ABT Met Season 2024

[DPell]

Lauren Post is retiring at the end of the season. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8E9_gnOPyw/?igsh=dzI4bjlvenFmbnIy

[On Pointe]

15 hours 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? 

Could be the market for Gatsby is saturated - there are two major,  very expensive  musicals of The Great Gatsby in New York right now,  one of them on Broadway.

Plotting a story ballet is a difficult task.  It's like writing a screenplay,  where all ideas and story beats must be visual.  (As Balanchine said,  you can't indicate "mother-in-law" with a ballet step.)  Maybe it's time for the ballet world to enlist professional writers for librettos instead of leaving it all to the choreographer.  I suggest a competition,  with a decent cash prize,  at least $10,000.  There are constant screenwriting competitions that attract thousands of entrants,  almost all of whom pay a fee just to be considered.  Writing for the ballet could become a new genre.

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, DPell said:

Lauren Post is retiring at the end of the season. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/C8E9_gnOPyw/?igsh=dzI4bjlvenFmbnIy

So is Alexandra Basmagy

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7ol8qZgE8w/

NYCB ended their season at the K*ch on June 2, a week before the Met ended their season.  The K*ch/NY State Theater is empty until September 17.  I also think that an earlier season of say, three to four weeks could work in the early Fall say from August 20 to September 10.

City Center could be used for a Winter or Spring season of two to three weeks.  There is also a new space, the Perelman Arts Center downtown which would be a good venue for some mixed programs of one-acts.

Talking of one-act narrative ballets - there were also "Fall River Legend" and "Rodeo" by Agnes DeMille and Tudor's "Dark Elegies" and "Pillar of Fire" by Antony Tudor.

There also was a one-act "Miss Julie" ballet by Birgit Cullberg (female choreographer!) which was a big success (premiere cast had Violette Verdy and Erik Bruhn!) that was successful and revived over the years.

https://www.abt.org/ballet/miss-julie/

ABT seems to have lost all interest in their founding choreographers.

Another broken record:  the Bavarian State Ballet presented the Ratmansky "Paquita" full-length reconstruction but trashed it after a few seasons.  Ratmansky was eager for another company to purchase the sets and costumes so it could be restaged at another theater - ABT being the obvious choice since he was resident there at that time.  But ABT passed.  Another missed opportunity.  

 

Edited June 11 by FauxPas

[Quiggin]

11 minutes ago, On Pointe said:

Plotting a story ballet is a difficult task.  It's like writing a screenplay,  where all ideas and story beats must be visual.  (As Balanchine said,  you can't indicate "mother-in-law" with a ballet step.)  Maybe it's time for the ballet world to enlist professional writers for librettos instead of leaving it all to the choreographer. 

Yes. I believe Nicholas Hyter helped Christopher Wheeldon with the structure of one of his story ballets. And Boris Kochno wrote the librettos for many of Diaghilev's later works, – La Chatte, The Gods go a-Begging and Prodigal Son (and later, Cotillon), and Cocteau provided the outline for Parade.

Regarding Gatsby, 1920s jazz might be difficult to set dance to if you think of the insistent beat of the works of Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller and Bix Beiderbecke (Way Down Yonder in New Orleans). Also doesn't The Great Gatsby depend primarily on the economy of Fitzgerald's prose?

 

[vipa]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

Talking of one-act narrative ballets - there were also "Fall River Legend" and "Rodeo" by Agnes DeMille and Tudor's "Dark Elegies" and "Pillar of Fire" by Antony Tudor.

There also was a one-act "Miss Julie" ballet by Birgit Cullberg (female choreographer!) which was a big success (premiere cast had Violette Verdy and Erik Bruhn!) that was successful and revived over the years.

https://www.abt.org/ballet/miss-julie/

ABT seems to have lost all interest in their founding choreographers

I've been puzzled by the lack of interest in the founding choreographers. I've also kept hoping ABT would revive Push Comes To Shove while Cornejo is still around! And, I've seen no interest expressed in doing the Elliot Feld works that were done on the company, and are now available. Jaffe seems committed to doing new, full length narrative ballets. Not my thing, for the most part, but I wish them well. It's a hard sell.

[Helene]

In the opera world, having a playwright, novelist, or poet as librettist is not uncommon for new opera, however much librettists get a bad rep.  (Most of the time, they were given the latest popular story or play to turn into a libretto, and it wasn’t their original idea.  Plus they had a composer asking for an aria for this and a duet for that.) Someone like Jonathan Dean, who does supertitles for Seattle Opera, and turns 600 words into a sentence or two, might be enlisted. And for theaters where they have titles, they might be able to have an early run through with the written titles with the scene synopsis or point  to see if civilians would get that from what’s being danced.

[SaraBW]

3 hours ago, On Pointe said:

Maybe it's time for the ballet world to enlist professional writers for librettos instead of leaving it all to the choreographer.  I suggest a competition,  with a decent cash prize,  at least $10,000. 

As a professional writer, I am DYING to collaborate with a choreographer. I've got a classic horror story (not Dracula or Frankenstein) that I think would make an amazing ballet adaptation. 

[nanushka]

Maybe a trio of short stories? I think a Poe evening could work pretty well.

[angelica]

2 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Maybe a trio of short stories? I think a Poe evening could work pretty well.

That sounds delightfully grisly.

[cobweb]

Just now, angelica said:

That sounds delightfully grisly.

Agree, @nanushka's idea of a Poe trio sounds terrific. I would find that very intriguing. Poe's stories are elemental and simple, should translate well to visual drama. 

[Drew]

A few random thoughts:

I think Woolf Works has the potential to be an "event" but it needs promotion. It probably doesn't help that the aesthetic it embodies is unlikely to be to the taste of some of the most prominent critics and dance writers in New York.

Ratmansky, Wheeldon, and McGregor have used dramaturges and/or librettists for narrative ballets.  For examples: Nicholas Wright is credited with the scenario for Alice; Mark Lamos is listed as dramaturge for the Tempest. McGregor's Woolf Works lists Uzma Hamsed as dramaturge, etc.

One of my fantasies is collaboration between ABT and the Met: say, a revival of the Ashton Rossignol which was done by the Met with Makarova and Dowell or a program with Macmillan's Fauré Requiem. I know the Met has its own ballet company--perhaps some of their dancers could be involved or they could just take a back seat for one or two special projects. Back on planet earth, however, I know this is extremely unlikely to happen.

I agree that ABT could and should turn more to its history--but judiciously. I'm doubtful that much of the older repertory would generate a lot of interest from new, general audiences. And though many balletomanes would happily visit some of these older ballets more than once I'm also doubtful that even hard core ballet fans would be racing to the theater to catch every cast of Rodeo and the River--or even Lilac Garden. And a reminder of what it takes to fill the Met:  If ABT were to sell just under 2000 seats--a full house at NYCB when the 4th-ring is closed--then slightly less than half of the Metropolitan opera house would remain empty. LWFC's 65% attendance sounds better when one thinks of it that way....

Edited June 11 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

9 minutes ago, Drew said:

I'm also doubtful that even hard core ballet fans would be racing to the theater to catch every cast of Rodeo and the River--or even Lilac Garden.

Speaking as someone who made a point of seeing as many Lilac Gardens as possible, what routinely ripped out my guts at City Center, did not carry at the Met. So no, not even I would want to see Rodeo or Lilac Garden there.

[Helene]

The Met did two mixed  triple bills in the ‘80’s.   The Stravinsky program had Rite of Spring as a ballet, Ashton’s Le Rossignol danced by Makarova and Dowell, and sung, and Oedipus Rex.  The French Program had a ballet, Parade, and two operas, Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tiresias and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges.

 

[Drew]

18 minutes ago, Helene said:

The Met did two mixed  triple bills in the ‘80’s.   The Stravinsky program had Rite of Spring as a ballet, Ashton’s Le Rossignol danced by Makarova and Dowell, and sung, and Oedipus Rex.  The French Program had a ballet, Parade, and two operas, Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tiresias and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges.

 

I remember seeing the Stravinsky program--the designs were all by David Hockney. (For the French program too--but I never saw it.) 

Anyway, as long as ABT is bound to what is problematic about dancing at the Met, I always thought it would be great if there could be some artistic benefit to the relationship. But...unless a zillionaire donor has the same idea, then it's just fan-fiction on my part. 

Perhaps I should clarify that I enjoy the Met. With the right productions and right dancers. it can be an exciting theater for ballet. Despite the many problems....But the problems are real.

Edited June 11 by Drew

[California]

Frankenstein has been done:

Liam Scarlett: https://www.sfballet.org/productions/frankenstein/  https://joffrey.org/performances-and-tickets/23-24-season/frankenstein/   https://archive.org/details/frankenstein_202310

Dracula: (at least) three versions: 

 

[ba11et0mane]

Hi all, I know a discussion is going on ATM but I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which romeo and juliet pairing would be the best to bring someone who hasn’t seen r&j to. I’m trying to figure out which pair would bring the most emotional performance. I’ve seen seo/bell and shevchenko/forster so far. I’m either leaning towards teuscher/bell or cornejo/trenary. Any suggestions? 

[volcanohunter]

Dracula screams provincial. It's been done by so many regional companies because of the name recognition.

I tried watching Mark Godden's version once. It was the first time I left a theater without waiting for a scene change.

[Helene]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

I think Woolf Works has the potential to be an "event" but it needs promotion

As far as I know, no one tried to tie this to The Hours, which just played at the Met as a joint promo.  It wouldn’t be for tourists, because too far apart, but it might have been a good crossover deal for people in NY Metro.

[ABT Fan]

1 minute ago, ba11et0mane said:

Hi all, I know a discussion is going on ATM but I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on which romeo and juliet pairing would be the best to bring someone who hasn’t seen r&j to. I’m trying to figure out which pair would bring the most emotional performance. I’ve seen seo/bell and shevchenko/forster so far. I’m either leaning towards teuscher/bell or cornejo/trenary. Any suggestions? 

Seo is the best Juliet I’ve seen in a long time. Many here love to criticize her technique at times, but I think Juliet is probably her best role. Dramatically and technique wise, she’s superb. However, she’s paired with Stearns. Trenary and Cornejo are a marvelous pair here - great chemistry. Trenary has far less experience in the role but she’s still wonderful. I haven’t seen Teuscher/Bell. I’d love to see Bell as Romeo but can’t imagine Teuscher as Juliet. If I had only one choice, I’d go for Cornejo/Trenary. 

[danico]

On 6/10/2024 at 3:35 PM, NinaFan said:

I can’t imagine that the decline in subscription sales has much to do with a shortened season. IMO it is the repetitive rep and generally lackluster dancing.

If they want to increase subscriptions, they really need to revamp the benefits that come with their create your own series subscription option. They are clinging to the dying weekly subscription model, which just isn’t attractive in today’s climate. The fact that they don’t even offer subscriber rate tickets for the create your own series is laughable.  I specifically did not subscribe this year because there was no reason to. Without subscribing I could pick my performances AND my seats. Meanwhile I’ve already happily renewed my subscriptions for NYCB and the NY Philharmonic next year. 

[ABT Fan]

Going to the main discussion at hand, I think at least once a year we revive the love/hate relationship we have with the Met and current repertoire.
 

I absolutely adore the Met but it’s not ideal for ballet and selling it out or even well will always be problematic. I am also a broken record but giving Jaffe such grief and lack of patience in her programming is, in my opinion, brutally unfair a year and half after taking the reins. I’m going to keep repeating myself but her Fall season last year was incredibly well programmed. The Met is a different animal, and I’m willing to give her another year on that. Regarding the dancers, I’m incredibly impatient here as are others, but it bears repeating that she INHERITED McKenzie’s mess. Dancers promoted who never should have been, others who should have retired years ago who inexplicably hold on. But, what was she supposed to do? Fire half of the principals and soloists the second she came onboard? Then what??

Believe me, I’ve been checking some dancers IGs frequently hoping to see a “I’m retiring” post. 

Personally, my company has gone through a merger the last few months and we now have not only a new CEO but have gone through a few rounds of brutal layoffs. Many colleagues I adored and worked with every day are now gone. Morale is now incredibly low, we lack people to do the actual work, and it’s no longer the same place to me. I imagine ABT would feel similar if Jaffe had done a slash and burn right out of the gate, no matter how necessary some of those changes would be. 

Added: I also think the corps doesn’t have a deep bench in terms of promotable talent. And, that’s a huge problem. I only see Coker, Fleytoux, Frenette, Crispino, Beyer, Li, Miyake (who needs to be promoted into the main co asap) and maybe one/two others who have potential to move up. Coker for sure. 

Edited June 12 by ABT Fan

[Kathleen O'Connell]

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

So no, not even I would want to see Rodeo or Lilac Garden there.

If The Theater Formerly Known as State (aka The Theater Across the Plaza) will remain (mostly) dark from early June through September, it's time for ABT to move there and claim the space already. The Lincoln Center Festival used to program events there during the summer months, but now that it's been permanently discontinued, not much is going on there. 

Summer for the City, the Lincoln Center programming that replaces Mostly Mozart, Midsummer Night Swing, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and The Lincoln Center Festival, will only use the theater for four BAAND together performances this year.

[California]

5 minutes ago, Kathleen O'Connell said:

If The Theater Formerly Known as State (aka The Theater Across the Plaza) will remain (mostly) dark from early June through September, it's time for ABT to move there and claim the space already. The Lincoln Center Festival used to program events there during the summer months, but now that it's been permanently discontinued, not much is going on there. 

Summer for the City, the Lincoln Center programming that replaces Mostly Mozart, Midsummer Night Swing, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, and The Lincoln Center Festival, will only use the theater for four BAAND together performances this year.

It was a long time ago, but there was a year when ABT did a few weeks at the Met and then moved to the State Theater for a few more weeks.  We discussed this a LONG time ago.

I do remember those summer festivals -- Bolshoi, Paris, wow! But I assume some heavy subsidies from somewhere.

[Papagena]

 

41 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

I am also a broken record but giving Jaffe such grief and lack of patience in her programming is, in my opinion, brutally unfair a year and half after taking the reins. I’m going to keep repeating myself but her Fall season last year was incredibly well programmed. The Met is a different animal, and I’m willing to give her another year on that. Regarding the dancers, I’m incredibly impatient here as are others, but it bears repeating that she INHERITED McKenzie’s mess. Dancers promoted who never should have been, others who should have retired years ago who inexplicably hold on. But, what was she supposed to do? Fire half of the principals and soloists the second she came onboard? Then what??

Believe me, I’ve been checking some dancers IGs frequently hoping to see a “I’m retiring” post. 

Personally, my company has gone through a merger the last few months and we now have not only a new CEO but have gone through a few rounds of brutal layoffs. Many colleagues I adored and worked with every day are now gone. Morale is now incredibly low, we lack people to do the actual work, and it’s no longer the same place to me. I imagine ABT would feel similar if Jaffe had done a slash and burn right out of the gate, no matter how necessary some of those changes would be. 

Thank you! We can all pretend we have good ideas or know what would work, but most of our suggestions wouldn't do a thing to fix ABT's problems (and many would be giant duds). 

Jaffe is making hundreds of decisions, and the small ones can be just as important than the big visible ones. I can almost guarantee that a good amount of the suggestions on this board have been considered. All these calls for Jaffe to accomplish great things in the first two years totally negate the realities that she can't pop into a company and start executing new ideas left and right. It doesn't work for corporations and it doesn't work for ABT.

Edited June 12 by Papagena

[California]

18 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

Regarding the dancers, I’m incredibly impatient here as are others, but it bears repeating that she INHERITED McKenzie’s mess. Dancers promoted who never should have been, others who should have retired years ago who inexplicably hold on. But, what was she supposed to do? Fire half of the principals and soloists the second she came onboard? Then what??

Corella got rid of 40% of the dancers when he arrived in Philadelphia. It was brutal, but paid off. He brought in several trained in Cuba. Not sure where ABT would recruit.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2017/10/14/pennsylvania-ballet-angel-corella-drama/