richard53dog

timestamp='1307738879' post='286987'] So many ballets this spring in NYC, so little time. This has been a spectacular spring so far.I'm just getting over the wonderful Giselles but I have to keep moving. If you blink, you'll miss something! I'm going to Bright Stream tomorrow for the matinee. I'm going to try to fit in the Danes somewhere next week.

Well, I've been to plenty of stinkers over the years but I don't torment myself anymore, if I'm not enjoying something, I just leave. So I sort of wimp out. Sometimes I find the problem is me, I just find out that I'm struggling to get myself into that audience type of space at a performance, it could be that there is nothing really all that wrong with the performance, but I just realize, I don't want to be there. So I leave. Usually I try to be discrete and often I have seats in side boxes where coming and going isn't that disruptive. But there is one episode that I remember with a bit of embarrassment. It was quite a few years ago and it was at a performance of Parsifal (always a tough one for me). The performance was sort of dreary and about a half hour into Act 1 I had had enough. I was in the middle of a row, but I just excused myself and left. I really couldn't wait it out, the first act of Parsifal is longer than more than a few operas in total. I figured I had close to another hour and a half before the intermission. Shamefull, but I left.

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I saw this the first season ABT did it, about a half dozen years ago. To be honest, I more or less enjoyed it although it's kind of a stretch to call it a full length ballet. It's more a mix of pantomime, spectacle, comedy sketches with some ballet steps thrown in. This is pretty much a good kind of show for families, a little bit for everybody.

Like the Raymonda clips discussed earlier, these clips look like they come from the video entitled "Glory of the Kirov". Each segment in this terrific film starts with the famous curtain going up in the MT and the details of the clip are announced in yellow captions. There may be slightly different versions of this film, it was first compiled around 1993 and was originally released on VHS. I have the DVD version and would recommend it to anyone interested in a historical survey of the Kirov from about 1930 to the 1980s. More details here, there are lots more wonderful items in addition to the Raymonda and Ruslan scenes Cristian posted http://www.amazon.com/Mikhail-Baryshnikov-Nureyev-Makarova-Dudinskaya/dp/B000A3XZ2M/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1307666992&sr=1-1 or, even better, use the amazon window at the top of the screen and search "glory of the kirov"

This looks very intriguing. Hopefully it will turn out to be a winner. If a had to pick any name of a choreographer that I'd be interested in seeing a new work by, it would be Ratmansky. Fortunately for us, he seems to have taken on a long term relationship with ABT. You have no idea how lucky you are in Florida to get all the Balanchine ballets and NOT have the relentless procession of "new Martins ballet" sprinkled in all the programs that we experience here in NY.

I'll add to all the congrats here, wishing her the best of luck with her promotion and I'm really looking forward to her continued development as a dancer.

I didn't think all the mime in the clip was delivered consistently. A lot of it seemed YELLED rather than delivered according to the musical accompaniment. It's really not just enough to clearly make the gestures, this isn't ASL. They need flow and shaping and tempo. I suspect this is largely the result of lack of a deep experience in delivering mime and possibly something the company will improve in over time.

I read an interview with Rachel Moore in which she explained this. Around 85% of revenue comes from three acters - it's what people want to see and this is key, as wonderful as new work is for morale what's the point of playing to half empty theatres, indeed it's financial suicide. Tickets for three act ballets also cost more, yet conversely because they don't have to pay rights, choreographers, designers, composers fees actually cost less to stage than an evening with new works. Petipa and Tchaikovsky aren't members of AGMA or PRS. For every one new work in a season ABT has to programme 80% Swan Lakes or other three act ballet to cover the costs. The public wants what the public gets. So true and also so sad. The company that gave us Tudor, DeMille, and so many other greats now is a company (mostly) of war horses! Alas, time moves on. While I love a good war horse when beautifully danced, and a company such as ABT will always be judged by it's ability to produce them, I just wish there was a way financially to allow for a better mix of rep. Which in turn would allow the dancers to have more actual " quality dance time". (exactly how many "hop ballones" do the female dancers do in the vision scene of "Don Q"?) At least make the choreography interesting? I wonder if any of the names listed on the seven pages of "donors" in the program have any say (or opinion) about where their money goes? And where is it written that new works can't be choreographed to Mozart or Tchaikovsky and done in leotards? No huge payout there to a composer or a designer. It just takes a bit of imagination and lots of courage. Are six piroettes more interesting when performed by Basilio than when performed by Apollo? Theoretically, there is a solution to this in the fall City Center seasons. Some seasons ABT has put on up to three weeks of very varied mixed programs. For myself, I find I enjoy these quite a lot but it all goes back to what you first started with. When I started going to ballet in the late 60s, the companies I saw a lot of Royal Ballet, NYCB, and ABT all put on a lot of mixed programs. When Bolshoi made their occasional visits around this time, they also put on mixed evenings. So I hold out hope for ABT to continue their City Center seasons. The problem is that they have been very hit or miss the last few seasons and clearly the BAM Nutcracker seasons are going to mean much shorter City Center seasons, if they occur at all. But what can you do? When even NYCB starts to dramatically increase the number of full length evenings, the handwriting is on the wall. The full length programs sell tickets.

I've always found this film sad. Perhaps in the theater with a very forgiving audience, it could have worked but the camera is ruthless. It can't record what isn't there but it can shift the focus unmercifully against the performers and that's what looks to me what has happened here. These performances would have been better served by being recorded only in the memories of the audience members. A comparable memory I have is the Maria Callas/Giuseppe di Stefano concert tour of 1973-74. Parts of certain concerts were filmed and they are indeed a sad spectacle. Unfortunately there are way too many relics of performers who against all good judgement couldn't let go of the call of the audiences approval. I realize that for many performers, the applause is what feeds them but documentation of this process is usually pretty sad.

I would tend to agree. But Simkin still has to work more on his partnering. He and Sarah Lane had problems coordinating their supported pirouettes in the peasant pdd in the Giselle I saw on the 28th. But he was pretty dazzling in his solo variation.

I'm a bit later reporting but I saw the Cojocaru/Hallberg Giselle on Saturday but I found Cojocaru just hauntingly beautiful as Giselle. There was just so much beautiful detail in her dancing and she had just so many wonderful delicate touches to create her character. It was a really special performance. I saw my first Giselle in 1969(!) but it's really something to see a great artist stamp her own unique take on the role. I don't ever remember a Giselle dropping a daisy on the stage near her final exit but what a wonderful, bittersweet touch it created. It devastated Hallberg/Albrecht when he noticed it and picked it up.

I don't really agree with this. Back in the 70s ABT was doing the Blair Swan Lake and Giselle. The physical settings weren't the most stunning but they were effective enough. And the Blair Swan Lake beats out almost every current version being performed. CERTAINLY the two versions being put on in NYC regularly today and just about every where else around the world except for the Royal Ballet. I talking about the version being danced, not the physical properties as the sets used in the ROH for Swan Lake are rather, ah, unusual.

NOOO!!!! Out of curiosity who replaced her? Stella Abrera

Well perhaps the project isn't quite dead yet...... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/theater/before-death-laurentss-was-working-on-new-gypsy-film.html?_r=1

And this might just be a solution to part of ABT's problem. I don't really have that good a measure of Semionova's career but think she may not yet be at the level of a huge star that will only jet in for two or three performances at the MEt each Spring. She might be willing to something a little more regular than that. I'm not proposing that the solution to ABT's problems with ballerinas is necessarily found in the ranks of soloists or corps but I do think that Sarah Lane is getting a good amount of promotion and hopefully will meet the challenge. And I hope that Abrera isn't plagued by injuries. These seem to me like two possible candidates for a principal ballerina slot. My thought is what McKenzie did with Simkin was very clever and he should try to repeat it. Simkin is clearly talented but young and not too experienced. Perhaps a sort of deal was cut in the way of, "you join as soloist and give us a good amount of time and you'll make principal pretty quickly" I have no information but wonder if some kind of understanding was cut. If Kevin could pull off a deal like that with a real promising female dancer, it would be a great strategy. But I think he needs two or three strong, versatile female principals. And this is only going to become more pressing as the strength of his male roster seems to be lessening.

I follow what you are saying and you are basically correct. But here is where I think we differ. Yes, Ananiashvili and Ferri were more or less guests but they were a bit more integrated into a "company" structure than Osipova, Cojucaro, and this year's newcommer, Semionova. And Nina and Ferri didn't restict themselves just to Met seasons. they would occasionally appear in other venues. More significantly, there were just two of them and they carry so much of the weight of the season. And that goes to my second difference. Ten years ago ABT had more "all-purpose" female principals. With the gradual withdrawal of Kent, that leaves just Murphy among female principals. This may include some of my own bias, as I'm sort of carefull what I will go to see the other female prinicpals in and I select rather carefully (and pretty much try to avoid Wiles and Dvorovenko completely) Part, Reyes, and Herrera are all fine in certain rep but I do want to pick and choose very carefully what I see them in. Of the ballerinas, Murphy is the only one at this point among the permanent female principlas that I'm fairly game to see in almost anything. Of the guest, Vishneva does resemble more the older model of Nana or Ferri in that she has some regular continuity now for about a half dozen seasons. But hse's still not really permanent.

Perhaps because they know that ABT's policy of bringing in guest stars reduces opportunities for them. Twas ever thus I heard the same complaints over 60 years ago...if it wasn't for the Guest policy I would never have seen Markova, Toumanova, Riabouchinska or Lichine---and Chauvire (with the Ballet Russe). Enjoy the guests---see them if you can---your favorites will still be there. I enjoy seeing guests during ballet theaters; it adds some variety and can even create some excitement withing the company itself by putting everyone on their toes (ok, bad pun, I'll admit it) A guest or two can shake things up and add fresh excitement But what's going on at ABT is something somewhat different. At the Met season four guest women are coming in for principal roles. What that tells me is that there are significant weaknesses in the female roster and that ABT is trying to cover the problem with an enormous bandaid. I'm not saying that McKenzie is obligated to promote from within but it is certainly in his best interest to try to develop the permanent company he has. To an extent he is trying to do this. But I really think he needs to strengthen his permanent roster. And to complicate the problem, one of ABT's previously well rounded ballerinas, Julie Kent, seems to be moving into that very "mature" career stage. I think of Julie as an "all purpose" dancer in that she really was suited for a pretty wide range of repertory. But these days there are understandably more limits as to what rep still shows her off well. Not to get into disputes with other posters who are fans of some of the other female principals, but if Murphy decides to spend a significant amount of time halfway around the world in New Zealand, OH-BOY!!!!!! McKenzie's casting will be very, very complicated!!!! She's the only permanent female principal that I'm willing to go to see in a wide as opposed to specialized set of roles.

I guess this was inevitable but the NYCO board voted today to leave Lincoln Center. The situation seems very bleak but I'm hoping the company can be salvaged. Here's an AP report on today's decision: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110521/ap_en_ot/us_music_nyc_opera

Wow, the review was pretty negative, particularly the Majisimo thingie and the Splendid Isolation thing.

Or Birgit Nilsson, who made her displeasure plain at many levels. At a rehearsal for von Karajan's staging of Die Walkure, she was unhappy with the dim lighting. (Von Karajan chose very powerful lights but covered them with a very dense gel, creating an extremely complex lighting effect but to many , it was just dim) In any event, at one reheasal, Nilsson showed up on stage with a miner's helmet, complete with lamp.....

I agree. The "fire on the rock" sequence at the end of the opera did work well -- especially at the very end when the "fire colored" lights shone thru the planks, but that only lasted for 20 seconds, and I felt some nervousness as they set the scene up while they locked Voigt down so they could start to tip her nearly upside down (that wasn't a double was it??). It was a double, actually, but I was so caught up in the scene that I didn't wonder abut it until she was 90 degrees vertical. Yes , it was in fact a double. Voigt/Brunnhilde is taken offstage not long before it and the double was placed upsidedown for the ending. The question now is this this how Siegfried will find her in the last scene of Siegfried ?

Voigt slipped and fell the night of the premiere and landed on her rear right at her entrance in Act 2. In a subsequent performance one of the Walkueren fell off the machine after the big Act 3 opening. So there are definitely some hazards associated with this complex production.

From the ABT section of the Met's website: Standing Room Tickets are available by phone and at the box office window. Orchestra, Grand Tier and Dress Circle Standing Room tickets will be available beginning at 10 am on the day of the performance. Family Circle Standing Room tickets will also be available on the “day of” when Family Circle Seating is sold out. Tickets are subject to availability and limited to two per person. Please note that a $5.50 per ticket service charge will apply for phone and web sales. Note that ABT sells SR at Orch, GT, and DC regardless of amount of seats sold but FC only when all FC seats are sold. This is similar to the policy for the opera (except that they don't sell GT and DC SR) but other visiting companies sometimes have different policies. This doesn't give prices and I don't recall what they are. I DO think SR will be available for tomorrow's gala. It's completely sold out at this point so I'm guessing they will sell SR at all four levels. I'm toying with the idea of going, I hate to pay the damn $5.50 service fee for a SR ticket but on the other hand, I don't want to go through the considerable effort from getting from NJ into Manahattan and end up not getting in. Best suggestion is to call the MEt boxoffice at 212-362-6000 as soon after 10 AM on Monday as you can.

This is another autograph dealer I have had good experiences with. He doesn't carry that much ballet stuff, it's mostly classical music and opera but it may still be a match: http://www.musicautographs.com/ The outfit's name is La Scala Autographs