sf_herminator Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Principal Casting has been posted for Swan Lake, which runs from Friday 2/23 through Sunday 3/3 CASTING - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) - *CASTING SUBJECT TO CHANGE Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Black Swan Pas de Deux and Act II Choreography: after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov Additional Principal Coaching: Julio Bocca Scenic and Costume Design: Jonathan Fensom Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton Friday, February 23, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Nikisha Fogo Prince Siegfried: Aaron Robison Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Saturday, February 24, 2:00 PM Odette-Odile: Frances Chung Prince Siegfried: Joseph Walsh Von Rothbart: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira Saturday, February 24, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Sasha De Sola Prince Siegfried: Isaac Hernández Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson Sunday, February 25, 2:00 PM Odette-Odile: Wona Park Prince Siegfried: Wei Wang Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Tuesday, February 27, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Nikisha Fogo Prince Siegfried: Aaron Robison Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Wednesday, February 28, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Frances Chung Prince Siegfried: Joseph Walsh Von Rothbart: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira Thursday, February 29, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Sasha De Sola Prince Siegfried: Isaac Hernández Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson Friday, March 1, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Wona Park Prince Siegfried: Wei Wang Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Saturday, March 2, 2:00 PM Odette-Odile: Nikisha Fogo Prince Siegfried: Aaron Robison Von Rothbart: Nathaniel Remez Saturday, March 2, 8:00 PM Odette-Odile: Frances Chung Prince Siegfried: Joseph Walsh Von Rothbart: Daniel Deivison-Oliveira Sunday, March 3, 2:00 PM Odette-Odile: Sasha De Sola Prince Siegfried: Isaac Hernández Von Rothbart: Alexander Reneff-Olson Please note there will be an Encore of Swan Lake to end the season. There will be 7 performances beginning April 30 through May 5 with guest artists. No news yet as to who will be the guest artists. SWAN LAKE ENCORE - San Francisco Ballet (sfballet.org) Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 Cygnets rehearsing: https://fb.watch/qkPHwB2for/ Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) Principal Dancer Sasha De Sola will be the Artist in the opening night's Meet the Artist Interview. Principal Dancer Joseph Walsh will be the Artist in Sunday's Meet the Artist Interview. https://www.sfballet.org/productions/meet-the-artist-interviews/ Edited February 24 by sf_herminator Link to comment
sf_herminator Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Full cast for the opening night performance of Swan Lake - https://www.sfballet.org/tickets/casting/ Friday, February 23, 8:00 PM Conductor: Martin West Violin: Cordula Merks Cello: Eric Sung Odette-Odile: NIKISHA FOGO Prince Siegfried: AARON ROBISON Von Rothbart: NATHANIEL REMEZ Queen Mother: Katita Waldo Wolfgang, The Tutor: Ricardo Bustamante PROLOGUE Odette, Von Rothbart ACT I – OUTSIDE THE PALACE Prince Siegfried, Queen Mother, Wolfgang Pas de Trois: KATHERINE BARKMAN, ESTEBAN HERNÁNDEZ, ISABELLA DEVIVO Aristocrats: Kamryn Baldwin, Thamires Chuvas, Gabriela Gonzalez, Elizabeth Mateer, Anatalia St. Clair, Rubén Cítores Nieto, Luca Ferrò, Steven Morse, Joshua Jack Price, Mingxuan Wang Peasants: Sofia Albers, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Maya Chandrashekaran, Jihyun Choi, Mimi Lamar, Katharine Lee, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Pemberley Ann Olson, Tyla Steinbach, Seojeong Yun, Benjamin Davidoff, Lleyton Ho, Andris Kundzins, Simone Pompignoli, Jacob Seltzer, Alexis Francisco Valdes Ladies in Waiting, Guards, Peasants, and Children: Supernumeraries and Students of San Francisco Ballet School – INTERMISSION – ACT II – THE LAKESIDE Odette, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart Cygnets: Katherine Barkman, Isabella DeVivo, Norika Matsuyama, Julia Rowe Swan Maidens: Kamryn Baldwin and Sasha Mukhamedov Swans: Sofia Albers, Samantha Bristow, Olivia Brothers, Jihyun Choi, Thamires Chuvas, Jacey Gailliard, Gabriela Gonzalez, Katharine Lee, SunMin Lee, Elizabeth Mateer, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Pemberley Ann Olson, Anatalia St. Clair, Tyla Steinbach, Angela Watson, Victoria Wright, Seojeong Yun – INTERMISSION – ACT III – THE PALACE BALLROOM Odile, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart, Queen Mother, Wolfgang Spanish Princess: Sasha Mukhamedov with Rubén Cítores Nieto and Mingxuan Wang Czardas Princess: Anatalia St. Clair with Daniel Deivison-Oliveira and Samantha Bristow, SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Swane Messaoudi, Andris Kundzins, João Percilio da Silva, Jacob Seltzer, Alexis Francisco Valdes Neapolitan Princess: Julia Rowe with Cavan Conley Russian Princesses: Kamryn Baldwin and Thamires Chuvas with Joshua Jack Price and Steven Morse Master of Ceremonies: Benjamin Davidoff Ladies and Gentlemen of the Court: Students of San Francisco Ballet School Grand Pas de Deux: Odile and Prince Siegfried ACT IV – THE LAKESIDE Odette, Prince Siegfried, Von Rothbart, Swans *Casting subject to change Link to comment
Josette Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I’m in San Francisco to see the four casts of Sean Lake. The Friday night premiere had Nikisha Fogo and Aaron Robison in the principal roles. They were electric, passionate, and so in sync with each other emotionally, that I sat completely enthralled. It was Swan Lake fully realized. What a glorious night. Link to comment
PeggyTulle Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Sasha Mukhamedov is better than a swan maiden and a minor princess. Link to comment
Josette Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 PeggyTulle- I’m with you totally about the mishandling of Sasha Mukhamedov. Link to comment
Josette Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 It was a pleasure to see Frances Chung on stage again for the Saturday matinee with Joe Walsh. She had not danced for many months due to her pregnancy and was utterly back to her exquisite form for Swan Lake. In contrast, I was distressed by the Saturday evening principals, with a display of contrived, calculated, exaggerated emoting lacquered on by the female principal and the lackluster performance by the male principal, who has a stiff back and torso and very little projection. I am sure that some will think differently, but, objectively speaking, it was hard to sit through, seeing the poetry of Swan Lake demolished by phoniness under the guise of interpretation. Kudos to Cavan Conley for his Act I performance and dancing in the pas de trios and Isabella DeVivo, utterly delightful with a beautiful, light jump, in the Neapolitan duet in Act III. Link to comment
Phrenchphry11 Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 I'm surprised by the negative Saturday review, but I suppose that's why we have multiple casts! I just saw Frances and Joe tonight, both were stunning. Frances is definitely a more understated Odette/Odile, I wouldn't say she brings over-the-top pathos to the role. However, as always, she's really tasteful in her technical and artistic choices (it's something I appreciate more and more, especially in this era of social media ballerinas). She knows when to go for big turns, balances, etc and when to hold back. I never feel like her dancing "distracts" from the actual ballet. And I'm continually amazed that she never seems to have an off night, ever. A thoroughly great evening, well worth the cost of admission and then some! Link to comment
Terez Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Wonderful to read others' experiences. Josette, what interesting comments you make about Saturday night -- I did not see, but I always trust your perspective and opinion. So, thank you for your honestly. I saw opening night and Sunday afternoon. Both performances were wonderful, but I favored Nikisha's Act II Odette over Wona's, but Wona's Black Swan more than Nikisha's. Wona just crushed it. Her 32-fouetté passage was just stunning and soooo powerful. I reviewed it at The Classical Girl, and it sounds like I have permission to post links to my reviews, so here's that: https://wp.me/p3k7ov-1wE For those who don't like to leave the page, here's a "Top 10 Things I liked" section of the review. Nathaniel Remez as Von Rothbart in both performances, creepily excellent (excellently creepy?), with his leaps, as well as those fabulous birdlike movements of his head. Katherine Barkman, Isabella DeVivo, Esteban Hernández in the Pas de Trois on opening night. The glorious moving clouds in a blue sky that grow pink as dusk descends, a melding of Jennifer Tipton’s lighting design and Sven Ortel’s projection design that works so very well. The swan corps ensemble. They make the show. They are stunning. In perfect synch, both performances. Brava, you unsung heroes of this ballet. Cordula Merks' glorious violin solos (and duets with Eric Sung on the cello). Apprentice Jacey Gailliard performing in the demi-soloist role of Swan Maiden alongside seasoned soloist Sasha Mukhamedov and just nailing it, projecting such confidence. Sasha Mukhamedov and Kamryn Baldwin as Spanish Princess, on opening night and Sunday afternoon, respectively. Regal, assured, decisive. Newcomers Jihyun Choi, Hui-Wen Peng, Alexis Francisco Valdes (one year more senior), all corps dancers rising to the challenge in Sunday’s Pas de Trois. The cygnets, that iconic quartet of four dancers with interlocked arms, dancing as one unit. Flawless, both nights. (SunMin Lee, Carmela Mayo, Tyla Steinbach, Angela Watson on Sunday and Katherine Barkman, Isabella DeVivo, Norika Matsuyama, Julia Rowe on Friday night.) The searing, emotional climax in that final scene, by the lake, the music breaking my heart as the final drama plays out. Wow. Just wow. Link to comment
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