Leigh Witchel Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Whatever you'd like - dancer, ballet, designs. Revival or new, whatever - what's got you going? Talk amongst yourselves. B) Link to comment
oberon Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Hopefully, all the dancers who were out with injuries during the Winter season will be back: Wendy, Abi, Sylve, Janie Taylor, Somogyi, Benj. Millepied, Sebastian M, Tewsley, Jared Angle...let's hope we never have another wave of injuries like this. Of the ballets: BRAHMS-SCHOENBERG QT, Tchaikovsky SUITE #3, LA VALSE, LIEBESLIEDER, THE CAGE, Barber VIOLIN, GLASS PIECES, CONCERTO FOR 2 SOLO PIANOS and OPUS 19 are among the things I'm most looking forward to seeing. Link to comment
perky Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 What am I most looking forward to Leigh? Why coming to New York City in May to see NYCB in person! :hyper: :party: (I'm just a wee bit excited) My husband and I have already bought our tickets for May 18 Ballo della Regina, Square Dance, La Sonnabula and May 20 La Source, Davidsbundlertanze, and Four T's I'm excited to finally be able to see all the dancers in person that you lucky ballet talkers talk about. Looking forward to seeing Davidsbundlertanze live as opposed to on tape. It's one of my favorite Balanchine ballets and never fails to move me deeply everytime I see it. And I've never seen La Sonnabula before, always wanted to. Link to comment
lampwick Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I am looking forward to seeing Wendy performing again. Also, I have never seen La Sonnambula and am looking forward to finally seeing it live. I enjoy Wheeldon's work and am looking forward to the premiere of a new piece. Also, anything that Damian is in, I look forward to. Link to comment
Farrell Fan Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 I look forward to the return of Ivesiana, Varations pour une Porte et un Soupir, Scherzo a la Russse, and Union Jack. I love Davidsbundlertanze, but I'm not sure the present company can do it justice. The season includes two of Peter Martins's best works -- his first, Calcium Light Night, and Barber Violin Concerto. I look forward to them. And I also look forward, with morbid curiosity, to the new ballet in honor of Balanchine by Boris Eifman. Link to comment
cargill Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 I just got some information from NYCB, with the guest stars, and Lorna Feijo will be dancing Square Dance! I have talked with people who saw the tape of her dancing it in Cuba (Merril Ashley set it), and they said she was staggering. I have seen her a couple ot times--with the Cubans and with Cincinnati--and I think she is really special. So that is what I am most looking forward to. Of course Liebeslieder, but it depends on the casting so much. Link to comment
charlieloki Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 am i the only one left who loves ORPHEUS? the balanchine/stravinsky/noguchi collaboration: when will we ever have a combination like that again? just a few weeks ago, at the museum of television and radio, i was fortunate to see (several times) an early (televised) production with karin von aroldingen as eurydice, peter martins as orpheus and adam luders as the dark angel. the pas de deux (orpheus and eurydice in front of the drawn stage curtain) in which orpheus removes a covering from his eyes, causing eurydice to fall dead, is the most moving scene in any ballet i have attended: both choreographically and musically. i will attend every performance of this piece in the coming season: i hope there will be a change in casting from the most recent performances, so that the original impact of orpheus, which has been lacking, may be achieved. comments? Link to comment
Farrell Fan Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 You're not the last one who loves Orpheus, but our number is dwindling. At one time the NYCB audience was endowed with a classical education and it knew what was going on in this ballet. Mr. Kirstein never wrote an explanatory program note, but I really think it is necessary for today's balletgoers, to understand the plot. The gist of it is simple enough -- Eurydice has died, Orpheus is inconsolable; the angel of death answers his prayers and escorts him to Hades; there he puts a golden mask on Orpheus which mustn't be removed until Eurydice is safely out of the underworld; Orpheus cannot resist Eurydice's entreaties, takes off the mask to look at her, and she is immediately whisked away from him. If the ballet ended there most people would get it. But who are those wild women who come on next and tear Orpheus limb from limb? And what is the meaning of the last scene with Apollo? Judging from its reaction in recent years, the audience is more mystified than uplifted. It's not just the audience -- I think NYCB doesn't fully appreciate Orpheus either. I still resent it that Orpheus's lyre designed by Noguchi was dropped a few years ago as the NYCB logo in favor of a generic lyre on top of an inverted pyramid. Sort of typifies what happened to the company. Link to comment
charlieloki Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 thank you, farrell fan re the lyre comment and the others -- i saw the most beautiful noguchi lyre in his studio/workshop (which became his museum) in long island city a few years ago -- also a lot of graham articles which he made for her company the museum has been under renovation, and i believe it is reopening soon it is worth visiting for many reasons -- one of which is the various dance artifacts audience members may have problems with the orpheus legend, but will have no problem with the stravinsky music -- it is stunning Link to comment
GeorgeB fan Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 This is my very first post! I wish I've discover this discussion board a long time ago. I've only been going to the ballet for seven years know, so in some ways I'm a novice. I'm looking forward for many of you more experience ballet goers to help me become more educated in the joys and history of this wonderful art form. As for what I'm looking forward to for the spring season at NYCB, I'm looking forward at seeing Symphony in C, Dances at a Gathering, Mozartiana, Agon and LaValse. But the ballet I'm most looking forward at seeing is Liebeslieder Walzer. When I first saw it I must admit I was bore. I was falling to sleep. I knew what I was watching was a masterpiece, but it was so long. But that was in the first year I started going to the ballet. Know that I'm more experience in the joys of ballet, I'm looking forward at seeing this extraordinary creation of Mr. Balanchine. I'm also hoping to see my favorite ballerinas Krya Nichols, Wendy Whelan, Jennie Somogyi and Maria Kowroski dances in the ballet. But as of yet I don't know the casting of the ballet, NYCB have not post the casting on their website. Once again I'm looking forward to sharing the joys, displeasure, the argeement and disagreement I'm sure I will be sharing with all of you on this message board! Link to comment
Leigh Witchel Posted April 11, 2004 Author Share Posted April 11, 2004 Welcome to Ballet Talk GeorgeB Fan! I think you'll find a lot of kindred spirits here. I'd travel a long way to see Liebeslieder Walzer; I'm glad you're getting a chance to see it with "new eyes". Link to comment
kfw Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I saw Orpheus in 1988, and with the right casting it would be high atop my wish list. Does anyone remember who was dancing the ballet 16 years ago? Link to comment
Helene Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I saw Orpheus in 1988, and with the right casting it would be high atop my wish list. Does anyone remember who was dancing the ballet 16 years ago? I only saw it once in 1988, performed by Robert La Fosse, with Valentina Kozlova as Eurydice, Adam Lüders as Dark Angel, Robert Lyon as Apollo, and Diana White as the Leader of the Bacchantes. In 1983, I saw two perfomances, one Winter Season, one Spring Season, both cast with Ib Andersen as Orpheus -- among my all-time favorite performances of anything -- Karin von Aroldingen as Eurydice, Mel Tomlinson as Dark Angel, Christopher Fleming as Apollo, and Florence Fitzgerald (winter) and Victoria Hall (spring) as Leader of the Bacchantes. The next performances I have listed were three (in ten days) in the 1993 Spring Season and one in the 1994 Winter Season, with Nilas Martins as Orpheus, Wendy Whelan as Eurydice -- I remember her being wonderful in this role -- Lüders as Dark Angel, Robert Lyon as Apollo, and Diana White and Teresa Reyes as Leader of the Bacchantes. Link to comment
oberon Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I saw ORPHEUS only once, opening night of the 50th anniversary season. I thought it looked very dated and that the costumes were ugly. The music is fine and the choreography has some intriguing stretches but I thought the end was sort of silly. I wonder if it would work as a leotard ballet: same music, steps & story but without the ugly costumes. But would we want anyone to tamper with it? As for the telling of the tale, Gluck's opera seems far preferable to me. And much more moving. Link to comment
Farrell Fan Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I don't know what year(s), but Peter Martins also danced Orpheus with Luders as Dark Angel and von Aroldingen as Eurydice. The ballet never looked better. Link to comment
Hal Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I'm with Farrell Fan on Martin's Calcium Light Night, one of the few Martin's ballets I would go out of my way to see. I still remember Heather Watts and Daniel Duel doing it in its first season. Other ballets I am especially looking forward to are Glass Pieces, Union Jack (hopefully Kowroski in Farrells role), 4T's, Agon, and the Cage for starters. I wish I could afford to go every night! I don't see a single program that I would not like to attend. In addition to our 2 subscrtiptions I am looking forward to a couple of additional performances - but which ones? :shrug: So many good ones to choose from. Link to comment
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