New York City Ballet 2022-2023 season

[Marta]

13 minutes ago, abatt said:

They should be giving Ulbricht lead roles in neo-classical ballets like Stravinsky Violin  (the acrobatic pas).

 

YES!  I hope some VIP at City Ballet is reading this but I doubt they would be influenced by audience opinion.  At this late point in his career I would be surprised if he were cast in juicy lead roles like Stravinsky Violin.

[bellawood]

2 hours ago, Marta said:

YES!  I hope some VIP at City Ballet is reading this but I doubt they would be influenced by audience opinion.  At this late point in his career I would be surprised if he were cast in juicy lead roles like Stravinsky Violin.

He does do Symphony in 3. I've always wondered if his partnering is an issue? You know, always Puck or the faun in 4 seasons or the second role in Mozartiana (or La Porte et Le Soupir). Or is he really that much shorter than Joaquin or Anthony Huxley that it matters? Did he ever do Allegro Brillante? 

 

edited to add: and of course Prodigal, which has crazy partnering but is really different than other ballets?

Edited September 23, 2022 by bellawood

[canbelto]

Sterling Hyltin was replaced in Duo tonight by Indiana Woodward.

[vipa]

30 minutes ago, bellawood said:

He does do Symphony in 3. I've always wondered if his partnering is an issue? You know, always Puck or the faun in 4 seasons or the second role in Mozartiana (or La Porte et Le Soupir). Or is he really that much shorter than Joaquin or Anthony Huxley that it matters? Did he ever do Allegro Brillante? 

 

edited to add: and of course Prodigal, which has crazy partnering but is really different than other ballets?

I agree that at this point in his career Ulbricht's rep is unlikely to expand. As far as I know he never did Allegro Brillante. I think he would have been great in Donizetti Variations. As far as partnering goes, it can be worked on and improved. Mejia didn't walk into NYCB a great partner, and over at ABT Simkin took a while to become a decent partner. In comparing Ulbricht's height to others, sometimes with shorter men, it isn't a matter of exact height, it's a matter of proportions. My best guess is that Ulbricht's overall look and proportions were deemed wrong for certain roles, by TPTB. I've always been a Ulbricht fan, I think we've all been cheated!

[abatt]

Tonight  in addition to the replacement of Hyltin in Duo, Mejia was replaced in Piano Pieces by Villani-Velez.

According to the lobby casting board, on Saturday Mejia is replaced in Tschai pas by Gordon.  Also, Chan replaces Walker in Raymonda Variations.  No updates yet for next week's casting.

Hyltin is still listed as the sleep walker for tomorrow night.

[cobweb]

Thanks for the casting updates, abatt. Wow, Walker and Mejia out, possibly Hyltin — not a good way to start the season. Since it seems like they’re not posting casting updates online, maybe BAers can make a habit of checking the lobby casting sheet and posting any updates. 

[BalanchineFan]

On 9/15/2022 at 5:40 PM, fondoffouettes said:

I didn't care at all for Bouder when I saw her in Scotch Symphony before the pandemic, and her shoes squeaked like crazy throughout (hopefully that's no longer an issue). But I agree that perhaps the ballet is a way for her to get back onstage. 

In her Instagram post, I thought she was indicating that she'd be dancing the first movement of Symphony in C at the fall gala. But I see on the casting sheet that they're only doing the fourth movement of the ballet, so her role will be much more limited. What a truly odd thing to program for the start of a gala; I can't imagine what it would be like to watch that movement in isolation, without proper buildup to that big finale. Oh well...

At SAB they danced only the fourth movement of Symphony in C. I thought it worked well. It's rousing piece on its own, though it doesn't last that long.

[cobweb]

Casting updates from the lobby, sheet dated today. 
tonight - Phelan replaces Hyltin in Sonnambula. 
Saturday mat - Chan replaces Walker in Raymonda, Gordon replaces Mejia in   tschai pas. 
Saturday eve - villarini Velez replaces Mejia in Piano Pieces

sunday - Furlan replaces Walker in Divertimento. 
No changes announced for next week. 
 

[Jacqueline]

Thank you, cobweb!   Appreciate your updates and insights as always (and yes, go to the high school reunion! Feel free to PM me on that.  I didn't go for many years and was really pleasantly surprised when I ripped off the Bandaid and joined in. Now I wouldn't miss one.)

I will be flying in from Texas to attend the performances next Thursday and Friday, and both performances on Saturday. Fingers crossed it all goes well in terms of the health of the dancers (and the performance of American Airlines!). I will report....

[vipa]

1 hour ago, cobweb said:

Casting updates from the lobby, sheet dated today. 
tonight - Phelan replaces Hyltin in Sonnambula. 
Saturday mat - Chan replaces Walker in Raymonda, Gordon replaces Mejia in   tschai pas. 
Saturday eve - villarini Velez replaces Mejia in Piano Pieces

sunday - Furlan replaces Walker in Divertimento. 
No changes announced for next week. 
 

Wow a lot going on. Thank you for the update. I'm sorry to hear of anyone's illness or injury (hope another round of COVID hasn't hit the company), but I admit I look forward to seeing Chan in Raymonda on Sat. Sorry for Hyltin. She's retiring in a few months, and it's sad to see her miss shows.

[cobweb]

Intermission report. Another great showing for the scintillating Divertimento No . 15. The yellow and blue tutus are so beautiful. I did a quick online search for a closeup of the costumes but came up empty. Back when I was on instagram years ago there was someone in the costume shop who used to post closeups of the intricate costumes. Does anyone know who that is and is she, or the costume shop, still posting? 
 

[nanushka]

6 minutes ago, cobweb said:

Intermission report. Another great showing for the scintillating Divertimento No . 15. The yellow and blue tutus are so beautiful. I did a quick online search for a closeup of the costumes but came up empty. Back when I was on instagram years ago there was someone in the costume shop who used to post closeups of the intricate costumes. Does anyone know who that is and is she, or the costume shop, still posting? 
 

There are some great closeup shots on the new video they have up with Emilie Gerrity.

[cobweb]

2 hours ago, nanushka said:

There are some great closeup shots on the new video they have up with Emilie Gerrity.

Thanks, nanushka! Those are some great shots. I'm glad they gave the costumes some love in this video. I also discovered there's an instagram hashtag, #divertimentono15, where there are some good shots. 

Comments on tonight's performance. Joseph Gordon has upped his elegance, control, and grandeur this season. Just beautiful to watch. Divertimento delights. As I've commented before, I love the Minuet, and especially when the ladies come forward two by two, and most especially that moment when Christina Clark and Malorie Lundgren grand jete. Honestly I get choked up by the whole thing. I look forward to seeing Jovani Furlan debut on Sunday. I wonder how much time he had to learn it, but Walker is out and Joseph Gordon needs a break. 

I'm enjoying Scotch Symphony. The guys in green kilts and crimson jackets make a big impact. Not sure if they are more menacing or more protective, but they move with such sharpness and clarity, and the guys are so well rehearsed and very much in sync, that it packs a wallop. Alec Knight and Victor Abreu as the demisoloists both looked sharp. Knight seemed to be on an upward trajectory a few years ago then stalled. He seems to have a lot of untapped potential. Also Baily Jones in the red kilt solo was wonderful.  Jovani Furlan looked great. Ashley Bouder... hmmm... there seemed to be a claque down in the orchestra house left... just wish they would assign this to someone who can deliver, draw in the audience, and make a case for keeping Scotch in the regular repertory.

I know Sonnambula has a reputation for being a snooze, so to speak, but I'm enjoying it. What a strange piece, shifting in mood, introducing the main character late in the game, clearly a narrative but it doesn't cohere, and just overall what does it all mean?? Is there some back story to this that Balanchine adapted? Anyway, a few comments on the divertissements. The quartet of Boisson, Maxwell, Gabriel, and Zuniga all looked excellent. This is the second time I've seen Jacqueline Bologna and Maxwell Read in the pas de deux. I've never thought Bologna was particularly special, but she takes control of the stage here, her feet and her line are more beautiful than I ever noticed before. Maxwell Read doesn't have the most elegant line, with kind of an unwieldy chin, but he has a large, generous presence. Finally, Daniel Ulbricht as Harlequin delivers!

Wondering about all the replacements and casting changes. I'm kind of assuming that this may be driven by COVID and the performers (and backstage too, probably) being tested regularly. I'm not an epidemiologist, obviously, but I do wonder at what point should symptoms, rather than just a positive COVID test for someone who may be asymptomatic, dictate that someone cannot do their job. 

 

 

[Coryphée]

I don’t understand casting Ashley Bouder in Scotch Symphony. She is anything but an ethereal sylph and drained the poetry from the ballet. La Sonnambula was suitably mysterious with its Gothic-novel scenery, haunting music and strange story. Taylor Stanley and Sara Mearns were perfect. I was sorry to miss Hyltin in this role, but Unity Phelan was very good. As everyone has said, Ulbricht is a fantastic Harlequin.

[Drew]

19 hours ago, cobweb said:

 

Wondering about all the replacements and casting changes. I'm kind of assuming that this may be driven by COVID and the performers (and backstage too, probably) being tested regularly. I'm not an epidemiologist, obviously, but I do wonder at what point should symptoms, rather than just a positive COVID test for someone who may be asymptomatic, dictate that someone cannot do their job. 

 

 

Someone asymptomatic is still contagious for some portion of time. And anyone who catches Covid from that person will not necessarily also be asymptomatic ...

Of course all kinds of things could be driving the casting changes.

Edited September 25, 2022 by Drew
Relied on Spellcheck forgetting that Spellcheck does not actually understand English.

[California]

6 hours ago, cobweb said:

I know Sonnambula has a reputation for being a snooze, so to speak, but I'm enjoying it. What a strange piece, shifting in mood, introducing the main character late in the game, clearly a narrative but it doesn't cohere, and just overall what does it all mean?? Is there some back story to this that Balanchine adapted?

Anna Kisselgoff's 1983 review addresses some factors that might have motivated Balanchine: https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/08/arts/ballet-la-sonnambula.html

I don't know if that is public access, so here are some interesting insights:

As a ghost story derived from 19th-century sleepwalker tales, it would seem too romantic for his taste. And yet it moves along anything but literally. For although the ballet has a story, it is one told on an allegorical plane. A baron holds a ball. A poet enters, flirts with the baron's mistress, but is drawn into a fatal encounter with a sleepwalker, the baron's wife.

Themes rather than narrative hold sway. The poet is the artist alienated by society. The beauty he seeks in life is available to him only in death. Repeatedly, the social dances of the guests symbolize a frivolous society that covers up feeling. When the poet dies, it is his fellow artists - the dancers hired as entertainers - who carry him and place him in the arms of the sleepwalker.

[abatt]

Last night was my first viewing of Bouder since she returned after a one year absence.  I thought her performance was fine, but the weight gain is very obvious.  In particular, her upper arms have become distractingly unappealing. Hopefully over the next few months she can regain her form.  Yes, she seemed to have a cheering section in the audience on Friday evening.  This may be her last hurrah for Scotch.  She's been doing it for a very long time.  It's time to hand the role over to others.  My votes:  Nadon and Woodward.

Phelan improved compared to her debut as the Sleep Walker, but she still has a way to go. She did double duty on Friday as she was in both Divertimento and Sonnambula. 

A particular note about Nadon in Piano Pieces from the other night.  Utterly breathtaking.

Also kudos to Hod, who is looking quite splendid thus far.

MVP - Joesph Gordon.  A gorgeous classical dancer.  Beautiful line, wonderful elevation, landing always in clean positions. 

[cargill]

There is a very interesting article in Ballet Review by Elizabeth Kendall about "La Sonnambula" and its origins which is online here.  

http://www.balletreview.com/images/Ballet_Review_44-1_La_Sonnambula.pdf

Edited September 24, 2022 by cargill

[California]

37 minutes ago, cargill said:

There is a very interesting article in Ballet Review by Elizabeth Kendall about "La Sonnambula" and its origins which is online here.  

http://www.balletreview.com/images/Ballet_Review_44-1_La_Sonnambula.pdf

Really fascinating! Thanks for posting. And isn't it sad we don't have more venues where work like this can be published, now that Ballet Review has shut down.

http://www.balletreview.com/

[canbelto]

Sterling will be back tonight:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci5M95pgwjO/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[Marta]

10 hours ago, cobweb said:

Thanks, nanushka! Those are some great shots. I'm glad they gave the costumes some love in this video. I also discovered there's an instagram hashtag, #divertimentono15, where there are some good shots. 

... I know Sonnambula has a reputation for being a snooze, so to speak, but I'm enjoying it. What a strange piece, shifting in mood, introducing the main character late in the game, clearly a narrative but it doesn't cohere, and just overall what does it all mean?? Is there some back story to this that Balanchine adapted? Anyway, a few comments on the divertissements. The quartet of Boisson, Maxwell, Gabriel, and Zuniga all looked excellent. This is the second time I've seen Jacqueline Bologna and Maxwell Read in the pas de deux. I've never thought Bologna was particularly special, but she takes control of the stage here, her feet and her line are more beautiful than I ever noticed before. Maxwell Read doesn't have the most elegant line, with kind of an unwieldy chin, but he has a large, generous presence. Finally, Daniel Ulbricht as Harlequin delivers!

 

 

 

I love Balanchine's La Sonnambula. Someone called it Balanchine Gothic and it fits.  It shows us that if Balanchine wants to "tell a story", it will be unique.  La Valse seems to be in the same category.  The music is influenced by Bellini's opera La Sonnambula but the plot is totally different in the opera.  Yes, the protagonist is a sleepwalker.  Nobody dies in the opera.  Not sure if anyone is sure what it all means!

[Dancingdemon]

14 hours ago, Coryphée said:

I don’t understand casting Ashley Bouder in Scotch Symphony. She is anything but an ethereal sylph and drained the poetry from the ballet. La Sonnambula was suitably mysterious with its Gothic-novel scenery, haunting music and strange story. Taylor Stanley and Sara Mearns were perfect. I was sorry to miss Hyltin in this role, but Unity Phelan was very good. As everyone has said, Ulbricht is a fantastic Harlequin.

I'm guessing she was cast in Scotch Symphony because the costume hides her weight gain better than the costumes for the other ballets. Her weight gain will probably be more obvious at the Fall Gala when she performs in Symphony in C. I'm actually surprised they let her onstage...

[canbelto]

When I saw Bouder on Tuesday night she didn't look out of shape to me. At least not visibly. But her dancing was leaden and effortful. She used to be such a strong, fast, dynamic dancer. I was not used to seeing her so careful and slow.

[Royal Blue]

Divertimento No. 15 is one of the ballets uppermost in my mind when reflecting on the purpose and significance of the art form. Among those artworks, for me, that give the impression of encompassing the answer to the mystery of life ... beauty ... art … love …

Is it any wonder, consequently, that it is choreographed to music by a towering composer whose body of work —astonishing in its range and quality— during a short lifespan itself amounts to a monumental enigma? An excellent example of Mozart's genius is how in a type of composition deemed "light and entertaining" he introduces during its andante movement a sublime note of gentle melancholy. Balanchine's response in choreographing this section for successive pas de deux instead of a single one is masterful.

Considering (for one thing) how gorgeous the "Minuet" segment for the female corps is, there is no weak role out of the sixteen in the cast of Divertimento. Nor a weak moment  in the entire work, actually. That slight step and/or thrust of the body backwards, however, makes me somewhat partial towards the glorious third and fourth variations.

While unhesitating in my preference for the second cast (led by the phenomenal Tiler Peck), the first is immensely satisfying also —with the performances by Unity Phelan and Joseph Gordon notably being utterly thrilling and unmissable. Amongst the fantastic dancing by the members of the second cast is the welcome debut in Divertimento this season by Isabella LaFreniere, whose majestic way of reaching out with each arm successively during the pas de deux especially enraptured me.

Categorically, Divertimento No. 15 is the highlight of an outstanding program! Though lesser works, Scotch Symphony and La Sonnambula are undoubtedly worthwhile and beautiful also. The cast of the latter two ballets having Sterling Hyltin as the lead —charming and ethereal in one role, emphatically electrifying and haunting in the other— is particularly effective.

[abatt]

2 hours ago, Dancingdemon said:

I'm guessing she was cast in Scotch Symphony because the costume hides her weight gain better than the costumes for the other ballets. Her weight gain will probably be more obvious at the Fall Gala when she performs in Symphony in C. I'm actually surprised they let her onstage...

The costume did not hide the weight gain.  Maybe the costume is less exposed than a leotard.  

Given how much Bouder has given over the years, I think the company is correct to give her some leeway and time to get back in shape.  Based on a prior article in the NY Times, it appears that Abi Stafford was not afforded that opportunity.