abatt Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I just happen to look at the Calendar for the Winter Season on line. I was so looking forward to seeing Jewels on Jan 23, and bought a subscription that included that date because I wanted to see Jewels. To my considerable disappointment, the program has been changed for the worse. It is now Kammermusik No. 2 After the Rain Pas de Deux Concerto Barocco The Infernal Machine Rubies Link to comment
Helene Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I can understand your disappointment, as much as I love "Concerto Barocco." Link to comment
kbarber Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 does NYCB often make program changes like that? it seems a little odd to me to advertise one program and let people buy tickets for it and then change it to something (almost) completely different. Link to comment
abatt Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 No, it doesn't happen often. Jan 23 is a date when all tickets will be $29 in their effort to entice new audiences. (You could not buy Jan 23 as a single ticket performance, but it was available as part of a subscription.) I guess they thought that Jewels was too refined and lovely for the new audiences they are trying to attract, so they felt the need to dumb down/"modernize" the program. Personally, Kammermusik is one of my least favorite Balanchine works, and don't even get me started on Martins' Infernal Machine. Link to comment
Helene Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 NYCB rarely makes changes. Back when there schedule was starting the Winter Season with one week of rep before "Nutcracker" until the first week of January, and then rep straight through the last Sunday in February -- and there were two performances each on Saturday and Sunday -- and then started up again for two straight months from the end of April until the end of June, occasionally a spate of injuries would cancel a ballet. I remember seeing "A Steadfast Tin Soldier" far more times than I wanted when it was swapped in for one (or possible two) other short ballet(s). They also changed the mixed rep the night of Joseph Duell's suicide to "A Midsummer Night's Dream." He had been cast in the evening's original rep. Link to comment
Drew Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Oh dear -- I can easily see why you would be upset. I find the change of rep mystifying even from a "dumbing down" point of view--though perhaps they thought they were making the program more appealing to a young audience by including more modernist and contemporary work. Still baffling, especially since Jewels is a famous and popular work that many people (not just Abatt) may have chosen deliberately even if they were also drawn by the $29.00 price. I am coming up to NY especially for Jewels the week after...(and some other works including the new Scarlett--but Jewels was the big attraction). I hope they don't change that program too! I think unless I heard that it was due to a plague of unexpected injuries I might even be moved to write a letter of complaint, the "programs subject to change" fine print notwithstanding. Link to comment
susanger Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 At least this is a program that will use live music. Didn't they do a $29 night recently that used all recorded music? Link to comment
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