ABT Met Season 2024

[matilda]

2 hours ago, abatt said:

They also don't know how to effectively use major talent in their ranks.  Jake Roxander was hailed in the NY Times as a major talent, but there is no principal role for him in the Spring season.  Still stuck with Mercutio and peasant pas's.  Revive Don Q with him in the lead.  

Yep. I know Jaffe inherited a roster of lacking or past-their-prime principals, but do Stearns, Royal, Whiteside, Forster, and (sorry) Cornejo all need Siegfried and Romeo just because they are principals? (Last year it was Siegfried, Romeo, and Albrecht). I don't see why Roxander and Curley couldn't get a shot at one or the other this year. 

[volcanohunter]

45 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Also, subscriptions are down everywhere.  Opera, theater, concerts and ballet.  Sales are down for the classical arts.  First of all, people subscribe because they want to lock in tickets for shows that will sell out.   When nothing is selling, no reason to subscribe.  The younger generation isn't into tying themselves down with subscriptions and prefer more flexibility and last-minute decisions.  Star power is also lacking - in opera as well as ballet.

The last NEA survey of audience participation coincided with the first post-lockdown season, and the results were gruesome. Dramatic theater had lost half of its audience, opera lost two-thirds of it.
https://www.arts.gov/impact/research/publications/arts-participation-patterns-2022-highlights-survey-public-participation-arts

I used to have a symphony subscription sitting in the top ring because I wanted unobstructed, blended sound. There was always a decent-sized crowd there. I dropped the subscription years ago because I detested the antics of the chief conductor and grew frustrated with the repertoire. Now, the top two rings in the state-of-the-art hall are closed for concerts, and what's left isn't usually full.

Still, there are perks that can make a subscription attractive, such as a substantial discount on ticket prices, installment plans, flexible exchange privileges/account credits, the waiving of service fees, free parking - whatever an institution can offer.

[SaraBW]

6 hours ago, nysusan said:

some Ashton full lengths like Fille and Sylvia and bring in  guests like Osipova, Smirnova or Nunez and let's see what those numbers look like. Want to do works that are new to NY? Have someone reconstruct The Awakening of Flora or Pacquita.

Oh my goodness I would LOVE that!!!! 

[California]

7 hours ago, nysusan said:

Want to do works?  that are new to NY? Have someone reconstruct The Awakening of Flora or Pacquita.

Paquita, you say? As it happens Ratmansky is staging some of it for NYCB next February 2025:

. . . Alexei Ratmansky (Feb. 6), the company’s artist in residence. He will stage a suite of dances from Petipa’s full-length “Paquita” that incorporates the “Minkus Pas de Trois,” Balanchine’s restaging of the ballet’s pas de trois.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/arts/dance/new-york-city-ballet-2024-25-season.html

He actually restaged the entire ballet for Berlin in 2014, so we can wonder if we'll see bits of that next February.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/arts/dance/paquita-at-the-national-theater-in-munich.html

[California]

6 hours ago, Papagena said:

Same with most of these other mentioned ballets besides Sleeping Beauty. 

Sleeping Beauty would ordinarily bring in nearly the crowds of Swan Lake, but they're saddled with Ratmansky's reconstruction. He admitted later in interviews that perhaps he was too strict in insisting on Petipa style from that era, eliminating some of the thrills we like in more recent versions.  They surely don't have the funds for yet another version and we don't know if Ratmansky would even give permission to show his again. 

Not that many Ratmanskys they could bring back. Firebird? Golden Cockeral? Ugh! I would love to see his Symphony #9 again, but there aren't many things on that list that seem worth bringing out again: https://www.abt.org/people/alexei-ratmansky/?type=archive

I love Ratmansky's Nutcracker, though, and hope they continue to show that at Segerstrom in December. 

I look for Koch names (the widow or grown children) on donor lists at both ABT and NYCB. Looks like nobody was interested in supporting ballet other than David. Too bad!

[Drew]

 

3 hours ago, matilda said:

Yep. I know Jaffe inherited a roster of lacking or past-their-prime principals, but do Stearns, Royal, Whiteside, Forster, and (sorry) Cornejo all need Siegfried and Romeo just because they are principals? (Last year it was Siegfried, Romeo, and Albrecht). I don't see why Roxander and Curley couldn't get a shot at one or the other this year. 

It's a very tricky issue artistically and even ethically for Jaffe to negotiate. But I will say this regarding Cornejo:  he is one of the few bona fide greats in the company ranks --past his prime or not, a great dancer is a rare phenomena. When I saw Erik Bruhn he was over 40--he still had a huge impact on me. His performances were some of the greatest classical dancing I will ever see. I imagine Cornejo still sells tickets too. So, until I see or read repeatedly that he's falling apart at the seams, I will always be happy to see him cast. (I saw him last year in LWFC--he was beautiful and his presence filled the Met.) Still, I think everyone agrees that the company needs to find ways to give big opportunities to the younger men who show ability. If the company is planning to revive Manon for next season, then Lescaut seems like a good role for Roxander. I'm glad Jaffe is looking into touring opportunities. (I would love to see the company more than one week a year at Kennedy Center.)

One anecdote re promotion/influencers/advertising. I have friends, a couple who like ballet, but are not balletomanes. They probably go a few times a year. One is a Woolf scholar and they knew about the Royal dancing McGregor's Woolf Works  and own a DVD of the Royal's performance. I contacted them a few weeks ago about going to see it live with ABT and they had no idea ABT was dancing it. They have tickets now, but one sees the problem....

Edited June 10 by Drew
Edited because I reread the interview w. Jaffe which mentions touring.

[Kathleen O'Connell]

6 hours ago, abatt said:

Part of the reason for the reduced schedule is that ticket sales are down.

I thought ABT's Met season was shortened to 5 weeks from 8 because the Met extended its own opera season into June after it decided to go dark in February—i.e., that it wasn't ABT's choice.

[Drew]

16 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

I thought ABT's Met season was shortened to 5 weeks from 8 because the Met extended its own opera season into June after it decided to go dark in February—i.e., that it wasn't ABT's choice.

I thought that too--and from the Javier Hernández interview with Jaffe:

"Ballet Theater suffered a major setback in 2022, when a significant source of revenue — the summer season at the Met — was curtailed after the opera house extended its own performances into June. That decision forced the company to reduce its season at the Met to five weeks from eight. (The company also performs a brief fall season at the David H. Koch Theater.)"

 

[cobweb]

4 hours ago, NinaFan said:

Sadly, Crime and Punishment is not the overhaul I was hoping to see

I am wondering, if Jaffe is committed to new "story" ballets, what kind of literature or stories would be good. I'm not eager to see Crime and Punishment as a ballet either, compelling though it is as a novel. While established stories can perhaps be made into effective ballets (both versions of Midsummer Night's Dream, R&J), it seems like an extremely difficult task calling for massive condensation. Either that, or the audience becomes confused about following the story, while feeling there isn't enough dancing. Story ballets seem to fare better when the story is bare-bones (such as the war horses tend to be) and provide ample opportunity for everyone to dance without worrying about forwarding the narrative. I'm not sure what literature, modern or not, would be good for new, contemporary story ballets. I'm sure Jaffe is pondering this as well. 

[nanushka]

5 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I am wondering, if Jaffe is committed to new "story" ballets, what kind of literature or stories would be good. … Story ballets seem to fare better when the story is bare-bones (such as the war horses tend to be) and provide ample opportunity for everyone to dance without worrying about forwarding the narrative. I'm not sure what literature, modern or not, would be good for new, contemporary story ballets. …

Clearly differentiated characters, dramatically powerful interactions, and a sequence of big memorable dance highlights

[cobweb]

11 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Clearly differentiated characters, dramatically powerful interactions, and a sequence of big memorable dance highlights

Great summary, nanushka. Choreographers, take note! I would just add: keep it simple. 

[balletlover08]

One that I just thought of is Great Gatsby. It's got a tragic ending, very memorable character and a unique setting. Imagine a NYC company doing this. And the parties could be like ballroom scenes, some good PDD between Daisy/Gatsby and then Daisy/Tom, Tom/Myrtha etc. The deaths and then the tragic ending of Gatsby dying while Daisy/Tom go live their blissfully happy lives elsewhere. 

It really hits a lot of the same points that the great story ballets do. 

• Memorable romance. Everyone remembers Daisy/Gatsby 
• A before and an after. You could explore Daisy/Gatsby before in Act I and after the war in Act II. 
• Love interest is married to someone else. 
• Tragic ending
• Social Commentary 
•  Good music: 1920s Jazz anyone? 

[Helene]

I was on my way out after the last Coppelia at Pacific Northwest Ballet yesterday, and behind me, one young woman said to the other, "I like the first two acts better than the third.  I could understand the story."  She started to explain, but then they took a left as I took a right, and I didn't get to hear the end of the story.  But clarity is critical, because when people don't understand the narrative or get the story through crystal clear relationships, like [fill in the Tudor ballet], they feel stupid, and who wants to pay money to feel inadequate?

This isn't Jaffe's first rodeo at ABT where the home-grown dancers were compared unfavorably to the big international names, the first being when she was a dancer and many big names were still there, but also through Baryshnikov's tenure while he tried to take a different path.  I wouldn't be surprised if she has a very thick skin.

Is there no theater that is available during the summer, where ABT could decamp after the shortened Met season and, possibly, do another rep?  After Titanic, which ends June 23, there is nothing on the NYCC calendar for July and August, and their Upcoming Events pages shows ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, based on a manga.  There are occasional preternatural young stars, but in 99% of the cases, they need to dance a lot and work out roles.  I'm looking at PNB's All Balanchine program, and without looking at the roster, off the top of my head I can think of eight couples just for Square Dance, and there are only seven performances.

 

[cobweb]

6 hours ago, FauxPas said:

I am a broken record but City Center is an ideal space for a ballet company of ABT's size.  Also, the K*ch/NY State Theater works well for many full lengths.  They need to program a longer season at the State Theater and schedule a season at City Center of two to three weeks.  Leave the Metropolitan Opera House for blockbuster full-length warhorses like "Swan Lake" and "Romeo and Juliet" for the five weeks.

I couldn't figure out how to quote from two different posts, otherwise I would include @Helene's question about what's going on at City Center later this summer. To follow up these questions, is there any obvious reason the company might NOT want to pursue more time at City Center, the Koch (I guess I have to stop calling it the State Theatre) or some other smaller venue? Going to a smaller venue just seems like a no-brainer, so I figure I must be missing something obvious. 

[cobweb]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

It's a very tricky issue artistically and even ethically for Jaffe to negotiate. But I will say this regarding Cornejo:  he is one of the few bona fide greats in the company ranks --past his prime or not, a great dancer is a rare phenomena... So, until I see or read repeatedly that he's falling apart at the seams, I will always be happy to see him cast. (I saw him last year in LWFC--he was beautiful and his presence filled the Met.)

Agree about Cornejo, I would still go see him in most anything just because of what he brings to the stage... even before he starts dancing. 

But aside from him, I agree with others that the principal and soloist rosters need a major overhaul. Or to put it another way, talent development needs to be a major priority (and I assume it is, but based on my limited insight I don't see progress there yet). I don't understand why they haven't capitalized on the sensational publicity Jake Roxander got in the fall, and his compelling story -- dancer parents have two massively talented dancer sons. He should be doing a major, bravura-type lead this season. 

[California]

3 minutes ago, cobweb said:

I am wondering, if Jaffe is committed to new "story" ballets, what kind of literature or stories would be good. I'm not eager to see Crime and Punishment as a ballet either, compelling though it is as a novel. While established stories can perhaps be made into effective ballets (both versions of Midsummer Night's Dream, R&J), it seems like an extremely difficult task calling for massive condensation. Either that, or the audience becomes confused about following the story, while feeling there isn't enough dancing. Story ballets seem to fare better when the story is bare-bones (such as the war horses tend to be) and provide ample opportunity for everyone to dance without worrying about forwarding the narrative. I'm not sure what literature, modern or not, would be good for new, contemporary story ballets. I'm sure Jaffe is pondering this as well. 

The regional companies do a lot of story ballets appealing to families -- because they have to! But I don't see those translating to the Met or Koch theaters. Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Casanova, Jekyll and Hyde, Alice (in Wonderland). These work well in Kansas City, MIlwaukee, Denver, and other cities, but New York? I don't think so! 

[Helene]

There are two ways to quote more than one message: 

1. To quote full posts, click the little "+" to the left of the quote, and that will display a tally all of your selected posts in the bottom right of your screen: you click it and all of the quotes will appear in the reply box at once.

2. To quote partial posts, highlight the part of the post you want to post, and a little "quote selection" box should come up.  If you click it, your partial post will appear in the reply box right away.  You can then highlight part of another post, which will add that selection to the reply box, or a full post or two, and so on.

You can combine full and partial posts, add more after you've started to type in your own comments, etc.  Although every once in a while, the Quote selection button doesn't always appear, for reasons I'll have to attribute to Wilis' retribution. 

I don't see a configuration that has a maximum number of quotes, but I suspect there might be one.

 

 

[California]

26 minutes ago, balletlover08 said:

One that I just thought of is Great Gatsby. It's got a tragic ending, very memorable character and a unique setting. Imagine a NYC company doing this. And the parties could be like ballroom scenes, some good PDD between Daisy/Gatsby and then Daisy/Tom, Tom/Myrtha etc. The deaths and then the tragic ending of Gatsby dying while Daisy/Tom go live their blissfully happy lives elsewhere. 

It really hits a lot of the same points that the great story ballets do. 

• Memorable romance. Everyone remembers Daisy/Gatsby 
• A before and an after. You could explore Daisy/Gatsby before in Act I and after the war in Act II. 
• Love interest is married to someone else. 
• Tragic ending
• Social Commentary 
•  Good music: 1920s Jazz anyone? 

There are actually several Great Gatsby ballets:

• Northern Ballet (choreography by David Nixon): https://northernballet.com/the-great-gatsby/the-great-gatsby-story
• Ballet Met (choreography by Jimmy Orrante): https://www.balletmet.org/performances/the-great-gatsby/:
• Eugene Ballet:  https://eugeneballet.org/performances/gatsby/
• Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (choreography by Jorden Morris): https://pbt.org/performances/great-gatsby-pbt-orchestra/
• New Mexico: https://nmphil.org/event/essential-tchaikovsky-april-12-2025-2/

There might be more. As you say, great potential in many ways. I don't know if any of those are worth presenting in New York. 

[FPF]

30 minutes ago, Helene said:

I

Is there no theater that is available during the summer, where ABT could decamp after the shortened Met season and, possibly, do another rep?  After Titanic, which ends June 23, there is nothing on the NYCC calendar for July and August, and their Upcoming Events pages shows ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, based on a manga.  There are occasional preternatural young stars, but in 99% of the cases, they need to dance a lot and work out roles.  I'm looking at PNB's All Balanchine program, and without looking at the roster, off the top of my head I can think of eight couples just for Square Dance, and there are only seven performances.

 

I don't think that more performances in the summer would help them nearly as much as more performances earlier in the spring when more NYers are in town. My sense is that if they wanted more weeks in July or August, they could have their pick of their usual theaters. There are no performances scheduled at the Met for about 2 months after the ABT season ends, For that matter, there's nothing on at the NYS Theater until September. City Center also looks to be empty all summer. 

[cobweb]

46 minutes ago, balletlover08 said:

One that I just thought of is Great Gatsby. It's got a tragic ending, very memorable character and a unique setting. Imagine a NYC company doing this. And the parties could be like ballroom scenes, some good PDD between Daisy/Gatsby and then Daisy/Tom, Tom/Myrtha etc. The deaths and then the tragic ending of Gatsby dying while Daisy/Tom go live their blissfully happy lives elsewhere. 

It really hits a lot of the same points that the great story ballets do. 

• Memorable romance. Everyone remembers Daisy/Gatsby 
• A before and an after. You could explore Daisy/Gatsby before in Act I and after the war in Act II. 
• Love interest is married to someone else. 
• Tragic ending
• Social Commentary 
•  Good music: 1920s Jazz anyone? 

This sounds great, balletlover08. I love your analysis of the virtues of this novel as a ballet piece. I want to underscore the music element. This is key to a ballet’s success, and 1920s jazz is both relevant to the story and appealing to most anyone. I would be curious if any of the versions that @California mentions are worth reviving. 

[volcanohunter]

Dwight Rhoden also did a Luhrmannesque Gatsby about which I can only say: just say no.

[vipa]

It's interesting that Jaffe seems to be thinking of narrative ballets as full lengths. ABT has a history of  1 act narrative ballets, with several in one performance. Examples, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Lilac Garden, Green Table, Pillar of Fire, The River (not a strict narrative but dramatic),  Romeo and uliet (Tudor's), Dark Elegies, Les Patineurs, Petroushka etc. I'm not suggest that all of these be revived, I'm sure some don't hold up well.  My point is that a varied program might be more interesting than a new full length, while retaining the story telling element that seems to be part of the ABT identity.

[volcanohunter]

Sarah Kaufman famously made the same argument 15 years ago in her "curse of Balanchine" piece.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/07/AR2009050704620.html

[matilda]

Part of the issue is that mixed bills, even if they contain stories, don't sell enough at the Met though. Shorter works are saved for the Koch season now. NYCB has much more of an audience for "interesting" mixed programs.

[stuben]

3 hours ago, matilda said:

Part of the issue is that mixed bills, even if they contain stories, don't sell enough at the Met though. Shorter works are saved for the Koch season now. NYCB has much more of an audience for "interesting" mixed programs.

This probably should go to the NYCB thread but I wanted to add to this about the "interesting" 24/25 program guide I just got in the mail! NYCB knows how to attract audience for sure, the book is so beautiful, and the program is so much more exciting!! I think it will attract under 40s with this more fashion driven style IMO. I feel NYCB recovered from Covid quite well vs what happened to ABT (per Susan's comment about the struggle they had). I used to look forward to Met season but have since felt their programs are looking more and more "dusty" and boring, even with the new works. I wonder what Susan thinks of her competitor across the way! NYCB is offering Coppellia and Swan Lake along with a fun mixed bill.