cubanmiamiboy

I have little recollection of both. I fell asleep on The Tempest, and right now al can recall is Marcelo Gomes looking like Moses with a huge white beard and a ship prop that turned onstage. And La baiser... something similar. A couple of flashes of the work here and there, like the baby/prop being tossed around from hand to hand. Not too much else I'm afraid...😶

She fell right in the beginning.

Post Intermezzo situation wasn't any better or worse. Whereas "Firebird" looked ridiculous, "Rite"-(or whatever the name is)-was very boring. To play devil's advocate, I don't attribute all fault to McGregor. I just happen to agree with a bunch of Imperial era ballerinas who have declared at various moments their dislike for music "non dansante" for ballet purposes. I really believe Pugni, Minkus, Tchaikovsky or Delibes knew very well how to capture the magic of the dance with their wonderful waltzes, mazurkas and haunting melancholic adagios. And Rite's music, for all its iconic history, is not "musique dansante"-(nor that of Agon or Symphony in Three Movements, for that matter, but Mr.B WAS Mr. B). And "Misty The Photographer"..😂 Anyhow...boring as hell, nothing I would try to see again. Only two things worth of mentioning: 1-How elastic and fit Ferri still is for her age. 2- How sexy Herman looked in those briefs.-(😈).

I am at Internezzo. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT "FIREBIRD"...?!? First, it gets downplayed as a sort of pseudo- comedy, with all those ridiculous dancing innuendos between the "tsarevich" and the princess, so reminiscing of Cinderella's dancing tutor sequence. And that corps in silly green wigs doing all this ridiculousness on stage, like a bunch of spoiled cheerleaders. Jesus Christ...that was painful to watch. And steps and steps and more steps for Ivan...and of course...very busy dragging/contorting choreo for the pdd with the Firebird. And the Berceuse, one of the most beautiful segments of music, which calls for a grand choreo, gets this stupid pas de quatre, with a grand finale that seems to be a rendering of an MGM 30's production titled "Blondes have more fun". Fokine, Stravinsky and Karsavina must be rolling on their graves. Pathetic.

I completely agree, Abatt. As a lifelong sympathizer to the Jewish race cause to merely exist in this world, I am completely appalled by your report. But it has been widely documented that, lately, political correctness doesn't go in every way. It is selected. I am going tonight, and just as I started the Happy Birthday on Natasha and David from the top of my lungs, I might be inclined to boo said section. I don't care. Won't be the first or last time .

I didn't see one GREAT Myrtha this season. They all had problems getting their penchees right. To be honest, all the MCB Myrthas I saw during their last run of Giselle were far more proficient.

And both of them horrid. Vainonen"s and his pseudo-Rose Adagio for the Fee Dragee and that other modern monstrosity whom I can't even fathom being danced at the Imperial stage.

About Prince Harry and the dressing/clothing talk, I long ago decided just to always remember him for this choice. https://goo.gl/images/YPX2xj

Yes, she can be! She's Prussian after all!😍

The blond and the blonder. A very blond Giselle. MERDE!

You see...you see Big Bolle coming out on those mustard tights and the first thing you think of is..."Gluteus Maximus". Last night really made me believe that Bolle is quite a wonder. Either he sucked vampire's blood or something...because he doesn't seem to slow down. Was anybody able to count his complete series of entrechats...? I stopped around 33 and couldn't keep counting. I was too in awe of his beautiful self-( who isn't, right..?😈) Seo, whom I usually destroy on this forum, has all my praise and respect as Giselle. She was wonderful, lyric and technically proficient. Her balloon is beautiful, and her jetes equal any other of the current Principal, with the exception of , of course, Osipova. The night didn't go completely smoothly for her though. Right after coming off Bolle's arms in the section where Giselle appears running the stage as a ghost in front of him for the first time and he takes her up and puts her down quickly for her to keep running into the wings, something happened. They were both very close to the props on the downstage wings, and either he stood on her way in or she took the wrong entrance around the folliage scenery, but she took a nasty fall. People gasped, and she disappeared from view very quickly. I was expecting even for her no to show again, but she did and she completed the ballet with no other bumps. Bolle is at this point like Osipova. They relax at knowing the ballet so well to the point of being able to play with their characters, adding little mimes and subtleties...not worries about steps any longer. I am VERY happy I went to see this.

Downgrading Mme Copeland...?!?! HERESY!!!😱😱😱😱😱😱😱

I need to confess that I am EXTREMELY pleasantly surprised with Seo tonight. Her Mad Scene was splendid. She was not the crazy lunatic a la Osipova, but more the blank minded ward patient. To be honest, I even enjoyed it more than Natasha's. Right now at intermezzo. One word for Bolle? The man RULES! ,😍😍😍😍

Yes Susan! I had spoken to an orchestra member-( trumpet)- about the possibility to get the instrument start the melody at the end of curtain calls. But apparently it didn't work. So when I saw that they were leaving already for good, I told myself..." Oh no..the Happy Birthday goes...A CAPELLA!."..and right there I started screaming the melody. I was in row G center orchestra, and Natasha saw me...(I can be VERY loud and noticeable when needed..😎). Then some around me followed and also upstairs.

Unorthodox as she might be, Osipova DELIVERS, and delivers GRAND. More to come, but not without first declaring that if you heard a hoarse singing/screaming of "Happy Birthday" starting from orchestra, that was me. I couldn't resist letting those too go without it, and it looked to me like others co joined me along the way!😍

And Dulcinea's variation from DQ.☺️

As I saw Mme. Kolpakova go pass me last night at the MET, I started ruminating. The thought of her and Makarova both at ABT, but having made it out of Russia in such two different moments of history. And I had lots of questions... Given than Kolpakova was such an influencing ballerina at the Kirov...how much politically compromised was she back then...? And just looking at the level of ostracism that the Panov endured from their own ex colleagues after they decided to leave Russia, I wonder how Kolpakova took Makarova's defection...and more than everything...how must have been the re encounter many years after and under such different circumstances, politically wise, and to end up working together in the heart city of the system they were both supposed to despise.

"Definitive and universally accepted" is not even the round earth theory as per today...😋

I believe the company needs to include at least "Giselle" in its repertoire. And well versed, generally speaking, in the Petipa repertoire. ABT has always been a wonderful world class company. Just look at the array of stars who have been on it since the 40's. Quite unique. It is just that right now its looking very thin, technically speaking.

Yep. I would go as Mariinsky, Bolshoi, RB, ABT and POB.

Let's elaborate on last night. I might be a minority here, but I go to the ballet to watch dancing...superb dancing... devilish dancong rather than acting-(sup'Mr B!😉). I don't except nor do I care too much about finding the next Meryl Streep onstage, although if a BALLERINA can spice her less than perfect technique with a big personality to make for an outstanding career, then kuddos to her-(sup' Mme. Danilova!😉). I felt that Giselle's technical demands were beyond Abrera's current skills level. And Giselle is, technically speaking, all about those iconic sautees in act one-(sup' Mme. Spessivtseva!😉) and saut de chats and jetes all over the place. And yes, lovely as her acting was during the whole flirting segment with Albrecht, it was obvious by her simplified Spessivtseva's diagonal-(a pre rehearsed off pointe little step after three pointe sautees)- and her total lack of elevation that she should be off this role for good-( along with Seo...along with Copeland). All this technical assessment, of course, goes down the drain if she is, just like Copeland, marketable. Abrera's performance had the weight shifted toward her portrayal of a shy, visibly shaken, delicate village girl. I think she's one of the few ballerinas I've seen that has gone out of carbon copy offerings. She feels her weak heart giving her the first trouble warning right after Loys/Hillarion fight. She comically points at the floor to Loys when she asks him to dance with her. She happily wiggles her head when she's up the thing before being paraded as the Queen of the Harvest. And she actually voiced a nervous laughing during her mad scene, which truly looked taken out of a frikin' psych ward. But... even so, that's not what one of the top 5 world class ballet companies Giselle should look like, technically wise.

I don't think Abrera should dance Giselle anymore. Lovely as her acting is, her diminished technique shows.

Did anybody see last night Boylston's Giselle...? I was there, and even if having been a last minute decision, I am happy I saw it. She was VERY refreshing in the role, both technically and dramatically. I always say that want I look beyond all qualities of a given performance is the capacity of the artists to entertain their audiences. A boring performance goes in the bottom line for me. Last night Boylston and Whiteside, even if they are not Osipova and Polunin, delivered a very clear, honest and interesting show. Boylston's technical side shone during Act I Past Seul-( covering an ample section of the stage with her sautees on pointe) and her very fast deliverance of the grand pirouettes during Giselle's Initiation scene in act I. One of the things I would say it's obvious is the clear rapport she and Whiteside have. The look very comfortable with each other, and so their interaction is very credible. Teuscher's Myrtha is still a work in progress. She needs to work toward a more regal, less flamboyant portrayal. Many mannered at times, and very short time taken to enjoy and show those elongated arabesques which are Myrtha's signature. I had the impression that Teuscher's wanted to show speed more than anything velse, but in the process Myrtha was a bit lost. And talking about mannered....there is Blaine Hoven in the Peasant Pas, who never looked relaxed with those uber grinning gestures, and clearly out of breath by the end. Katherine Williams looked tense as well, visibly concentrated in getting those pirouettes right. And boy, oh boy...Lanchbery's fantasy really went over board with some orchestration passages, particularly in said Peasant Pas. Anybody going tonight..? Who's dancing...?

Edited: doble post

Hello all and thanks for your always wonderful reports! I only bought one ticket for this Giselle run, and you probably will right guess which one-(😎), cause I really dont feel inspired enough this year by any other performance-(with the exception perhaps of Bolle's). I might still pop in tonight if I am enough rested-(to be honest...I haven't even check the calendar for the leads). It would be wonderful to see you all there anyhow!😍. I will be hanging at Christian's bar, next to the Chagall. See you there!🤗