abatt

There is a very intersting interview with Kevin McKenzie in the NY Times regarding his 20 year tenure as artistic director of ABT. One of the most interesting points relates to morale at the company with regards to the fact that ABT hires so many guest artists for the Met season. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/arts/dance/american-ballet-theaters-director-kevin-mckenzie.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all).

McKenzie seems to suggest that there is nothing wrong with being a "flagship soloist" or a "junior principal" at ABT.

I think a lot of people would take a different view. Stella Abrera, just to name one person, has been performing principal roles for years at ABT, but she does not receive the pay of a principal. Nor does she receive the status of being a principal, although she is doing principal work. In spite of the foregoing, she no longer seems to be on a principal track at ABT, and it seems less and less likely that she will be promoted.

I thought this would be an interesting topic for discussion.

The design elements are the least of the problems with this Firebird. The choreography is at the heart of what's wrong here. Even if you changed the sets and costumes, it would, in my opinion, still be a very poorly constructed ballet.

Hi Natalia. I'm not planning on seeing the Boylston Swan Lake. Another time, though.

^{I went to the matinee, but left after Apollo. Couldn't stand the thought of seeing Firebird again. I completely agree with Natalia that Devon Teucher was absolutely wonderful. Whereas Hee Seo was hanging on for dear life in executing the solo for Polyphmnia on Monday, Devon sailed through it with grace, lyricism and beauty. Can't wait to see more of Devon. Gomes' Apollo was a complete departure from Hallberg's. Gomes was virile, vivid and robust. I enjoyed his performance because he made the most of the role to suit his own personal best attributes. Couldn't take Semionova's non stop ear to ear smile. She was fine, but Part was awesome on Monday. Sorry I missed you Natalia!}

I went to this evening's performance, but I left at intermission because I could not tolerate the thought of seeing Firebird again. The show contained two lengthy film clips honoring McKenzie. One was a montage of directors of various ballet companies and former dancers wishing him well. The other was a montage/interview with him regarding his career. There were some fun moments in these films. For example, Natalia Makarova poked fun at McKenzie's inability to tell a joke well. At first she thought it was her poor English that prevented her from fully understanding the jokes, but as her English improved she realized it was not a language barrier. Mark Morris poked fun by saying that maybe Kevin can have a building all his own like the MMDG. Jiri Kylian pretended that he got into a crash on his bike as he was filming his congratulatory remarks. Peter Martins toasted w. a shot of Vodka while holding an American flag.

Gomes' new work looked like something you would see at a workshop or at the Joyce. It was workmanlike and full of classroom steps. It did not belong on the Met stage.

I enjoyed Cruel World pdd (Kent/Gomes). It was a romantic and intimate work that was engaging.

Thriteen Diversions looked more polished tonight than last, with better unison of the dancers. The only problem was that there was something wrong with the lighting, so that on a fairly frequent basis there would be a sudden burst of orange/yellow light that was blinding.

I was in the balcony, and it seemed to be only 50% full.

I did not enjoy the Firebird either, Ray. The Firebird herself rarely seemed to be the focal point of the story. There was nothing memorable or beautiful about the choreography for the Firebird. Also, although he gives the Firebird some airborne choreography, much of it was oddly grounded. For example, was there a point to Osipova's numerous little slides along the floor. (This is a gimmick that Wheeldon has used a number of times in various ballets, too.) Worst of all was the choreography for the maidens. They seemd to be running around the stage aimlessly. Also, nothing that Simone Messmer did was that much different from what her green sisters were doing, so it was hard to understand why she was a lead character. Hallberg was very campy and amusing. I thought the final tableau of all the men in white outfits jumping around was trite. Have to agree that Marcelo's constant squeaks on the super high gloss floor floor were distracting. Was there a point to having a super high gloss floor for this ballet? Watching this ballet reminded me of all the reasons I did not care for Ratmansky's Nutcracker either.

I only saw one performance of Thirteen Diversions last year, and I recall liking it very much. That cast was led by Hallberg, Murpby, Gomes and Boylston. Seeing it again last night, I wondered why I liked it so much last season. It seemed pallid compared to last year.

I liked Hallberg's Apollo. He may not have all the details in place yet, but he did well enough. No, it didn't compare to my memories of Peter Boal or Hubbe over at NYCB, but it was very good nonetheless. One thing that becomes clear when viewing ABT do this is that companies that regularly perform neoclassical works are able to bring out the nuances of the choreography in a way that ABT simply cannot. Part was lovely as the lead muse. Agree with the post above that there were definite lapses of musicality and coordination among the muses, and they did not look like an ensemble.

LOL re the Elvis reference for Marcelo's costume. I was thinking a modified version of Travolta's outfit in Saturday Night Fever.

There was no Dancer's Choice program this year. I don't know why it was discontinued.

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Tiler and Tyler were magnificent in the Act II divert. on Sunday. An excellent way to end the NYCB season. TIler Peck is, in many ways, the most versatile principal at ABT. She can easily perform both adagio and allegro, and she is great in both. That's a rare talent, I think. She reminds me of Kyra Nichols in her lyricism and musicality.

_{I've seen Lois about a million times at the opera and ballet over the years. Great article.}

Having seen all four casts, Vishneva and Gomes were my favorite, for the reasons noted previously. My least favorite cast was Dvorovenko- Stearns. Dvorovenko was too confident and outgoing in the beginning. She could not develop the arc of the character from naive girl to sophisticated woman. She seemed sophisticated from the first entrance. Also, her performance looked completely scripted- never spontaneous. Cory Stears did well enough, although he is so young looking that when he comes back in the last act with gray hair it looked a bit comical. Simkin was the best danced Lensky of the run. He executed the choreography effortlessly. However, I was not impressed with his acting. Sara Lane was my second favorite Olga of the run (after Osipova). She can play the minx to the hilt, and she also played the tragic portions well. Her dancing was magnificent.

In the past I have found Hee Seo to be disappointing in lead roles. However, I thought she did an excellent job in this role. She is a very lyrical, expressive dancer. She obviously was a little too young to play a sophisticated society lady in the last act, but she danced beautifully. The look of disgust that she shot Onegin after he killed Lensky was priceless. In the final act, she and Hallberg were thrilling. Hallberg has such gorgeous technique and line, I felt that his was the best danced Onegin, but not the best in terms of characterization.

Doesn't every woman (and guy?) wish that Roberto Bolle came walking through their mirror? I thoroughly enjoyed his performance on all levels. The kinks that plagued his opening night performance w. Kent were gone. They worked together beautifully. The problem is that while Julie Kent did a very respectable job, I think she is a bit too reserved. Also, as mentioned above, she has difficulty with her arabesque, and her back isn't as flexible as the other women who performed the role. Therefore the choreography for Tatiana looked a little diminished compared to the other casts.

Did Kathryn Morgan and Chase Finlay dance on Fri and Sat evenings? How were they?

Tonight was another memorable, heartbreaking night of Onegin. Vishneva and Gomes were enthralling - especially in the final gut wrenching scene. I also thought that Jared Mathews added some more nuance to his role as Lensky compared to MOnday night. Peter Martins was in the audience, checking out the competition.

I've only seen the opera at the Met Opera, with Dimitri Hvorostovsky as Onegin and Renee Fleming. I enjoyed the performances and the opera very much and was very moved by the acting. Hvorostovsky, in particular, was perfect for Onegin. I understand that Netrebko may be a future Met Tatiana.

Great news! She absolutely deserves it.

I saw Midsummer Night's Dream on Tues and Wed evenings. Titania is one of Maria K.'s best roles, and she was captivating on Tues. Her long legs and forever extensions are perfect for Titania. She also has a great sense of comic timing. I liked Reichlin in the same role,but not nearly as much as Maria. DeLuz showed off his incredible technique, speed and elevation as Oberon. Garcia, in my opinion, is not a virtuoso dancer, and his Oberon looked effortful and too small in scale. Reichlin (on Tues) and Scheller (on Wed) were both excellent Hypolitas. I'm not sure why Ulbricht has not been cast as Oberon, but I certainly enjoyed him as Puck. The star crossed lovers in both performances were wonderful. I especially liked R. Krohn's long lines and expansive sweep.

Wendy Whelan, w. Jared Angle as her partner, was sublime and ethereal in the Act II divert. She had a few shaky moments in the most technically demanding passages, but they were very minor. I had not seen her do the role for a number of years, so I had my worries going in as to whether she could still do this role. My worries were unfounded. Whelan has been very smart in choosing her roles. The audience's response at the end of the pdd was rapturous. Wendy is a treasure. Megan Fairchild and S. Marcovici are, in my opinion, miscast as the leads in the Act II divert. (on Wed.)

The little kids on stage were delightful.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, MakarovaFan! I'm going back Thursday too. Can't wait!

_{I looked at Vishneva's facebook page. She posted a photo of the curtain call. She also thanked ABT for this role, stating that she has been waiting to dance this role a long time. I thought that was very classy. I thank ABT, too, for bringing us this stellar cast. I agree that this was the best I've ever role I've ever seen Jared dance. I loved all the lifts, and I didn't think it was too much of a good thing. Also agree that the Bolle/Kent letter scene on opening night was half-baked.}

I'm still in awe of tonight's performance. Vishneva and Gomes were passionate, explosive and electrifying together. They danced with abandon. I had forgotten how tricky the partnering in this ballet is. Gomes handled all the difficult lifts superbly, and Vishneva's fully stretched out positions were heightened the drama. Vishneva was heartbreaking in the final scene. She looked completely drained by the curtain call. She also did a great job in acting out the change in her character from naive romantic girl to mature woman. I found it a little hard to believe Marcelo as the mean snob in Act I. However, he was totally in his element in the final romantic, frantic scene where he is pleading with Vishneva.

Jared Matthews was excellent as Lensky. He did an especially wonderful job in his solo in Act II. Osipova was also excellent in playing the coquette.

The sets and costumes were quite lovely, especially the beautifuly dresses in Act III. Based on past history, I'm guessing that Vishneva and Gomes will be even better on Thursday than tonight. Get your tickets now or live to regret it.

The audience cheered the wonderful cast at the curtain call. I'm finding it hard to picture how any of the remaining 3 casts could top this, but we'll see.

I don't begrudge NYCB for wanting to attract large donors to the gala by giving them the potential opportunity to interact with a celebrity (in this case, a fashion celebrity). NYCB raised an enormous amount of money from rich donors by having Paul and Stella McCartney as the central figures of last year's fall gala. Ocean's Kingdom was not an artistic success, in my opinion. However, I think it was a box office success in terms of ticket sales. Clever marketing becomes important in tough economic times.

I knew Sarah Jessica Parker would get into the act for this one. She was conspicously absent for the Spring Gala, which also focused on fashion. I guess there just wasn't room enough for her and Portman to share the limelight at the Spring Gala.

The two people who made the biggest impression on me from this tour were Yulia Grebenschikova and Anna Tikhomirova. Yulia G. had such graceful, fluid movements. She was absolutely gorgeous, especially her arms and hands. I don't recall seeing her before, but now I will surely look for her name. Anna T. was like a beautiful butterfly floating effortlessly through the air. She has incredible, effortless elevation. She is another person I will be looking for in the future.

Alexandrova is very tall and regal, and I thought she approached the lead role with great wit. She also has so much charisma and presence on the stage. I also enjoyed Kaptsova, who was more of a traditional, girlish Swanilda. She was also very light on her feet.

Botalex, I'm on a hotel computer where I can only stay on a few minutes. Not really possible to write in detail at the moment.

_{When I saw the All Martins program, I thought they had a lot of chutzpah to do that. Yes, we'll see how many tickets sell for that one. I guess Martins thought that since Wheeldon had an All Wheeldon program at NYCB, Martins deserved one also.}

I went to a few Bright Stream performances earlier in the week. Attendance was very, very poor. Although I enjoyed seeing it, I can understand the reasons for the sparse attendance. I think the choreography is thin for large portions of the ballet. I enjoyed the first cast very much (Murphy, Gomes, Herrera, Hallberg). Hallberg was pretty hilarious in drag. Murphy and Herrera looked great together in the portions where they danced side by side. The standout of the second cast was Herman Cornejo,with his awesome technical skills. Boylston, replacing Osipova, was full of high flying leaps as well. She's having a great season. I saw a porton of the performance on Wed. evening, and Vasiliev was thrilling. However, the pairing of Kent and Vasiliev (as Kent's husband), and Boylston (as Kent's contemporary) was odd, to say the least. The age difference was very apparent. Moreover, there was no unison between Boylston and Kent in the sections where there should have been. Boylston was dancing full-out, while Kent, in comparison, was sketching the choreography. Based on the sparsity of attendance, this one will probably not be back next season. Hoping for Flames of Paris.

_{Greetings from D.C. I attended last night's performance (Kaptsova et al) and enjoyed the production tremendously. Absolutely charming every way. The sets are gorgeous, and the performances were first rate. I'm seeing both performances today with the second and third casts. I have loved Alexandrova's performances in the past, so I am especially looking forward to seeing her today. Last night was a wild weather night here in D.C. - non stop heavy rains. Today the weather is glorious. If any Ballet Alert folks are at today's shows, can we meet up at the Kennedy bust at the first intermission?}