oberon

Thanks, Juliet!! Andrew Veyette has come into his own in the last two seasons and it is good to read of his success in a new role.

It's possible to be a fan of both Reichlin and Muller; liking one does not preclude liking the other. Interestingly, during the NYST run of MIDSUMMER people thought Kyra looked ageless and graceful and that Darci was slightly off-form. I wouldn't have missed Kyra's Titania for anything; granted she is no longer as flexible and fluid as she was 20 years ago but she has a depth of lyricism that one seldom sees these days. For musicality and for bringing something deeper than sheer technical command to their dancing, Kyra and Darci are dancers I always want to see. Hopefully the girls in the corps are observing them closely, and absorbing.

Despite what parents think, most children under ten are not capable of sitting thru a ballet or opera. I'm sure the companies are happy to fill the seats with toddlers but their presence does nothing to enhance the performance for serious ballet-goers. It was a bit sad to see people bringing very young children to Jock Soto's farewell performance; that afternoon would have no meaning to these kids yet their presence deprived other people to whom the performance might have been special from attending, since the entire house was sold out well in advance. I have seen parents dragging small children to such intense operas as ELEKTRA and long operas like WALKURE. Crazy!

Thanks, rkoretzky, for the reviews so far and hope to hear more about the SPAC season from you as you find time. Good news about Gwenyth Muller getting an opportunity as Hippolyta...she is a dancer I've been watching, with long expressive arms. And good to read about the Angle brothers.

I grew up in a very small town. No one in my family was interested in ballet/opera/theatre etc. As a very unhappy misfit in school, I became hooked on opera while watching Renata Tebaldi on TV. Opera was my obsession (and still is). When the new Met opened I was allowed to make trips to NYC on my own to go the opera; I got involved with a large group of young opera maniacs. A couple of them were also ballet fans, and it was with one of these that I fell in love. Having "played it straight" in high school, I adored this kid who was a few years younger than me. He worked during the summers for a small ballet company on Cape Cod and asked me to spend the summer with him there. I jumped at the chance. But once we got there, he was so wrapped up in the ballet group (they were preparing a mounting of COPPELIA) that I felt left out. I had always hated ballet, grudgingly enduring dance sequences in various operas. But I realized that if I was to have a happy summer I would need to get involved in the production. The director, desperately short of boys, begged me to be in the show. She wanted to have a peasant couple do a dance in Act III (to the music Balanchine uses for the Jesterettes) and she told me she would make it easy for me. I agreed. Then she said I would have to take class! Whoa!!! Hilarious scenes commenced as I took beginners class with 8 & 9 year old girls. But I did it, tights and all... Back in NYC my boyfriend took me to my first professional ballet performance (Joffrey) and shortly thereafter to NYCB where the first thing I saw was BAISER DE LA FEE with McBride & Tomasson, which I remember vividly. On my second visit to NYCB, Suzanne Farrell returned to the Company. That pretty much clinched it. I began going to ballet as often as to the opera; for a while ballet took over entirely. Fast forward to 1998 when I moved back to NYC after a long hiatus (with frequent visits, however - and lots of ballet). First thing I did was join 4th Ring Society and that is when my obsessive phase began. I took my current partner and he became very interested in it as well. Frosting on the cake: I meet the dancers (past & present), choreographers and others involved in dance at my job. By the way, I continued taking class for 3 years after that COPPELIA and I still sometimes think of going back - do they have Senior Citizen discounts?

I guess the question remains: at what point does one stop being HIV positive and actually have AIDS? Having lost several friends over the years, none of whom - even as death approached - would ever say they had AIDS, I have pondered this situation often. My two closest friends, both extremely promiscuous throughtout the 70s and well into the 80s, nearly died. Pulled back from the brink by a fortunate combination of drugs, they both now describe themselves as "HIV positive".

Yes...the world has truly gone mad. Very sad situation. Everyone take extra care in your travels, and look out for one another.

Alexandra, I love the Would-Be-Brides music and was not aware it had been used for something other than...the would-be-brides! Can't imagine how that would work?? This is the music that is usually used for the contenders for Siegfried's hand to dance for him at the party. Again, I somewhat apologize for really liking Peter Martins' setting, not just because he keeps the dancing flowing but also it affords a nice "stepping out" opportunity for 6 corps girls (or sometimes soloists). I especially remember Carla Korbes making a lovely impression here, lingering on her balances. My partner loves the would-be-brides music and likes to sing it around the house.

Well, I have to say that I LOVE the ending of Peter Martins' much-maligned version at NYCB. Siegfried has pledged himself to Odette and, despite 3 "warnings" from Rotbart, he also pledges himself to Odile. Since Odette's release is tangent upon finding a man who will be true to her, she is doomed. Even though Rotbart is defeated, Odette remains a swan and the desperate Siegfried is left alone in his misery at the end. This is far more harrowing than the double "suicide"/redemption ending. Since I don't believe in miracles, this ending really speaks to me.

Sounds perfect!! We look forward to hearing more from you about NYCB's Saratoga season!

The girls don't look bored or underwhelmed...that's just "New York City Ballet face"; I've been watching it for decades and I love it.

At the NYCB website, click on What's New and then a menu will appear in the purple area on the right: click on Front Row Center.

Nice pictures from the recent performances of MIDSUMMER are at the NYCB website, in the section "Front Row Center". Reichlin's fans will love the Hippolyta picture. Was hoping to see Antonio Carmena, but can't complain about the air-borne de Luz...great! Also, a youthul-looking Darci and a beautiful snap of Albert & Alexandra complete a nice souvenir of this year's excellent run of this ballet.

I remember the first time I saw Korbes: as the Harp in FANFARE and I was just captivated by her beauty and the scope of her dancing: large yet lyrical. I remember when she replaced Kowroski in ORGANON and she was just magnificent, and also how beautifully she danced in HAIKU, ANCIENT AIRS, and as Titania. I was looking forward to watching her explore the NYCB repertoire but I guess our loss is Seattle's gain. I'm glad I have that Diamond Project Gala on videotape so I can watch her in ANCIENT AIRS from time to time.

I would imagine people like Albert, James Fayette and Sebastian Marcovici will be taking over many of Jock's roles. I also think Janie Taylor has done Wendy's role in POLYPHONIA at least once, with Albert. Carbro, I think the "rotation" of rep is mainly "rotating out"...not every ballet is brought back after 3 seasons but it is unusual to have a ballet be IN rep for more than three consecutive seasons. SYMPHONY IN C & BAROCCO will be back but things like PORTE & SOUPIR come and go less frequently. By the way, carbro, I think you had mentioned that you were going to see MORGEN...what did you think of it?

One night I heard one of the 4th Ring Discussion volunteers telling the group that ballets as a rule are given for 3 "seasons" and then rested.

The ballets to be given during the 2006 Winter Season are listed @ the NYCB website.

Maybe one of the "problems" we have, those of us who've been going for several years, is that we have seen these ballets too often. Maybe they are no longer as potent because we know what the next step is going to be and what direction the corps is going to move in, etc. I do think 4 TEMPS has looked really good lately, and have seen things in the ballet that I never noticed before. The music to me is more lyrical than edgy...and extraordinarily beautiful. It clearly is a ballet that "speaks" to people, as I have experienced a sort of breathless silence among the audience at recent outings, as well as very enthusiastic applause for the interpreters.

Golbin danced her usual roles in AGON, MIDSUMMER, B-S Q (gorgeous!) etc. and was one of the few redeeming features of AMERICAN IN PARIS. I wouldn't write Christopher Wheeldon off just because of one dud. His POLYPHONIA this season was nothing sort of miraculous and, in addition to the showcase duets for Wendy & Jock, it provided a vehicle for Alexandra Ansanelli to do the greatest dancing I've ever seen her do. SHAMBARDS, MORPHESES, AFTER THE RAIN, CAROUSEL, MERCURIAL MANOUVRES are all Wheeldon ballets that deserve to stay alive. Do you suppose we'll ever see LITURGY again? Jim, did you notice that Janie's doing ROMEO & JULIET at Saratoga? Hope she gets to do it at NYST next season!

I agree that the programmes were often not that interesting; several evenings included ballets I don't really like so I ended up going less often than in the past. Actually, the two MIDSUMMERs I saw were among the most satisfying performances of the entire season. I very much enjoyed the new Liang, Evans and Millepied ballets and, after finding it a dud initially, came to like Peter's TALA GAISMA. The less said about Wheeldon's AMERICAN IN PARIS the better. There were many individual contributions by the dancers which provided alot of pleasure. I hesitate to start listing them because my lists always become very long. Injuries are maddening and are costing many wonderful dancers enforced down-time in the middle of careers that are all too short to begin with. This is a very unfortunate situation and if I could have one wish it would be that all the dancers would be injury-free, healthy...and happy! The departures of Korbes, Soto & Boal mark the loss of three favorite dancers for me. Luckily, there's about 90 more on the roster to help keep me from getting too depressed.

I didn't think Sylve was lacking in any way, nor do I think the height differential between her & Tonio was a problem: Titanias are almost always taller than Oberons...I think Balanchine planned it that way. Sylve's dancing was more spacious and somewhat bolder than Kyra or Darci at this point in their careers...not that I would want to choose between them: I want them ALL!! I am sorry to miss Maria K this year and also sorry Wendy wasn't cast in the role again...I guess we cannot have anything. Potential future Titanias: Reichlin & Krohn. Potential Oberons: Hendrickson & Ulbricht. Has anyone noticed how dewy fresh Sarah Mearns' face is? She just looked so pretty among Titania's ladies-in-waiting. But where's Amanda Hankes?

Thanks for the Link and the announcement...some of these kids are already onstage in MIDSUMMER. Anyone know if Robert Fairchild is related to Megan?

Friday June 24 Grand night for dancing with new faces in the leading roles of MIDSUMMER NIGHT's DREAM. Andrea Quinn made the orchestra sound sumptuous; this is a beautiful score and she brought out many details. Several dancers in the corps to admire, with special notice to Sean Suozzi who danced superbly in the Divertissement (dancing with Pauline Golbin may have been an inspiration). Megan LeCrone was impressive among Titania's maidens. Henry Seth repeated his touching, endearing Bottom. Amanda Edge was a radiant Butterfly; I do not understand the recent panning of this beautiful dancer by some of the "professional" critics. Amanda Edge, joyless? You cannot be serious. Jared Angle, Arch Higgins, Alexandra Ansanelli & Rachel Rutherford were by turns lively and romantic as the confused lovers, and Jenifer Ringer & Charles Askegard (slightly mismatched in height) made the pas de deux a wonderfully lyrical interlude. Teresa Reichlin's superb jump and grandiose fouettes made her Hippolyta an audience favorite; a slip in the finale - from which she easily recovered - hardly mattered. The wonderful Albert Evans was thoroughly delightful as Puck; Albert's a big, muscular guy but he lands like a cat and dances with an airy sense of bravado. Mischief seems to come naturally to him. Sofiane Sylve's dancing as Titania (her first time in the role) was spacious and a sheer joy to behold; her womanly, pliant body and Vogue-covergirl face hold the viewer entranced. Antonio Carmena had a grand success in his first Oberon, grabbing the audience with his opening solo passage and sweeping through the footwork with clarity; jumps and turns all nicely phrased, he seemed like a magical golden bird. And he cleverly managed to wisk away the open book left behind by Bottom's companions. In the finale, his jumping backbends (does this step have a name?) were astounding. Eschewing his usual broad smile, Carmena was a serious young monarch and reminded me at times of Edward Villella. An auspicious role debut for this fine dancer.

I agree the season is not over, but I don't enjoy watching ballet at the Met. I have sat in every conceivable part of the house and just feel the dancers are so FAR AWAY...even in orchestra front. I do go to ABT because I have a good friend who dances with them and I try to support him when he's onstage. But other than that, and despite Julie Kent & Marcelo Gomes, I hardly ever get to the ballet once NYCB ends its Spring season.