oberon

When I first saw the Peter Martins SWAN LAKE I hated it...so ugly. But because I wanted to see certain dancers in these roles, I have been back several times and now I have gotten used to it. I have learned to tune out the backdrop, and the too-colourful costumes of the opening scene. I guess what I like about it is: it is dance, dance, dance...there is very little mime or filler. The Jester, who can be so annoying in some productions, is here given just enough to do and the steps are quite brilliant esp. as danced by Adam Hendrickson or Daniel Ulbricht. Also the dance of the Would-Be-Brides is very lovely and gives nice little glimpses of several of the beautiful girls in the NYCB corps. The passage following the Black Swan PDD is very powerful...Rotbart keeps giving Siegfried opportunities to back off from Odile but the Prince persists, getting totally fed up with Rotbart and emphatically pledging his faith to Odile, with disastrous consequences. The entire final lakeside scene is quite moving and the lighting here is very good, and the addition of Black swans is visually striking. The focus is strongly on Siegfried...really, it's his story. The ending, with Rotbart defeated but Odette doomed to remain a Swan because Siegfried has pledged himself both to her and to Odile, is the best ending of SWAN LAKE I have ever seen...and suits the music perfectly. There is no triumph, no redemption. Odette's leave-taking of her failed savior is truly poignant and we are left with the utterly dejected, miserable Siegfried to live on with the memory of his betrayal.

I only saw Fracci dance once: GISELLE with Nureyev and the Scala Ballet at the Met...what year? Early 80s maybe. I had heard all these stories about how she was the ONLY Giselle, and the reincarnation of Taglioni, and the embodiment of Romantic Ballet etc etc etc and I was thinking, "Yeah, sure..." Well, everything I had heard was true. In fact, such high-flying praise was short of the mark. It was simply and literally breath-taking. She moved me to the depths of my soul. And, along with Rudi, she garnered the biggest & longest ballet ovation I have ever experienced. People were in a state of dementia; I and several others nearby screamed ourselves hoarse. But it all seemed an inadequate tribute to a magnificent dancer.

We aren't counting fall-downs as faux pas, but what if the person who fell can't continue? Twice at NYCB a couple years ago, dancers were injured onstage and were unable to finish the ballet. Nikolaj Hubbe came leaping on in JEU DES CARTES and immediately crumpled to the stage and literally crawled into the wings. Janie Taylor, cool as a cucumber, improvised beautifully to fill in, and later Robt. Tewsley and Benjamin M managed to "cover" in the partnered sequences. The finale, where the ballerina dances from man to man to man was something of an puzzlement, I still cannot figure out how Janie managed to make it all look "right". As the applause started, the guy in front of me turned and said: "That's a really good ballet!" and I said, "Didn't you see what happened? The guy fell, the woman had to make up alot of stuff to keep it going..." No, he said, he hadn't noticed! Later in the same season, Tewsley was hurt during VALSE-FAINTASIE and hopped off into the wings. Momentarily the stage was empty, then Yvonne Borree ran out and began wafting around as if nothing were amiss. The four girls also improvised; Borree seemed to invent a solo passage as she went along. Suddenly Benjamin Millepied came sailing onstage, and finished the ballet...he and Borree were beaming at each other during the bows. I happened to see Benjamin a few days later and asked him about it. He had danced in the first ballet and was about to leave the theatre when he just happened to stop in the wing to see how VALSE was going. As soon as Tewsley got hurt, Benjamin pulled on some tights, grabbed a vest that was handy, and ran on.

Not recent, but there was a televised ABT ROMEO & JULIET back in the 80s where the Romeo (was it Kevin MacKenzie?) came out for the final scene wearing sweat pants over his tights. As Romeo remains onstage throughout this scene, he had no chance to take them off. But they did start slipping down as the scene progressed. Christopher Wheeldon spoofs this incident in his VARIATIONS SERIEUSES where, in the ballet-within-the-ballet, Damian is about to rush onstage when a fellow dancer points out the fact that he is in sweats. He rips them off and dashes out to dance.

I agree that T & V would not seem to be a role for Maria K. Somogyi will undoubtedly do it eventually, it would seem an ideal piece of casting. Anyone know how her recovery is coming along? I'm sure we will get T & V from Ansanelli, Taylor & Bouder...all in due time. And I have a secret hankering to see Rebecca Krohn try it...

Craig Hall is still on the roster. He always makes a strong impression onstage, even in a large group...aside from being a very good dancer & partner, he is probably the sexiest-looking guy in the corps. I wouldn't say Albert Evans is in oblivion...he dances his usual roles each season and in the Balanchine 100th season he gave teriffic performances in 4 TEMPS, WESTERN SYMPH, BARBER VIOLIN, IVESIANA, CORTEGE & EPISODES. It is true that he should be given even more opportunities, and could be dazzling in any number of ballets that he is not doing. Now that Jock is leaving, Albert may take on some parts that have been pretty much Jock-exclusives...Albert & Wendy are a great duo. I did see Albert in BUGAKU a few seasons back...he stepped in for Jock on short notice and was amazing...I know Wendy wants to dance this part so lets hope she & Albert get to do it. Albert is also doing some choreography...his HAIKU was really unusual and impressive and deserves revival. And he just did a piece to the music of Matt Fuerst, a very quirky & exciting young composer, which I hope will come to NYCB.

Darci, Janie, Carla & Sarah Ricard are among the best...

I saw Rachel outside the stage door at the end of June and she was pretty blonde. The photo remains something of a puzzlement to me as the more I look at it, the less it looks like Rachel...it does look somewhat like Bouder...or Maria K. It is a beautiful picture anyway, and I hope it is part of a series which we will see more of later. Janie Taylor has an amazing face...I can't wait to see her dancing again after she missed most of the season. She seems to have done EROS PIANO at Saratoga which is good news.

Picked up the Subscription brochure for the Winter Season today...stunning cover photo of Rachel Rutherford (though for a split second I thought it was Bouder!)...and inside, two great pictures of Taylor & Tewsley, one a posed b & w from LA VALSE and the other a wonderfully dramatic freeze-frame from FAUN. Also nice pix of EMERALDS & CHICHESTER PSALMS. A quick glance at the roster indicates no one seems to have left...which is good. And the usual new names among the corps, most of whom we've already seen onstage.

I would say FEARFUL SYMMETRIES, BARBER VIOLIN & HALLELUJAH JUNCTION are the best Martins pieces and likely to stay in the rep after he leaves. A ballet of his that I love is BURLESKE, partly because I love the music and the costumes are gorgeous and the choreography is nice but mainly because I think I was one of the few people who saw what was happening in that ballet. I even wrote letters to a couple of critics who were baffled by the switching of partners at the end. To me it was clear as vodka. I hated RELIQUARY at first, then liked it, then cooled again...I hated MORGEN at first and now love it...I think STABAT MATER is tedious though the music is gorgeous, of course. I loved RIVER OF LIGHT which has not been revived. EROS PIANO was very nice, and gave Ashley Laracey a big break (she was beautiful in a beautiful role...). I would like to see GUIDE TO STRANGE PLACES again (but I didn't like Darci on the floor); we are to see TODOS BUENOS ARIES again in the coming season which was fun though he ultimately chickens out on having two men dance together. HARMONIELEHRE was a wonderful idea (the four elements) and had some fine stretches but the finale was horrible. And I thought CHICHESTER PSALMS was visually breath-taking though it is more of a ritual than a ballet. CHAIRMAN DANCES is a hoot, esp. when Meunier did it...and I like JEU DES CARTES pretty well, esp. when Janie Taylor does it. Would love to see ECSTATIC ORANGE...when was it last given? And I remember the very lovely CONCERTI ARMONICI...wow, I guess I like Peter's ballets more than I thought I did...

Merrill Ashley, Danny Duell, Ashley Bouder, James Fayette, Seth Orza... Other-than-NYCB: David Parsons!!

Lovely head-shot of former NYCB dancer Eva Natanya at the Royal Ballet website. Browsing there...boy, they have some attractive people in that company!

Colleen Neary & Monique Meunier spoiled me forever for the big girl in RUBIES...I was there one night when Meunier literally drew gasps, then an ovation for her spectacular 3 pencees...not only rock solid but such a gorgeous line. I saw Maria K and Reichlin try the part...both were unsteady when I saw them, and Savannah Lowery doesn't have the right body for it. I'd love to see Tinsley or Sylve try it, but I think Bouder's too small...she should be splendid in the McBride role though. Korbes might be good in the Neary role...or Ellen Bar? I've always wanted to see Darci & Kyra EMERALDS...or Wendy (either role)...

Having held the 4th Ring Society prices at $12 for several years, I don't begrudge them going to $15...in fact, it has been a (pleasant) surprise they they have stayed @ $12 for so long. I will cheerfully pay $15...as Balanchinomane points out, it is a tremendous bargain.

Thanks, rkoretzky...if you can separate "the dancer from the dance", what did you think of the various performers in MUSAGETE...esp. Wendy & Robt. Tewsley?

I see Janie Taylor was announced to dance again in EROS PIANO...did she, and how was it? Also, how did Saratoga respond to SHAMBARDS and MUSAGETE?

Yes, I too hope to see Jock in CHIAROSCURO again. His farewell should also include something for him & Wendy since their partnership has been one of the highlights of recent years at NYCB.

Taking NYCB for granted is probably something we have all been guilty of at one time or another. I did for a while in the late 80s...I would pass thru the lobby, check the programme and casting, say "Wow, that looks great..." and then go to the opera. Because I knew, or assumed, that NYCB would always be there and I could see those ballets and the dancers I loved any time. But for the last 8 or 9 years, NYCB has come first. I don't buy advance opera tickets until I've seen the NYCB schedule; all other aspects of life get put on hold or ignored while the NYCB season is on. We can see from what's happening in Saratoga that what we assume will always be there can suddenly be taken away. As far as "declining standards" at NYCB goes, funny story: we were at a dinner party 6 years ago and my partner remarked that we had been to NYCB the night before. Another guest immediately began whining, "Oh, it is so awful there...it got so bad we had to stop going." I asked, "When was the last time you were there?" The answer: 1979!!

rkoretzky, I love your passion!!!!

A friend of mine used to review opera & dance for the only newspaper of a large New England city. He felt that both the opera and ballet companies there were on the decline and began to write about what he felt was going wrong. The editor called him in and said, basically, that he had to write nice or at least neutral reviews because members of the boards of both the ballet and opera were major advertisers in the newspaper. Also, he was told that the box office for cultural events was hurting and if he didn't write some stuff to pique the public's curiosity the ballet & opera would be kaput and he would be out of a job. My friend continued to write, toning down his criticisms, but eventually he felt so compromised that he quit. Whatever one's opinion of Peter, he seems to have the company in a fairly stable financial situation, he does seem to try to bring in some fairly interesting choreographers (not all of them to everyone's taste, of course) and the audience continues to have a goodly percentage of young people...something you do not see at the Met or the NY Philharmonic, where sleeping thru the symphony is the dominant theme. He seems to have charmed Mrs. Diamond into parting with enough cash to finance numerous Diamond Projects...not that every piece was good but where else is there so much creativity brewing as at NYCB during a Diamond Project season?

Ari, thank you so much for the lovely reviews, a balm for those people like me who are stuck in the hot, dirty City for the Summer. I loved your remarks about Sylve, and your note about Riggins immediately brought her dancing to mind. Because of injuries, Nilas had a very busy season in NY and it sounds like it's continuing there. He has never been a virtuoso, but I like his cool, calm partnering. I saw his Apollo a few seasons ago and enjoyed it. And I agree, Steve Hanna is the next Prince...tall, handsome, sincere, lyrical.

I'm on your side, rkotetzky, really I am...I am just pointing out that you can see how negative reviews can be used in a situation like this. "Look how awful NYCB has become...we shouldn't be presenting such terrible stuff to our audience." It is ironic that the problems at SPAC and the Balanchine 100th should come at the same time; right when there is a big focus on the state of the Company and many people are lamenting the slippage of standards since Balanchine's death, their summer home wants to cancel their lease. Two separate issues, yes...but now they have become intertwined. I wonder if the majority of people in a given audience, either at SPAC or NYS Theatre, realize how "bad" the Company has become. Or do they just see beautiful, sexy people dancing to beautiful or unusual music, and think it looks pretty good. I also wonder if people would read something like the Acocella article and say, "Let's not go to City Ballet anymore, it has deteriorated."

Well, we cannot have it both ways. If the Acocella article is accurate, as many people here at Ballet Talk seem to think, you cannot then turn around and say it is shameful for the anti-NYCB camp to use it as ammo. All is fair in war. If 3,500 people cannot be found to attend each perfomance, then the 2,500 who DO attend and want it to continue will just have to suffer. Audience numbers are down everywhere...at the Met, unless Renee Fleming is singing, or it's the RING cycle, you can see lots of empty seats. I don't go to ABT often, but I was there 4 times in the season just ended...acres of empty seats on every level. The gallery at NYS Theatre is often sparse but the money seats downstairs usually look fairly crowded. To expect the director of any arts organization to expand their audience by 1,000 people per performance at this point in time is like expecting that we will still find WMD in Iraq. As rkoretzky says, we need the added beauty and meaning in our lives...these days more than ever. I find it at NYCB, and I quietly thank Peter every time I plunk down my $12 for a 4th Ring Society ticket. Can you imagine, $12 for the thrill of seeing SERENADE...4 TEMPS...B-S Q...FIREBIRD...Wendy...Albert...Peter Boal...night after night...only at NYCB. As I have said before, it could be better. It could also be a whole lot worse.

Lucky Saratoga! So close...and yet so far away. Askegard is still absent...it's nice to have a new prince, Steve Hanna, on hand.

Alexandra, I certainly understand your remarks about standards but if you have been going to the opera for 40 years as I have you will know that the standards there have slipped precariously (well, beyond precariously actually...) and it seems unlikely that they will ever be restored. The further we get from the source (the composers and the maestros who worked with them directly) the lower things go. With such "pop" influences as Bocelli & Charlotte Church, the use of amplification and sur-titles, the craze for slender, believable bodies in roles which demand vocal titans, and the sheer silliness of many opera productions which literally spit in the face of the composer's intentions...it is unlikely these effects will be purged. How will the old standards ever be retrieved? My belief is they won't. But still, the operas themselves are what keeps me going. Now that Balanchine has been gone for 20 years, can we really expect NYCB to look like it did when he was there? I don't think so. And believe me, there were lacklustre nights in the 70s & 80s, and there were dancers who were not technical wizards but who we loved for their personalities and perfume. Do you really think the dancers today don't aspire to the highest level? Do you think Peter and his staff are indifferent to how the company looks? Would it be preferable for the company to disband since the original Balanchine aura is slipping away? If the great interpreters could be lured back to coach their roles, to what extent would that alter things? Even if a current dancer were coached by some legend from the past, the current dancer can never BE the earlier dancer. That seems to be what some people want...they want Suzanne & Allegra & Violette back. I, on the other hand, want Wendy and Miranda and Janie Taylor. And in five or ten years, I'll want whoever rises up from the corps...fresh air keeps us alive. But I would never forget Wendy any more than I would forget Merrill Ashley. I have not forgotten the past at NYCB...there are wonderful memories. But it has to go forward or perish. I for one don't want to lose it.