ABT Giselle: Met 2023

[ABT Fan]

I’m happy to hear that Shevchenko was so wonderful last night. I haven’t seen her Giselle yet and would like to, but just couldn’t do a fourth show this week. When I saw her and Royal do Songs of Bukovina awhile back, I thought they were a marvelous pair, completely in sync in every way. But, as abatt noted above, when pairings are shuffled around so much it’s hard to build on chemistry and really get comfortable with someone. Only Seo/Stearns and Brandt/Cornejo are regularly paired together. 

[MRR]

Also attended the Wednesday double header.  I rarely commit to this many Giselles as it is not my favorite ballet (heresy on this forum?), even with the beautiful, moving images and pathos of the 2nd act. But this work is integral to ABT's rep and the casts were tempting, so I'm glad to have went.

Matinee

Catherine Hurlin in the title-role has fast become my favorite ballerina in the company after a vivid, colorful Odette/Odile last year and show stealing run as Gertrudis in LWFC.  Her Giselle was a valiant, if incomplete, effort, the aspects of frail peasant turned ghost not fully in her wheelhouse dramatically.  She seemed conscious of overacting Act I, careful to not turn this into Lise or Swanhilda, that she often blended in with the ensemble.  Her big moments at the end of the act mostly delivered---Spessivtseva was lovely, if not as free and abandoned as she is capable, and the mad scene was auspicious with a striking balance of mortal, feral, and spiritual.  Her running through the crowd was highly effective, darting around the stage as if possessed and not in control over herself or her body. The plucking of the petals was subtle and resigned, and her anger, not merely her heartbreak, spurred on the scene, as if Giselle with a stronger heart could have fought back.

Her Act II didn't fully inhabit the spiritual realm despite an impressive entrance with fast, beautifully shaped arabesque hops, and forceful jetes that begged, somehow, for a bigger stage.  Her interpretation was remote in places, but serene and empathetic at best, with a force pleading to save Albrecht, expressively poignant in the closing minutes.  Technically the entrechats were strong---a real six in the adagio, and high quatres in the variation that became somewhat blurred as the tempo sped up.  She has a strong line with good high a la seconde and arabesque penchee descending slowly to a fairy high peak of the leg.  Her port de bras, better coached in Act II, sometimes bend too much at the wrist and not enough at the below, particularly when going through 5th position, and her portrayal, celestial and a bit blank, wasn't distinctive as it has been in other roles.  Perhaps Giselle isn't "her" role, at least as of yet, but Hurlin is a memorable and worthwhile ballerina, her promotion to principal entirely merited.

Daniel Camargo does justify the hype I have read on here, his performance a sort of middle ground of Bell's highly virtuosic but somewhat blank showing on Tuesday and Cornejo's riveting but diminished technical effort in the evening.  He is handsome with a taught line, high technical acumen, and a sort of masculine, romantic charisma.  His Act I was more engaging for me than some others:  he has grown up in privilege and completely unaware of the implications of what he is doing.  There is love for Giselle, but he has no idea what to do with it.  He was forceful against Hilarion (an excellent Jarod Curley) for an imposing faceoff. 

The second act showed his excellent partnering and an accomplished, if unsensational, classical variation.  This is an interesting comparison with Bell on Tuesday, who bored me for much of the ballet but handily delivered the most important three minutes for Albrecht:  the solo and entrechat six.  Daniel has all the goods but a few too many sloppy moments---a missed beat in the second cabriole, an off kilter quintuple pirouette that should've been left at four, and not consistently square landing or preparation of double tour---that collectively somewhat diminished his excellence.  The sixes were commendable---not exceptional once again---starting off clean and somewhat low in the first 16ish and flagging quite a bit around 23-30.  He wasn't as anguished as I had hoped for, and he collapsed ahead of the music, but his ending walk was visually and emotionally powerful, distinctive, and fitting of his characterization.

Fangqi Li has a baseline interpretation of Myrtha, conveying a rehearsed authority and elegance without delivering anything individual of the role.  Considering the short preparation and her lack of experience, she was fine, if frankly not as good a dancer as Moyna and Zulme (Breanne Granlund/Zimmy Coker).  Her biggest ace in the hole is her jump, light, hovering in the air and suspended, without apparent force or effort.  The jetes floated around the stage, but this did not carry over to her beats, the entrechat six simply not there.  Not an embarrassment, she maintained poise, good placement, and calm.  Betsy McBride in the peasant pas did not leave a great impression:  an untucked ribbon can happen to anyone, but the low, splatty grand jetes, pasted on smile, and awkward position of arms in turns were not befitting of a soloist.  Tyler Maloney was fine, skating a bit on his double tour landings, not exuding the most confident showmanship.  Granlund and Coker were among the best pairs of two wilis I've seen.  Granlund has a creamy but authoritative quality with strong, well articulated beats and jumps.  Coker was gorgeous in the renverse series, sustaining and arching each one, with such commitment to the scene like her character had a story all its own.

Evening review to come...

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by MRR

[abatt]

This week I have been thinking back to Sarah Lane's heartbreaking Giselle, and what a shame that she is no longer in the company.

[Marta]

3 minutes ago, abatt said:

This week I have been thinking back to Sarah Lane's heartbreaking Giselle, and what a shame that she is no longer in the company.

I have also been thinking of Lane's [last at ABT?] Giselle, with Simkin.  She was so wonderful; nothing was lacking.  People have been mentioning Part as a possible coach for Myrtha.  It's also a crying shame that Part was let go in such a cavalier way.

[NinaFan]

4 minutes ago, Marta said:

I have also been thinking of Lane's [last at ABT?] Giselle, with Simkin.  She was so wonderful; nothing was lacking. 

Yes, that Lane/Simkin Giselle was positively gorgeous. 

[NinaFan]

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Only Seo/Stearns and Brandt/Cornejo are regularly paired together. 

Good point.  Because of his height, Cornjeo's partnering options are limited unless they go below principal level.   Loved him with Reyes and Lane.  As much as I like Boylston and Cornejo separately, I am not crazy about them together as I find her too tall for him. 

[MRR]

Evening:

Skylar Brandt's Giselle is hard to appraise.  Her interpretation was realized, measured, and coached within an inch of its life, featuring a stamina and commitment to the role that never waned.  She had a palpable and tender romance with Cornejo, the only partnership fully in love, and her relative experience with the role showed.  But as far as her portrayal was realized, I was never convinced it was her own, for what became a well danced but frustrating evening.  

The Act I entrance and waltz were extremely good, radiant and projected, with her near collapse in the beginning far more convincing than the other Giselles.  Unfortunately, the more the act wore on, the more her doe-eyed expression remained, in what looked not that divorced from a retro Soviet, Mezentseva portrayal.  Spessivtseva was fine, but not exceptional, rushing the music in the pique en dedans/en dehors series, and not showing the same forward momentum as Hurlin in the manege.  The mad scene lost me, particularly the excessive shaking during "He loves me not."  Everything felt performative, designed for effect and to elicit a specific response from the viewer, rather than the audience being drawn in to her inner world.  This approach may work for some, (evidently it has or was interpreted differently, given certain reviews), but I wasn't moved.

Act II was better if on a similar trajectory.  The opening turning hops rising onto pointe were impressive, and her jete en tournant, executed long rather than high, landed like a feather. Ethereal and appearing as if she could float away at any second, she was the most spirit-like of the Giselles.  But here her face seemed excessively pained, like she were constantly suffering.  Even in a romantic tutu, her aesthetic suffers:  the angular knees and odd, "soup can" look to her shoes prevent her from achieving a truly beautiful line, no matter how high her extensions go (and she had a very strong, controlled developpe and penchee).  Nor did I always find her musical, as she became indulgent in the balances with her leg stretched en avant. And that more or less encapsulates Brandt:  remarkably disciplined, strong, with a marathon stamina, but without a magic that resonates.  Consummate as she is, I'm not swept away by much of what she does, her performance existing in a glass bubble.   

Cornejo gave an S-tier Act I with passionate romance and drama.  He was handily the most authoritative Albrecht with a love for Giselle that could be felt to the back row.  He was terrifyingly brooding with Hilarion and I felt the whole time we were watching A Star, the last of the phenomenal generation of ABT men from the 2000's.  However, most of his dancing is in Act II, where he merely got the job done.  No longer is there flexibility to speak of---he is tight in shoulders, hips, and back, with a rather slumping posture.  His cabrioles were effortful and hoisted up in large part by his arms, the turns and tours were better, but the substituted brises were rather anemic.  Not sure how I felt about the elevator-like angel lifts, but they were certainly impressive and a virtuosic feat.  His ending was entirely different from Camargo's, walking downstage center as the curtain draped to its close, as if he were entering an uncertain beyond.   Cornejo's end, as with his whole performance, showcased mastery of art and stagecraft, if not entirely overcoming the more than visible wear and tear of his technique.

Misseldine had even greater authority than on Tuesday, though her beats in the assembles were muddy (if completed at all), more so than I recall with her earlier performance.  She has a unique, magisterial elegance and the sky is the limit for her potential.  And speaking of:  Roxander delivered the best peasant pas in memory.  I loved his clean, stuck, diamond plie after double assemble or tour en l'air, not a shift or bobble in sight, with everything punctuated on the music.  His cabrioles were exceptional and better than all three Albrechts, with the advantages of a smaller physique and lower center of gravity.  The end of his second variation had a never ending pirouette with the note held; the audience started yelling even before he jumped for the double tour.  His partnering doesn't appear totally comfortable with the tricky en dedans turns in the adagio, but they weren't a disaster.  Any ballerina could be upstaged by such a showing, but Zimmy Coker showed interesting phrasing, an engaged presence, and generally fine technique (a turn to the knee got sort of stuck, but she finished).  Andrii Ishchuk as Hilarion has plenty of potential: maybe not dancing as big as Curley, but technically strong with good dramatic instincts.  The one semi-disaster in this performance was the six ladies in Act I:  bizarrely out of unison and poorly coached, despite largely excellent and well rehearsed corps dancing in both acts, throughout the week.  

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by MRR

[ABT Fan]

On 7/6/2023 at 12:53 PM, abatt said:

Who knows if Kevin did any coaching.  I think he may have been there to see Hurlin, who has been a part of ABT since childhood, make her debut in this major role. 

 

 

I think McKenzie would have been there anyway, for the reasons sited here. But, on Camargo’s IG he has a new story showing McKenzie on stage watching him rehearse SL. It is his production, but safe to assume he also provided additional coaching as well. 

https://instagram.com/camargosart?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[matilda]

The New York Times published a profile of Cassandra Trenary, written by Kourlas. Nice to see her getting her due. 

[ABT Fan]

That’s a wonderful article on Trenary. How incredible that she had two weeks with Seymour before she passed.

[matilda]

I find the Trenary piece a nice contrast to Shayer's "op-ed." Her quotes show humility, dedication, respect for the art form, and a genuine interest in putting her own unique stamp on roles, however successful. A real and admirable artist indeed.  

[nanushka]

Lovely article, indeed. I’m cautiously optimistic that Trenary will get more her due in terms of casting under Jaffe.

[Drew]

What a wonderful interview with Trenary —and what a compelling artist. The story about Jaffe reassuring her after her Act I Giselle? — another great anecdote. (The interpretation IS more important than the hops on pointe.) So interesting, too, to read about her work with Seymour who, more than any ballerina I ever saw, embodied exactly the goals Trenary articulates for herself of bringing a human and humane quality to her dancing. One certainly saw some of that in Trenary’s Tita. I don’t want to jinx myself, but hope to see more of Trenary in the Fall.

Edited July 8, 2023 by Drew

[abatt]

Having seen ternary in Giselle today , I now see why MCKenzie did not cast her in swan lake.

[nanushka]

Quote

Trenary, a 29-year-old principal dancer with Ballet Theater, is on a mission to be authentic — to make it seem as though, as she said, “life is unfolding in front of you through this vocabulary that is very not humanlike.”

I think this is a perfect description of what I saw in her performance this afternoon. Was it technically perfect? No, certainly not. (Among other things, she had trouble again with the hops, as described in the article; but she quickly transitioned to a different approach that served her well for the remainder.) But I have rarely seen a dancer perform this role with more life instilled into every moment, especially throughout the first act. Trenary is a stage actress of a very high calibre. She was living the role. She and Whiteside made an excellent pair, too. The Act II lifts were breathtaking, as he held her high and she reached out out into space, not with strain but with expansion. (I also thought she came out of them quite a bit more gracefully than Brandt, using just one hand on Whiteside's shoulder rather than two.) That said, I often thought she could have danced bigger. (E.g., the side-by-side assemblés in Act 2, quite underwhelming.) As I said, it was not a perfect performance — but so dramatically satisfying.

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by nanushka

[abatt]

Trenarys technique is weaker than any of the other GIselles at abt this week. Even the much maligned hee seo was far better. 

[nanushka]

40 minutes ago, abatt said:

Trenarys technique is weaker than any of the other GIselles at abt this week. Even the much maligned hee seo was far better. 

Probably true. That said, it sounds like the Giselles have overall been quite technically solid this year — no obvious duds. (I didn't see Seo, but it sounds like she's dancing quite well these days.) But I'll take a dramatically very alive and technically fine (not great) performance over a technically very strong but quite soulless one, like Brandt's. ("Coached within an inch of its life," someone above wrote; I thought that was a perfect description.) Trenary's was well worth seeing, in my opinion.

Edited July 8, 2023 by nanushka

[LIslandArts]

I also watched today’s matinee with Trenary & Whiteside. I agree with those above when I say I’ll sit through a point-hop fumble to witness the sheer magnitude of Trenary’s performance. Her mad scene was haunting, raw, and devastating to watch. You could see her reality crumble with each phrase. Instead of the overdone and overcoached “no,no,no,no” with the flower, she lays still and quietly sobs.  
 

Plenty of great ABT ballerinas struggled with virtuoso steps before her; Julie, Misty, Stella, even Hee at times. Surely we can all share the same grace for miss Trenary. She is still young, she will only improve. 
 

Whiteside was a noble prince in immaculate form today. Lovely controlled jumps (and after such a horrifying injury too) exemplary partnering and prominent acting.  Chloe’s Myrta sent chills down my spine, I hadn’t seen her perform this before. 

Patrick Frenette’s Hilarion was excellent today. Why isn’t this man a soloist?! He soared through the second act with desperation and pure fear.  His first act is quite unique too—whereas other Hilarions play the scorned unrequited love, he truly flips the script on the viewer and makes Albrecht the real villain. Watching him crumble as Giselle laid lifeless was a sight to behold. Here’s hoping Susan Jaffe will look after his career better than Kevin McKenzie. 

The peasant pas was stable and clean with Maloney & Fleytoux. I haven’t seen much of her before, she’s quite lovely. I really enjoyed this pairing today.  

In response to point made earlier about the principal men who either act or dance, and not both—the future is in the corps. So many of these young men have been held back far too long now and could be fastrracked to principal. Jarod Curley, Frenette and, Carlos Gonzalez mostly. 

Edited July 9, 2023 by LIslandArts

[MoMo]

28 minutes ago, LIslandArts said:

I also watched today’s matinee with Trenary & Whiteside. I agree with those above when I say I’ll sit through a point-hop fumble to witness the sheer magnitude of Trenary’s performance. Her mad scene was haunting, raw, and devastating to watch. You could see her reality crumble with each phrase. Instead of the overdone and overcoached “no,no,no,no” with the flower, she lays still and quietly sobs.  
 

Plenty of great ABT ballerinas struggled with virtuoso steps before her; Julie, Misty, Stella, even Hee at times. Surely we can all share the same grace for miss Trenary. She is still young, she will only improve. 
 

Whiteside was a noble prince in immaculate form today. Lovely controlled jumps (and after such a horrifying injury too) exemplary partnering and prominent acting.  Chloe’s Myrta sent chills down my spine, I hadn’t seen her perform this before. 

Patrick Frenette’s Hilarion was excellent today. Why isn’t this man a soloist?! He soared through the second act with desperation and pure fear.  His first act is quite unique too—whereas other Hilarions play the scorned unrequited love, he truly flips the script on the viewer and makes Albrecht the real villain. Watching him crumble as Giselle laid lifeless was a sight to behold. Here’s hoping Susan Jaffe will look after his career better than Kevin McKenzie. 

The peasant pas was stable and clean with Maloney & Fleytoux. I haven’t seen much of her before, she’s quite lovely. I really enjoyed this pairing today.  

In response to point made earlier about the principal men who either act or dance, and not both—the future is in the corps. So many of these young men have been held back far too long now and could be fastrracked to principal. Jarod Curley, Frenette and, Carlos Gonzalez mostly. 

Thank you for your review. I absolutely agree about the need to promote Jarod Curley, Patrick Frenette and Carlos González. Way overdue. 

[nanushka]

Speaking of potential promotions (and the male soloists currently taking up slots) where are Gorak, Hoven and Shayer? Have they performed at all this season? Shayer isn’t doing any Rothbarts; I’ll be very surprised if Hoven or (especially) Gorak does Benno. Perhaps they’re just being kept on payroll until contracts renew in August?

Edited July 9, 2023 by nanushka

[MoMo]

4 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Speaking of potential promotions (and the male soloists currently taking up slots) where are Gorak, Hoven and Shayer? Have they performed at all this season? Shayer isn’t doing any Rothbarts; I’ll be very surprised if Gorak or Hoven does Benno. Perhaps they’re just being kept on payroll until contracts renew in August?

Shayer hasn’t performed in a long time. Gorak not once this season, as I recall. Hoven had a small role in LWFC once. 

[matilda]

A little surprised to hear about Trenary's technical deficiencies. In the more classical roles I've seen her dance over the years, like Aurora, Gulnare, and Princess Praline, she's been very solid. I do think she shines most in contemporary/modern and neoclassical though. 

Shayer hasn't been on the ABT stage since the 2022 Met season (there's a whole other discussion about his situation in another thread). I will be very surprised if we see him on the roster once contracts are renewed. I think Gorak just had a small part in Whipped Cream last fall. 

It seems like Paris has moved onto character roles only. (She was one of the Bathildes this week)

Jaffe apparently likes Fang enough to have cast has as Myrta but given her age and frequent injuries I don't see her hanging around much longer. 

[fondoffouettes]

I just wanted to chime in and add to the praise of Trenary's dramatic abilities. I've rarely seen a ballerina imbue so much life and individuality into Giselle in Act I. I recall past comments about her interpretation being unconventional. I hadn't seen her in the role previously, but her performance yesterday seemed completely within the realm of a "traditional" Giselle; maybe she's adjusted her approach. There were so many little details that brought her character to life, without any of it seeming overdone. Aside from the hops, I'd say her technique was fine (not great); it didn't detract from my enjoyment of her engrossing performance. 

Fleytoux was excellent in the peasant pas de deux; I look forward to seeing more of her. Maloney seemed a bit underpowered and was sloppy in the majority of his landings.

Misseldine wasn't perfect, but she has the makings of a great Myrtha (and is already pretty wonderful). Her very expressive upper body really reminds me of both Abrera and Part.

Edited July 9, 2023 by fondoffouettes

[nysusan]

43 minutes ago, fondoffouettes said:

I just wanted to chime in and add to the praise of Trenary's dramatic abilities. I've rarely seen a ballerina imbue so much life and individuality into Giselle in Act I. I recall past comments about her interpretation being unconventional. I hadn't seen her in the role previously, but her performance yesterday seemed completely within the realm of a "traditional" Giselle; maybe she's adjusted her approach.

 

Fondoffouettes, thank you for your description of Trenary's Giselle characterization. I was curious about all the positive reviews, I deliberately chose not to see her this season because I so disliked her characterization last year at the Koch. Her Giselle was a brat - stomping her feet & pouting. At one point she was flirting so brazenly with Albrecht that it felt like she was trying to seduce him. It took me completely out of the performance and I don't even remember what her technique was like. A friend of mine said she had toned it down this year but based on your report it sounds like she has gone to a more traditional characterization, which is great news!

 

I saw the Hurlin/Camargo, Brandt/Cornejo and Murphy/Forster casts. I agree with the positive reviews of both Wednesday casts. For a debut performance I thought Hurlin was wonderful and shows a lot of potential to grow into a great Giselle, and I loved Camargo.

 

Brandt and Cornejo were terrific. I do not think she was "soulless" or overcoached at all. I do think she has room to grow in the role but I think she's pretty wonderful already. A few people have mentioned that she is a more experienced Giselle. That's only compared to Hurlin and Teuscher. Brandt only made her Giselle debut in 2020 and can't have had more than 5-6 performances in the role - hardly enough to have a fully fleshed out interpretation and certainly nowhere near as experienced as Seo, Boylston, Shevy or even Murphy.

 

In my book today's Cornejo is still better than 90% of ABT's current male principals and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. In fact, one of the complaints I always had with Cornejo was that for most of his career he was a terrible partner. He improved a lot over the past 5 years and I was super impressed with the way he did the press lift, he made it seem like Brandt was about to float off.

 

And Jake Roxander just blew the roof off in the peasant pas - lets have lots more of him please! Curley was an excellent and sympathetic Hilarion and Chloe Misseldine and Teuscher are both great Myrtas.

 

I avoided Murphy's Giselle for a long time because I just couldn't imagine her in the role. I am sorry to say that last night's performance did nothing to dissuade me. Murphy has many strengths but they don't help her at all as Giselle. There is nothing frail or delicate or girlish about her so I thought she might take the spunky, feisty approach. She did not. She gave the standard shy, guileless interpretation but there was nothing dainty or fragile about her dancing. Her technique was solid, she didn't make obvious mistakes but she is just miscast as Giselle. Her pirouettes and that developpe sequence weren't particularly buoyant or floaty and there wasn't much ballon in her jumps.  Her Spessivtseva  variation was baffling. She rotated her hops on point towards Albrecht twice but she started them a third of the way down the diagonal and ended them hardly more than 2/3 of the way down, she covered very little ground. On the other hand her manege was very fast. In the second act her technique was fine but she didn't use her head and neck very effectively and I never for a second felt that she was a ghost or spirit - she was far too solid.

 

I loved Forster. He has never been a virtuoso, he is a beautiful danseur noble with gorgeous line. He acted the role well and was a wonderful partner. He did the entrechats in the second act and did them well.

 

Jose Sebastion was pretty sloppy in the peasent pas especially in his landings but his partner Sunmi Park was lovely, very floaty with beautiful balances and a lot of charm. She really looked like a Giselle in waiting. Teuscher was a great Myrta, her height and technique serve her well here.

[stuben]

17 hours ago, abatt said:

Trenarys technique is weaker than any of the other GIselles at abt this week. Even the much maligned hee seo was far better. 

I know there are lots of Trenary fans and trust me, I wanted so much to love her performance but I would have to agree with Abatt here. And, IMHO I find it timely that this article came out on the day she is to depute, it is almost getting the audience ready to accept the changes. I understand most feel her acting can supersede her technique, however, if we are going to watch acting then I would go to the movies and perhaps they should do a Giselle movie. This is a classic and I would hope a principal can deliver all, the techniques and act as Lane, Gomes, etc. She is after all a principal and should be ready for all without the excuses. Nobody mentioned Whiteside and I have to give him the benefit of his injury but I found his energy low as well, in Act 1 I actually thought he was engaging as a brother more than a love interest to Giselle, his acting picked up in Act 2 but I was disappointed not to see the entré chats as others did in his position, the drama of that was lost with the ending.

On another note, I ended up purchasing a last-minute ticket to watch the evening show since it was dedicated to Lupe Serrano, there were many past dancers there as was her family. The historical film footages were wonderful and a beautiful tribute to see of her dancing yet I found it interesting that out of all the young company dancers she taught, they chose Lall as the only corps member to interview, I guess it was to show diversity  (exactly the issue and what Shayer mentioned in his article).

I found the evening show 10X better than the matinee, Murphy and Forster was a treat! And they truly did Lupe's tribute justice, his partnering is wonderful and he did do the entré chats (even though they were a bit weak) they were beautiful and gave an impact for the end as many of us expect. I am just happy I decided to catch this show since it made up for the earlier one.