Giselle - February 24-March 5

[pherank]

Sasha Mukhamedov getting ready for the Mrytha role:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Co-O8xXLcXS/

And Nikisha Fogo too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Co-JI2VLYWU/

Edited February 22, 2023 by pherank

[sf_herminator]

Complete casting for the Opening Night Performance has been posted:  https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting-giselle/

Merde to everyone tonight!!  I will be there!!

Friday, February 24, 800 

Conductor: Martin West

Viola Solo, Act II: Yi Zhou

 

Giselle: SASHA DE SOLA

Count Albrecht: AARON ROBISON - in disguise as Loys, a peasant

Hilarion: Nathaniel Remez - a game keeper for the Court

ACT I

Wilfred: Myles Thatcher - Albrecht's squire

Berthe: Anita Paciotti - Giselle's mother

The Duke of Courtland: Ricardo Bustamante

Bathilde: Sasha Mukhamedov - The Duke's daughter & fiancée to Albrecht

Servant to the Duke: Andris Kundzins

Peasant Pas de Cinq: Isabella DeVivo, Norika Matsuyama, Carmela Mayo, Max Cauthorn, Hansuke Yamamoto

Giselle's Friends: Thamires Chuvas, Ellen Rose Hummel, Lauren Parrott, Elizabeth Powell, Julia Rowe, Tyla Steinbach

Peasants: Kamryn Baldwin, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Blake Johnston, SunMin Lee, Pemberley Ann Olson, Angela Watson, Maggie Weirich, Rubén Cítores Nieto, Estéban Cuadrado, Luca Ferrò, Davide Occhipinti, Alexander Reneff-Olson, Jacob Seltzer, John-Paul Simoens, Adrian Zeisel

Ladies & Gentlemen: Kaia Abraham, Jacey Gailliard, Anna McKinney, Jamie Adele Stephens, Seojeong Yun, Benjamin Davidoff, Lleyton Ho, João Percilio da Silva, Jasper True Stanford, Alexis Francisco Valdes

Villagers & Children: Supernumeraries and Students of San Francisco Ballet School

ACT II

Myrtha: NIKISHA FOGO     Queen of the Wilis

Solo Wilis: Ellen Rose Hummel and Julia Rowe

Wilis: Sofia Albers, Maisee Anderson, Kamryn Baldwin, Juliana Bellissimo, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Maya Chandrashekaran, Jihyun Choi, Thamires Chuvas, Jacey Gailliard, Gabriela Gonzalez, Petra Johnson, Blake Johnston, SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Nicole Moyer, Pemberley Ann Olson, Lauren Parrott, Leili Rackow, Tyla Steinbach, Jamie Adele Stephens, Angela Watson, Maggie Weirich, Seojeong Yun

[pherank]

Thanks for posting this SF_Herminator - since the casting will disappear from the SFB website, it's nice to have these lists for posterity. Have a great time!

[sf_herminator]

A quick post:  Last night Giselle returned triumphantly to the War Memorial Opera House stage.  Last seen in 2015, Giselle still hits all the right notes.  The Willis in Act 2 left no doubt that no other company can touch them.  Sasha was heartbreaking in Act 1 and luminous in Act 2.  Aaron was a worthy Albrecht.  Nathaniel was able to handle the balancing act of Hilarion.  Nikisha was a beautiful Myrtha.  Can't wait to see the other casts.

Last night, Wei Wang was the artist in the Meet the Artist interview.  He talked about how he landed at San Francisco Ballet School (thank to an aunt in Sacramento), his partnership with Wona Park, and how he prepared for the role of Albrecht.  It was great to hear all this as he was slated to debut this afternoon.

ALERT:  I just checked this afternoon's casting - Jasmine Jimison and Esteban Hernandez are now dancing this afternoon's Giselle.  Originally, Wona Park and Wei Wang were scheduled.  I hope they will still be able to dance on Wednesday night.  Also wonder who will dance tomorrow afternoon.....

https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting-giselle/

Saturday, February 25, 2:00 P

 

Saturday, February 25, 2:00 PM

Conductor: Martin West

Viola Solo, Act II: Yi Zhou

Giselle: JASMINE JIMISON

Count Albrecht: ESTEBAN HERNÁNDEZ - in disguise as Loys, a peasant

Hilarion: Alexander Reneff-Olson - a game keeper for the Court

ACT I

Wilfred: Steven Morse - Albrecht's squire

Berthe: Katita Waldo -Giselle's mother

The Duke of Courtland: Val Caniparoli

Bathilde: Juliana Bellissimo - The Duke's daughter & fiancée to Albrecht

Servant to the Duke: Lleyton Ho

Peasant Pas de Cinq: Olivia Brothers, Thamires Chuvas, Elizabeth Powell, Alexis Francisco Valdes, Mingxuan Wang

Giselle's Friends: Kamryn Baldwin, Samantha Bristow, Gabriela Gonzalez, SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Leili Rackow

Peasants: Maisee Anderson, Summer Brown, Jihyun Choi, Jacey Gailliard, Nicole Moyer, Tyla Steinbach, Jamie Adele Stephens, Seojeong Yun, Estéban Cuadrado, Luca Ferrò, Parker Garrison, Andris Kundzins, João Percilio da Silva, Nathaniel Remez, John-Paul Simoens, Jasper True Stanford

Ladies & Gentlemen: Kaia Abraham, Sofia Albers, Vera Cortell, Antonia Deprey, Anna McKinney, Patrice Bertrand, James Griffen, Jacob Seltzer, Arif Toleugazin, Adrian Zeisel

Villagers & Children: Supernumeraries and Students of San Francisco Ballet School

ACT II

Myrtha: SASHA MUKHAMEDOV - Queen of the Wilis

Solo Wilis: Thamires Chuvas and Norika Matsuyama

Wilis: Sofia Albers, Maisee Anderson, Juliana Bellissimo, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Summer Brown, Maya Chandrashekaran, Jihyun Choi, Carlota Cruz, Jacey Gailliard, Gabriela Gonzalez, Petra Johnson, Blake Johnston, Chloe Kinzler, SunMin Lee, Nicole Moyer, Pemberley Ann Olson, Lauren Parrott, Tyla Steinbach, Jamie Adele Stephens, Angela Watson, Maggie Weirich, Juliana Wilder, Seojeong Yun

Edited February 25, 2023 by sf_herminator

[pherank]

Jasmine with Estaban - I'd like to hear how that performance goes. A fantastic opportunity for Jasmine. Toi toi toi!

[Josette]

I attended the opening night Giselle.  I thought De Sola did a well-thought-out/well-coached mad scene, but I was not impressed by much else, as, generally, she lacked vibrancy in Act I, and lacked variation in her acting except for the mad scene; there was no phrasing in the execution of the choreography,  especially in the traditional Act I solo; her adagio in Act II was not fully realized and she danced without any expanse;  and she failed to emanate the love and forgiveness required to make Act II meaningful - she had a stern face in Act II with her Albrecht and not all-pervading love.   As in her Cinderella three years ago, she did not give back the attention from her partner that was being given her.  It was not a bad performance, but it was not a performance that I would have expected from a principal dancer who has danced other full-length ballets for several years now. 

Aaron Robison danced wonderfully and powerfully throughout, including a beautiful series of entrechats six in Act II; the stage looked too small for him because of the way he covers space. Robison's Albrecht was genuinely charming and completely smitten with Giselle and then became devastated in the moments leading up to and through the mad scene.  His last moment alone on stage at Giselle's grave in Act II was unforgettable. 

Nathaniel Remez's performance as Hilarion was fully-realized and sympathetic.   

Then we come to Nikisha Fogo as Myrtha: brilliantly danced and a brilliant portrayal.

The Act II Wilis were excellent, as was the pas de cinq in Act I. 

[Terez]

I just love reading others' comments about this production! Especially enjoyed that some of you were there on Friday night as well. I saw that Rachel Howard gave a great review of the first 3 performances (not sure if I'm supposed to include links here, so I won't -- easy enough for others to find). Josette, I went the other way on Sasha's Giselle -- I absolutely loved it and found she was much more realistic in all three iterations of the character, than dancers I've seen in past performances. Although I realize in my Bachtrack review, I didn't even mention her actual steps or phrasing or the details you elaborated on. Oops -- I was just so smitten with how honest and natural her portrayal seemed, and nattered on about that. But I am nodding at all your other comments. So nice to see Nikisha Fogo dance as Myrtha. And agreed on the Wilis who were, as per normal, a show-stealer. 

I do think those last few minutes of the ballet, as Giselle embraces Albrecht one last time, and then, his last moments alone onstage, were both just outstanding. So beautifully intense.  It made me a little dizzy, getting up after all that, shuffling out with a boisterous crowd, when my head was in that other place. (Do other people have these strong, visceral reactions at the end of ballets and movies, where you really just want to sit quietly, alone, in a dark space and come down a bit, before joining humanity once again?!)

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Terez

[pherank]

As Terez mentioned, Rachel Howard wrote about the De Sola/Robison, Jimison/Hernandez and Kuranaga/Greco performances in her piece for the SF Chronicle. It's worth pointing out that the Giselle produciton is one of Helgi Tomasson's very best ballets. Although people often complain that his abstract ballets are not very groundbreaking or memorable, his full-length productions tend to shine. But in either case, Tomasson always did play to his dancers' strengths - he knows how to make them look good. Let's see if Rojo can do the same.

[Phrenchphry11]

On 2/27/2023 at 1:02 PM, pherank said:

It's worth pointing out that the Giselle produciton is one of Helgi Tomasson's very best ballets. Although people often complain that his abstract ballets are not very groundbreaking or memorable, his full-length productions tend to shine. But in either case, Tomasson always did play to his dancers' strengths - he knows how to make them look good. Let's see if Rojo can do the same.

I agree with you 100%, pherank.  Helgi's Giselle staging is excellent, and I agree that he knows how to play to the dancers' strengths.  Curious if this particular production will live on, it really is a great production of Giselle (though I wouldn't complain if Rojo brought Khan's version over, I've heard so many good things).  

Just got back from the show tonight, I think it was Wona Park and Wei Wang's debut?  Wow, Wona has a buoyant jump, and I think her artistry has developed quite a bit over the past year or so.  A very impressive debut. 

And Wei Wang brought such nuance to Albrecht.  He's a fantastic dramatic actor - I definitely felt the character arc of Albrecht, from him being a selfish count knowing he was in the wrong in Act I, to becoming remorseful and repentant in the second act.

I do feel that Helgi has a great eye for developing dancers through the ranks, and it definitely shows for Wei Wang and Wona Park.  

Very curious how it will continue under Rojo.

[California]

10 hours ago, Phrenchphry11 said:

I agree that he knows how to play to the dancers' strengths. 

A few of you have mentioned that Tomasson plays to dancers' strengths. Could you elaborate or give an example? Did he modify/omit/add to the standard choreography?

[PeggyTulle]

Glad to hear about Wona's successful debut! Too bad she didn't get her second performance (aka swapped with Jasmine's upcoming now third performance).

[Phrenchphry11]

1 hour ago, California said:

A few of you have mentioned that Tomasson plays to dancers' strengths. Could you elaborate or give an example? Did he modify/omit/add to the standard choreography?

For Giselle in particular, I think Helgi made some wise decisions that play to SFB's strong group of soloists. 

In most other productions I've seen of Giselle, there's been a peasant pas de deux in the first act, but in SFB's production, it's been increased to 5.   It's a good opportunity to showcase a variation for one stronger soloist woman, and then a second variation for two more junior soloists/strong corps women.  And then of course two men get their own variations.  It doesn't advance the plot or anything, but it's a nice diversion from all the pantomime and setup in Act I.

Also, for at least as long as I've been going to SFB (~10 years), it's felt to me a shorter company height-wise, especially among the soloists.  And in general they're pretty strong when it comes to speed, fast footwork, petit allegro (maybe due to the fact that some of the dancers come from SAB, and SFB had a strong Balanchine rep under Helgi).  The peasant pas de cinq has lots of that - the variations have lots of toe hops, little jumps, much more so than the other Giselle productions I've seen.

It also helps that SFB has a strong school, so the kids are always show-stealers in Helgi's full-lengths, imo

[pherank]

Dores AndréAll nice points, Phrenchphry11. It does seem that everyone is expecting Akram Khan's Giselle to show up at SFB.

California - fyi, my observation (on Tomasson's choreography and coaching) was a general one - I wasn't just referring to his Giselle.

Some of the big companies seem like they take a "sink or swim" approach to big productions (e.g. the dancer hits the correct number of fouettés, and executes them as flawlessly as possible, or she doesn't and the outing is decried as a failure). And maybe a 'failed' dancer doesn't get many of the same roles in the future. That sort of ultra-competitive approach to dance. Those challenges are still there at SFB, but Tomasson always seemed to be most concerned with the overall entertainment aspect of a ballet - giving the audience a good experience. And that involves playing to the many dancers' strengths as much as possible. He didn't cast people in roles they couldn't handle well, or didn't have the necessary training for. Breakout roles for dancers at SFB always come with a whole lot of preparation beforehand. [A teenage newcomer Suzanne Farrell being given lead roles over the existing principal dancers would not happen at SFB. At least not so far.] The less good performances of classical ballets tend to involve issues with 'artistry'/acting skills, not technical issues. And if a dancer suddenly seems unusually 'stiff' and inflexible - unless they are incredibly nervous - 9 times out of 10 it means they are trying to dance while injured on some level. It's interesting how few audience members can spot that kind of issue though - Balletomanes included. I still remember when Vanessa Zahorian was given bad reviews for her opening gala performance - she slipped and then got all stiff in her execution. At the time, people seemed to think she was ill-prepared and not trying hard enough. But she had broken (I think it was 5 bones) in her foot.

I just noticed this on YouTube - Dores André talks about the Myrtha role:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAYD8Vvonec

Edited March 2, 2023 by pherank

[California]

6 hours ago, Phrenchphry11 said:

For Giselle in particular, I think Helgi made some wise decisions that play to SFB's strong group of soloists. 

In most other productions I've seen of Giselle, there's been a peasant pas de deux in the first act, but in SFB's production, it's been increased to 5.   It's a good opportunity to showcase a variation for one stronger soloist woman, and then a second variation for two more junior soloists/strong corps women.  And then of course two men get their own variations.  It doesn't advance the plot or anything, but it's a nice diversion from all the pantomime and setup in Act I.

Also, for at least as long as I've been going to SFB (~10 years), it's felt to me a shorter company height-wise, especially among the soloists.  And in general they're pretty strong when it comes to speed, fast footwork, petit allegro (maybe due to the fact that some of the dancers come from SAB, and SFB had a strong Balanchine rep under Helgi).  The peasant pas de cinq has lots of that - the variations have lots of toe hops, little jumps, much more so than the other Giselle productions I've seen.

Thank you. Interesting modification of the Peasant PdD - one element of Giselle that wouldn't trigger complaints for a major change from the standard version. It sounds like there were no significant modifications for Giselle, Albrecht, or Myrtha, which I had wondered about. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by California

[Josette]

Peter Wright’s production has a pas de quatre  for the National Ballet of Canada and, if I recall correctly,  a pas de six for The Royal Ballet instead of a peasant pas de deux but using the same music.  SFB’s production also inserts a pas de deux with variations for Giselle and Albrecht which I’ve never seen in other productions, which may explain why Tomasson turned the music for the peasant pas de deux into a pas de cinq. 

[Josette]

Tomasson’s extra pas de deux in Act I for the leads is a significant addition, giving Giselle and Albrecht considerably more dancing than in other versions. 

[volcanohunter]

3 hours ago, Josette said:

Peter Wright’s production has a pas de quatre  for the National Ballet of Canada and, if I recall correctly,  a pas de six for The Royal Ballet instead of a peasant pas de deux but using the same music.

Wright's pas de quatre version divvies up the traditional choreography between four dancers. His pas de six version has four extra dancers, but at the center there is a main couple that performs the bulk of the choreography. 

I think these recombinations are a mistake. A happy peasant couple acts as a foil to the doomed romance of the protagonists.

3 hours ago, California said:

Interesting modification of the Peasant PdD - one element of Giselle that wouldn't trigger complaints for a major change from the standard version.

So I'll beg to differ.  Messing with the peasant pas de deux is one of my pet peeves. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by volcanohunter

[Terez]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember reading that the original 1841 version featured a peasant pas de cinq, and it was only Petipa's staging later that changed it to a pas de deux.  ... and now I will hurry back to the notes I've been taking for a Giselle blog, and try to back up my tentative statement with fact!

[doug]

The "Peasant" pas de deux was performed as a pas de deux at the Paris premiere of Giselle in 1841 by Nathalie Fitzjames and Auguste Mabille according to the published libretto and press notices. The dance was also performed as a pas de deux in the St. Petersburg premiere in 1842. Versions of the pas de deux were notated by Henri Justamant and (in part) by Arthur Saint-Leon in the nineteenth century and by Nikolai Sergeyev (documenting Petipa's production) in the early twentieth century.

[pherank]

Photos from Jasmine Jimison which include a short video of her onstage performance:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpLztI1PwRe/

[Maromeo]

On 2/6/2023 at 3:50 PM, pherank said:

Would have been nice if Powell could debut as Giselle as well, but either she's nursing an injury, or just doesn't see herself in that role. 

Is that how casting works? 

[Helene]

Just now, Maromeo said:

Is that how casting works? 

That depends on the company, the dancer, the staff and situation.  There are many things that can go into these decisions, many more than these two possibilities. Usually Artistic Directors, Artistic Staff, and choreographers don't give reasons for their decisions, and it's up to the dancers to decide whether to explain.

At some point, there may be official news that can be posted here, sourced from public social media by ballet professionals, in mainstream media, etc. Or it may never be, and we may never know.

[Maromeo]

2 minutes ago, Helene said:

That depends on the company, the dancer, the staff and situation.  There are many things that can go into these decisions, many more than these two possibilities. Usually Artistic Directors, Artistic Staff, and choreographers don't give reasons for their decisions, and it's up to the dancers to decide whether to explain.

At some point, there may be official news that can be posted here, sourced from public social media by ballet professionals, in mainstream media, etc. Or it may never be, and we may never know.

Thank you. To clarify, I was asking specifically about "doesn't see herself in that role"... That makes it sound like the dancers are the ones who have a say in casting. I've seen people write that several times on this forum... Was curious...

[Helene]

Sometimes dancers do seem to have that choice, if they are able to let the AD know, and the AD takes that into consideration.  There have been dancers at PNB who have said in Q&A's that they don't see themselves in particular roles that are appropriate for their rank -- even iconic roles -- and they never danced them.  But that doesn't mean that their preferences were taken into consideration, just that they weren't cast.

There are more examples in Balanchine literature of dancers asking for specific roles and being turned down, but not as much about dancers not wanting to dance roles.  Dancers make careers out of being useful, and that's whatever the AD and staff decide it is.

[pherank]

52 minutes ago, Maromeo said:

Thank you. To clarify, I was asking specifically about "doesn't see herself in that role"... That makes it sound like the dancers are the ones who have a say in casting. I've seen people write that several times on this forum... Was curious...

As Helene mentioned, it does depend on the company, but at SFB principals and soloists had some input under Tomasson -  no one had to dance a role that they didn't feel comfortable with. Yuan Yuan Tan surprised us this season by accepting a Juliet role, even though Juliet and Cinderella-type roles are not really her thing any more. But she's ending her career soon so probably wanted one last memory of that ballet.  When Sofiane Sylve was still at SFB she avoided roles like Giselle and Juliet that she just didn't see herself in, and didn't dance. And Sofiane could have danced anything she was interested in. Powell is a promising young soloist, but I think she may be more interested in new contemporary works - just an impression I get from her. But Powell is definitely one of the better character actors at SFB - she excels at the comedy roles.

Generally though, it's tough to get leads at a big company like SFB - there could be 8 or more dancers interested in a role and maybe only 4 or 5 slots available. Right now there are 10 principal women (and that's after the retirement of Van Patten) and 8 soloists to choose from, plus any promising Corps dancers looking for their breakout role.

Edited April 22, 2023 by pherank