New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[BalanchineFan]

2 hours ago, jeff-sh said:

a short video about Chan 

 

Lovely. What a lovely dancer he is. Are those Swan Lake clips of him dancing with Mira Nadon?

[BalanchineFan]

On 10/7/2022 at 12:48 PM, abatt said:

Don't they always have to hire a male singer when WSS is performed?  Maybe that has something to do with it.  

I think they hire a female singer to sing Somewhere, as well.  None of the dancers sing it or Something's Coming. Maybe they want LaFreniere to have another go at Firebird. She was amazing.

[jeff-sh]

25 minutes ago, BalanchineFan said:

Lovely. What a lovely dancer he is. Are those Swan Lake clips of him dancing with Mira Nadon?

Yes, I think it's 2022 Winter Season performance of Peter Martins' black swan pdd

Edited October 11, 2022 by jeff-sh

[BalanchineFan]

5 hours ago, Olga said:

It seems they have banned Odessa, or at least they aren’t showing it, presumably because of an ambiguous rape scene. 

Can I just confess that I'm not a huge Ratmansky fan. I always wish he would use space better.

How many Ratmansky ballets are they supposed to keep going? Concerto DSCH, Namouna, Russian Seasons, Pictures at an Exhibition... Do they have others? New ballets are nice, but I never thought of Odessa as a keeper just based on the choreography. I saw it at least twice and I'm not sure I noticed the "rape," .. though it's possible I slept through it. IMO, there are a lot of reasons that's not still in the rep.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

3 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

How many Ratmansky ballets are they supposed to keep going?

All of them. 😉

Namouna is my favorite, but I liked Odessa too.

[BalanchineFan]

8 hours ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

All of them. 😉

Namouna is my favorite, but I liked Odessa too.

What did you like about Odessa? And why is Namouna your favorite? I'm dying to hear.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

3 hours ago, BalanchineFan said:

What did you like about Odessa? And why is Namouna your favorite?

I like Ratmansky's not-quite-a-narrative-but-not-really-abstract works with a whiff of the cinematic about them the best, and both the deliciously demented Namouna and the darker Odessa are solidly in that category. (I'm inclined to put his Serenade after Plato's Symposium for ABT in the same category.) I think Ratmansky is better at almost narrative than full-on narrative; he's not a great storyteller, IMO, but he implies stories better than anyone I can think of, with the possible exception of the very cinematic Crystal Pite.

Namouna is what you'd get if you atom-smashed Apollo*, Ivan Tsarevich, Buck Rogers, and a 1930s movie-musical set on a cruise ship. (Like this one, with Fred, Ginger, and a chorus of glamorous women in ball gowns and tutus. I always think of that scene when I see this one from Namouna.). Ratmansky used Leonid Desyatnikov’s incidental music from Russian director Alexander Zeldovich's film Sunset ("закат") as his score for Odessa. The film was based on Isaac Babel's Odessa Tales**. (Babel himself wrote a play—also entitled Sunset—based on some of his Odessa Tales material.) I haven't seen Zeldovich's film, but it doesn't sound like Ratmansky's ballet is a reworking of it, even though it's got criminal underworld atmospherics to burn. It's also got this gorgeous choreography, originally for Joaquin de Luz and Sterling Hyltin. 

* Here's Polyhymnia. Here's Calliope. Here's Terpsichore manqué 😉

** Odessa Tales deals largely with Odessa's pre-revolution criminal underworld.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Kathleen O'Connell

[Kathleen O'Connell]

20 hours ago, Olga said:

It seems they have banned Odessa, or at least they aren’t showing it, presumably because of an ambiguous rape scene. 

I think this refers Siobhan Burke's observations in a New York Times article entitled No More Gang Rape Scenes in Ballets, Please, which was discussed in this thread.

I thought the referenced passage from Odessa—in which one of the lead ballerinas gets tossed around by a group of men—pointed towards a culture that was comfortable with casual but ugly violence towards women while at the same time idealizing them. I didn't find it as offensive as the purse snatching scene in Fancy Free, which we are supposed to take as good fun—but only someone who's never been harassed on the street by strangers could think that scene depicts "good fun." I think we're to understand that the violence in Odessa is as ugly as it looks.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Kathleen O'Connell

[Olga]

Thank you Kathleen for both of your recent, insightful posts. I would be very happy if they commission and run even more Ratmansky ballets. I find him one of the (if not the) most interesting and knowledgeable ballet choreographers living today. 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Olga
Added “ballet”

[cobweb]

I am wondering about the casting for Friday night's performance of the Stravinsky Violin Concerto-Concerto DSCH-Everywhere We Go program. Since Ashley Laracey was replaced on Sunday in Apollo, I'm wondering if she will be replaced in SVC as well.... so far no casting updates online, but as we know they don't always post it online. If anyone is there tonight and can check the lobby casting sheet, please post any changes. 

[abatt]

I'm also curious as to whether Bouder will be dancing in Vienna Waltzes on Wednesday, so if anyone sees a change in the lobby casting board please post.  thanks.

[Helene]

I think Ratmansky did a fantastic job with his Don Quichotte, especially fleshing out the part of Don Q.  I also adored his Little Humpbacked Horse, although that might look like not-quite-a-narrative to people who aren't familiar with the tale, because it's a lot of short-hand for audience for whom it isn't as familiar as their childhood stuffed toy.

I wanted to love The Golden Cockerel, but it was created for Danish Royal Ballet, and in it was the last role created for the great Thomas Lund, and the sensibility and mime style is so antithetical to Bournonville characterization and mime, that the contrast is too discordant for me, even if it played in the new, modern theater.

[vipa]

49 minutes ago, abatt said:

I'm also curious as to whether Bouder will be dancing in Vienna Waltzes on Wednesday, so if anyone sees a change in the lobby casting board please post.  thanks.

Bouder did post on instagram that she is reprising her role in Vienna Waltzes this week. https://www.instagram.com/p/CjjsiNtjyLz/.

Guess that doesn't necessarily mean she'll do both Wed. and Sat. 

[abatt]

14 minutes ago, Helene said:

I think Ratmansky did a fantastic job with his Don Quichotte, especially fleshing out the part of Don Q.  I also adored his Little Humpbacked Horse, although that might look like not-quite-a-narrative to people who aren't familiar with the tale, because it's a lot of short-hand for audience for whom it isn't as familiar as their childhood stuffed toy.

I wanted to love The Golden Cockerel, but it was created for Danish Royal Ballet, and in it was the last role created for the great Thomas Lund, and the sensibility and mime style is so antithetical to Bournonville characterization and mime, that the contrast is too discordant for me, even if it played in the new, modern theater.

I would add Ratmansky's  reconstruction of Giselle as a major achievement, and the most fascinating Giselle I've ever seen. I saw it in a cinema broadcast.

I also loved his reconstruction of Flames of Paris and Bright Stream.

[California]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I would add Ratmansky's  reconstruction of Giselle as a major achievement, and the most fascinating Giselle I've ever seen. I saw it in a cinema broadcast.

I also loved his reconstruction of Flames of Paris and Bright Stream.

I would add the Trilogy, especially Symphony No. 9, which stands alone.

His reconstructions of Giselle and Swan Lake are both extraordinary and I wish we could see both in NYC or Kennedy Center. I saw the reconstruction of Giselle in the Bolshoi theater stream in January 2020 and the United Ukraine Ballet in London last month. If they could get funding, I think it's a safe bet the Ukrainian production would be a huge hit here.

[abatt]

Yes, I forgot the Trilogy.  I loved the first and last ballets in the Trilogy; the middle one was not as strong.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

I also adored his Little Humpbacked Horse

I loved it too. (I certainly loved Vladimir Shklyarov and Evgenia Obraztsova in the lead roles.)

I do think Ratmansky's reconstructions are more successful than the story ballets he creates "from scratch." But even then, I think he makes the occasional misstep when it comes to storytelling matters like focus and pacing.

[Royal Blue]

Sunday's performance of Apollo with Emilie Gerrity as Polyhymnia was superb. Next to the fantastic Tiler Peck, Indiana Woodward and Adrian Danchig-Waring, Ashley Laracey at this juncture unfortunately appeared frail. That casting change, therefore, was entirely justified. On the other hand, Laracey is glorious in Vienna Waltzes and Stravinsky Violin Concerto, and is still happily scheduled to dance in both this week.

[BalanchineFan]

On 10/11/2022 at 11:00 AM, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I like Ratmansky's not-quite-a-narrative-but-not-really-abstract works with a whiff of the cinematic about them the best, and both the deliciously demented Namouna and the darker Odessa are solidly in that category. (I'm inclined to put his Serenade after Plato's Symposium for ABT in the same category.) I think Ratmansky is better at almost narrative than full-on narrative; he's not a great storyteller, IMO, but he implies stories better than anyone I can think of, with the possible exception of the very cinematic Crystal Pite.

Namouna is what you'd get if you atom-smashed Apollo*, Ivan Tsarevich, Buck Rogers, and a 1930s movie-musical set on a cruise ship. (Like this one, with Fred, Ginger, and a chorus of glamorous women in ball gowns and tutus. I always think of that scene when I see this one from Namouna.). Ratmansky used Leonid Desyatnikov’s incidental music from Russian director Alexander Zeldovich's film Sunset ("закат") as his score for Odessa. The film was based on Isaac Babel's Odessa Tales**. (Babel himself wrote a play—also entitled Sunset—based on some of his Odessa Tales material.) I haven't seen Zeldovich's film, but it doesn't sound like Ratmansky's ballet is a reworking of it, even though it's got criminal underworld atmospherics to burn. It's also got this gorgeous choreography, originally for Joaquin de Luz and Sterling Hyltin. 

* Here's Polyhymnia. Here's Calliope. Here's Terpsichore manqué 😉

** Odessa Tales deals largely with Odessa's pre-revolution criminal underworld.

@Kathleen O'Connellthank you for such a complete reply! I do like the Odessa duet between Joaquin De Luz and Sterling Hyltin. It has a weird creepy-ness that cuts its sweetness. A lot is going on. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to see another Ratmansky, but I may try harder to stay awake if one of his ballets "appears" on a program I'm seeing. Particularly to see if I can observe the references you've laid out here. Thank you!

I'm a big fan of Crystal Pite, too. 

Edited October 12, 2022 by BalanchineFan

[cobweb]

Just in from a second viewing of the Episodes/Vienna Waltzes program. I enjoyed it more this time as I went in with adjusted expectations from the first time, when it seemed like there wasn’t enough ballet. 
Ashley Laracey is the epitome of refinement, making In the Vienna Woods, which can easily get dull, into something beautiful and moving. I was so focused on her I didn’t notice Peter Walker all that much, but he also had a beautiful bearing. His eyes don’t project all that much, making it hard to sense a connection with his partner.  The ladies of the corps behind Laracey all looked like lovely young dancers, but they have a long, long way to go to match her refinement and delicacy. 
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of Ashley Bouder, dancing with Joseph Gordon in Voices of Spring. The young ladies behind her looked far more appealing, and really they should give this role to Emma von Enck, who would dance the heck out of it. It is painful to see a great dancer like Ashley Bouder in such diminished form. Just painful. Joseph Gordon got through the partnering and danced his solo sections with great beauty and clarity. 
I spotted Roman Mejia in the corps during the final section of Vienna Waltzes. I think he has missed all of his assignments this season, so glad to see him on the stage!

[cobweb]

Also, casting sheet update — the sheet in the lobby is dated 10/11. The only change is that Chan replaced Furlan last night in the first movement of Symphony in C. Did anyone see him? Furlan is still listed for the Sunday matinee. 

[cobweb]

Further thoughts. I am still getting used to new faces in the Gold and Silver Waltz. I keep expecting to see Ask La Cour walk on, and I miss Lauren Lovette in that enormous hat. (In general, I miss Lauren Lovette! She had good dramatic abilities, I remember how she brought the Costermonger pdd back to life, not to mention her radiance as Aurora.) Andrew Veyette and Mira Nadon have some work to do to bring some more depth and maturity here. I will be curious to see what Miriam Miller does with the Merry Widow. 

[abatt]

I was there tonight too.  I went to see Mearns in VW, and she did not disappoint.  She gave an exquisite performance with Jared A. as her partner. She brought the interpretive depth that was lacking in Unity's performance of this role. I also went to see J. Gordon's debut in Voices of Spring.  He danced beautifully.  I agree with cobweb about Bouder, although I thought this costume provided more coverage than the one in Scotch.  She is definitely diminished.   The spinning is still pretty good, but the elevation in jumps has gone missing.  I would love to see Woodward's debut in the Voices of Spring role on Saturday, but I probably won't be there.  Emma Von Enck is also a wonderful suggestion. 

  

[cobweb]

Did anyone attend tonight? I would love to hear a report on all the debuts, and also of course Hyltin and Robbie Fairchild in Vienna Waltzes. 

[abatt]

Hyltin was glorious.  She looked like she was recalling all of her past performances in a reverie during her VW solo.  And Robbie Fairchild was stellar as her partner. I miss him.

The performance made me recall when Robbie & Sterling were cast together in the debut of R&J in 2007.  They have come full circle together.   It almost made me weep recalling all their years at NYCB and all of their performances.

Maria K. was in the house.

A little too tired to write more.