kim006

Yes, let's talk about the corps and Swan Lake. I've seen about 10 Swan Lakes over the past few years here at the Met Opera spring season, and just love watching the swans every time, they are so beautiful and mysterious and amazingly swanlike. The "swan" effect, by the way, is much more pronounced when you're watching from one of the balconies, rather than the orchestra. And re Marcelo Gomes doing Von Rothbart.... I saw him towards the end of last season doing Von Rothbart in the Ananiashvili-Bocca Swan Lake, and while they got tons of applause, he pretty much upstaged them... he was, as you say, mesmerizing. Re Nina, now I'm wondering... could that have been her last ABT performance? I hope not.

Assuming Nina is in full form after her medical leave, I would definitely see her first; the Ferri/Corella bill is a close second.

I agree about the Ferri-Corella R&J, which I saw Tuesday night. They were fantastic. It was lyrical and heartrending, and the final scene, where he tries to dance with Juliet's lifeless body, was so real it was painful to watch. I also saw McKerrow and Stiefel on Wednesday night, and they didn't generate nearly the excitement and passion that Ferri and Corella did. Also the orchestra appeared to be having an off night -- much better on Tuesday. Herman Corjeno as Mercutio was amazing, though. By the way, does anyone know what is up with Misty Copeland? She was listed in the program both nights as one of Juliet's friends, but didn't dance either night, and was also listed but did not dance as one of Swanhilda's friends in Coppelia (Gillian Murphy on June 23) last week.