ABT's site has replaced Diana Vishneva with Julie Kent for Tuesday. All other casting for the Manon run remains unchanged. The change has (yet) to be posted on the Met ticket site.
[Added 5:30: the Met now has this update as well]

This makes sense as Diana did not participate in the dress rehearsal this afternoon. Julie did the whole rehearsal performance. What happened to Diana?

Mebbe she really was sick.

I'm crushed by the news of Visheva's cancelling tomorrow's performance. I have such a good seat. What am I to do? Try to exchange it for Friday or give Kent a chance?

Julie does (did) a marvelous performance in the role last year. I think it will well be worth seeing. I am dismayed that Diana is not performing tomorrow. I just hope she is OK and this doesn't portend her departure from the ABT.

Seems like a lot of pinch hitters in the ABT line up this season.

My wife was at today's dress rehearsal (I couldn't go) and absolutely loved Kent. I saw Diana's Manon last year with Malakhov, but still wanted to see her again. My second choice would have been Ferri/Bolle, but apparently there are no good orchestra seats left for Thursday. On the other hand, there are still great seats availble for Friday night. Choices, choices:)

ABT is updating their online calendar approx. 24 in advance of cast changes. 24 hours is also the minimum time required by the Met box office to exchange tickets. Since so many ABT dancers seem to be injured/ill this season, it is probably a good idea to check the ABT site for changes if you think you might want to exchange your ticket in event of a cast change. I was lucky enough to remember to do just that at 6pm this evening and ran down to the box office to exchange my ticket for tomorrow night for Friday when I saw Diana wasn't performing. (While Julie Kent's facility for dramatic ballets seems to be improving, she simply isn't in the same league as Diana, IMO) Hopefully, Diana will perform Friday and in her future scheduled performances.

Here's Willi Burmann prepping Ferri and Bolle in Manon, as reported in the NY Sun:

[my bold type]

Evidently Mr. Bolle is not small... I plan to see them Thursday. Any reports on their performance last night?

On the Vishneva front, her site has also noted today's cancellation, but no other performances have been removed. All Russian information I can find is completely consistent with the "ill" as reported by ABT.

http://www.nysun.com/article/56182

Last night began bittersweet -- remembering Julio Bocca and Alessandra Ferri with a renewed mourning that we would not see the likes of their Manon or R&J again. But Ferri did a good thing by bringing this "new" young partner to our house. Tall, dark, and handsome with beautiful feet, endless legs, and a pure, classical line -- Roberto Bolle wasn't the dramatic powerhouse we'd hoped for, but he was a lot more than just eye candy. For a Met debut across from one of our most beloved ballerinas whom we only want to remember with Julio, he held his own, handsomely.

What is there left to say about Alessandra? Once again, she lived the role of Manon with abandon and passion. She swept us into her character's moment and left us emotionally exhausted at night's end. She was securely partnered by Bolle, who as previously suggested, indeed has some big shoulders. He's a very good dancer, and I hope to see him in future seasons. It's understandable why Alessandra chose to dance with him, but the pairing just looked a little odd to me - size-wise, age-wise, and drama-wise. I kept thinking how interesting and powerful a Ferri/Stiefel pairing in Manon might have been.

Stiefel was great as Lescaut. Great. And I think that Bolle's best dramatic moments came from his confrontations with Stiefel's Lescaut. Murphy was Lescaut's mistress, and was appropriately saucy.

I love everything about this production. While it certainly centers around the main character of Manon, every character from the harlots to the beggars to the guys playing cards is fully and brilliantly developed. It makes you downright grateful for the genius of MacMillan.

ABT's site has just replaced Reyes by Ferri for Wednesday matinee.

Wow, she's dancing Manon 3 times in 4 days? Talk about going out with a bang. She was so beautiful on Monday night that it seems criminal for her to retire now. But it sounds like she's made up her mind and it was a privilege and a pleasure to witness her genius once again in this role. And very generous of her to give us Roberto Bolle as a parting gift. He certainly is a beautiful dancer and a great partner for her. I wasn't bothered at all by the age or size difference. In fact I felt as though the size discrepancy allowed her to be really free and daring and completely abandon herself to the moment without a thought to the mechanics of those treacherous lifts. Not that she wouldn't take the same approach with someone closer to her own size - or doesn't all the time - but with Bolle you never wondered for a moment if the partnering was secure - when they whipped into those lifts it looked like they threw caution to the wind and saw only each other. It was a very powerful performance which left us all emotionally drained, and it was rewarded with many curtain calls, at least one after the Met had turned all the house lights up. I don't love this ballet - in fact I don't even like it but I still can't wait for Ferri/Bolle II on Thursday. I thought Bolle's acting was fine here, if he and Ferri were any more demonstrative they would have had to give this a XXX rating - lots of those kisses really didn't look like stage kisses at all. But one of the things I dislike about Manon is how over the top it all is. I expect everyone to chew the scenery in this one, so considering the production I felt the drama and passion level was appropriately high. I would love to see him in something classical and I'm hoping that he'll be back again next year - we need another big, tall danseur noble.

I agree that Stiefel was fabulous as Lescaut - it looked like he was having the best time of his life playing the bad guy, while all the pressure was on the new guy. He and Murphy were just hysterical in the drunk scene, it's really wonderful to watch them dance together.

Thank you drb! I raced up to the Met to get a ticket and was able to get my favorite seat. They said that the performance was not nearly sold out.

I picked up the latest casting sheet which lists the Von Rothbarts in Swan Lake. Hallberg will dance the role on opening night with Irina and Max. Gomes will dance the role in Nina's and Corella's performance. The other Von Rothbarts are Radetsky, Saveliev and Pastor.

Is Reyes injured? Lane replaced her in Blue Bird pdd recently.

Manon, 6/12, Kent/Gomes/Radetsky/C. Corella
Well, I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I had a great time tonight! This is the best performance I've seen yet this season, and I saw 2 Bayaderes, 1 Symph Concert/Dream, 1 Othello, and 3(!) SBs. I was very disappointed about Vishneva, and would have swapped in my ticket for Friday if I had heard of the casting change in time. Boy, I'm glad I didn't. Kent doesn't exude the same louche (is that the right word??) quality that Vishneva gave off so convincingly last year. But she pairs beautifully with Gomes, and at this point I'm convinced that everything he touches turns to gold. This is a ballet that really highlights the central couple, and they were great!!! It was one of those nights that made me grateful for ABT in general. Sascha Radetsky often looks too young to be convincing in "bad guy" roles, but he had such authority tonight that for a minute, I was actually convinced he could beat up Marcelo Gomes. And I like this ballet, and this production, very much. I hope that parents aren't taking their children to this, thinking ballet is just a sweet divertissement (I wouldn't want to have to explain Act III, Scene 2 to a child), but as an adult I find this one of the more intelligent ballets ABT has, and there's a lot more dancing than R&J. I loved all the dancing girls with high kicks in staccato time, and I only wished, as I so often do, that there was more for the wonderful corps guys to do. Go ABT!

I was extremely disappointed not to see Vishneva last night and am crossing my fingers that she'll be well by next week's R&J.

That being said, I wasn't moved by Julie Kent's Manon at all. She's a good dancer, but no actress. I preferred Marcelo Gomes who has elegant technique and kept my attention.

I especially enjoyed Olga Dvorovenko's portrayal of Madame last night. You can see where daughter Irina's good looks come from! By the way, has Irina ever danced the lead in Manon? Seems to me she's a natural for it.
Certainly ABT seems to be short of Manons. I don't know why Reyes was replaced this afternoon, but if both she and Vishneva were to miss the weekend, well, just how many more performances can two senior ballerinas be expected to add on? Shouldn't there be a back-up? Has ABT ever had to cancel a performance for lack of a lead dancer?

I'm sorry but I almost left after Act II. Kent is definitely not my cup of iced tchai. I'm rarely completely satisfied with Vishneva's performances lately, but for me, she's in a totally different league. Kent was falling apart in all major scenes and not even Gomes could keep her together.

If D.V.'s illness is serious and she cancels the rest of the season, it will be a major catastrophe.

Waelsung

Do you mind elaborating on your take on Kent's performance. How was she falling apart?

MakarovaFan

How do YOU judge good or bad acting? In a story like Mannon, much of the "acting" would be found in facial expressions as well as "gesture" which I would assume are part of the choreography and would not vary significantly from one lead to another in the same production. Again, can you provide something more tangible as to what constitutes poor acting... or good acting for that matter? Referring to a performance from 15 years ago is of no help in my understanding what I saw last night.

I suspect that many view each performance through some sort of filter. The dancers they like appear to act well and the ones they don't fall short. We try to force the dancer into our own sterotype or prejudice. Shame that is.

I thought Kent's acting was fine. How believable do you expect these role portrayals to be? I am continually struck by people projecting so much onto story and romantic ballet. All ballet is fantasy. It doesn't fool me. But I can still enjoy it! People do not live their lives moving as do dancers in a stroy ballet. People don't move in choreographed symmetry or dress in "silly costumes"... lunge through the air and get lifted up by a lover... or tumble to the floor. Come on... acting?

If one has not read the notes and is familair with the libretto, most of these "stories" look like "cartoons" to the non cognoscenti. How can you take them seriously and make comments like so and so was not acting well or falling apart? If you are referring to technical flaws that is another story. Julie Kent seemed to perform a technically competant at the very least. or perhaps I missed something?

Wow, go figure. I thought Kent was quite lovely and a good actress as well.

Most members of the audience, SanderO, are not close enough to see in dancers' faces much beyond a smileor a grimace without the aid of opera glasses. You keep the glasses to your eyes the whole time, you miss 65% of what's going on on stage. So as someone who is not tuned into the faces, and keeping in mind that dancers spend 8-10 years making their bodies expressive instruments, I see "acting" in posture, head position, shoulder position, hands and timing both in relation to and independent of the music. These are also the elements which, to me, characterize any particular dancer. Choreography is a pattern, but expressivity comes through the emphasis a dancer places on any of a half dozen details contained in any particular movement.

I go to ballet, however, to see dancing, not acting, but even when I'm watching a non-narrative ballet, I expect to see something of what that piece means to the dancer.

Fair enough Carbro... I plead guity to watching much of the ballet thru opera classes. And this does allow me to see lots of detail and facial expressions.

Accordinging I found Julie Kent was fabulous and when I passed the glasses to my wife to have a look see, I realized that without the glasses it was, as you say mostly body and form and so forth and seeing her expressions was virtually impossible and we sat in the second row in the Grand Tier.

The choreography of many dances cannot be seen with glasses and from abovewithout them it can and often is glorious.. the choreography is like a kaliedoscope of motion. I saw the Manon rehearsal and the Tuesday performance, rehearsal from the orchestra and performance from the GT and they REALLY looked like two different ballets. I spent a lot of time behind the spy glasses because I like to look at detail. From that intimate POV the acting was great. I would have missed many of the facial expressions of Sacha for example.. and he was excellent and the audience agreed and most did not need glasses to see that.

However, one can see dancing quite wonderfully with glasses, but hardly more than a few people at a time so the big picture is lost. When more than a couple or 3 are dancing glasses make no sense at all, such as when the corps is at it... unless you want to focus on one corps member... or soloist not performing standing on the side, which I do from time to time.

How expressive must a body/movement be to be "read" from a few hundred feet away in dim lighting? When does the distance mask the subtlety? I must admit I love the way the glasses let me look closely at the dancers... perhaps as if I am 10 feet away. Is that unnatural? I don't know. But it feels like I see so much more that way... and I see plenty of what I would term acting. But I see it in the movement, posture, and so forth as well. Symphonie Concertante is a non opera glass ballet for me.

One thing which occured to me about Mannon... when the male characters like Lescat, for example, seemed "excited" about something, some idea perhaps... he would go whirling and spinning across the stage... like bursting energy of thought or unspoken speech. Obviously some movement and gesture is more literal and easily read... but others.. like spinning is more abstract and I suspect that it is meant to mean something... at times ... more than just a display of virtuosity. But my guess is just that a guess. Perhaps not every step and movement is not meant to have meaning. I like to think it is... and that is part of the brilliance and mystery. Story ballet seems to marry abstraction and the literal in a magical and magnetic way.

Manon is a wonderful ballet at the ABT, music, sets, costumes (too much taking off of coats though), choreography and acting. I'll be there for a Ferri performace tomorrow making it my first experience of the same ballet with different leads in such a short time frame.

I'll never be able to adequately describe what I saw at the Met today; so I hope there will be someone else in BT Land who also attended the Manon matinee with Ferri and Corella and can help. They danced for themselves this afternoon - one last time. Never in all the years of watching Corella have I ever seen such a range of raw emotion and depth of passion as today. He gave Ferri the dramatic performance of his lifetime. She knew it, and she responded with an intensity almost unimaginable. It was indeed wonderful.

Stiefel and Abrera as Lescaut and his mistress were perfect. Arron Scott as the Beggar Chief, Isaac Stappas as the jailer, Roman Zhurbin as Monsieur GM, Martine Van Hamel as the Madame, and Clint Luckett as the Old Man all turned in first rate performances.

I love this ballet so much, and I hope that Ferri will stick around to pass on some of her artistic wisdom to those with the challenge of following in her footsteps in this role.

I must say I disagree - the technical and dramatic abilities of various ballerinas can be quite different, which is why it is so interesting to see different principals perform the same role. No two ballerinas dance a role the same way just like no two actors perform the same role identically (a recent example would be the Liev Schrieber vs. Eric Bogossian in Broadway's "Talk Radio").

In terms of judging "acting", watch some silent movies or even people talking on the street (don't listen, though) and you can see how different gestures and facial expressions express things in addition to words (i.e., when people talk about "reading body language"). An exaggerated turned out hip and cocked head convey coquettishness/flirting, hands thrown up can convey despair or impatience, while a lingering touch of one partner's hand to the other's convey love. Also very important is eye contact; when Alessandra Ferri looks deeply into her partner's eyes she conveys great feeling. This kind of electric connection is totally different from simply looking somewhere in the vicinity of your partner's face/body. All these seemingly small movements are often subtly altered by different performers and help us distinguish one performer from another. And exaggerated movement or facial expression in the wrong place or at the wrong time can make an actor/dancer seem inauthentic.

There is also projection and stage presence. Some dancers can project so strongly (i.e., Nureyev, Julio Bocca) that they can be motionless on stage and yet be utterly compelling.

As for Julie Kent, having seen the excerpt of Manon she danced at this year's gala (as well as her Cinderella last year), I believe her dramatic skills have vastly improved lately. However, for most of her career, I considered her a "cold" dancer (a bit like early Susan Jaffe); good technically but without much projection or ability to deeply relate to her partner. I think some of this comes from a dancer's own personality and maturity. Certainly, Kent's Manon is different from Ferri's, (who, in turn, is different from Vishneva or Darcy Bussell). While one's personal preference for one performer over another is subjective, to say that they are all essentially the same is IMO simplistic.

Ferri's dramatic readings are actually enhanced by the fact that she wears so very little theatrical makeup. One can actually see her eyes change shape with expression. At today's performance, it looked like eyebrow pencil and a dab of plum lipstick were the extent of her makeup. Compare that to Julie Kent's or Gillian Murphy's routine, which may be typical ballet stage makeup, but it makes it hard to observe any natural expressiveness. Sure, the eyebrows might go up and down, but the eyes themselves look stiff and soul-less - very unnatural. So, they both may be acting up a storm, but it never gets through the makeup.

Anyone interested in learning more about how dancer's "inhabit" their roles should try to purchase Frederick Wiseman's documentary "Ballet" - a 3 hour film about ABT that was filmed around 1992. The first half of the film centers around rehearsals and coaching sessions while the second half has excerpts from ABT performances in Greece and Copehnhagen, including Ferri and Bocca doing both the balcony and bedroom scenes from R&J. Some highlights of the film include Irina Kolpakova coaching Susan Jaffe in La Bayadere and Agnes DeMille coaching Amanda McKerrow in "Leaves are Fading". Kolpakova, for instance, tries to get Susan to articulate what she is thinking about in Act I when Nikiya first sees Solar (Susan unfortunately says "nothing") and tries to get her to emote without getting "too hysteric". The technique seems to be getting the dancer imagine they either are the character or are in a position similar to the character (secretly meeting with one's illicit lover). It involves bringing something of yourself to the role and not simply copying movement. In any case, for dance lovers (and ABT fans), this is a film not to be missed.

I saw Ferri and Corella today too.

Corella moved me to tears in the second act. (Well, starting in the second act...) The way he was looking at Manon from across the room, watching her with Monsieur G.M., it was heartbreaking. I couldn't take my eyes off him. And then later, the way he was protecting Manon from the jailor, he was so tender towards her and so fierce in his passion. He danced as if his love for Manon was going to tear him apart. By the end, in the swamp, I was weeping. Yes, Ferri's characterization was brilliant as well, but it was Corella who had me searching through my bag for a tissue.

As far as dancing, Ferri was incredible. As per the discussion above, I was torn at any given moment between using my opera glasses to look at her beautiful facial expressions vs. using my eyes to appreciate her fluid, strong dancing. I can't believe I'm never going to see her perform again...

The last time she came out for the curtain call, she bowed quickly and immediately turned around and went back again. I think she wanted to save herself for the audience on the 23rd. But this audience gladly would have kept on clapping and shouting if she had stayed.

I have to say, on the heels of Sleeping Beauty, I am incredibly grateful for the choreography of MacMillan and the staging of Monica Parker.

Oh, and Stiefel and Abrera were excellent! I laughed out loud during their drunken pas de deux. They were perfect.

I wholeheartedly agree! As someone who has been away from ballet for a while outside of watching the occasional performance, the stars seemed to have aligned this week to remind me what makes ballet the exquisite art form it can be.

My Manon week began with the dress rehearsal Monday. Last year, the performance of Manon that I saw didn't really capture my attention and I wasn't really sure that I liked Manon as much as the other story ballets. But Monday, Ethan Stiefel's comedic turn as Lescaut began to change that. And yesterday, after reading here that Ferri (one of my all-time favorites) was unexpectedly slotted to play Manon today with Corella as Des Grieux, Stiefel as Lescaut, Abrera as Lescaut's mistress, I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to see this performance. So, I purchased a ticket, hopped on the train and wow, was it worth it.

Ferri was absolutely ethereal, passionate, and truly living the character of Manon. Many ballerinas "act" the part of Manon, but watching Ferri you almost forget that it is Alessandra Ferri and not Manon in front of you. Every gesture, every look, every expression feels true to the character; not just choreographed or overlaid. And the passion and emotion left me with chills. Her experience with this role shows through as she dances as Manon.

Stiefel was even better today than in the rehearsal where presumably he was saving a bit for his performance later that evening. His comedic turn and skills drew your eye to him on the sidelines, even as others were dancing center stage. But the genius of the comedy was his ability to be perfectly off-center and "drunk" while not losing his technique or balance. At times, you could see him almost lose control (or balance) but he would pull it back at the last minute.

But the true surprise for me was Angel Corella and the way Ferri and Corella truly embodied the young lovers. Ferri is known for her ability to abandon herself to the passion, drama, and character, but today Corella did the same. You really saw Corella fall in love, felt his despair and longing when he thought he lost Manon or when she was not responding to him, saw his nobility while protecting his love, and ultimately felt his despair when she dies. I have never seen Corella like this. They both just threw themselves into the characters and their movements reflected the raw intensity of their emotions. It was clear that both were embracing the fact that this was one of Ferri's last ABT performances and holding nothing back and more importantly, leaving nothing in the practice studio.

As a side note, seating makes a huge difference (at least to me). For the rehearsal I was seated in the last row of the orchestra & today in the 2nd row, center. And today, the nuances of everyone's performance were so much more easily seen and appreciated. The last row gives you a great sense of the entire scene & company and the big movements that "act"/express an emotion or plot line. But up close, the lift of an eyebrow or downturn or flutter of an eye or a look between partners added subtlety. And because so many of the main characters today (particularly Ferri) seemed to "be" their characters, as opposed to acting their characters, I hate to think of the nuances missed from the inability to see the many smaller gestures.

All in all, today's performance blew me away. After experiencing the entire roller coaster of emotions along the with dancers, I left feeling both exhausted from the emotional journey, yet at peace and content with the beauty (and comedy) of this ballet. Thank you Ferri, Corella, and Stiefel for reigniting my passion for ballet. I too hope Ferri changes her mind and keeps performing. This trio was spectacular.

Vishneva watch: She's just added answers to some questions on her website (nothing re health or performances), surely a positive sign. Here is one of her most recent responses (see through the English to the wisdom):

I was a bit surprised that there were not more people at Monday's performance of Manon. Initially, I was disappointed to see that Stiefel was replacing Cornejo as Lescaut, but Stiefel did not disappoint. His jumps were wonderful, and while many people have commented on other threads that they don't like his acting, I had no complaints. I thought his performance was completely believable and his drunken scene was hilarious, without being forced. I don't think I've ever heard so much laughter during that scene.

I'm sad that these are Ferri's last performances. While I think Ferri and Bolle danced beautifully together, I doubt anyone will be able to replace Ferri and Bocca. There was such abandon in Bocca and Ferri's dancing that it elevated their performances above the others. I wish there were more recorded performances of them together.

Bolle is both a beautiful dancer and a beautiful man. I thoroughly enjoyed Bolle and Ferri's performance and look forward to tonight's performance.

Today's Times has a long story on Diana Vishneva. I assume someone official will soon post it on Links. For what it's worth, the last lines of the article are:

Vishneva found time to give an exclusive interview, (today's NY Times). Interesting that she
doesn't mention her illness in the piece. In fact, she looks perfectly healthy. Here in L.A.
we call this a PR stunt. Perhaps she cancelled not because of illness, but capriciousness?
For those of you who are holding "Swan Lake," and "Romeo and Juliet" Vishneva tickets,
I hope she fully recovers so that you'll get your money's worth.

We don't know when the interview was given during the five weeks she's been in NYC.

As above, re time of interview. Also she's not the editor. The top photo (Bayadere), at least, was taken four weeks ago.

If this is so, how sadly cynical life must be in L.A.

As a respected artist who rarely cancels, history would not make this plausible. Nor would the loss to her in performance fees.

Thank you for your kind wishes.

Wow, so much cynicism about a dancer who is not known for cancelling performances

Just arrived home from this evening's "Manon" with Alessandra Ferri and Roberto Bolle. This was a wonderful performance, as Ferri and Bolle have great chemistry and danced seamlessly together (though perhaps not with the same wild abandon and fluidity as Bocca and Ferri). Bolle is princely, and danced with great elegance and unfailing balance. Ferri, as I had hoped, was superlative - passionate, expressive, dancing the choreography without pause, so that it seems completely natural and unposed. (For a photo of the pair and review of their Monday night performance one can see the Wednesday NYTimes Manon review.) Herman Cornejo was a convincing Lescaut (although his technique is superior to his dramatic skills) while Gillian Murphy performed the role of his mistress with both coquettishness and humor. The audience's appreciation of the performances (and huge affection for Ferri) was demonstrated during innumerable curtain calls. During these, bouquets just kept flying onstage and one (of about 12 thrown) almost hit Ferri. For those not lucky enough to see the performance live, it was recorded on video for the research archives of the NYC Performing Arts Library.

Everytime someone says she has no personality on stage I think they should see her in Manon! she's a natural comedienne.

It was a WONDERFUL performance!!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Heartbreaking Manon

Tonight Alessandra Ferri gave us her last Manon. The lights went up eight minutes late, but all the leads danced superbly, no hint of any curtain-delaying injury. Since everyone's already been reviewed on these pages, I'll just mention a few high points. Throughout the evening Herman Cornejo managed to dance beautifully while still making us hate Lescaut's guts. Craig Salstein's Beggar-in-Chief had to follow Mr. Cornejo's first variation and did so fearlessly, with virtuosity. Gillian Murphy supplied grand ballerina quality as Lescaut's girlfriend.

Roberto Bolle's display variation was far more brilliant than I'd expected and drew a powerful ovation that was far from completion when the action recommenced. But, then, he was dancing to Alessandra! Generally, tonight the performance hurried forward through well-earned ovations, perhaps due to that delayed start?

Through the years Ms. Ferri's interpretation has generally moved from the basic "wanton girl drags innocent boy down to her level" to (as especially the case for Vishneva/Malakhov) "innocent boy raises wanton girl to salvation." Such was especially the case this evening. By mid Act II, after the scene in which M. G. M. displays her to the other gentlemen at Madame's (the variation when she's passed overhead by them, including the brilliant pair of S-to-inverted-S swoops)--when she joins the lone Des Grieux on stage--Ms. Ferri has already turned the corner. After the murder of her pimp brother, when she and Bolle are back in his chambers, it does not take Ferri long to remind Bolle that they are in love, thereby setting up the battle of the bracelet (that G. M. had given her: how complete Mr. Barbee has made this character). Bolle wasn't even buying the idea that they could hock it for Francs, she had to give it up as proof that she had changed.

As always, the shorn, starving boatload of women prisoners was touching. Ms. Ferri was so intense, so deep. Yet her dancing was both grand and technically brilliant. She is famed for her perfect feet; she knows it, her fans do too, and despite the emotional significance of this performance her care for such details was itself a great gift to all. The rape by the gaoler was relatively discrete (of course such a Sin never really is) tonight, even the scum of the earth must pay some respect to the great ballerina.

The final death scene, with those remarkable triple spin lifts, especially high tonight, was off the charts, yet so believable... The house exploded for the next quarter hour, round after round of flowers, with numerous bows after the impatient Met raised the house lights. Brava! Bravo! Bravi!

Very memorable performance tonight. And with a pretty unusual twist: with this Manon being almost twice the age of des Grieux, it was finally possible to understand why she dumped the rich old man for him

The second act was especially incredible - Ferri's Manon looked and behaved schizophrenic to the point when she was painful to watch.

Murphy and Cornejo were also great.

But was the Jailer really Sasha Radetsky?

Hnh? Ferri is 44; Bolle 32. I am arithmetically challenged here.

When Bolle danced in the recent Aida that Alagna quit, there were reviews that made it sound like Bolle is in his mid 20's. I don't know his career, and I was surprised to read in one of the recent Links articles that he is 32.

In a recent interview, Bolle says he first met Nureyev when he was 15 (and afterwards, Nureyev wanted him for a role but La Scala wouldn't release him). Since Nureyev died in 1993, the youngest Bolle could be would be 29.

Several web sites (but not his own personal site) give his birthdate as March 26, 1975.

I can only echo all the comments above. This was the second time I've seen Manon at ABT, the first with Ferri/Bocca at his farewell, and both performances were transcendent. What a sweeping choreographic narrative, compared to Peter Martins's uncertain, timid R+J. What a fully realized production, compared to ABT's caricatural Sleeping Beauty. And what erotic energy from the two stars. This must rank as one of the greatest performances I've ever seen of anything.

(And yes, that was Sasha behind that fake mustache.)

You're right Klavier. Roberto Bolle was born on March 26, 1975. He's 32.

I sure hope I look that good when I turn 32.

DrB,

Did you notice that Craig at one point touched both hands to the floor? Was that in the choreography, or did he have a momentary slip?

I might be in the minority but I was a bit let down by last night's performance. Maybe her third Manon in a week got to Ferri, but I thought she seemed cautious and at times fidgety. Her body (especially those feet, which she adorns in extra shiny shoes) is as stunning as ever, but her dancing seemed to lack a certain energy. I thought Bolle was wonderful -- very handsome and a great partner. But there wasn't much chemistry between the lovers. I remember Ferri's almost reckless energy a few years ago as Juliet. Don't get me wrong -- she was a lovely Manon. Very lyrical, very beautiful, certainly arresting, but the performance just lacked a certain something.

As for Vishneva, having seen her multiple times, she gives her all in every performance. If she cancels, I choose to believe she has good reasons.

But he looks barely old enough to be of legal age:)

Bolle is extremely youthful looking. At the Ferri-Corella matinee, he sat on the aisle in Row H. I had my binocs on him quite a bit. He could barely fit in the seat. His shoulders were blocking half of the aisle. Okay, a slight exaggeration, but he is one handsome young man - in a very NFL quarterback way.

Well, Friday wasn't Ferri's last Manon. The Met site now lists her for Saturday night!

Yes, on Saturday Alessandra Ferri will dance again with Roberto Bolle (not with Corella).

My impression was that Bolle is a very handsome clean and very "large" dancer, but with a very boyish looking face. he didn't show a bit of aging in the final act, but Manon sure did.

I sat in the orchestra and pertty much decided that grand tier is a much better perspective for viewing ballet. A perfect example why I prefer being up (a bit) was the opening scene from Manon. From the orchestra you could not see the beautiful round cloke of Lesaut arrayed around him. He simply appears to be kneeling at stage center. From above the large round shape with him in the center is a very power statement of how central he is to the fate of his sister.

Also one notices the disparity in the dancers heights much more from the orchestra level and I find this a bit annoying. Bolle seems huge next to diminutive Ferri. Cornejo also looked small next to Gillian Murphy. A perfect role for Gillian and she rose to the occasion. And finally some of the intricate choreography of this ballet is lost when viewed from stage level. My fiend who accompanied me last night agreed as I got her up to sit with me in the grand tier on the previous ballet. She has always sat down in the orchestra as we did last night. She's moving up!

At the final curtain call for Ferri (there were many) her husband, who sat close to us with their two daughters... raised the little Ferri up on his shoulders and she waved to her mother who smiled at her and waved back. A very moving movement.

Sasha nailed the jailor and he was perfect as Lesaut on Tuesday. Good on him!