ABT 2018 Giselle

[ABT Fan]

Eagerly awaiting the start of the season tomorrow with Giselle and looking forward to reading everyone's reports.

I still don't see any casting updates on Abrera for her Giselle this week.

To start things off, here's a video of Simkin getting schooled by the one-and-only Irina Kolpakova:

 

[Vs1]

Going tonight so have to take care of the Stella Gis tix in advance while in the city .  Any suggestions? Already seeing two other Gis, bay, harleqinade , Afterite unfortunately with firebird again, whip c

Cant see another abt Rj sl dq with this casting

unless indications on replacements

[abatt]

There hasn't  been any confirmation of Stella's cancellation, but the tea leaves seem to be clear.

[ABT Fan]

Good news, I believe.

Simkin just posted an IG story showing Abrera and Stearns rehearsing the he-loves-me-knot scene on the Met stage. So, I'm assuming that's good news for Abrera and those who have tickets for her Giselle Thursday. The clip is very short and shows no real dancing, but she can't be injured, I suppose, if they're rehearsing.

Then why was her Myrta and both of her Lead Maiden's recast?

[California]

43 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Simkin just posted an IG story showing Abrera and Stearns rehearsing the he-loves-me-knot scene on the Met stage. So, I'm assuming that's good news for Abrera and those who have tickets for her Giselle Thursday. The clip is very short and shows no real dancing, but she can't be injured, I suppose, if they're rehearsing.

Then why was her Myrta and both of her Lead Maiden's recast?

Nice detective work. I caught that IG story, too. Now I'm watching others on IG at the Met to see who's there -- Hallberg, for sure, is there. Don't see Osipova. She performed at the Royal Friday night and should be arriving in NYC soon. I guess I never understood why people thought Abrera was injured and would cancel.

[ABT Fan]

14 minutes ago, California said:

 I guess I never understood why people thought Abrera was injured and would cancel.

Because her Myrta tomorrow night was recast w/ Teuscher, and her two Lead Maiden's next week were also recast. Those book-mark her Giselle, which led many of us to believe she was injured, making her Giselle recast imminent. Apparently not.

Edited May 14, 2018 by ABT Fan

[abatt]

3 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Because her Myrta tomorrow night was recast w/ Teuscher, and her two Lead Maiden's next week were also recast. Those book-mark her Giselle, which led many of us to believe she was injured, making her Giselle recast imminent. Apparently not.

Additionally, she has previously performed Myrta numerous times, and I believe she has also performed Lead Maiden in Firebird previously.  So it's not like these were new roles that she just didn't have time to learn.  Very curious.  I'm still watching that casting like a hawk.

[ABT Fan]

8 minutes ago, abatt said:

Additionally, she has previously performed Myrta numerous times, and I believe she has also performed Lead Maiden in Firebird previously.  So it's not like these were new roles that she just didn't have time to learn.  Very curious.  I'm still watching that casting like a hawk.

Exactly. I'm also keeping a sharp eye on the casting....

[nanushka]

[posted before reading to the end of the thread]

Edited May 14, 2018 by nanushka

[MRR]

17 hours ago, California said:

Don't see Osipova. She performed at the Royal Friday night and should be arriving in NYC soon. 

Just saw Osipova minutes ago outside the ROH (!), unless my jetlagged eyes were really fooling me.

[nysusan]

Not being a Hee Seo fan I never really considered going to her Giselle. But then I realized that Bolle's only ABT appearances this season were with her in Giselle so I decided to go. I'm glad I did.

Bolle was fabulous - the gorgeous line and high extensions were all there. Plus great acting and leaps that a man half his age would be proud of. He does the entrechats in act 2 and they drew gasps from the crowd.

Seo's first act was about what I expected from her, a pretty but generic affair. Her technique was fine and her dancing had a nice, buoyant quality but she didn't really hold her arabesques and there was nothing distinctive about her phrasing. No mistakes in the hops on point and she changed the direction of her head and torso - but her hops didn't cover much ground. Her acting was very bland, too. I don't know if the problem is that her face isn't very expressive but until the betrayal  I only saw one expression - happy. No shading, no coloring - just happy. Then we came back for the second act and everything changed - she was beautiful. Her arms were soft as a sigh and her epaulment was wonderfully romantic.

Murphy's Myrtha was authoritative and commanding as ever and she looked to be in great shape. K. Williams and ZJ Fang were her lieutenants and they were both wonderful. Brandt and Gorak did the peasant pdd. Though his feet & line are always beautiful Gorak's dancing looked a little underpowered. Brandt, on the other hand, was gorgeous with beautiful phrasing and such a charming demeanor. A real Giselle in the making.

[ABT Fan]

8 minutes ago, nysusan said:

Not being a Hee Seo fan I never really considered going to her Giselle. But then I realized that Bolle's only ABT appearances this season were with her in Giselle so I decided to go. I'm glad I did.

Bolle was fabulous - the gorgeous line and high extensions were all there. Plus great acting and leaps that a man half his age would be proud of. He does the entrechats in act 2 and they drew gasps from the crowd.

Seo's first act was about what I expected from her, a pretty but generic affair. Her technique was fine and her dancing had a nice, buoyant quality but she didn't really hold her arabesques and there was nothing distinctive about her phrasing. No mistakes in the hops on point and she changed the direction of her head and torso - but her hops didn't cover much ground. Her acting was very bland, too. I don't know if the problem is that her face isn't very expressive but until the betrayal  I only saw one expression - happy. No shading, no coloring - just happy. Then we came back for the second act and everything changed - she was beautiful. Her arms were soft as a sigh and her epaulment was wonderfully romantic.

Murphy's Myrtha was authoritative and commanding as ever and she looked to be in great shape. K. Williams and ZJ Fang were her lieutenants and they were both wonderful. Brandt and Gorak did the peasant pdd. Though his feet & line are always beautiful Gorak's dancing looked a little underpowered. Brandt, on the other hand, was gorgeous with beautiful phrasing and such a charming demeanor. A real Giselle in the making.

Thanks for your report. How was her mad scene? Was it "generic" as you say? I'm on the fence about buying a ticket to their Sat show; tickets are expensive at this point if you want to sit close enough to see faces.

And, I'm curious who played Hilarion and Wilfred and how they were? I think they've lost some Hilarion's recently, so I'm guessing some debuts may happen this year.

[Rick]

12 minutes ago, nysusan said:

Then we came back for the second act and everything changed - she was beautiful. Her arms were soft as a sigh and her epaulment was wonderfully romantic.

I agree! I thought Act 2 was incredibly beautiful. Seo and Bolle were just wonderful.

[nysusan]

How could I forget to mention Thomas Forster's Hilarion! He was great, his dancing was fabulous and so was his acting. He was definitely more of an in love, protective Hilarion than a bad guy Hilarion. I'm so glad he's getting more prominent roles, he's one of my favorites. I think last night's Wilfred was Alexie Agoudine. He was fine, but with no dancing its not a role I pay much attention to. Susan Jones was Berthe and she always does the mime really well.

Seo's mad scene was pretty good. She had kind of a blank eyed "cornered animal" look on her face for most of it, but it worked. 

Edited May 15, 2018 by nysusan

[ABT Fan]

33 minutes ago, nysusan said:

How could I forget to mention Thomas Forster's Hilarion! He was great, his dancing was fabulous and so was his acting. He was definitely more of an in love, protective Hilarion than a bad guy Hilarion. I'm so glad he's getting more prominent roles, he's one of my favorites. I think last night's Wilfred was Alexie Agoudine. He was fine, but with no dancing its not a role I pay much attention to. Susan Jones was Berthe and she always does the mime really well.

Seo's mad scene was pretty good. She had kind of a blank eyed "cornered animal" look on her face for most of it, but it worked. 

Thank you. I usually don't pay much attention to Wilfred either, but after seeing Patrick Frenette's emotional and very strong portrayal last year, I'm more tuned into that role now. I hope to get to see him in it again this wk. And, I agree about Jones' mime skills.

[Outside]

I am considering exchanging my grand tier ticket (1st row, pretty far to the right) to orchestra Row G, the first seat of the aisle section. I am short, but is this seat pretty good in terms of the person in front won't matter since you are looking to the side? Is G too close to see dancers' feet?

Edited May 15, 2018 by Outside

[nysusan]

10 minutes ago, Outside said:

I am considering exchanging my grand tier ticket (center section but pretty far to the right) to orchestra Row G, the first seat of the aisle section. I am short, but is this seat pretty good in terms of the person in front won't matter as much since you are looking to the side quite a bit? Is G too close to see dancers' feet?

DO NOT DO IT! I was in orch E-1 last night and the average height woman who was sitting in front of me was blocking my view all night. She kept bobbing her head back and forth (to see over the guy sitting in front of her) and I kept having to do the same.

I rarely sit in the orchestra but when I do I always sit in the aisle seat of an outside section cause that usually gives you and unimpeded view, and even if the person directly in front of you is tall, they generally only block the very edge of the stage. Not at the Met - the head in front of me was blocking the center of the stage.

I think this is less of a problem further back, but I would avoid that seat in the first 10 rows. 

Edited May 15, 2018 by nysusan
forgot to note that I could see all but the very tip of the point shoes from row E

[Outside]

Wow, you saved me Susan, thanks so much! Also thanks for the review of last night's performance. I am going for Bolle/Seo Saturday night performance, it will be the first time I ever go to the Met (from Denver), really excited!

 

[fondoffouettes]

17 minutes ago, Outside said:

I am considering exchanging my grand tier ticket (1st row, pretty far to the right) to orchestra Row G, the first seat of the aisle section. I am short, but is this seat pretty good in terms of the person in front won't matter since you are looking to the side? Is G too close to see dancers' feet?

I really love the aisle seats of the side orchestra sections, but row G could be iffy (the seating just isn't banked enough at that point). 

[Outside]

Thanks fondoffouettes, you and Susan convinced me not to do it 😋

[nysusan]

13 minutes ago, Outside said:

Wow, you saved me Susan, thanks so much! Also thanks for the review of last night's performance. I am going for Bolle/Seo Saturday night performance, it will be the first time I ever go to the Met (from Denver), really excited!

 

You are very welcome. I'm sure you'll have a great time, Giselle is one of their best productions.

[angelica]

1 hour ago, Outside said:

I am considering exchanging my grand tier ticket (1st row, pretty far to the right) to orchestra Row G, the first seat of the aisle section. I am short, but is this seat pretty good in terms of the person in front won't matter since you are looking to the side? Is G too close to see dancers' feet?

We were sitting in the first row of the grand tier very far to the right for the dress rehearsal yesterday, and the sight lines were wonderful. No heads to worry about. A fraction of the stage was cut off, but nothing of consequence. You've got a great seat there.

[abatt]

Who performed at the dress rehearsal?

[DeCoster]

Thank you for your review NYSusan.  I'm glad you were pleasantly surprised by Seo's performance.  I felt the same way when I caught her Swan Lake last year.

Looking forward to reading everyones' reviews here.  I have a small child at home now, so I'm only able to attend five performances this season.  I've never seen Boylston's Giselle so I'm giving her a shot this year.  It's a pity about Lendorf, but so it goes.

 

[angelica]

19 minutes ago, abatt said:

Who performed at the dress rehearsal?

Lane and Simkin danced Act I, and were stunning. Copeland and Whiteside danced Act II, and afterwards Boylston and Whiteside danced Act II from the PDD on.  Katherine Williams danced Myrta.

Edited May 15, 2018 by angelica
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