Petra Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 I saw a very varied triple bill this evening at the Vienna State Ballet. First was Jerome Robbins' Other Dances with Hyo-Jung Kang and Davide Dato. They were a beautifully matched pair and the tricky partnering was very smooth. Kang was incredible, light and buoyant throughout. Dato had trouble in his 2nd slower solo but besides that was great. After a short pause came Lucinda Child's Concerto. The music is by a composer unfamiliar to me - Henry Gorecki. I loved the music but it's annoying to come to a major opera house (and pay major opera house prices) and get recorded music. The ballet itself looked like 7 ballet dancers in black clothes dancing contemporary dance - aesthetically pleasing but too 'up' and insubstantial. Hard to say what it would look like with Child's own dancers. After intermission- Balanchine's Liebeslieder Walzer. No complaints about the production values here - amazing singers, pianists and design. The dancers were perfect for this kind of 'atmosphere' ballet, and I loved the transformation from Viennese salon to pointe shoes. In many ways, Liebeslieder reminded me of Mr B's Nutcracker - the notion that behind a bourgeoisie social gathering lies a world of fantasy and by extension, that each of us can bring some magic into the world. OTOH there really isn’t a lot of ballet dancing... Tomorrow - I'll be seeing Klimt's Kiss. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 The Vienna State Ballet livestreamed this program in January 2022, and it was terrific. Link to comment
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