ABT Met Season 2024

[ABT Fan]

2 hours ago, choriamb said:

...and confirmed that they would be performing it next year (in some form, at least) in the comment thread of another Instagram post:  https://www.instagram.com/p/C6kgRxvse8w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Speaking of freestanding excerpts from a full-lengths:  I've actually been rather surprised to have never seen Nureyev's Raymonda Act III at ABT, as it has a stature of its own as a freestanding work. (I know Kolpakova and McKenzie staged a set of divertissements from Raymonda, but that never really took root in the rep.)

Incredible news! Interesting they’re rehearsing Shades now, but hopefully that means no bobbles come performance time (those developes are nail biting to watch). 

[ABT Fan]

Jake Roxander has an enticing IG story up showing ABT’s rehearsal sheet. Under Bayadere for the corps it says “variations” with him and Boylston and then “Bocca” for the rehearsal director I believe. 
 

Actually, I’m not clear if the rehearsal is with Boylston- he may be just rehearsing with Bocca alone. Still! 

https://www.instagram.com/jakeroxander?igsh=NW95bGhkd2ExOHB3

Edited May 18 by ABT Fan

[California]

1 hour ago, ABT Fan said:

Jake Roxander has an enticing IG story up showing ABT’s rehearsal sheet. Under Bayadere for the corps it says “variations” with him and Boylston and then “Bocca” for the rehearsal director I believe. 
 

Actually, I’m not clear if the rehearsal is with Boylston- he may be just rehearsing with Bocca alone. Still! 

https://www.instagram.com/jakeroxander?igsh=NW95bGhkd2ExOHB3

Thanks for the tip! I looked at that several times. Looks like Boylston is being coached by Kolpakova. Wish I could read the rest of the schedule! Might be more hints about the fall programs.

[bingham]

Jake is prpbably preparingv the Golden Idol variation. I wonderful How they could  add that variation To the Kingdom of the Shades section

[Caballetfan]

On 5/8/2024 at 1:42 PM, Pepino23 said:

The podcast Conversations on Dance recently had Susan Jaffe on where she talks a little about programming and future performances including the Fall. 
You can listen directly on their website or go to Spotify or Apple Podcast and search Conversations on Dance episode 395. Based on this episode, it seems like she hasnt been able to really put herself 100% into her role. Hopefully with the new Executive Director thing can start moving. 

https://www.conversationsondancepod.com/episodes-transcripts/395-susan-jaffe-american-ballet-theatre 

I really appreciate ABT for what it was and what it could be again. I’m rooting for them to get it together. I think there is a combination of factors going on here including terrible fundraising and marketing. I get harassed (and I actually mean to use that word) multiple times a year from ABT to donate. However it seems like it is just a volunteer who doesn’t know how to professionally navigate someone saying no or how to navigate different options for the potential donor. It really has turned me  off to donating and I have ended up giving to NYCB instead in the past. Get in some boots on the ground who actually know how to appropriately handle givings and donations. Additionally there are some principals who have got to go. And I don’t mean because they can’t do 10 pirouettes. Yeah doing a billion fouette turns is impressive, but that doesn’t carry the whole ballet. I feel like artistry is being lost more and more for tricks. Additionally there are some promotions that I found unnecessary such as Roman Zhurbin. I am eager for the next generation to start leaving more of their mark. As much as I enjoy NYCB, and go to their shows weekly, my true love is for the classics and what ABT used to bring. I’ll be here for it as soon as it is back!

Thank you for posting this podcast link. Super interesting, and now have newfound respect for Jaffe juggling two roles. Also a nice reminder that the leadership required of an AD is monumental, it’s such a multifaceted job. Definitely piqued by the “step it up” comment. Anyone think she was referencing Trenary, Paris, Hoven or Gorak (pre-retirement)?

[abatt]

23 hours ago, bingham said:

Jake is prpbably preparingv the Golden Idol variation. I wonderful How they could  add that variation To the Kingdom of the Shades section

It could just be a program of excerpts.  For example, Boylston I believe has only danced Gamzatti, so I would assume that she could do the section with Gamzatti's big solo (with the Italian fouettes) in excerpt.   I'm not excited about showing parts in excerpt.  

[FauxPas]

4 hours ago, abatt said:

It could just be a program of excerpts.  For example, Boylston I believe has only danced Gamzatti, so I would assume that she could do the section with Gamzatti's big solo (with the Italian fouettes) in excerpt.   I'm not excited about showing parts in excerpt.  

Boylston danced Nikiya with Jeffrey Cirio as her Solor, but as we know that was several years ago now.

Shevchenko has danced Gamzatti but not Nikiya yet.  

Also in the traditional Russian version of "La Bayadere" which omitted the last act, the dance of the Golden Idol was interpolated into the Act II Betrothal Pas and the Idol had some back up boys with child dancers (in blackface if IIRC).  Makarova moved the Golden Idol solo to her rechoreographed fourth act.

This is good news if it turns out to be true.

Edited May 21 by FauxPas

[DPell]

Has anyone gotten a ticket to the post-performance toasts?  

[volcanohunter]

Usually when I've seen video of one of Nikolaj Hübbe's productions of a classic ballet, I've wanted to bang my head against a wall, but his idea of resetting La Bayadère in colonial India, in which Nikiya is Indian and Solor is British, is intriguing.

Still, to eliminate any objectionable elements, my suggestion to Susan Jaffe or anyone else struggling with how to present the ballet would be to reset it in Ancient Rome, along the lines of Spontini's La vestale. The names would have to be changed, but in this scenario the heroine would be a Vestal, who despite her vow to the virgin goddess falls in love with a Roman commander. Only the emperor decides that the commander should marry his daughter, and tragedy ensues.

A stager would have to keep a few things in mind:

Contrary to the lyrics of a Procol Harum song, Rome had only six Vestals at a time, ranging in age from pre-pubescent to those nearing the end of their 30-year commitment.

Vestals were highly privileged members of Roman society, right down to their reserved, ringside box at gladiatorial contests. Crossing a Vestal was grounds for summary execution.

However, there was also a particular form of execution reserved for Vestals accused of inchastity. The stager would have to decide why the emperor opted for a poisonous snake rather than live entombment--perhaps because he didn't want to see the commander executed as the seducer of a Vestal. Or because his daughter feared this would happen. In any case, the murder of a Vestal would be grounds for Vesta taking revenge and bringing everything crashing down on the perpetrators.

A historical consultant could help work out the details.

Edited May 27 by volcanohunter

[balletlover08]

Chloe Misseldine just posted her first sneak peak at her rehearsal for Tatiana in Onegin on her stories. I believe it's the final PDD? 

[California]

32 minutes ago, balletlover08 said:

Chloe Misseldine just posted her first sneak peak at her rehearsal for Tatiana in Onegin on her stories. I believe it's the final PDD? 

Definitely the final PDD. The tempo seems just a wee bit on the slow side. (PS. Do they ever tune the piano in that rehearsal room!!?? Good grief!)

[ABT Fan]

44 minutes ago, California said:

Definitely the final PDD. The tempo seems just a wee bit on the slow side. (PS. Do they ever tune the piano in that rehearsal room!!?? Good grief!)

I dunno - I find a partly out of tune piano part of the charm of a rehearsal room, lol. Call me crazy.

I was just thinking the other day that casting Misseldine, a very young untested soloist, in a major role that requires big acting chops like Onegin really says something. Tatiana is normally cast with seasoned (and older) principals. I’ll be at her performance - I think between this and her O/O debut, it will be her breakout season. Really looking forward to it. 

[balletlover08]

20 minutes ago, California said:

Definitely the final PDD. The tempo seems just a wee bit on the slow side. (PS. Do they ever tune the piano in that rehearsal room!!?? Good grief!)

Chloe's music always seems to be a wee bit on the slow side. I thought the same for her swan lake but at KC it didn't seem to be as slow so I wonder if they are just practicing it slower? 

Funny thing about the piano. When I was getting my bachelors in piano, my piano professor insisted on an untuned Steinway grand in his studio and did not allow the tuner to ever touch it. There were stuck keys, and the piano truly was awful to listen to. He insisted that an untuned piano made a student improve faster with an added benefit of a boost of confidence during performance because anything sounds better on a tuned piano. And he isn't the first teacher I had that never tuned their piano, my piano is similarly untuned right now. 

[abatt]

17 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I dunno - I find a partly out of tune piano part of the charm of a rehearsal room, lol. Call me crazy.

I was just thinking the other day that casting Misseldine, a very young untested soloist, in a major role that requires big acting chops like Onegin really says something. Tatiana is normally cast with seasoned (and older) principals. I’ll be at her performance - I think between this and her O/O debut, it will be her breakout season. Really looking forward to it. 

I thought the same thing.  Her technique may be strong, but Onegin requires good acting.  Otherwise it becomes boring.  While I admired Chloe's Myrta, I never felt that her acting was special.  Jaffe clearly favors her.  We shall see.

[bingham]

1 hour ago, abatt said:

I thought the same thing.  Her technique may be strong, but Onegin requires good acting.  Otherwise it becomes boring.  While I admired Chloe's Myrta, I never felt that her acting was special.  Jaffe clearly favors her.  We shall see.

Reid Anderson , who usually stage/ supervised   Onegin, has a big say on the casting of the principal roles, I think.

[California]

50 minutes ago, bingham said:

Reid Anderson , who usually stage/ supervised   Onegin, has a big say on the casting of the principal roles, I think.

Maybe that's why Chloe only has one performance while the others all have two!

[volcanohunter]

Nobody dances anything in a Cranko ballet without Reid Anderson's say-so.

The Bolshoi danced the ballet excruciatingly slowly. The effect wasn't great, but slow tempos aren't unprecedented. 

[bingham]

2 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Nobody dances anything in a Cranko ballet without Reid Anderson's say-so.

The Bolshoi danced the ballet excruciatingly slowly. The effect wasn't great, but slow tempos aren't unprecedented. 

Svetlana Zhakarova never danced Tatiana at the Bolshoi Ballet.

[volcanohunter]

That's right. There was a scandal prior to the premiere because she didn't get the opening night. After that she was removed from the production altogether and blackballed by the Cranko estate. On the other hand, Anatoly Iksanov and Sergei Filin ultimately lost their jobs. Now it's all a moot point; the Bolshoi no longer has a license to perform the ballet.

[DPell]

Alex Basmagy is retiring at the end of The Met season. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7ol8qZgE8w/?igsh=MmNpa2kxcmQxbnFp

[ABT Fan]

The rest of the casting has been posted: Purple von Rothbart, Mercutio, and the additional roles in LWFC. Happy I'll get to see Markey in his NY PVR debut, but darn I'll miss Curley's at my other show (I've seen him in this before, and would love to see it again). Thrilled Roxander's Mercutio is cast when I'll be there.

Murphy is debuting as Mama Elena, which I find interesting, and Li debuts as Rosaura. After a long injury, Pogossian gets to reprise his Mercutio (he missed out last year).

I wish they also posted the casting for the peasant pas, Benvolio, Tybalt.

https://www.abt.org/performances/summer-season/

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Trying to pick a LWFC cast this season. Last season I saw the premiere cast (Trenary/Cornejo with Catherine Hurlin as Gertrudis and Claire Davison as Mama Elena). I'd like to see a different cast this season: can anyone who saw the others comment on how they enjoyed them?

I'm leaning towards the Brandt/Gonzalez cast with Zimmi Coker as Gertrudis and Jarod Curley as Dr Brown. I like Coker and Curley a lot, but I know Coker is coming back from an injury and may not be at her best, and I don't recall the Dr Brown role as having much to do. Intrigued by the idea of seeing Gonzalez, who I've enjoyed in soloist roles, take on something bigger, but did he seize the opportunity last season? Brandt is obviously super-technically gifted but does she show good dramatic chops in this acting heavy role?

[Drew]

16 hours ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

Trying to pick a LWFC cast this season. Last season I saw the premiere cast (Trenary/Cornejo with Catherine Hurlin as Gertrudis and Claire Davison as Mama Elena). I'd like to see a different cast this season: can anyone who saw the others comment on how they enjoyed them?

I'm leaning towards the Brandt/Gonzalez cast with Zimmi Coker as Gertrudis and Jarod Curley as Dr Brown. I like Coker and Curley a lot, but I know Coker is coming back from an injury and may not be at her best, and I don't recall the Dr Brown role as having much to do. Intrigued by the idea of seeing Gonzalez, who I've enjoyed in soloist roles, take on something bigger, but did he seize the opportunity last season? Brandt is obviously super-technically gifted but does she show good dramatic chops in this acting heavy role?

Last year I saw the Park, Trenary, and Teuscher casts--I found much to enjoy and admire in all three performances.  I will mention that Camargo was really terrific as Pedro (and if "sexy" is allowed as a balletic criterion, then even better than Cornejo), and Sun MiPark is a gorgeous young dancer. Last season she wasn't as dramatically intense as the other casts I saw, but I enjoyed her performance and found it moving.  Brandt is Gertrudis in the Park/Camargo cast--last year I didn't think the rose-petal stripper scene suited her physically or temperamentally, but she was very good in the scene with the revolutionaries. (I thought Hurlin was incomparable in that role, but enjoyed both Coker and Brandt.) Davidson and Royal round out the Park/Camargo cast.

I'm an out-of-towner, but if you are seeing the company regularly in New York, then you have plenty of other opportunities to see Camargo in a dramatic/romantic role, so it may be less of a big deal to see him in this. But Pedro is a great role for him.

(If you do opt for the Brandt cast, I will say that I quite liked Fang as Mama Elena. Unfortunately I did not see Brandt as Tita.)

 

Edited June 2 by Drew

[California]

On 5/18/2024 at 4:34 PM, ABT Fan said:

Jake Roxander has an enticing IG story up showing ABT’s rehearsal sheet. Under Bayadere for the corps it says “variations” with him and Boylston and then “Bocca” for the rehearsal director I believe. 
 

Actually, I’m not clear if the rehearsal is with Boylston- he may be just rehearsing with Bocca alone. Still! 

https://www.instagram.com/jakeroxander?igsh=NW95bGhkd2ExOHB3

Along with promising speculation that Kingdom of the Shades might be on the fall ABT schedule (rehearsal clips and the rehearsal schedule), note that recent Instagrams have shown (1) Hurlin-Bell rehearsing Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (which they performed at a Gala) and (2) Bell-Murphy in Other Dances (performed at NYCB in May and last summer at the outdoor program at Lincoln Center).  It would seem worthwhile to include those on mixed bills, along with Bayadere excerpts. It's a lot of work learning new pieces like that -- why not make the most of it!

[ABT Fan]

22 minutes ago, California said:

Along with promising speculation that Kingdom of the Shades might be on the fall ABT schedule (rehearsal clips and the rehearsal schedule), note that recent Instagrams have shown (1) Hurlin-Bell rehearsing Forsythe's In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (which they performed at a Gala) and (2) Bell-Murphy in Other Dances (performed at NYCB in May and last summer at the outdoor program at Lincoln Center).  It would seem worthwhile to include those on mixed bills, along with Bayadere excerpts. It's a lot of work learning new pieces like that -- why not make the most of it!

I agree!

I've also noticed on Boylston's IG, and a few others, that Bocca has been coaching many dancers recently to get ready for the summer season. I don't recall Bocca being brought in to coach under McKenzie. I hope Jaffe will keep him around.

Trenary has again posted video of her rehearsing SL, this time with Cornejo and coached by Kolpakova. Also, Curley posted clips of him rehearsing the male solo from Act III in SL. Bell and another dancer or two were in the background. Both could just be them trying things out on their own, or they could be understudies. Especially, in Trenary's case, I doubt Kolpakova would have time to rehearse her with Cornejo unless she was being prepared to potentially dance it.