Swan Lake 02/20

[volcanohunter]

And I can understand that, because it is a more exciting piece of music than the traditional version.

[BalanchineFan]

12 hours ago, abatt said:

Yes it was removed.

I wonder why they removed the Act 3 pas de quatre. I thought it was a nice piece of choreography. They've got plenty of women who can do it justice.

[cubanmiamiboy]

41 minutes ago, Leah said:

The male variation music seems to be the most commonly used- the Burmeister La Scala production also uses it along with the “alternative” music for the pas de deux.

The best way to compare is by playing the Charles Dutoit 77 version, with the original ballroom pas, the pas de six for Siegfried and the princesses. The so called "Tchai pas" is also included in the Dutoit, but we must remember it  was added after the premiere on request of the ballerina Shobeshanskaya with Petipa supplying the choreography.  Then you can listen to the Fedotov, which includes all the cuts, additions and tweaking Petipa and Drigo did in 95. I happened to like better the 77 score, particularly for act IV, sans the Valse Bluette or Un poco di Chopin and the great "stormy music" for act IV that is usually present in all versions now, but also deleted by Petipa for the 95 premiere.

Edited February 16, 2020 by cubanmiamiboy

[BalanchineFan]

13 hours ago, vipa said:

14 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

I understood that part of the article completely differently. I took it as her first SL rehearsal back, a few weeks ago (the author mentions it being the beginning of last month) where she decided to stop at 10 fouettés even though she felt fine. She was never "having difficulty" with the step, she was just being cautious and, like a good athlete, building her strength and endurance step by step, over time.

For example, you don't return from an ankle injury and do two hours of hops on pointe the first day. You do a few hops on day one and add hops each day to strengthen yourself and to be sure your body holds up. I found it funny that Tiler is quoted as saying she used to consider fouettés a "rest step." If her endurance and her health hold I see no reason to doubt her fouettés.

I agree, I think the point of the fouette mention was that in that initial rehearsal she was going to do 10 turns, ended up doing straight doubles and then stopped and said she thought it would be fine. I wouldn't be worried about the fouettes.

I say this as a dancer who has performed on that stage, as someone who has been injured and gone through physical therapy with Marika Molnar and other therapists trained by her in order to resume performing. There's a protocol and Tiler is following it.

[volcanohunter]

55 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I happened to like better the 77 score, particularly for act IV, sans the Valse Bluette or Un poco di Chopin and the great "stormy music" for act IV that is usually present in all versions now, but also deleted by Petipa for the 95 premiere.

Yes! 

[cubanmiamiboy]

And why..oh why..did Martins went away with the Two Big Swans dance, giving its valse-( and tweaking it)- to a most generic variation for Siegfried ..?!?!

I can't get over all the insanity with this production, and excuse me all those who love but I'll keep ranting.

[Emma]

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

I say this as a dancer who has performed on that stage, as someone who has been injured and gone through physical therapy with Marika Molnar and other therapists trained by her in order to resume performing. There's a protocol and Tiler is following it.

I appreciate your insight as well! From the article, I also understood that Tiler would only perform 10 fouttées and then do something else for the remainder of the music, even in performance.  Your explanation makes more sense.

Edited February 16, 2020 by Emma

[cubanmiamiboy]

Sara is KILLING IT today!! Loving her so far!!♥️♥️♥️

[BalanchineFan]

21 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Sara is KILLING IT today!! Loving her so far!!♥️♥️♥️

 

2 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

And why..oh why..did Martins went away with the Two Big Swans dance, giving its valse-( and tweaking it)- to a most generic variation for Siegfried ..?!?!

I can't get over all the insanity with this production, and excuse me all those who love but I'll keep ranting.

Gotta say, I'm really loving your updates. I saw Mearns do SL a few years back and she is phenomenal. Any thoughts on Guillaume Coté (to anyone who's seen him)?

[cubanmiamiboy]

1 hour ago, BalanchineFan said:

 

Gotta say, I'm really loving your updates. I saw Mearns do SL a few years back and she is phenomenal. Any thoughts on Guillaume Coté (to anyone who's seen him)?

He's proficient, but quite uninspiring.

Fouettenometer alert!

Mearns did 27 singles and triple pirouettes at the end. Very important to note. As the score is played in this version at faster speed than other companies-( which I love, and it's probably closer to what Tchaikovsky had in mind)- fouettes can be problematic to count and/or maintain on beat. Case scenario today. Mearns' singles were done slower than the music, hence why she was done with her 27th by the time the music was over. Her triple pirouettes at the end didn't take music time at all. 

[abatt]

I saw three casts this weekend.  For me, the only pairing that had dramatic force was Mearns and Cote.  All the other couples were fine, even better than fine in some instances.  But it was all just executing steps without any ability to convey deep  meaning.   Only Mearns and Cote conveyed a personal, emotional connection that brought the audience into their story.  

[cubanmiamiboy]

More musical cuts I see in this production. Whole bars during the entrance of the hunters at the lakeside. The end of the Mazurka at the ballroom. An addition I could go without...? The deleted-by-Petipa Love duet coda. I know Balanchine re inserted it-(I've seen it in Miami)- for his white act, but I feel Petipa was really clear about preserving the stillness of the pas, which never fails to touch audiences... particularly during the last slow pizzicattos. The 77 coda totally breaks the magic of the duet.

[abatt]

I thought that the chemistry created by Cote and Mearns made a big difference in their portrayal compared to the Bouder - Furlan and Reichlin-Walker pairings, which had zero chemistry.  Also, the small details in the performances of Mearns and Cote made all the difference.  Cote is a very charismatic actor, and he was the most convincing of the three Siegfried dancers this weekend.

 

Reichlin has utterly beautiful lines and most of the time wonderful extension.  However, sometimes you can see she is rushed to keep up, so she clips the end of a phrase, thereby diminishing the impact of the choreography.  She acquitted herself well, in my opinion, but her performance was emotionally somewhat blank.  For a debut, Walker did well, although he sometimes made mistakes in the execution of his solos. This couple was an emotional blank as far as I was concerned. 

Furlan was the most impressive technically of the three Siegfrieds.  He and Bouder are both technical marvels, but the performance left me cold.  There is a little more flow to Bouder's dancing than there used to be, but her phrasing still leaves a lot to be desired in this role.

As for the other characters in the production, Ulbricht was a marvel as the Jester.   I wish the company used him for more ballets.  Loved Gerrity in the Russian dance. 

 

 

[Helene]

I've seen Cote with National Ballet of Canada.  It's been at least six years, but I've always loved his dancing in the classics.  

[BalanchineFan]

On 2/15/2020 at 10:41 AM, GB1216 said:

It really is sad that so many wonderful dancers have this production as their Swan Lake  vehicle.  They deserve better.  I wonder if it’s on the table for Stafford/Whelan to do a new version? I think it would be well worth it.

I agree. Hopefully they've retired Martins' R&J. IMO, that was the absolute worst of his full lengths. Can't they just do Coppelia for Valentine's Day and Midsummer for June? Or get someone to choreograph a new Sleeping Beauty. Every time I look at Lauren Lovette I think she's Aurora incarnate.

Maybe Christopher Wheeldon would do a full length. Or Justin Peck, when he finishes with the movies.

I ask you all, who should choreograph NYCB's next full length ballet? And should it be Swan Lake?

[abatt]

It seems like Whelan's focus is hiring choreographers to create new contemporary work.  I think the number of new works each season must cost a lot of money in terms of paying the choreographers, designers, and rehearsal time for both the dancers and the orchestra.  Nobody wants the company to become a museum, but I think the number of new works that are box office duds every season is starting to become a  problem.  I don't think new full lengths are a priority for the company at the present time.

[GB1216]

I would really love some Wheeldon imports.  
 

I do agree that new contemporary work seems to be a focus.  However, for a Swan Lake that only comes around every 2 years or so, I think an A+ production would go a long way in getting new people in the door.  It doesn’t need to be like ABT or Royal Ballet.  It can still have a neoclassical/contemporary slant and be fabulous.  
 

also, agree re: their Sleeping Beauty.  I saw it once many moons ago and never went back.

[cubanmiamiboy]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

 Furlan was the most impressive technically of the three Siegfrieds.  He and Bouder are both technical marvels...

Yes, yes, yes. Their performance was the most exciting to me. And about Reichlen, she is definitely on the cold side. Her love duet was very technical, but quite emotionless. Her limbs are gorgeous though....

Fouettenometer alert!

She did 30 turns. Two fouettes to one double pirouette, and after a while reverted to singles. 

Maybe the clean 32 singles TO THE BEAT OF MUSIC are gone for good....? 

[canbelto]

I actually like Martins' Sleeping Beauty. I also think his La Sylphide is pretty standard.

Swan Lake and R+J need to go.

[nanushka]

6 minutes ago, canbelto said:

I actually like Martins' Sleeping Beauty.

Bad sets and costumes. Tempi way too fast. And the dramatic structure is all messed up by the intermission placement.

NYCB could really stand to get some sort of broad artistic vision for full-lengths, because as brilliant as Balanchine was they did not inherit one from him.

[BalanchineFan]

13 minutes ago, abatt said:

I thought that the chemistry created by Cote and Mearns made a big difference in their portrayal compared to the Bouder - Furlan and Reichlin-Walker pairings, which had zero chemistry.  Also, the small details in the performances of Mearns and Cote made all the difference.  Cote is a very charismatic actor, and he was the most convincing of the three Siegfried dancers this weekend.

[...]

Furlan was the most impressive technically of the three Siegfrieds.  He and Bouder are both technical marvels, but the performance left me cold.  There is a little more flow to Bouder's dancing than there used to be, but her phrasing still leaves a lot to be desired in this role.

As for the other characters in the production, Ulbricht was a marvel as the Jester.   I wish the company used him for more ballets.  Loved Gerrity in the Russian dance. 

Ulbricht was ON FIRE last weekend in Rodeo. I always think that's a fabulous role for him. 

Somewhere online there's a video of a European ballet company doing the Black Swan pdd. The drama of it is so clear and it all builds up to the moment where he drops to one knee, swears his love and Odile throws her head back in exaltation that she got him to do it. At NYCB all of that is just movement.

2 minutes ago, abatt said:

It seems like Whelan's focus is hiring choreographers to create new contemporary work.  I think the number of new works each season must cost a lot of money in terms of paying the choreographers, designers, and rehearsal time for both the dancers and the orchestra.  Nobody wants the company to become a museum, but I think the number of new works that are box office duds every season is starting to become a  problem.  I don't think new full lengths are a priority for the company at the present time.

There have always been a lot of new ballets that didn't get repeated much. John Taras and John Clifford used to choreograph on NYCB, so did Jacques D'amboise. We don't see their ballets now. New contemporary ballets aren't so expensive.  I'm pretty sure that during the season they have to pay all the dancers whether they rehearse or not. It's probably the same for the orchestra. Most new ballets don't have complex sets, and, in any case, NYCB has a costume department and scene shop on salary to create them. 

New full lengths are more expensive, and don't seem be a priority at the moment, but at some point they're going to retire all the Martins choreography. Martins is not a good enough choreographer for NYCB to keep doing his ballets long term. At least with new contemporary choreographers the dancers get to grow and learn and get a chance to be a muse to someone.

Martins' Sleeping Beauty premiered in 1991, Swan Lake in 1999 (1996 at Royal Danish Ballet) and Romeo and Juliet in 2007. What new thing will NYCB be heralding to get people into the seats, if not new ballets?

And Cuban Miami Boy is right. No one does clean single fouettés anymore, even though they go with the music.

[BalanchineFan]

2 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Bad sets and costumes. Tempi way too fast. And the dramatic structure is all messed up by the intermission placement.

NYCB could really stand to get some sort of broad artistic vision for full-lengths, because as brilliant as Balanchine was they did not inherit one from him.

I beg to differ. Midsummer is perfection, even if the dramatic action ends before intermission.

[canbelto]

4 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

I beg to differ. Midsummer is perfection, even if the dramatic action ends before intermission.

Coppelia, Harlequinade and Nutcracker are all extremely lavish, warm, family friendly full lengths.

[FPF]

1 hour ago, GB1216 said:

However, for a Swan Lake that only comes around every 2 years or so, I think an A+ production would go a long way in getting new people in the door.

Except for some fourth ring seats, every seat is sold for every performance of Swan Lake this week. I hate this production, but they don't actually need a better one to get people in the door. 

[ivanov]

1 hour ago, FPF said:

Except for some fourth ring seats, every seat is sold for every performance of Swan Lake this week. I hate this production, but they don't actually need a better one to get people in the door. 

Don't we want them to come back?