SCFTA - Added Ukrainian Giselles for June/July 2023

[ksk04]

Hot off the email:

West Coast Debut
United Ukrainian Ballet
Giselle by Alexei Ratmansky
with Pacific Symphony
Conductor Gavriel Heine

"This performance was like no other." The Times, London

"immensely moving ... everyone involved pours so much thought, heart and art into this revelatory project." The Guardian

Following historic performances at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center and the London Coliseum, The United Ukrainian Ballet will make its West Coast debut with Alexei Ratmansky’s Giselle. This new interpretation of one of the greatest romantic ballets in the classical repertoire was created specifically for the company by Ratmansky, who himself is a Ukrainian citizen.

These performances will be the first time Ratmansky’s Giselle is presented in collaboration with Liev Schreiber and his non-profit organization, BlueCheck Ukraine. Thanks to the underwriting support of Elizabeth Segerstrom and the Henry T. and Elizabeth Segerstrom Foundation, proceeds from ticket sales will benefit BlueCheck which was created to vet, verify, and fund Ukrainian-led local and grassroots frontline organizations providing lifesaving humanitarian aid to victims of the Russian invasion.

The United Ukrainian Ballet
Giselle 
Choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa
New Choreographic version and additional choreography by Alexei Ratmansky

Music by Adolphe Adam
With Pacific Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Gavriel Heine
Costume and Set Design by Hayden Griffin and Peter Farmer
Lighting Design by Andrew Ellis

Thursday, June 29 at 7:00 p.m.
Giselle: Christine Shevchenko
Albert: Alexis Tutunnique

Friday, June 30 at 7:00 p.m. 
Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze
Albert: Oleksii Kniazkov

Saturday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Giselle: Iryna Zhalovska
Albert: Denys Nedak

Sunday, July 2 at 1:00 p.m.
Giselle: Elizaveta Gogidze
Albert: Oleksii Kniazkov

 

 

In continuing annoyance, I went to buy tickets for opening night and only the orchestra is open to purchase. Why are they doing this?! Not even the Orchestra Terrace which has (in my opinion) much better seats in many places!😠

[volcanohunter]

Thank you starting a thread. California had posted the release elsewhere.

Is this similar to what happened with ABT tickets? Is there now a policy to open up areas only once the one below is well sold?

https://www.scfta.org/events/2023/united-ukrainian-ballet

[ksk04]

Thanks volcanohunter; I missed the post over there.

And about the seating--I guess? They've long closed the balcony off for many productions which I understand, but to open only the orchestra is baffling. I kind of assumed the ticket prices would be sky high to compensate, but they seemed fairly normal. I don't like to sit in the orchestra so I guess I'm going to play chicken with the possibility of some nights selling out versus will they open. It's especially strange because the Orchestra Terrace has some of the most expensive and coveted seats in the house (and some really nice cheap ones!). I bought one ticket for opening night just to make sure I don't end up without any tickets at all. I also couldn't add more than one night's tickets to my cart without the new tickets replacing the old tickets that I had previously added, so that aided my decision; these are all really, really great ways to get people to buy tickets SCFTA! Keep it up!

[maps]

On 5/8/2023 at 7:26 PM, ksk04 said:

...And about the seating--I guess? They've long closed the balcony off for many productions which I understand, but to open only the orchestra is baffling... really, really great ways to get people to buy tickets SCFTA! Keep it up!

Presenters should get box office stats from the KenCen. Ratmansky's Giselle was popular:

• SCFTA OR 1145
• KC 2198. Presented by KC.

Edited July 2, 2023 by maps
-

[Josette]

I am a subscriber and did not get any notice of this. I can finally see Shevchenko as Giselle!  

\

[ksk04]

They've opened the Orchestra Terrace (or most of it; the last few rows are not for sale) for opening night and the Sun matinee; it seems like they just did it as only a few seats are sold in that section for both shows.

[volcanohunter]

Many more sections are now open for sale. The orchestra terrace for opening night appears to be sold out.

[ksk04]

Maybe they will take this all as a hint for more classical ballet since it's obviously over-performing their dismal expectations. I bought a ticket for each cast once the terrace was opened for other shows.

Edited June 20, 2023 by ksk04

[volcanohunter]

The United Ukrainian Ballet has been posting stories of Ratmansky teaching morning class, an aspect of his work we don't often get to see.

https://instagram.com/unitedukrainianballet 

[California]

8 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

The United Ukrainian Ballet has been posting stories of Ratmansky teaching morning class, an aspect of his work we don't often get to see.

https://instagram.com/unitedukrainianballet 

Yes -- great fun to see. Worth following both Ratmansky and UKB on social media. He has personally attended all their performances in London and the Kennedy Center, as busy as he is.

His heart is clearly breaking over the continuing tragedy in Ukraine. He also regularly posts pictures of the devastation in the country, including the devastation to the cultural heritage.

For anybody in southern California: go see this company. Definitely worthwhile.

[California]

Has anyone attended the UKB Giselle? Looks like Schevchenko is doing the Sunday matinee. Elizaveta Gogidze seems to have done the first three with different Albrecht's.

I'm not sure, but it looks like they opened up all the tiers except the very top balcony.

The Instagram postings are as moving as ever, singing the Ukrainian anthem with their flags at the end. 

[volcanohunter]

I'm glad to know that Shevchenko's injury was not serious.

Dancing Giselle three days in a row with three different partners is quite a heroic feat for Gogidze!

[ksk04]

I have been on two nights and will be at today's matinee--I am hoping to see Shevchenko! I am really annoyed at either Segerstrom or the company itself for not updating cast info--every night the cast list has had glaring errors with no cast change slips or cast change announcements (I've asked ushers and one had no idea what I was talking about and the other said that when she got in they were told no "stuffers" to add). In the program, Shevchenko was still listed for Thursday and they didn't even bother announcing that OPENING NIGHT GISELLE was not the listed Giselle in the program (it was clearly Elizaveta Gogidze). Last night, same thing--Denys Nedak listed in the program as "Albert" and I assume (based on the program picture) that Oleksii Kniakzov was the actual dancer on stage. Really shoddy and unprofessional to the dancers (and insulting to the audience) all around. I could continue with the Saturday night Myrta not being the listed Myrta, Bathilde not the listed Bathilde, Peasant pas etc.

The dancers are pretty uneven (though all the women have uniformly beautiful hands) and I find some of the restorations a little unusual (Giselle sinking into a rock formation at the end / the wasted climax for Albrecht when he usually does the entre-chat sixes or brisees) but it's been satisfying overall to see Giselle several times. I enjoyed the dancer who was Myrta on opening night much more in the peasant pas de deux Saturday night (I assume her name is Vladyslava Kovalenko though she was uncredited for the Peasant pas on Sat night) and there is another dancer who did the Peasant pas on the first night (again I am assuming Daria Manoilo?) who has also been Zulmae both nights who has beautiful soft romantic arms. Myrta last night (maybe it was Vasylysa Nykyforova based on the other night's cast listing?) was much stronger overall and I enjoyed her dancing. I feel bad for Gogidze doing 3 Giselles in a row; she has to be dead. She has moments of beauty but other times seems to lose stamina very, very quickly (even on opening night) and sometimes has a frozen face, awkward arm positioning, and neck tension. I found her stronger in Act 1. Alexis Tutunnique on opening night was excellent at conveying Albrecht's exhaustion.

After Giselle is over, they have a short ballet featuring a Ukrainian double leg-amputee soldier and then the national anthem.

Edited July 2, 2023 by ksk04

[California]

I've been looking at the Segerstrom web site the last few days. It did list Gogidze for the first three with Shevchenko Sunday, although I don't know when they made that change. But I agree that they should have made some announcements when things differed from the print program.

Some of the things that seem odd were in the original 1841 production, at least according to Ratmansky interviews last year. The ending where she sinks into the ground was reportedly a special effect the original producers loved, but has been understandably difficult to reproduce in later productions. I do like bringing Bathilde back on at the end and Giselle saying it was okay - something that wouldn't work well without that sinking ground. The passage for Albrecht with something other than the entrechats or brises is supposedly also from the original or at least early versionns. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the overall cast at Segerstrom varies somewhat from the cast at Kennedy Center in February or London last September. At least a few seem to have landed full-time positions at western companies. And we can't imagine the personal struggles many are going through right now. 

[Victura]

I saw the Saturday evening performance with Gogidze and was it Oleksii Kniakzov instead of Denys Nedak? I too wish there had been more info about casting changes because I would've tried to make Shevchenko's performance today with a little more notice.

I enjoyed it overall, perhaps in part because there seem to be so few opportunities to see classical ballet in Southern California. I agree that the dancers were somewhat uneven, and Gogidze in the first act in particular seemed to have a sharper and more brittle quality of movement than I'm used to seeing for Giselle, and some of it felt a bit jarring but did hit the music beats very directly. Kudos to her for doing three Giselles in a row. The two who did the peasant pas had a very bright and energetic quality, and I liked the dancer for Myrta as well. (Not going to hazard a guess as to the dancers' names since the cast list seems mostly incorrect.)

It was a pleasant surprise to have Ratmansky co-introduce the production. As for the changes in the production itself, Bathilde and Giselle reconciling at the end was a nice touch, as was Giselle becoming a part of nature and remaining in Albrecht's memory. One thing I found quite odd was the addition of music for the Wilis in the second act - the music sounded almost baroque in style and didn't fit with the rest of the score. Does anyone know where this piece came from and why it was added?

I was not expecting anything additional at the end, but the short ballet featuring the soldier and the singing of the Ukrainian national anthem was quite moving. I'm glad these artists were able to come together and continue dancing in these times.

[volcanohunter]

1 hour ago, Victura said:

One thing I found quite odd was the addition of music for the Wilis in the second act - the music sounded almost baroque in style and didn't fit with the rest of the score. Does anyone know where this piece came from and why it was added?

I'm guessing you're referring to the fugue des wilis, which was part of Adam's original score, but which was dropped from most productions. A handful of productions include it. I've seen only three that have it, and the choreography in each case was entirely different. 

I also find it jarring and am happier when the retreat to Giselle’s grave leads directly into the adage.

Edited July 2, 2023 by volcanohunter

[ksk04]

I like the idea of the fugue des wilis dance-wise but I do not like the music--agree that it is "jarring."

 

Yesterday afternoon, Shevchenko arrived! And with a verbal announcement of the cast change from the program (but not an announcement for her poor partner Tutunnique or any of the other questionable cast listings). She was wonderful and I was glad to get to see her. She had at least two bandages on one side of her face and several on her hands and upper arms, so the fall must have been pretty serious but it was not noticeable in her dancing. She added a video on her Instagram of the Act 2 if anyone wants to see some.

 

I emailed SCFTA about the cast changes from program to the stage and this was the response: "Thank you for contacting Segerstrom Center for the Arts and for taking the time to express your concerns. I checked with our front of house team and to the best of our knowledge there were no casting changes that differed from what was listed. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns." 😂

[California]

Thanks for these reports on the Segerstrom engagement. Wish I could have attended myself!

Ratmansky has several photos on his Facebook page today and says that the run was sold out. From the glimpses of the audience I saw on Instagram, it does look like the entire theater was opened up. 

What's impressive about the Fugue: as I understand it, there's no record of the original choreography, so Ratmansky made that in the style of the ballet. It's impressive! I especially like the end, where Albrecht "flies" Giselle across the entire front of the stage. Long ago, I saw a clip of David Hallberg watching that and gasping!