Week 5 Performances, NYCB Spring '09

[nysusan]

I went to several NYCB perfomances before ABT's season started but have just been way too busy to post anything. But Robbie Fairchild and Janie Taylor's debut in Opus 19 at yesterday's matinee was so wonderful that I just had to find a few minutes to post. Fairchild, in particular, just blew me away and may have become my favorite NYCB male dancer on the strength of this one performance. His technique was wonderful but his line and plastique were what I found really thrilling. His interpretation was well thought out and very evocative. Taylor was also great, but I expected that from her! She was intense and fearless as usual with extensions that just ripped through the air.

FYI – although Mearns was listed on the cast sheet in the lobby Ellen Bar actually danced the first part of Vienna Waltzes with J Angle. I just love the sweep of this piece and even a couple of my least favorite dancers were just fine, if not fabulous. The evening started with Kowroski/Marcovicci/Pereira/Hendrickson in Chaconne. Although Kowroski was stunning throughout I thought the partnering in the first section looked a little rough. I just love her approach to the last section –it's so intelligent and witty, and this on top of those lethal weapon legs and gorgeous extensions. Stephanie Zungre also impressed in a small soloist role, I found myself running to my Playbill as soon as the curtain came down to see exactly who that soloist was!

[vipa]

Whenever NYCB presents a new ballet, it stays in the rep for 3 seasons, irrespective of its quality. Expect Simple Symphony to return in Winter 2010, and then fade into oblivion never to be seen again.

Thank you abatt. That is good to know.

[carbro]

I was also at the matinee, and my reaction to Op. 19 was very different from yours, nysusan, though also positive.

I remember the premiere of the ballet, which was the first piece made on Baryshnikov after he joined NYCB. So, through my eyes, the focus of the ballet was always the male lead. Taylor completely reversed it for me. Even though the female doesn't enter until about halfway through the first movement, from that moment, Taylor was It. All of her feral energy seemed to burst beyond the confines of they body, so she was in an entirely different realm, until the quiet moments at the ballet's end. It made for a brilliantly suspenseful performance -- I could feel my heartbeat slowing, jaw and fists clenching. It was like those edge-of-the seat experiences I used to get from Gelsey and haven't had, in quite the same way, since.

None of this is to take away from Fairchild's excellent debut. In his relatively brief time as a professional, he's proven himself to be a versatile and stylish dancer, an excellent partner. Watching his development has been a high point of the last few seasons.

I was particulary looking forward to Erica Pereira in Chaconne's second pdd, whicha friend had described in an earlier performance, as "fearless." Saturday, her approach was cautious, but she managed the diffcult work on pointe and a bent suporting knee as smoothly as anyone I've seen in the role. She was supported by Adam Hendrickson. In the principal roles, I particularly enjoyed Kowroski's contrast of the first and second sections of Chaconne. In the Dance of the Hevenly Spirits, she was weightless, but in the main part of the ballet, the courtly dances, she had weight. I thought Marcovici terribly miscast. With his hunched-forward shoulders, he is not a pleasing dancer, particularly unfit for a role that refers to the erect elegance of the 18th Century dance forms.

Not much to say about Vienna Waltzes. I was tempted to leave directly after the Op. 19, but the program listed Jared Angle for Tales from the Vienna Woods, and Tyler Angle for the same role in the finale. JAngle? TAngle? A mystery dangled before me! Curiosity got the better of me. It was JAngle all the way. Special mention to Jenifer Ringer for adding interest to the Merry Widow section by vamping (subtly and appropriately) like a silent-screen diva. This section doesn't always hold my attention, but on Saturday, I was fully engaged.

[balanchinette]

I have to also applaud Robert F. and Janie T. for an incredible performance in Opus 19. Janie has been "the" performer of the season for me, I really wish Peter Martins would cast her in more ballets -- and where has she been the past few years! We were missing out on one of City Ballet's most wonderful dancers. She was brilliant in La Valse and her pdd in DSCH had me spell bound. Huge extension, great jumps, an incredibly supple back, and loads of amplitude and abandon. Just incredible. I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot more of Janie over the next few years! Robert F., too, danced with great amplitude. Great performance from him, especially as a debut, wow!

Maria was great in Chaconne, but Marcovici is not a good match for her -- the partnering was difficult b/c she is so much taller than he is, especially when on pointe, that he has to struggle to reach her wrists. Philip Neal was much more enjoyable in his Chaconne performances earlier this season, he didn't make it look like quite as much work in his solos. Ask La Cour plays a great air lute in the pas de trois, and he seems tall enough to partner Maria -- I wondered why he didn't get a shot at the Marcovici role. The corps was wonderful throughout.

[Colleen Boresta]

I attended the Sunday matinee and saw “Swan Lake”, “Opus 19/the Dreamer” and “Vienna Waltzes”. I haven’t seen Balanchine’s one-act Swan Lake in years, and I really enjoyed it. I thought Wendy Whelan gave a beautiful performance as Odette. I was especially impressed by Whelan’s bird-like arms, even though they weren’t in the same league as Nina A’s, Diana Vishneva’s, Irina Dvorovenko’s, or Veronika Part’s (in my opinion anyway). Sebastien Marcovici was a decent partner, but very inconsistent in his solo. He totally missed two of his jumps, but danced the rest of the solo rather well. And I find it strange that Balanchine chose the music for the Big Swans dance for Prince Siegfried’s solo. Also, the corps lacked unison. I didn’t mind that they were in black and Odette was in white, but I did mind that they weren’t dancing together. It just threw the whole ballet off.

I always love “Vienna Waltzes”, but I didn’t like all the performances Sunday afternoon. I was disappointed not to see Sara Mearns, but I thought Ellen Bar was lovely in her place. Yvonne Borree was better than I expected her to be, but she still lacked the buoyancy and fluidity required by the Voices of Spring female soloist. I think Ashley Bouder is still out injured, but what about Megan Fairchild or Tiler Peck. Either ballerina would have been wonderful in the part. And it didn’t help Borree that she was so outclassed by Benjamin Millipied. As always, Millipied’s pyrotechnics are so unforced, so natural. And the way he just flies around the stage is breathtaking. Jennifer Ringer isseductive and mysterious as the Merry Widow, but her partner, Nilas Martins, is just okay. And Darcy Kistler in Der Rosenkavalier is beyond brittle. She looks like she could barely move. Doesn’t Peter Martins watch any of these performances? It’s especially sad in Kistler’s case, because she was a great ballerina. Unforunately too many of us will remember too many years of weak performances, rather than all her great dancing in her early years at NYCB.

The highlight of the afternoon for me was “Opus 19/the Dreamer”. I’ve seen this ballet a few times before, and I’d never thought much about it. But Sunday’s Opus, with Robert Fairchild and Janie Parker, was so haunting. I don’t remember when I’ve last been so moved by a performance. It’s strange. I don’t remember steps or images from the ballets, but just a sense of Fairchild and Parker taking me away to some other world. I felt the ballet viscerally. I hope to see again soon (with the same cast) so I discover more of what this ballet has to offer.

[jimmattimore]

I attended the Sunday matinee and saw “Swan Lake”, “Opus 19/the Dreamer” and “Vienna Waltzes”. I haven’t seen Balanchine’s one-act Swan Lake in years, and I really enjoyed it. I thought Wendy Whelan gave a beautiful performance as Odette. I was especially impressed by Whelan’s bird-like arms, even though they weren’t in the same league as Nina A’s, Diana Vishneva’s, Irina Dvorovenko’s, or Veronika Part’s (in my opinion anyway). Sebastien Marcovici was a decent partner, but very inconsistent in his solo. He totally missed two of his jumps, but danced the rest of the solo rather well. And I find it strange that Balanchine chose the music for the Big Swans dance for Prince Siegfried’s solo. Also, the corps lacked unison. I didn’t mind that they were in black and Odette was in white, but I did mind that they weren’t dancing together. It just threw the whole ballet off.

I always love “Vienna Waltzes”, but I didn’t like all the performances Sunday afternoon. I was disappointed not to see Sara Mearns, but I thought Ellen Bar was lovely in her place. Yvonne Borree was better than I expected her to be, but she still lacked the buoyancy and fluidity required by the Voices of Spring female soloist. I think Ashley Bouder is still out injured, but what about Megan Fairchild or Tiler Peck. Either ballerina would have been wonderful in the part. And it didn’t help Borree that she was so outclassed by Benjamin Millipied. As always, Millipied’s pyrotechnics are so unforced, so natural. And the way he just flies around the stage is breathtaking. Jennifer Ringer isseductive and mysterious as the Merry Widow, but her partner, Nilas Martins, is just okay. And Darcy Kistler in Der Rosenkavalier is beyond brittle. She looks like she could barely move. Doesn’t Peter Martins watch any of these performances? It’s especially sad in Kistler’s case, because she was a great ballerina. Unforunately too many of us will remember too many years of weak performances, rather than all her great dancing in her early years at NYCB.

The highlight of the afternoon for me was “Opus 19/the Dreamer”. I’ve seen this ballet a few times before, and I’d never thought much about it. But Sunday’s Opus, with Robert Fairchild and Janie Parker, was so haunting. I don’t remember when I’ve last been so moved by a performance. It’s strange. I don’t remember steps or images from the ballets, but just a sense of Fairchild and Parker taking me away to some other world. I felt the ballet viscerally. I hope to see again soon (with the same cast) so I discover more of what this ballet has to offer.

Colleen: You saw Janie Taylor. one of the best, not Janie Parker who does not exist at NYCB.

I love your excitement.

jim

[ViolinConcerto]

Adding to the chorus about "Opus 19," I have seen that piece many times since it's premiere, and reacted well to most performances, but last Saturday's was exceptional, and everyone I spoke to "on the promenade" said that this performance changed their entire experience of the ballet. Aside from technique, it was the passion of those two dancers.

I never cared for Janie Taylor before her long absence, but last week she gave everything to "Opus 19," and flung herself fearlessly, much in the way that Darcy Kistler did as a young dancer. Robert Fairchild was not only passionate and feeling, he brought an impression of intelligence and thoughtfulness that not even Peter Boal brought to his performances.

I thought that Maria Karowsky (sorry about the spelling) was technically excellent, and yes, brought her delightful wit to "Chaconne," but having just watched a video of Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins felt she was too "big," for it, and lacked lightness. Marcovicci has no lightness, and the comparison of his line to Martins' line in that video just put Marcovicci to shame. I haven't seen him give a good performance, relate to the audience or do anything other than tote a ballerina around the stage in years.

The soloists in Chaconne were all wonderful, including Ask La Cour as the "lute player." I love those pas de 2s and the pas de3. Glorious.

I didn't find "Vienna Waltzes" as gripping as usual, and can't say I was disappointed in Nilas Martins' leaden performance -- I never expected more.