ABt Onegin Met 2024

[Papagena]

41 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

In this case I think there is. She can tear the letter in such a way that the audience won't react quite so spontaneously, for example, by starting the tearing more slowly, rather than diving straight into it. Slower tearing would actually suggest how difficult it is for Tatiana to do it. (Personally, I would like to see her kick him in the shins, but the source insists that, for reasons I can't fathom, she still loves the guy.)

Wouldn't tearing it up quickly be closer to kicking him in the shins than tearing the letter up slowly...

I've seen Tatianas tear the letter up quickly with no audience applause. 

Edited June 19 by Papagena

[California]

6 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Aaargh! I hate it when that happens. Instead of a tragedy, the ballet turns into a spectator sport.

The matinee audience was clap-happy. They applauded at the first entrance of Bell and then Forster, then applauded throughout most of the two diagonal "jetes marathon" in Act I. I thought they were applauding Tatiana for rejecting Onegin in such a symbolically important way. I don't recall applause at any of those points in other performances. 

Edited June 20 by California

[JenniferV]

I was fortunate to see opening night and this afternoon's matinee of Onegin. Loved both performances. The surprise for me was Cory Stearns. I haven't expected much from him in recent years but I thought his portrayal of Onegin was spot on. He was technically strong and dramatically even stronger. Roxander enchanted. I also very much enjoyed today's cast but thought Misseldine has room to grow in her acting. What an exciting ballet to see again after so long. I worry that given the last minute casting shuffles this year, it will be awhile before ABT takes the chance with mounting a Cranko ballet again. Reid Anderson was in the audience at the matinee performance (and presumably at the opening as well although I did not see him.) 

[balletlover08]

17 minutes ago, JenniferV said:

I was fortunate to see opening night and this afternoon's matinee of Onegin. Loved both performances. The surprise for me was Cory Stearns. I haven't expected much from him in recent years but I thought his portrayal of Onegin was spot on. He was technically strong and dramatically even stronger. Roxander enchanted. I also very much enjoyed today's cast but thought Misseldine has room to grow in her acting. What an exciting ballet to see again after so long. I worry that given the last minute casting shuffles this year, it will be awhile before ABT takes the chance with mounting a Cranko ballet again. Reid Anderson was in the audience at the matinee performance (and presumably at the opening as well although I did not see him.) 

Reid Anderson was there last night too. Irina Dovorenko posted about it. She went again today! 

[volcanohunter]

8 hours ago, Helene said:

I might not laugh out loud, but I find sobbing in nearly every type of performance, whether it be ballet, opera, or theater, to take me out of the performance and roll my eyes before I can think about it.

My answer would be that performers are better off not resorting to sobbing. Dronina fell into that trap, and Lunkina stayed out of it by not sobbing and was all the more poignant for it.

Edited June 20 by volcanohunter

[abatt]

I went this afternoon.  Bell and Hurlin were perfection.  Misseldine was, like shev last night, a technical dancer in Act I, but I was not feeling the passion.  Misseldine had this unfortunate habit in Act I in the letter/bedroom scene of running up to Forster for the next big lift, and then stopping.  Essentially, instead of catching her mid leap, he was lifting her after she came to a full stop.  Not exactly seamless transitions.  You could see all of her preparations.  No passion to be found in Act I.  Just two dancers pushing through difficult choreography. I don't measure the performance by the fact that she is a soloist.  I compare past performances in my mind with the current dancer.  She improved in Act III. 

I give a lot of credit to Forster.  Lifting someone as tall as Chloe is a tough job, and boy are these lifts difficult.

I think Forster is too nice a fellow to play a mean guy, but I'm glad I saw him. 

I guess it is a tall order to think we will ever again see performances of the caliber of Kent Bolle and Vishneva Gomes in these roles. 

Hee Seo - it all rests on your shoulders.  We hope you come through with a barn burner letter scene in Act I on Saturday afternoon.

LOts of young people at the matinee because schools are closed for Juneteenth.

I think many of these dancers could benefit from watching the performances of Fleming and Hvorostovsky in the opera Onegin to get an idea of the emotions that must be conveyed in the ballet.  I rarely she a tear at the opera, but this performance was so shattering it made me weep at the end.  

 

 

Edited June 20 by abatt

[stuben]

50 minutes ago, abatt said:

I went this afternoon.  Bell and Hurlin were perfection.  Misseldine was, like shev last night, a technical dancer in Act I, but I was not feeling the passion.  Misseldine had this unfortunate habit in Act I in the letter/bedroom scene of running up to Forster for the next big lift, and then stopping.  Essentially, instead of catching her mid leap, he was lifting her after she came to a full stop.  Not exactly seamless transitions.  You could see all of her preparations.  No passion to be found in Act I.  Just two dancers pushing through difficult choreography. I don't measure the performance by the fact that she is a soloist.  I compare past performances in my mind with the current dancer.  She improved in Act III. 

I give a lot of credit to Forster.  Lifting someone as tall as Chloe is a tough job, and boy are these lifts difficult.

I think Forster is too nice a fellow to play a mean guy, but I'm glad I saw him. 

I guess it is a tall order to think we will ever again see performances of the caliber of Kent Bolle and Vishneva Gomes in these roles. 

Hee Seo - it all rests on your shoulders.  We hope you come through with a barn burner letter scene in Act I on Saturday afternoon.

LOts of young people at the matinee because schools are closed for Juneteenth.

I think many of these dancers could benefit from watching the performances of Fleming and Hvorostovsky in the opera Onegin to get an idea of the emotions that must be conveyed in the ballet.  I rarely she a tear at the opera, but this performance was so shattering it made me weep at the end.  

 

 

Actually I’m not surprised about Misseldine as I had trouble with her Rosaura character in Like Water For Chocolate, her acting felt very one dimension/flat. Her technique is really good and as expected since she came out of the YAGP like many others. There lies my issue with these competitions, that have wonderful technical dancers but that’s all. I too miss the days of Kent, Bolle, Vishneva and Gomes, just to name a few.

[Fraildove]

There is still a partnership that rivals the greats above… although not to be found stateside. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Onegin in Stuttgart in July with the jaw dropping Friedemann Vogel as Onegin and Elisa Badenes as Tatiana. Vogel is one of the most elegant, dramatic dancers currently performing and he has been fortunate to first have Alicia Amatrian and now Badenes as his frequent partner. By the last pas de deux the only thing you could hear in the sold out opera house was sniffles, a few quoted sobs, and tears. I was choked up as well. The audience was on its feet before the curtain even came back up for curtain calls. It was one of the most loving performances I’ve ever seen in my life. 
 

it is exciting to have some really young, beautifully talented dancers coming up the ranks at ABT. I hope desperately that they can get the coaching they need to excel as artistically as they are excelling technically. That’s what audiences remember. Thank you all for the reports for those of us who can’t be there!

[abatt]

I saw Vogel do an excerpt of Onegin at the YAGP gala in April  I have forgotten who his partner was.  They were wonderful.

[ABT Fan]

This evening, Seo and Whiteside were nothing short of miraculous. I had high expectations for Seo, having seen her Juliet, and she delivered. Whiteside, on the other hand, where did tonight’s performance come from? I’ve never found his roles in the full lengths to have depth (Albrecht, Siegfried) and in fact I usually consider them to be one-note. But, he was brilliant tonight. The haughtiness, self-absorption, and entitlement were so clear and he commanded the stage. His dancing was quite beautiful, nice tours, and those prickly lifts were pulled off brilliantly. The bedroom pas was full on passion and by the last scene I was actually holding my breath at one point. Truly heartbreaking. I just can’t get over Whiteside.

Royal and Trenary were excellent as Lensky/Olga. Trenary had more nuance then Hurlin earlier, really demonstrating her conflicted feelings while being “courted” by Onegin. Royal was clearly in love with her and had some beautiful moments in his solo, but didn’t compare to Bell.

McKenzie was in the audience tonight along with other notables. 

Lastly, why was Carlos Gonzalez dancing in all the corps scenes? He’s a soloist.

[abatt]

A friend has also told me that tonight's show was excellent 

 Seeing that cast on Sat 

[California]

1 hour ago, Fraildove said:

There is still a partnership that rivals the greats above… although not to be found stateside. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Onegin in Stuttgart in July with the jaw dropping Friedemann Vogel as Onegin and Elisa Badenes as Tatiana. Vogel is one of the most elegant, dramatic dancers currently performing and he has been fortunate to first have Alicia Amatrian and now Badenes as his frequent partner. By the last pas de deux the only thing you could hear in the sold out opera house was sniffles, a few quoted sobs, and tears. I was choked up as well. The audience was on its feet before the curtain even came back up for curtain calls. It was one of the most loving performances I’ve ever seen in my life. 

You are in luck! Friedemann Vogel is Onegin in the Stuttgart DVD (with Alicia Amatriain). And they showed this streaming on-line during the COVID lock-down. I've watched it many, many times and his performance is the gold standard, for sure. 

https://www.amazon.com/Onegin-Stuttgart-Ballet-Tuggle-Region/dp/B07QPTF5ZK/ref=sr_1_1?

[California]

4 hours ago, JenniferV said:

 I worry that given the last minute casting shuffles this year, it will be awhile before ABT takes the chance with mounting a Cranko ballet again. 

Are there any other Cranko ballets that ABT would want? He has a version of R&J (performed in Australia), but ABT has the MacMillan. Taming of the Shrew? That would be a tough sell nowadays.  But one hopes they'll be able to bring Onegin back every few years!

[California]

43 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

This evening, Seo and Whiteside were nothing short of miraculous. I had high expectations for Seo, having seen her Juliet, and she delivered. Whiteside, on the other hand, where did tonight’s performance come from? I’ve never found his roles in the full lengths to have depth (Albrecht, Siegfried) and in fact I usually consider them to be one-note. But, he was brilliant tonight. The haughtiness, self-absorption, and entitlement were so clear and he commanded the stage. His dancing was quite beautiful, nice tours, and those prickly lifts were pulled off brilliantly. The bedroom pas was full on passion and by the last scene I was actually holding my breath at one point. Truly heartbreaking. I just can’t get over Whiteside.

No disagreement on Seo and Whiteside  - they were superb. The big surprise was learning that this was Whiteside's debut in the role, this late in his career! I've come to appreciate his partnering in recent years - something of the utmost importance in this ballet. 

[Fraildove]

Sadly, Vogel did not perform at YAGP at the last minute. His replacement was a young principal who is beautiful and has much promise, but truly does not hold a candle to Vogel in the role. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone that could match him in the role. Ever. 
 

I adore Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet! I danced MacMillan’s Juliet and it has a very special place in my heart. Both the balcony and bedroom pas are not only extraordinary to watch but to dance. But there is an innocence to Cranko’s. It isn’t hard to imagine that the dancers onstage are teens. The choreography has an innocence about it that MacMillan missed a bit. And his Market scenes are incredible. I would love to see ABT tackle it but without losing the MacMillan. They are very similar but both so unique.

 

taming of the Shrew by Cranko is brilliant and funny. It would also be a great vehicle for the company IMO.

[volcanohunter]

3 hours ago, Fraildove said:

Vogel is one of the most elegant, dramatic dancers currently performing and he has been fortunate to first have Alicia Amatrian and now Badenes as his frequent partner

The live experience must be very different, because I found the DVD with Amatrian and Vogel hugely disappointing.

Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew entered ABT's repertoire in 2000. As with Onegin, the production was rented from the National Ballet of Canada. But Shrew didn't really stick. For that matter, the National Ballet of Canada hasn't performed it for a very long time either, and I don't expect it to return under current management. 

[Drew]

Haydee and Cragun--two of the most thrilling dancers who ever lived--made Cranko's Taming of the Shrew  watchable. But I did not otherwise care for the ballet, and I remember being flummoxed when ABT acquired it. It's not impossible that my opinion of the ballet would change were I to see it now, but I don't think so. And I can't say I think any Cranko ballet worth the risk of another demoralizing episode for company dancers who have lost years of their careers to Covid and now find themselves coping with a greatly reduced performing schedule.

Edited June 20 by Drew

[FauxPas]

ABT had good casts for "The Taming of the Shrew" including Ferri and Bocca.

I remember finding it a good vehicle for talented dancers but not memorable in itself.

It was performed one season and never revived. 

I went last night to see the Seo/Whiteside/Trenary/Royal III cast.

Seo gave us a lovely, well-considered and elegantly danced interpretation of Tatiana.  Her acting was simple and sincere and never overstepped into hysteria or melodrama.

She is lovely all around as far as she goes - but other ballerinas have gone farther and dug deeper.

Diana Vishneva brought greater depths and more drama and suggested a sexual awakening.  Seo was more romantic and emotional in her response to Onegin.

I agree that James Whiteside danced extremely well and partnered Seo superbly.  However, his facial expression was cold and fixed in a sneer all night.  No idea why Tatiana would desire or trust him - he played creep all the time.  There is more ambiguity to the character.  There was no sexiness or mystery or allure - just bad attitude.  Marcelo, come BACK!!!  (I was haunted by memorable past ABT performances all night)

I thoroughly enjoyed Cassandra Trenary's changeable but not insensitive, intelligently acted Olga.  She also danced it really well.

Calvin Royal III also had long elegant limbs and beautiful lines as Lensky, giving  a great deal of pleasure.

Andrii Ischuk was very sympathetic and elegant as Prince Gremin - his legs are beautiful and long.  His conjugal pas de deux with Tatiana was one of the loveliest things all night.

The whole production looks smartly put together and well-rehearsed and coached.  The corps was very good but my eye kept going to Patrick Frenette.  Give him more, ABT.  He has "it".  

[ABT Fan]

1 hour ago, FauxPas said:

I went last night to see the Seo/Whiteside/Trenary/Royal III cast.

Seo gave us a lovely, well-considered and elegantly danced interpretation of Tatiana.  Her acting was simple and sincere and never overstepped into hysteria or melodrama.

She is lovely all around as far as she goes - but other ballerinas have gone farther and dug deeper.

Diana Vishneva brought greater depths and more drama and suggested a sexual awakening.  Seo was more romantic and emotional in her response to Onegin.

I agree that James Whiteside danced extremely well and partnered Seo superbly.  However, his facial expression was cold and fixed in a sneer all night.  No idea why Tatiana would desire or trust him - he played creep all the time.  There is more ambiguity to the character.  There was no sexiness or mystery or allure - just bad attitude.  Marcelo, come BACK!!!  (I was haunted by memorable past ABT performances all night)

I thoroughly enjoyed Cassandra Trenary's changeable but not insensitive, intelligently acted Olga.  She also danced it really well.

Calvin Royal III also had long elegant limbs and beautiful lines as Lensky, giving  a great deal of pleasure.

Andrii Ischuk was very sympathetic and elegant as Prince Gremin - his legs are beautiful and long.  His conjugal pas de deux with Tatiana was one of the loveliest things all night.

The whole production looks smartly put together and well-rehearsed and coached.  The corps was very good but my eye kept going to Patrick Frenette.  Give him more, ABT.  He has "it".  

It's fascinating how some of us can see the same performance yet have completely different opinions!

I didn't think Whiteside had a fixed sneer at all - I thought he showed great depth and nuance. He was a cold and aloof character overall, but he's supposed to be. Lots of young girls/women (even older ones, too) find the mysterious, aloof, mean "bad boy" appealing so that didn't strike me as odd at all.

Regarding Frenette - many here frequently praise him and wish he was given more roles and be promoted to soloist. I have definitely loved him in some things - his Wilfred in Giselle (typically an invisible role) is the best one I've seen and he makes that character really stand out. He did a smaller role in Love and Rage (he also did Mithridates which I didn't see) whose character name I can't recall, but it was masterfully done - my eye was repeatedly drawn to him. That said, I do think he's a fine dancer, but not a great one. I definitely don't think he has "it".

I forgot to mention earlier, that Lea Fleytoux regularly stands out amongst the corps. Her dancing has grown stronger and more lovelier each time I see her. I know she debuted the Giselle peasant pas earlier this year with Roxander. I hope she gets the SL pas de trois in a few weeks.

I agree that the Onegin production looks terrific and the corps was really on yesterday.

[MarzipanShepherdess]

Saw the evening performance on Wednesday with Seo and Whiteside. I'd originally had tickets for the ill-starred Teuscher/Camargo cast and switched them for Seo and Whiteside largely because of how much I've enjoyed Seo's Juliet (I think the roles require similar gifts).

I loved how Seo's performance really built last night to an absolutely harrowing final pas de deux. She was really edge-of-your-seat gripping, and heartbreaking in her evocation of how painful Tatiana's decision to reject Onegin was. Going into Act III, I had a sense she was "saving it" a bit--while her earlier pas de deux with Whiteside was swoony, I had the ghost of Vishneva in my head (as I often do with roles I saw her dance) and was missing the intensity I remembered her bringing  there. But when I saw Seo's Act III I understood it as a considered choice, to show the audience that her Tatiana's early passion for Onegin is an adolescent one and that the ultimate heartbreak for her Tatiana isn't in being rejected but in rejecting. I don't think her Act III pas de deux would have landed as strongly if she'd gone for broke in Act I. I loved it! 

I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed Whiteside here as he is not a dancer I make a point of seeking out. With his height, strong jaw, and chiseled cheekbones he sure can look the part of the imperious Onegin, but he also evoked Onegin's remorse and despair very well.  I also appreciated how in the Act I pas de deux his performance made it clear that he was embodying Tatiana's fantasy of Onegin, not the man he actually was (which not all Onegins I've seen have captured).  He was a great partner to Seo, deftly managing all those treacherous lifts and catches. His jump seems more inhibited than I remember before his awful knee injury, but his turns were quick and polished. 

Trenary was very good as Olga, making her girlish, innocent high spirits so vivid that her fate was all the more tragic. Royal wins your heart as Lensky, bringing the affable, tender boyishness that also characterizes his Romeo, but his lines and particularly port de bras didn't strike me as as refined as they often do. 

[cobweb]

After reading these reports I was gaining some interest in seeing Onegin... but I see I've missed all the casting I would be want to see. I haven't followed the casting changes too closely, but weren't Roxander and Coker originally scheduled for two shows? I wonder why they were pulled from one performance, but not the other. Whatever the reason behind Teuscher and Camargo's removal, it was a complete removal, whereas for Roxander and Coker it was only halfway. Also all four of those are dancers that I would definitely like to see, so the changes are very unfortunate. 

[ABT Fan]

22 minutes ago, cobweb said:

After reading these reports I was gaining some interest in seeing Onegin... but I see I've missed all the casting I would be want to see. I haven't followed the casting changes too closely, but weren't Roxander and Coker originally scheduled for two shows? I wonder why they were pulled from one performance, but not the other. Whatever the reason behind Teuscher and Camargo's removal, it was a complete removal, whereas for Roxander and Coker it was only halfway. Also all four of those are dancers that I would definitely like to see, so the changes are very unfortunate. 

Yes, Roxander/Coker originally had 2 shows, the second one being Friday. Their one show was kept on Tuesday as originally planned. The Misseldine/Forster/Bell/Hurlin cast was originally one show (Thursday) but they were given an additional performance (Wed matinee) when all the changes were made. 

[cobweb]

... So Coker and Roxander were replaced in their second show (but not the first one!) by Brandt and Ahn. All I can say is that I would much rather see Coker and Roxander, and if they were still on for tomorrow night, I would be there! I will be out of town for the last three weeks of the season so I'll miss Swan Lake and R&J. I'm sure I could find casting I would like to see for these two. As it is, I'm struggling to find something I want to see in the first two weeks. I'd like to keep up with ABT more than I have in recent years, but it's a challenge. If anyone knows much about Woolf Works, what the roles are, and what casting might be best, I'd love to hear it. 

[ABT Fan]

28 minutes ago, cobweb said:

... So Coker and Roxander were replaced in their second show (but not the first one!) by Brandt and Ahn. All I can say is that I would much rather see Coker and Roxander, and if they were still on for tomorrow night, I would be there! 

Correct. If they were still on tomorrow, I’d also be there (I swapped for yesterday after it changed). 

 

[Drew]

4 hours ago, cobweb said:

... So Coker and Roxander were replaced in their second show (but not the first one!) by Brandt and Ahn. All I can say is that I would much rather see Coker and Roxander, and if they were still on for tomorrow night, I would be there! I will be out of town for the last three weeks of the season so I'll miss Swan Lake and R&J. I'm sure I could find casting I would like to see for these two. As it is, I'm struggling to find something I want to see in the first two weeks. I'd like to keep up with ABT more than I have in recent years, but it's a challenge. If anyone knows much about Woolf Works, what the roles are, and what casting might be best, I'd love to hear it. 

If all goes well, then I'm coming to NY for it and will see several casts. I am excited, but I expect it to divide opinions. From video and seeing other McGregor -- and as you probably realize anyway -- it's contemporary choreography (that is, not really what I would call neo-classical).

Someone here at Ballet Alert recommended looking up the plot of Mrs. Dalloway before going since the first act is somewhat narrative and tries to tell at least aspects of the novel's story.But my sense is that overall the ballet is more engaged with Woolf's life and works as a point of departure or inspiration, than trying to adapt Woolf in a more literal or story-driven way. In interviews, the creators are quite emphatic that you don't need to be familiar with Woolf to enjoy the ballet. From the video, I think that's probably true or, at least, mostly true, but if you have never read anything by or about her I would also follow the advice to look up the plot of Mrs. Dalloway.

The leading ballerina dances the role based on Clarissa Dalloway in the 1st act and returns in the final Act to evoke Woolf herself. The role was created for Ferri in 2015--I trust she will still be powerful on stage, but I am not entirely persuaded that she can fill out all the choreography as she did 9 years ago.  I'm still excited about seeing that cast and it includes Cornejo, Trenary, Hurlin, and Park. (Again, if all goes well--by which I mean my health--then I will also see the Murphy cast and the Seo cast. If I were only going once, then I would be at least tempted by the Hee Seo cast as my one cast both to see Hee Seo herself and because that cast has Chloe Misseldine.)

However, I would not consider this the ballet to check out a dancer's pure classical ballet chops. I think some ABT dancers will shine all the more in a contemporary work and I love the fact that every cast has listed a slew of featured dancers--many more than I have mentioned.

Here are 3 links that may be useful to you in deciding whether you would like to go:

1)Page with an essay by the ballet's dramaturg and--if you scroll down--casts for the ballet:

https://www.abt.org/events/woolf-works/

2)Link to the Royal Ballet "insights" event for their audience when the ballet was revived 7 years ago: includes a rehearsal towards the beginning of the video and a full run through of a small section towards the end:

 

3)Link to a pas de deux from the second act (Osipova and Watson):

 

 

Edited June 21 by Drew