sealings

SML- both of the Wednesday casts are wonderful. All four dancers (Paloma Herrera & Marcelo Gomes in the evening, Gillian Murphy & David Hallberg in the afternoon) are standout ABT principals and both couples partner very well together. I would say R&J is a hallmark of Herrera's since it was one of her first principal roles when she was very young. Personally I would see her on Wednesday evening. Thursday will also be a special performance; both Hee Seo and Cory Stearns are debuting in their roles. She's in the corps and he is a soloist.

I attended yesterday's matinee (Herrera/Gomes) and Friday night (Vishneva/Stiefel). I was so impressed with this production; the sets and music and staging were all beautifully done without any fluffiness or garish moments. The set in the third act was just sublime. What a contrast to ABT's Corsaire and Swan Lake. This is one of the best ballets I've seen at the Met in a few years and I really hope they keep it in the rep next season.

As I said earlier, Vishneva was just excellent on Friday night. I preferred her and Stiefel to the second cast I saw by far. Her expressiveness throughout and acting abilities overwhelm comparison to anyone else. Her interactions with Stiefel in Act I were bold and illuminating. She created a whole narrative in her gestures. I found her interpretations to be very comical in their aggression, holding her hand up to him to say "no," the first moment she drew the arrow... I was laughing, and seeing it a second time, these motions lost their weight in Herrera's performance. I agree with Amour that it was like watching a different ballet with Diana in the role; she handed the pointe work with fluidity and power and had a musical lightness as well. Herrera used a more pitiful approach to the beginning of Act II; she was very sad while Vishneva seemed more defiant. Otherwise, I found Paloma emotionally a little disconnected, despite strong dancing. She was cool and clear, and she and Marcelo partnered beautifully in Act III. Vishneva/Stiefel had a couple shaky moments; he grabbed onto Diana's knee at one point to keep her on his shoulder. I liked Stiefel better overall though, for his dynamism and his intensity. I like Gomes but I'm not as big a fan as some other posters on here. I just find him kind of soft.

What's the jump Sylvia and Aminta do in the variations in act iii? Like a rond de jambe en l'air with each leg, they do three of them. I could see a big contrast between the casts on these jumps; Diana and Ethan's were huge and clean, while both Herrera and Gomes toned them down.

Alexandre Hammoudi was especially entertaining as Orion on Saturday. On Friday, I found Jared Matthews restrained in the role; he didn't give Vishneva much to work with, but Hammoudi was forceful and funny. Leann Underwood also stood out to me as Ceres on Saturday, and I loved Kristi Boone as Diana. Simkin and Lane were charming goats on Friday night. I couldn't stop laughing at Simkin and his little goat-hands.

god yes

tonight was wonderful!

i absolutely loved vishneva. i love her anyway but she was excellent. great to see stiefel back too. simkin and lane were especially entertaining as the goats. sorry i'm kind of exuberant...what a wonderful production! NO DISNEY. i just bought tickets for tomorrow...haha. lots of great seats available. nice surprise from abt.

oh my god she's on the same night as daniel radcliffe !!!

at least a lot of people will see it, but so much for trying to get tickets!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/arts/dance/29swan.html

there are some nice pictures here. her daughter is too cute.

Her balances in act ii were just amazing. That first one that went on forever... wow. She's so beautifully human in her acting too; there was a moment by the lake when Bolle reached out to grab her and she pulled her arms away as if to say "no, I can't." I wanted to cry!

I don't know why she went for the triple at the end of her 32 fouettes, that was a mess waiting to happen. Bolle messed up some of his early in the performance too. Veronika made another mistake on steps, I forget exactly where now; she stepped out of a turn during one of her last variations in act iii.

They danced so well together though. I really hope they perform this ballet again together next year. Their lifts were breathtaking; of course her unbelievable limbs went on forever and ever.

The production itself was disappointing. The corps were all over the place, the curtain got stuck again, I did not like Saveliev as von Rothbart and don't think he did the role much justice, plus the sound of changing sets before the last scene might as well have been a thunderstorm outside. Come on, ABT. You're better than this.

Just back from Part and Bolle. She really has the most beautiful lines in the whole world, and their lifts were glorious! Some technical fumbles though from both of them... The rest of the production was a wash. Will write more later.

Diana was absolutely exquisite tonight.

What else can you say.

I loved her Odette. I thought it was unusual in that she was very sad, continually cloaked in sadness. She kept a plaintive but changing face; at any moment you could read her predicament in her heavy brow and sad eyes. She also gave the character some nobility and an air of resignation. I was amazed at how she was able to maintain absolute somber control of her face during her variations. It was as if she channeled the exertions of her steps into a stately sadness. I didn't think anyone could be as powerful as Nina playing Odette but Diana was beautiful and very close.

Her Odile was sparkling, sensuous. I noticed Diana does a lot with her mouth... maybe I remember Macaulay gushing about this at some point. If he was there tonight I'm sure he was enjoying himself. She changed from sexual aggression to cunning, deception every few moments, flashing back to a big sinister smile. I liked her in this ballet because the roles are night and day with her; she's very different. Her whole face lit up as Odile, in contrast to her pitiable Odette. The act iii pas de deux was just superb; she and Marcelo built each snippet of choreography to a thrilling climax. She has such a flexible back and was doing this thing every time she and Marcelo came together, rolling her shoulders sensuously toward him, then throwing her head back into an arabesque. It was incredible; she had the crowd in her palm.

Marcelo was his strong, handsome self. He seemed a little soft tonight but I've only seen him a few times, so maybe that's his style. I confess I wasn't exactly watching him the whole time either.

Isabella Boylston, Daniil Simkin, and Sarah Lane danced the pas de trois. Lane has a beautiful lightness to her movements, but I think her molar-flashing smile bothers me because she's just showing teeth, rather than smiling with her whole face. Simkin stole the show again. His massive jumps belie his small stature. Do you think we'll see him doing Don Q with Osipova in a few years...hmmm?! I hope so. The Met might collapse with all the !!ballon!!. Haha.

Grant DeLong and Blaine Hoven danced the Neapolitan. I didn't think DeLong was as strong as Hoven but he stood out to me for the quality of his positions. I've never noticed him before. Jared Matthews was von Rothbart (purple) and Roman Zhurbin the green monster-thing.

The orchestra was an awful mess. So lethargic. Every recording I've ever heard sounded better than they did tonight. The second half was better than the first, but still sketchy. Also, the sheer black curtain seemed to get stuck midway across at the opening of the first act. I'm guessing they pulled it in manually from its slow, jerky departure. I was a little bored tonight in between major scenes. This production doesn't have the zip it used to. Maybe the weak orchestra contributed somewhat to that; I'm a big fan of full length ballets but the corps didn't hold my interest tonight (swans aside). The first corny scene with the capture was really slow... I remember Dvorovenko whipping into the air and onto von Rothbart's shoulders at the first crash of the music a couple of years ago. Tonight it was just weak, kind of sedate. If you're going to Disney it up, then you know... Disney it up!

The orchestra looked sold out, lots of people stayed in their seats for the curtain calls. Not a lot of ABT regulars around me though. Someone asked at intermission how to pronounce "Gomes" haha. It's nice to see a crowd after weeks of empty seats.

I can't wait for Veronika on Friday.

To me, Gillian was generally effective. She was more emotive as Odette than Irina D, but it doesn't take much to be able to say that about a ballerina.

wow that's really harsh!

how was Part? did anyone see her?

La Sylphide - Natalia Osipova

James - Herman Cornejo

Effie - Gemma Bond

Anna, James' mother - Maria Bystrova

Gurn - Daniil Simkin

Madge - Nancy Raffa

Herman was excellent in this role.

Osipova and Cornejo were excellent! Herman was the only dancer on stage keeping up with Osipova, however. The corps were a little wonky, especially compared to last week in Giselle. They were out of synch at times, arms everywhere. When dancing with Osipova and Cornejo, she seemed to be taking different cues than the dancers behind her. Daniil Simkin was a funny and slimy Gurn. Nancy Raffa replaced Barbee as Madge. She received a big cheer at the opening of the second act when the curtains opened on her stirring her cauldron. The crowd seemed reserved last night overall though, I thought. Lots of empty seats and not much cheering. Osipova finally got some bravas at the curtain call. She and Herman definitely deserved some cheers and whoops during the performance; she's quite a force. She has light, very animated arms and a sweet appearance. It seems Macauley unleashed his entire arsenal of complimentary adjectives on her in his review this weekend, and well deserved.

Herman's dancing was just excellent, especially his jumping in the first half! Also, loved Gemma Bond's tantrum at the end of act one. This is a fun ballet.

Airs was boring. I'm going to skip it if I go back to see Part. It was about 30 minutes long.

Like most others, I was absolutely thrilled by Osipova. What an incredible dancer. Please Please bring her back next season.

Kevin is probably negotiating with her now,offering her everything. She would be wonderful in La Fille... and of course, Don Q

i saw her don q in moscow a couple of years ago and it was unreal. she's a firebolt. kevin should throw himself in the fountain.

maybe she is injured? i love xiomara; i can't wait for her r&j with herman.

I agree that Angel seemed different last night than in the past, a little reserved. I saw a Vishneva/Corella Giselle in 2005 and they had much more of a spark, or at least he was more invested in her. Not to say that he wasn't endearing...

just back from vishneva, who was exquisite! i'm still ha

simkin and lane, wow. daniil is a superstar. he stole the show. i can't wait to see more of him, he's sprightly! i had never really gotten sarah lane, i know you guys love her, but i have to admit tonight she was great. her dancing is strong, clear, and fluid. she's little too, so tiny! she and daniil looked like kids on stage. i did not like her facial expressions, or perhaps i should say lack of more than one expression... she was just the peasant girl but held the same beaming smile the entire time. her eyes seem fixed somehow too, and she moves her head around a lot. i look forward to lane/simkin anything in the future though.

the wilis were great, a lot better than last year! i liked melanie hamrick as moyna. she looks like svetlana zakharova in her wili costume. did not like wiles. i would have loved to see VP instead. it seems like vishneva/part are never cast in anything together. i only remember juliet/juliet's mother.

anyway, i'm sorry i have to gush now. diana was just so, so beautiful tonight. i haven't seen her in a long time, and not with abt in two years. she fills up the music, it's like you're there with her in every moment! she held her balances forever. she's so luminous. i heard someone at the bar say that her movements are very light but she also has a kind of inner light, which i think is so true--you can't look away from her! i'm not a fan of giselle as i've seen it about a bazillion times, and really only go to see certain dancers. that said, i thought diana's meltdown was amazing, really good. it lasted so long; we were sitting very close and from the moment hilarion first showed her angel's sword, her look was so riveting and sad. i took my little eight year old sister who has never seen giselle before and she was so moved, she couldn't believe what was happening to diana. it was really cute.

i'm going back to see osipova on saturday but i'm already about giselled out. i heard osipova's performance was totally sold? also, saw caroline kennedy and a few others there tonight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/arts/dan...7kour.html?_r=1

just back from the matinee. veronika p was lovely lovely. how tall is she? her legs go on forever. i thought the staging of dnieper was messy, all the fences and trees and confetti moving all over the place... and so many dancers in each scene. a girl in the corps wiped out at the beginning. herrera was sweet but i'd like to see vishneva in this ballet from what others have said because it did feel like natalia's story.

i really liked desir. the partnering was beautiful!! boylston/stearns were great. did not like wiles in prodigal son. i bought tickets for today to see dvorovenko in this role. maybe wiles is just not my thing. she also slipped off cornejo's head in the pdd; her feet slid off his knees and he tried to hold her up by her ankles.

ugh dvorovenko/simkin moved to weds night! irina was dancing the matinee! i can't stand all these casting changes.

Xiomara was wonderful tonight in the pdd. Enjoyed Kajiya/Stearns too. Lots of empty seats, however. In the back there were whole rows totally unsold. Recession?

lol at this thread, get it diana!

thank you to everyone for the lovely reviews. there are some pictures up on the ny times website today:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/05/1...SHOW_index.html

about ******* time

i asked once over the summer why they never have veronika's shoes and they told me she rarely gives them up. i wonder if i could get them this way. i understand the appeal but i've never considered actually buying someone's old shoes... it's a little obsessive, maybe. but she's special and i love her.

according to irina and max's site, irina's dancing two r&j's with bolle instead of julie kent, plus one performance together in los angeles. i wonder if julie's not dancing r&j at all... really disappointed not to see her.

I'd love to see a Part/Gomes R&J.