abatt

Thanks for the discount info.

The lawsuit between Levine and the Met Opera has been settled. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/arts/music/james-levine-metropolitan-opera.html

Messmer has performed Serenade with Miami City, so I suspect she will dance in that ballet.

Copeland did that one section of Tschai Pas for the Kennedy Center Honors. It was an excerpt; she did not perform the entire work.

Since there are no subscriptions sold for the Koch theater engagement, I don't think that people who subscribed to the Met season would be permitted to free exchanges of any tickets purchased for the fall Koch season.

I plan on going to see Cornejo as Apollo if he is cast, but I think he is too short for the role.

I would rather they give that soloist slot to someone is actually a full time dancer, like Roman Mejia.

I've been to lots of galas where there is a disclosed mandatory contribution as part of the ticket price, but that contribution has always been TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Your ticket comes with another piece of paper telling you the contribution portion for tax purposes. What ABT is doing is forcing a charitable contribution, but not providing the customer with the option or the documentation to take it as a tax deduction. Is this even legal? Anyone with some spare time should write to the New York State AG's office to inquire whether this is legal.

Costume restoration fee?!!! What will they think of next. Pointe shoe fee? There comes a point at which we all have to say enough.

Considering the amount they charge per ticket for handling fees, this is very disturbing.

I'm very happy for them, but sad that the audience will not see Laracey's gorgeous performance in Emeralds this fall. Hopefully, she will return to the role at some future time.

Correct. Simkin is not performing in the fall season.

Or Brandt /Simkin.

Fancy Free is Robbins.

Yes indeed.

If McKenzie did not allow dancers like Hallberg and Simkin to seek opportunities elsewhere, I think they would just quit. That's part of the reason the ranks are so thin for the non-Met season among the principal men.

I like Forster in poetic or dramatic roles with less challenging ballet steps like Les Sylphides, Lilac Garden and Jane Eyre. However, I question his ability to pull off full length roles like Albrecht or Siegfried. This is just based on seeing him in smaller roles like Ballroom Rothbart. Significant talent tends to rise to the top. It was not a coincidence when last season Bell got the role of Romeo when Lendorf withdrew. Sometimes McKenzie makes bad choices, but he seems to also be able to recognize prodigious talent when it's before him. I believe there are often other factors at work that have nothing to do with talent or ability when a marginal dancer is elevated to principal at ABT. Was it mere coincidence that Hee Seo made principal at the end of the 2012 Met Opera season, shortly before ABT embarked upon its tour to Asia (including South Korea)?

Completely agree. I guess I may offend a few people here, but I don't think Forster or Hoven have the technique for the most challenging principal roles. They are good soloists who are able to do an occasional lead role. Although McKenzie has promoted certain others dancers to principal who also lacked strong technique, I would not want that trend to continue unabated. The next principal will likely be Aran Bell, and if he continues on the same path and trajectory of this season, his promotion will be well deserved.

I'm wondering whether Copeland will be cast in any Ratmansky ballets going forward. It seems to be more than a coincidence that Copeland did not perform in a single work choreographed or reconstructed by Ratmansky this season. Ratmansky's work occupied more than half of the 8 week season.

Of the four Aurora's, I thought Lane and Trenary were very similar in approach and stylization. They are both petite dancers. Boylston, in contrast, approaches the role in a much more athletic, aggressive way. She covers much more space when she moves, she jumps higher, and she moves with greater speed. Hee Seo was a beautiful, delicate Aurora. Yes, some of her balances in the Rose Adagio were shaky, but the rest of her performance was excellent. It was refreshing to see the role performed by someone with longer limbs. I thought Stella had the best characterization of Lilac Fairy, but the best dancing of that role was from Shevchenko.

Bell danced the solo this afternoon. He did a wonderful job, but Cornejo was in a class by himself in that solo. I was not impressed with Gorak's performance. He has no elevation and his footwork is not clearly articulated.

Yes, I agree that Herman was even more thrilling on Friday evening than on Tuesday. His performance of his solo was thrilling and astonishing.

Yes, that's why I'm getting a bad feeling that Stella may become a forced retirement in a year or two, just like Part.

Yes, this is what was deleted from the performance that I saw at the Thursday matinee. I understand why they did it - he is dancing four Desire performances. However, it is nevertheless unfair to the audience and another indication of mismanagement at ABT. They should have had a backup available so that Bell didn't have to perform 4 shows. Cory Stearns knows the role. Why didn't they call upon him? Why couldn't the two dates for Whiteside be split between Gorak and Bell so that each had 3 shows instead of two? No, instead the choice was made to give the Thursday audience less than the full ballet. I might also add that this placed extra stress on Boylston, because as soon as the initial portion of the pas was completed, she had to come out and do her solo variation. The pas is a lot of work for Aurora, but only involves partnering for Desire. The portion where Desire comes out for his big solo is a rest period for Aurora. No rest for Boylston.

Bell danced in today's matinee, but they deleted Desire's big solo in the Wedding Act. Very disappointed. Boylston was outstanding.