 72, and Villela, D'Amboise, Hayden,von Aroldingen,Mazzo,Kent and McBride. Even got to see the incomparable Suzanne Farrell a few times after her return, and before I moved to California in 77. That turned out to be the start of a very long hiatus from ballet but now I'm back & going more often than ever. Unfortunately I don't qualify for those student rush tickets anymore...

Congratulations to Michelle - she really deserves it. She's done a great job in some difficult principal roles this season, I think she's ready for it.

Giselle05 - thank you for the great description. I was only planning to see 1 performance (the Wiles/Solymosi/Acosta/Riccetto/Radetsky/Tidwell cast) but you made the opening night cast sound so great that I decided to go and get a ticket for Tuesday night!

So sorry to hear that Oberon. I know what you mean about the Met - it’s cavernous! Last year I decided to splurge & go for 1st row Grand Tier seats for a couple of performances and I felt like I was miles from the stage. I usually go for the boxes about half way up the side...I’ve sat as far up as the dress circle boxes & it’s been fine. This year I have tickets for one performance in a balcony box. We’ll see how it goes...