The New York Times arts season overview (part of tomorrow's newspaper) provides the following snippets on the ABT's Met 2010 season:
"After its Avery Fisher experiment, ABT returns to the tried and true for its spring season, including 'Swan Lake', 'Don Quixote' and the company premiere of John Neumeier's 'Lady of the Camelias'. But not all business is as usual: there will a roughly two-week repertory festival, including works by Ashton, Tudor, Balanchine and Robbins, and the flawed but stirring 'On the Dnieper', Alexei Ratmansky's first ballet as the company's artist in residence. May 17-July 10."
Elsewhere, Alastair M notes: "And is it too much to hope that the artistic director, Kevin McKenzie, will have revised his 'Swan Lake' and 'Sleeping Beauty' productions? As we last saw them, both were seriously flawed. But the season will contain two weeks of mixed repertory, including two one-act ballets by Ashton ('The Dream' and 'Birthday Offering') and -- new acquisitions in Ballet Theater repertory -- two of Ashton's most exquisite pas de deux (the 'Awakening' pas de deux from 'The Sleeping Beauty' and the 'Thais' Meditation)."
Full Version: ABT Met 2010 Info
The article also mentions that ABT will perform La Bayadere during the MET 2010 Spring Season.
The listings page of the NYT's fall preview also includes this: "After its Avery Fisher experiment, American Ballet Theater returns to the tried and true for its spring season, including “Swan Lake,” “Don Quixote” and the company premiere of John Neumeier’s “Lady of the Camellias.” But not all business is as usual: there will be a roughly two-week repertory festival, including works by Ashton, Tudor, Balanchine and Robbins, and the flawed but stirring “On the Dnieper,” Alexei Ratmansky’s first ballet as the company’s artist in residence. May 17-July 10."
Wow! A two-week repertory festival! With On the Dnieper coming back! I think the money I'm going to save on ABT 2010 Met season will allow me to retire early 
Oh wow. I can't imagine anything I'd like to see more than those two Ashton pas de deux—if they can come anywhere near the Sibley/Dowell performances in the Dowell documentary at the NYPL, which are sublime. I've seen the Bussell/Cope version of Awakening and it didn't have the same magic.
The timing of the acquisition of the Neumeier "La Dame aux Camellias" is unfortunate. Wasn't it this version that Alessandra Ferri triumphed in at La Scala? Both Ferri and Susan Jaffe would have excelled in this ballet some 5 or 8 years ago. Imagine Ferri as Marguerite with Bocca as her Armand. Or Susan Jaffe with a younger Carreno. Ananiashvili with Guillaume Graffin or Angel Corella? How about Vishneva with Malakhov? Well at least we still have Vishneva and Corella...
I'm so psyched about the return of Birthday Offering, a ballet I love but never get to see, as well as the other Ashton pas de deux. Less pleased about Neumeier "La Dame aux Camellias" -- snooze fest, for me. But scheduling it allows my purse to take a break
QUOTE (beck_hen @ Sep 16 2009, 06:54 AM) 
Oh wow. I can't imagine anything I'd like to see more than those two Ashton pas de deux—if they can come anywhere near the Sibley/Dowell performances in the Dowell documentary at the NYPL, which are sublime. I've seen the Bussell/Cope version of Awakening and it didn't have the same magic.
Veronika and Marcelo would be great in the Thais PDD
Dame aux Camelias is probably a good vehicle for Kent at this late stage of her career. As I recall, the technical demands are not terribly difficult.
bingham, with all due respect but my recollection of the "Thais" pas de deux is that it has a ton of lifts and the ballerina has to look very light and ethereal. It works best with a small, compact ballerina like Xiomara Reyes, Sarah Lane, Diana Vishneva or even Julie Kent. There was a BBC documentary aired on either A&E or Bravo fifteen years ago (when they were arts channels) profiling Viviana Durante where Antoinette Sibley was coaching her in "Thais" and mentioned that her lightness and compact frame made her ideal for it. There was thrilling footage of Durante seemingly light as a hummingbird being wafted through the air in various positions.
Now Part did manage to be light and ethereal in Bournonville's "La Sylphide" in a terre a terre choreographic mode. However, I think that she is wrong for "Thais" in other ways - she has a lot of arms and legs to maneuver in some tight partnering moves and there is a lot of tossing around in lifts and major acrobatics here and there. However, I am always thrilled when proved very wrong with Ms. Part and Marcelo the Magnificent would more than hold up his end as he always does.
Now Part did manage to be light and ethereal in Bournonville's "La Sylphide" in a terre a terre choreographic mode. However, I think that she is wrong for "Thais" in other ways - she has a lot of arms and legs to maneuver in some tight partnering moves and there is a lot of tossing around in lifts and major acrobatics here and there. However, I am always thrilled when proved very wrong with Ms. Part and Marcelo the Magnificent would more than hold up his end as he always does.
In the Contact section of her website, Diana Vishneva states that"she plan to dance "lady of the Camellias" in the next ABT season".
QUOTE (bingham @ Sep 29 2009, 03:29 PM)
In the Contact section of her website, Diana Vishneva states that"she plan to dance "lady of the Camellias" in the next ABT season".
I'm glad to read that she'll be back with ABT next year. I had asked her on her website last summer if she was planning to come to NYC with ABT in 2010 and she never posted a reply. But maybe it was too early to answer and now negotiations have moved along.
She also advises that she will post more details re her New York/ABT plans in December and that she will dance with the MT in DC in February.
QUOTE (FauxPas @ Sep 16 2009, 08:03 PM)
bingham, with all due respect but my recollection of the "Thais" pas de deux is that it has a ton of lifts and the ballerina has to look very light and ethereal. It works best with a small, compact ballerina like Xiomara Reyes, Sarah Lane, Diana Vishneva or even Julie Kent. There was a BBC documentary aired on either A&E or Bravo fifteen years ago (when they were arts channels) profiling Viviana Durante where Antoinette Sibley was coaching her in "Thais" and mentioned that her lightness and compact frame made her ideal for it. There was thrilling footage of Durante seemingly light as a hummingbird being wafted through the air in various positions.
Now Part did manage to be light and ethereal in Bournonville's "La Sylphide" in a terre a terre choreographic mode. However, I think that she is wrong for "Thais" in other ways - she has a lot of arms and legs to maneuver in some tight partnering moves and there is a lot of tossing around in lifts and major acrobatics here and there. However, I am always thrilled when proved very wrong with Ms. Part and Marcelo the Magnificent would more than hold up his end as he always does.
Now Part did manage to be light and ethereal in Bournonville's "La Sylphide" in a terre a terre choreographic mode. However, I think that she is wrong for "Thais" in other ways - she has a lot of arms and legs to maneuver in some tight partnering moves and there is a lot of tossing around in lifts and major acrobatics here and there. However, I am always thrilled when proved very wrong with Ms. Part and Marcelo the Magnificent would more than hold up his end as he always does.
Faux Pas , i recently watched a video of Thais PDD. You are probably right, it need someone light and ethereal to make it work.
According to ABT's Facebook account, the 2010 Met season will be officially announced today. When I get the release, I'll post it.
The performances are now posted on the ABT website.
Of note is that Natalia Osipova is returning for two performances--The Sleeping Beauty on Saturday, June 19th, and Romeo & Juliet on Saturday, July 10th. She is paired with David Hallberg both times.
The company will be performing The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Company B, and Fancy Free, in its All-American Repertory Program June 9, June 12, and July 3; Birthday Offering, Thais pas de deux, Awakening pas de deux, and The Dream, in its All-Ashton Repertory Program June 8-12; The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Fancy Free, and On the Dnieper in its ABT Premieres Repertory Program June 9, June 11, June 28, and July 1; and Allegro Brillante, Company B (June 30) or The Dream (June 29 and July 2), and pas de deux from Manon, Romeo & Juliet, and Thais in its All Classics Masters Repertory June 29, June 30, and July 2. Lady of the Camellias (May 25-27, June 4-7) is the only full-length ballet that has not been frequently performed recently by ABT.
Of note is that Natalia Osipova is returning for two performances--The Sleeping Beauty on Saturday, June 19th, and Romeo & Juliet on Saturday, July 10th. She is paired with David Hallberg both times.
The company will be performing The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Company B, and Fancy Free, in its All-American Repertory Program June 9, June 12, and July 3; Birthday Offering, Thais pas de deux, Awakening pas de deux, and The Dream, in its All-Ashton Repertory Program June 8-12; The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Fancy Free, and On the Dnieper in its ABT Premieres Repertory Program June 9, June 11, June 28, and July 1; and Allegro Brillante, Company B (June 30) or The Dream (June 29 and July 2), and pas de deux from Manon, Romeo & Juliet, and Thais in its All Classics Masters Repertory June 29, June 30, and July 2. Lady of the Camellias (May 25-27, June 4-7) is the only full-length ballet that has not been frequently performed recently by ABT.
QUOTE (abatt @ Sep 16 2009, 12:01 PM)
Dame aux Camelias is probably a good vehicle for Kent at this late stage of her career. As I recall, the technical demands are not terribly difficult.
Julie Kent is scheduled to perform the lead role on May 25, May 27, and June 5 with Roberto Bolle.
Other casts are led by Vishneva/Gomes and Dvorovenko/Stearns.
QUOTE (RUKen @ Oct 19 2009, 11:10 AM)
QUOTE (abatt @ Sep 16 2009, 12:01 PM)
Dame aux Camelias is probably a good vehicle for Kent at this late stage of her career. As I recall, the technical demands are not terribly difficult.
Julie Kent is scheduled to perform the lead role on May 25, May 27, and June 5 with Roberto Bolle.
Other casts are led by Vishneva/Gomes and Dvorovenko/Stearns.
All of my favorite guest artiests (Bolle, Vishneva, Osipova) are returning. I noticed that Seo and Stearns will be doing R&J again. Did Simkin get a Don Q? Did S. Lane get a SB?
Here's the official release:
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE CELEBRATES
70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON,
MAY 17-JULY10, 2010 AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
SEASON TO FEATURE COMPANY PREMIERE OF JOHN NEUMEIER’S
LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS AND REPERTORY FESTIVAL INCLUDING
ALL-ASHTON AND ALL-AMERICAN PROGRAMS
Special Tribute to Alicia Alonso’s 90th Birthday Planned
American Ballet Theatre’s 2010 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 17-July 10, will celebrate the Company’s 70th Anniversary and pay tribute to legendary ballerina, Alicia Alonso. The season was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The Company Premiere of John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias and a repertory festival will highlight the season.
Principal Dancers for the 2010 Metropolitan Opera season will include Maxim Beloserkovsky, Roberto Bolle, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Ethan Stiefel, Diana Vishneva and Michele Wiles. Natalia Osipova, a leading soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet, will return for the Spring season as a guest artist.
Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Costume Fund. J.P. Morgan is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of Make a Ballet. American Airlines is ABT’s Official Airline. Northern Trust is the Official Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the Official Sponsor of ABT II. The 2010 Metropolitan Opera House season is also made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recovery Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
American Ballet Theatre’s 70th Anniversary season celebration will open with a Gala performance featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers on Monday, May 17 at 6:30 P.M. For information on ABT’s Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239. ABT’s Spring Gala in sponsored by NBC Universal and GRAFF.
Company Premiere
John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias will be given its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday evening, May 25 with Julie Kent as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand. Set to music by Frederic Chopin, Lady of the Camellias was choreographed by Neumeier after the novel of Alexandre Dumas. The ballet features scenery and costumes by Jürgen Rose with original lighting design by Neumeier, reconstructed by Rolf Merkel. Lady of the Camellias was given its World Premiere by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Weurttemberg Staatstheatre, Stuttgart, Germany on November 4, 1978, with Marcia Haydée and Egon Madsen. The ballet received its United States premiere by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. on May 15, 1979, with the same cast. American Ballet Theatre will present eight performances of the full-length ballet, May 25 through May 27 and June 4 through June 7.
Repertory Festival
American Ballet Theatre will offer two weeks of repertory programs June 8 through June 12 and continuing on June 28 through July 3. The programs include an All-Ashton program featuring Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, The Dream and the Company Premieres of the Awakening pas de deux from Ashton’s The Sleeping Beauty and Thaïs pas de deux. The repertory festival also includes an All-American Program featuring the Revival Premiere of Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Paul Taylor’s Company B and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free. An All-Classic Masters Program presented on June 29, June 30 matinee and July 2 will include George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, pas de deux from Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon and Antony Tudor’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as ballets from the All-Ashton and All-American programs.
An All-ABT Premieres program on the evenings of June 9, June 11, June 28 and July 1 will feature Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations, along with Alexei Ratmansky’s On the Dneiper and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.
A Celebration for Alicia Alonso
As part of American Ballet Theatre 70th Anniversary season, the Company will celebrate the life and career of legendary dancer and ballet director Alicia Alonso. Alonso joined Ballet Theatre in 1940 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1946. Famed for her interpretation of the title role in Giselle, Alonso also starred in the World Premieres of ABT’s most critically hailed works, including George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Antony Tudor’s Undertow and as The Accused in Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend; all roles that were created on her. Alonso’s 90th birthday will be marked by a special performance of Don Quixote on Thursday evening, June 3 featuring three Principal casts, each dancing the lead in one act of the three act classic.
Full-Length Ballets
In addition to the Company Premiere of Lady of the Camellias, American Ballet Theatre will perform five full-length ballets during the 2010 Spring season beginning with La Bayadère on Tuesday evening, May 18. Diana Vishneva (Nikiya), Marcelo Gomes (Solor), and Gillian Murphy (Gamzatti) will lead the season’s first performance of the three-act classic. The season’s eight performances of La Bayadère, May 18 through May 22, mark the 30th anniversary of the ballet. Natalia Makarova first staged The Kingdom of the Shades scene for ABT in 1974 and subsequently produced and choreographed the complete version (in three acts) for ABT in 1980. The World Premiere of Makarova’s production was given on May 21 of that year, danced by Makarova (Nikiya), Anthony Dowell (Solor), and Cynthia Harvey (Gamzatti).
Set to music by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by John Lanchbery, La Bayadère was conceived and directed by Makarova. The ballet features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. Dina Makarova serves as production coordinator for the current production.
The season’s first performance of Don Quixote will be led by Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella on Friday evening, May 28. Staged by Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones, with choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, Don Quixote is set to music by Ludwig Minkus and features scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz. The McKenzie/Jones staging of the current production was first performed by ABT in June 1995.
The Sleeping Beauty returns to the repertory for eight performances, June 14 through June19. Set to a score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed after Marius Petipa, has additional choreography and staging by Kevin McKenzie, Gelsey Kirkland and Michael Chernov. The production features scenery by Tony Walton, costumes by Willa Kim with additional costume designs by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Richard Pilbrow and Dawn Chiang. Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreño will lead the season’s first performance of The Sleeping Beauty on Monday evening, June 14. This production of The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on June 1, 2007.
Eight performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa, will be given beginning Monday, June 21 with Veronika Part and Roberto Bolle leading the opening night cast. Swan Lake is set to the score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The final week of American Ballet Theatre’s eight week season at the Metropolitan Opera House will feature eight performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet beginning Monday evening, July 5 with Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the title roles. Set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 22, 1985.
ABTKids
ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet, is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 5 at 11:30am. All tickets for ABTKids are $25. The ABTKids performance is generously supported through an endowed gift from Thomas and Lydia West, in loving memory of Vivian B. West.
ABTKids Workshop Series
ABTKids Workshop Series, activity-based programs led by ABT Teaching Artists, are available to ABTKids ticket holders only on Saturday, June 5 (9:30 am). On Saturday, June 19, ABT will hold a Sleeping Beauty Workshop at 11:00am. Saturday workshops will be held in the rehearsal studios of the Metropolitan Opera House. Tickets to the workshops are $20 per person. For tickets and more information on ABTKids Workshop series, please call 212-419-4321.
Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2010 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House are on sale now by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org <http://www.abt.org> .
Lady of the Camellias is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production is generously sponsored through an endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman.
La Bayadère is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Drs. Philip and Marjorie Gerdine. La Bayadère is presented in loving memory of Mrs. Caroline Newhouse.
Don Quixote is generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.
Swan Lake is generously underwritten by The Rosh Foundation. Costumes for Swan Lake are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.
ABT’s production of Romeo and Juliet is generously underwritten through an endowed gift
from Monica and Ali Wambold.
Joan Taub Ades and Alan M. Ades, Adrienne Arsht, Arlene and Harvey Blau, Devon and Peter Briger, Susan and Leonard Feinstein, Edward A. Fox, Lori and Stephen Garofalo, Julia and David H. Koch, Konrad R. Kruger, Jill L. Leinbach, Charlotte and MacDonald
Mathey, and Jean and Lawrence Shaw are Co-Underwriters of The Sleeping Beauty.
Additional funding is provided by the NIB Foundation. Special thanks to Caroline Newhouse. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
On the Dneiper is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund, The Ross Stretton Choreography Workshop Fund, Leila and Mickey Straus, and the Rudolf Nureyev® Dance Foundation.
Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift from Avery and Andrew F. Barth, in honor of Laima and Rudolf Barth.
The Dream is presented in loving memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr. by his family.
The Dream has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment For the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
Company B is generously supported by a gift from Marjorie S. Isaac in honor of ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
CA, Inc. is a Sponsor of ABT’s Family Initiatives.
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE CELEBRATES
70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON,
MAY 17-JULY10, 2010 AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE
SEASON TO FEATURE COMPANY PREMIERE OF JOHN NEUMEIER’S
LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS AND REPERTORY FESTIVAL INCLUDING
ALL-ASHTON AND ALL-AMERICAN PROGRAMS
Special Tribute to Alicia Alonso’s 90th Birthday Planned
American Ballet Theatre’s 2010 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 17-July 10, will celebrate the Company’s 70th Anniversary and pay tribute to legendary ballerina, Alicia Alonso. The season was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. The Company Premiere of John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias and a repertory festival will highlight the season.
Principal Dancers for the 2010 Metropolitan Opera season will include Maxim Beloserkovsky, Roberto Bolle, Jose Manuel Carreño, Angel Corella, Herman Cornejo, Irina Dvorovenko, Marcelo Gomes, David Hallberg, Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Xiomara Reyes, Ethan Stiefel, Diana Vishneva and Michele Wiles. Natalia Osipova, a leading soloist with the Bolshoi Ballet, will return for the Spring season as a guest artist.
Saks Fifth Avenue is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Costume Fund. J.P. Morgan is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of Make a Ballet. American Airlines is ABT’s Official Airline. Northern Trust is the Official Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the Official Sponsor of ABT II. The 2010 Metropolitan Opera House season is also made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recovery Act, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.
American Ballet Theatre’s 70th Anniversary season celebration will open with a Gala performance featuring ABT’s Principal Dancers on Monday, May 17 at 6:30 P.M. For information on ABT’s Spring Gala, please call the Special Events Office at 212-477-3030, ext. 3239. ABT’s Spring Gala in sponsored by NBC Universal and GRAFF.
Company Premiere
John Neumeier’s Lady of the Camellias will be given its Company Premiere by American Ballet Theatre on Tuesday evening, May 25 with Julie Kent as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand. Set to music by Frederic Chopin, Lady of the Camellias was choreographed by Neumeier after the novel of Alexandre Dumas. The ballet features scenery and costumes by Jürgen Rose with original lighting design by Neumeier, reconstructed by Rolf Merkel. Lady of the Camellias was given its World Premiere by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Weurttemberg Staatstheatre, Stuttgart, Germany on November 4, 1978, with Marcia Haydée and Egon Madsen. The ballet received its United States premiere by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. on May 15, 1979, with the same cast. American Ballet Theatre will present eight performances of the full-length ballet, May 25 through May 27 and June 4 through June 7.
Repertory Festival
American Ballet Theatre will offer two weeks of repertory programs June 8 through June 12 and continuing on June 28 through July 3. The programs include an All-Ashton program featuring Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering, The Dream and the Company Premieres of the Awakening pas de deux from Ashton’s The Sleeping Beauty and Thaïs pas de deux. The repertory festival also includes an All-American Program featuring the Revival Premiere of Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations, Paul Taylor’s Company B and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free. An All-Classic Masters Program presented on June 29, June 30 matinee and July 2 will include George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, pas de deux from Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon and Antony Tudor’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as ballets from the All-Ashton and All-American programs.
An All-ABT Premieres program on the evenings of June 9, June 11, June 28 and July 1 will feature Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations, along with Alexei Ratmansky’s On the Dneiper and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free.
A Celebration for Alicia Alonso
As part of American Ballet Theatre 70th Anniversary season, the Company will celebrate the life and career of legendary dancer and ballet director Alicia Alonso. Alonso joined Ballet Theatre in 1940 and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 1946. Famed for her interpretation of the title role in Giselle, Alonso also starred in the World Premieres of ABT’s most critically hailed works, including George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, Antony Tudor’s Undertow and as The Accused in Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend; all roles that were created on her. Alonso’s 90th birthday will be marked by a special performance of Don Quixote on Thursday evening, June 3 featuring three Principal casts, each dancing the lead in one act of the three act classic.
Full-Length Ballets
In addition to the Company Premiere of Lady of the Camellias, American Ballet Theatre will perform five full-length ballets during the 2010 Spring season beginning with La Bayadère on Tuesday evening, May 18. Diana Vishneva (Nikiya), Marcelo Gomes (Solor), and Gillian Murphy (Gamzatti) will lead the season’s first performance of the three-act classic. The season’s eight performances of La Bayadère, May 18 through May 22, mark the 30th anniversary of the ballet. Natalia Makarova first staged The Kingdom of the Shades scene for ABT in 1974 and subsequently produced and choreographed the complete version (in three acts) for ABT in 1980. The World Premiere of Makarova’s production was given on May 21 of that year, danced by Makarova (Nikiya), Anthony Dowell (Solor), and Cynthia Harvey (Gamzatti).
Set to music by Ludwig Minkus, arranged by John Lanchbery, La Bayadère was conceived and directed by Makarova. The ballet features scenery by PierLuigi Samaritani, costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and lighting by Toshiro Ogawa. Dina Makarova serves as production coordinator for the current production.
The season’s first performance of Don Quixote will be led by Paloma Herrera and Angel Corella on Friday evening, May 28. Staged by Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones, with choreography after Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky, Don Quixote is set to music by Ludwig Minkus and features scenery and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Natasha Katz. The McKenzie/Jones staging of the current production was first performed by ABT in June 1995.
The Sleeping Beauty returns to the repertory for eight performances, June 14 through June19. Set to a score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed after Marius Petipa, has additional choreography and staging by Kevin McKenzie, Gelsey Kirkland and Michael Chernov. The production features scenery by Tony Walton, costumes by Willa Kim with additional costume designs by Holly Hynes, and lighting by Richard Pilbrow and Dawn Chiang. Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreño will lead the season’s first performance of The Sleeping Beauty on Monday evening, June 14. This production of The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on June 1, 2007.
Eight performances of Swan Lake, choreographed by Kevin McKenzie after Marius Petipa, will be given beginning Monday, June 21 with Veronika Part and Roberto Bolle leading the opening night cast. Swan Lake is set to the score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky and features scenery and costumes by Zack Brown and lighting by Duane Schuler. This production of Swan Lake premiered on March 24, 2000 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The final week of American Ballet Theatre’s eight week season at the Metropolitan Opera House will feature eight performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet beginning Monday evening, July 5 with Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the title roles. Set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet features scenery and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by Thomas Skelton. The ballet received its World Premiere by The Royal Ballet in London on February 9, 1965 and was given its ABT Company Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House on April 22, 1985.
ABTKids
ABTKids, American Ballet Theatre’s annual one-hour introduction to ballet, is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 5 at 11:30am. All tickets for ABTKids are $25. The ABTKids performance is generously supported through an endowed gift from Thomas and Lydia West, in loving memory of Vivian B. West.
ABTKids Workshop Series
ABTKids Workshop Series, activity-based programs led by ABT Teaching Artists, are available to ABTKids ticket holders only on Saturday, June 5 (9:30 am). On Saturday, June 19, ABT will hold a Sleeping Beauty Workshop at 11:00am. Saturday workshops will be held in the rehearsal studios of the Metropolitan Opera House. Tickets to the workshops are $20 per person. For tickets and more information on ABTKids Workshop series, please call 212-419-4321.
Subscriptions for American Ballet Theatre’s 2010 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House are on sale now by phone at 212-362-6000, or online at ABT’s website www.abt.org <http://www.abt.org> .
Lady of the Camellias is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund. This production is generously sponsored through an endowed gift from Ruth and Harold Newman.
La Bayadère is generously sponsored by an endowed gift from Drs. Philip and Marjorie Gerdine. La Bayadère is presented in loving memory of Mrs. Caroline Newhouse.
Don Quixote is generously supported through an endowed gift from Anka K. Palitz, in memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr.
Swan Lake is generously underwritten by The Rosh Foundation. Costumes for Swan Lake are generously sponsored by the Ellen Everett Kimiatek Costume Preservation Trust.
ABT’s production of Romeo and Juliet is generously underwritten through an endowed gift
from Monica and Ali Wambold.
Joan Taub Ades and Alan M. Ades, Adrienne Arsht, Arlene and Harvey Blau, Devon and Peter Briger, Susan and Leonard Feinstein, Edward A. Fox, Lori and Stephen Garofalo, Julia and David H. Koch, Konrad R. Kruger, Jill L. Leinbach, Charlotte and MacDonald
Mathey, and Jean and Lawrence Shaw are Co-Underwriters of The Sleeping Beauty.
Additional funding is provided by the NIB Foundation. Special thanks to Caroline Newhouse. This production has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
On the Dneiper is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund, The Ross Stretton Choreography Workshop Fund, Leila and Mickey Straus, and the Rudolf Nureyev® Dance Foundation.
Fancy Free is generously underwritten by an endowed gift from Avery and Andrew F. Barth, in honor of Laima and Rudolf Barth.
The Dream is presented in loving memory of Clarence Y. Palitz, Jr. by his family.
The Dream has been made possible with public funds from the National Endowment For the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.
Company B is generously supported by a gift from Marjorie S. Isaac in honor of ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.
CA, Inc. is a Sponsor of ABT’s Family Initiatives.
QUOTE (RUKen @ Oct 19 2009, 03:07 PM)
The performances are already posted on the Metropolitan Opera Company website.
Birthday Offering, Thais pas de deux, Awakening pas de deux, and The Dream, in its All-Ashton Repertory Program June 8-12;
Birthday Offering, Thais pas de deux, Awakening pas de deux, and The Dream, in its All-Ashton Repertory Program June 8-12;
I'm looking forward to the Ashton program. I hope ABT can get up to speed , stylewise. At least the Sylvia revival this year had a better look than previous years.
QUOTE (abatt @ Oct 19 2009, 11:14 AM)
Did Simkin get a Don Q? Did S. Lane get a SB?
No--to both questions. Given how much last spring's schedule changed from what had been originally posted, I wouldn't give up hope.
How lucky that my subscription series from last year (Tuesday Evening) consists of 3 performances out of 4 that include Hallberg! Almost perfect!
All Ashton Repertory Program -- June 8 -- includes Hallberg among listed dancers
Swan Lake -- June 22 -- Vishneva/Hallberg
Romeo and Juliet -- July 6 -- Murphy/Hallberg
How perfect! I'm going to swap out Lady of the Camelias on May 25 (Kent/Bolle) for the Hallberg La Bayadere. And then I've requested tickets (non-series) to the 2 Hallberg/Osipova performances and the Paloma/Hallberg Sleeping Beauty.
Happy happy.
Can I ask when individual additional tickets for performances (non-series) start to be assigned to ABT subscribers of another series?
Also, is the company's first night at the Met part of any subscription? If not, when can we get tickets?
Also, how would I get added to the notification list for the information above about the ABT? I am a subscriber, but don't seem to get such notifications.
All Ashton Repertory Program -- June 8 -- includes Hallberg among listed dancers
Swan Lake -- June 22 -- Vishneva/Hallberg
Romeo and Juliet -- July 6 -- Murphy/Hallberg
How perfect! I'm going to swap out Lady of the Camelias on May 25 (Kent/Bolle) for the Hallberg La Bayadere. And then I've requested tickets (non-series) to the 2 Hallberg/Osipova performances and the Paloma/Hallberg Sleeping Beauty.
Happy happy.Can I ask when individual additional tickets for performances (non-series) start to be assigned to ABT subscribers of another series?
Also, is the company's first night at the Met part of any subscription? If not, when can we get tickets?
Also, how would I get added to the notification list for the information above about the ABT? I am a subscriber, but don't seem to get such notifications.
QUOTE (Ambonnay @ Oct 19 2009, 02:21 PM)
How lucky that my subscription series from last year (Tuesday Evening) consists of 3 performances out of 4 that include Hallberg! Almost perfect!
All Ashton Repertory Program -- June 8 -- includes Hallberg among listed dancers
Swan Lake -- June 22 -- Vishneva/Hallberg
Romeo and Juliet -- July 6 -- Murphy/Hallberg
How perfect! I'm going to swap out Lady of the Camelias on May 25 (Kent/Bolle) for the Hallberg La Bayadere. And then I've requested tickets (non-series) to the 2 Hallberg/Osipova performances and the Paloma/Hallberg Sleeping Beauty. Happy happy.
Can I ask when individual additional tickets for performances (non-series) start to be assigned to ABT subscribers of another series?
Also, is the company's first night at the Met part of any subscription? If not, when can we get tickets?
Also, how would I get added to the notification list for the information above about the ABT? I am a subscriber, but don't seem to get such notifications.
All Ashton Repertory Program -- June 8 -- includes Hallberg among listed dancers
Swan Lake -- June 22 -- Vishneva/Hallberg
Romeo and Juliet -- July 6 -- Murphy/Hallberg
How perfect! I'm going to swap out Lady of the Camelias on May 25 (Kent/Bolle) for the Hallberg La Bayadere. And then I've requested tickets (non-series) to the 2 Hallberg/Osipova performances and the Paloma/Hallberg Sleeping Beauty.
Happy happy.Can I ask when individual additional tickets for performances (non-series) start to be assigned to ABT subscribers of another series?
Also, is the company's first night at the Met part of any subscription? If not, when can we get tickets?
Also, how would I get added to the notification list for the information above about the ABT? I am a subscriber, but don't seem to get such notifications.
If you're a subscriber, I think you are allowed to order tickets for opening night gala at the same time you order your subscription. (The opening night is not on any subscription.) When I receive my renewal, it always includes a separate sheet that permits you to order any single tickets, including opening night gala. I'm not sure what happens when you renew on the internet, though. I think indiv. tickets are not assigned until every type of subscription has been filled- regular subscriptions, trios etc.. I'm sure if you call ABT or the MET Opera, they would be more than happy to put you on the mailing lists. Enjoy.
Yeah!
The ABT site now shows which performances a given dancer is projected to be involved in for Met 2010:
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=66
(Hallberg as an example)
The ABT site now shows which performances a given dancer is projected to be involved in for Met 2010:
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=66
(Hallberg as an example)
Corella is only giving 2 performances the entire season- one Don Q and one R&J. I suppose his new company is keeping him very busy, but it is disappointing. Cory Stearns seems to be scheduled for many roles.
I notice that the "Don Quixote" has two TBA Basilios and one TBA Kitri. My suggestion would be to add Simkin/Lane and move Dvorovenko and Carreno together. Also, I am surprised that Marcelo Gomes isn't dancing Basilio - he has been a definitive Espada and he has danced Basilio before. (He does dance everything and pulls more than his own weight) I think ABT should start Stearns on Espada for a season or two and promote him up to Basilio later when he has gained some stamina.
I also see that there is one TBA cast on the Saturday matinee for "Sleeping Beauty". Would be nice to get Lane/Simkin or Lane/Stearns for that matinee.
Points of interest: The Bolle/Part pairings in Bayadere and Swan Lake. The return of Part as Aurora (Wiles too) after doing Lilac in the revivals. Also the perfecter than perfect casting of Simkin as Puck in "The Dream".
Castings not repeated: Dvorovenko as Nikiya, Gomes as Basilio, Lane as Aurora, Vishneva in "On the Dnieper", Ethan Steifel in "The Dream" as well as several other of his usual roles like Solor, etc.
I also see that there is one TBA cast on the Saturday matinee for "Sleeping Beauty". Would be nice to get Lane/Simkin or Lane/Stearns for that matinee.
Points of interest: The Bolle/Part pairings in Bayadere and Swan Lake. The return of Part as Aurora (Wiles too) after doing Lilac in the revivals. Also the perfecter than perfect casting of Simkin as Puck in "The Dream".
Castings not repeated: Dvorovenko as Nikiya, Gomes as Basilio, Lane as Aurora, Vishneva in "On the Dnieper", Ethan Steifel in "The Dream" as well as several other of his usual roles like Solor, etc.
I'm disappointed that the R&J pairing of Dvorovenko and Bolle is repeated this year. I would have preferred to see him w. a different Juliet. Steifel is doing very few full length roles this year. I would love to see Lane as Juliet, but I'm not holding my breath.
A couple of observations regarding Michele Wiles, whom I like watching quite a bit:
This casting seems to confirm that somehow K McKenzie is not emphasizing M Wiles as much as had been the case previously, when she used to work so much more frequently with Hallberg. This season, she has no Kitri in Don Quixote and she has to work with Cory Stearns in Swan Lake, while Hallberg is now paird with Vishneva for Swan Lake. She also pairs Stearns in her only Sleeping Beauty (a matinee). Her role in two La Bayaderes is as Gamzatti.
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=46
In fact, for the Met season, she is not partnering David Hallberg at all (subject to a possible partnering, discussed below, on June 9 for a repertory performance).
McKenzie seems to want her to work with Stearns. I don't know whether the order of the Brahms/Hayden varations suggests who will partner with whom, but, if they do, Michele is again partnering Stearns within at least three of the four performances Michele has of the variations. For the fourth, June 9, performance of the variations, she is not listed as performing them on the Calendar, but there is a "tba" for the female role just above Hallberg's name for the variations. Then, when you go to Michele's dancer profile, she is listed as performing the variations on June 9. So maybe she is performing with Hallberg a portion of the variations on June 9.
Of course, the situation with Hallberg is quite promising. Only Hallberg, and no longer Hallberg and Cornejo, is now partnering Osipova. (That's not surprising, given that Osipova is only performing in two full-length ballets, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet, and Hallberg is more the princely/romantic male lead type of danseur, as well as, in my assessment, a better partner for Osipova more generally). And Hallberg continues working with Murphy, Herrera, gets a Swan Lake with Vishneva, etc., etc. as well.
(Interestingly, Hallberg gets no Don Quixote Basilio roles at the Met next year, despite having danced both danseur roles in the performance previously, of course, unless he is one of the two "TBA" Basilios. Maybe he will be one or more of the Espadas, the role for which is not listed on the calendar.)
This casting seems to confirm that somehow K McKenzie is not emphasizing M Wiles as much as had been the case previously, when she used to work so much more frequently with Hallberg. This season, she has no Kitri in Don Quixote and she has to work with Cory Stearns in Swan Lake, while Hallberg is now paird with Vishneva for Swan Lake. She also pairs Stearns in her only Sleeping Beauty (a matinee). Her role in two La Bayaderes is as Gamzatti.
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=46
In fact, for the Met season, she is not partnering David Hallberg at all (subject to a possible partnering, discussed below, on June 9 for a repertory performance).
McKenzie seems to want her to work with Stearns. I don't know whether the order of the Brahms/Hayden varations suggests who will partner with whom, but, if they do, Michele is again partnering Stearns within at least three of the four performances Michele has of the variations. For the fourth, June 9, performance of the variations, she is not listed as performing them on the Calendar, but there is a "tba" for the female role just above Hallberg's name for the variations. Then, when you go to Michele's dancer profile, she is listed as performing the variations on June 9. So maybe she is performing with Hallberg a portion of the variations on June 9.
Of course, the situation with Hallberg is quite promising. Only Hallberg, and no longer Hallberg and Cornejo, is now partnering Osipova. (That's not surprising, given that Osipova is only performing in two full-length ballets, Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet, and Hallberg is more the princely/romantic male lead type of danseur, as well as, in my assessment, a better partner for Osipova more generally). And Hallberg continues working with Murphy, Herrera, gets a Swan Lake with Vishneva, etc., etc. as well.
(Interestingly, Hallberg gets no Don Quixote Basilio roles at the Met next year, despite having danced both danseur roles in the performance previously, of course, unless he is one of the two "TBA" Basilios. Maybe he will be one or more of the Espadas, the role for which is not listed on the calendar.)
There seems to be a trend of allowing Hallberg to work with some shorter dancers (Murphy, Osipova, Vishneva). It's a strain to lift a tall ballerina, so I think they are now spreading that responsibility to C. Stearns (himself very tall).
Ambonnay, Wiles is dancing Kitri with Corey Stearns on 5/31/10. Depending on as yet unlisted performances of Lilac Fairy in "Sleeping Beauty" and one of the girls in "Fancy Free" - we may be seeing quite a bit of Michele. As for taking her away from David Hallberg - they really don't ignite as a couple onstage. Despite the matching height and blond good looks they really don't bring anything special out of one another.
I also question whether Julie Kent can still handle Odette/Odile at this late post second pregnancy juncture. She looked very restored in "Seven Sonatas" earlier this month but that isn't "Swan Lake" in its demands.
I also question whether Julie Kent can still handle Odette/Odile at this late post second pregnancy juncture. She looked very restored in "Seven Sonatas" earlier this month but that isn't "Swan Lake" in its demands.
FauxPas -- Thanks for the correction!
Other observations from the Met casting:
-- As you suggested, V Part seems to paired with Bolle a lot. She partners him in her only two La Bayaderes, in her only Swan Lake. She partners Gomes in Sleeping Beauty, and continues to pair with him as part of the first team cast in her only two performances of On The Dneiper. Her partner for the "Awakening PDD" is tba in both her performances. In the Brahms-Haydn Variations, V Part might be paired with A. Hammoudi, if the partner is listed in order.
I guess part of the reason that V Part pairs with Bolle is that she is the recently minted principal, and he is the recently-resident danseur at the principal level, presumably? But could other factors be that V Part's jump is not that strong and pairing her with Hallberg might highlight that weakness in Part's dancing? (Note I have not seen Bolle perform, so I do not know what his jumps are like.) Also, Hallberg is very busy already without having to partner V Part.
-- Interestingly, Murphy is paired with Carreno in her only Met 2010 performance of Swan Lake and her only performance of Sleeping Beauty.
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=31
I wonder if Murphy is being paired with Carreno because, whether rightfully or not, Carreno is not among the danseurs that tend to fill seats as much as certain other danseurs, but Murphy is among the better-liked of the ballerinas for the public. So she could fill some seats for the Company.
And Murphy only gets a matinee (single) performance of Swan Lake!
In her three La Bayadere performances, she is Gamzetti in two of them and pairs Stiefel in the remaining one.
In her two performances of Don Quixote, one is a "TBA" Basilio and one is Stiefel.
And then she has one full-length Romeo & Juliet with Hallberg.
Other observations from the Met casting:
-- As you suggested, V Part seems to paired with Bolle a lot. She partners him in her only two La Bayaderes, in her only Swan Lake. She partners Gomes in Sleeping Beauty, and continues to pair with him as part of the first team cast in her only two performances of On The Dneiper. Her partner for the "Awakening PDD" is tba in both her performances. In the Brahms-Haydn Variations, V Part might be paired with A. Hammoudi, if the partner is listed in order.
I guess part of the reason that V Part pairs with Bolle is that she is the recently minted principal, and he is the recently-resident danseur at the principal level, presumably? But could other factors be that V Part's jump is not that strong and pairing her with Hallberg might highlight that weakness in Part's dancing? (Note I have not seen Bolle perform, so I do not know what his jumps are like.) Also, Hallberg is very busy already without having to partner V Part.
-- Interestingly, Murphy is paired with Carreno in her only Met 2010 performance of Swan Lake and her only performance of Sleeping Beauty.
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=31
I wonder if Murphy is being paired with Carreno because, whether rightfully or not, Carreno is not among the danseurs that tend to fill seats as much as certain other danseurs, but Murphy is among the better-liked of the ballerinas for the public. So she could fill some seats for the Company.
And Murphy only gets a matinee (single) performance of Swan Lake!
In her three La Bayadere performances, she is Gamzetti in two of them and pairs Stiefel in the remaining one.
In her two performances of Don Quixote, one is a "TBA" Basilio and one is Stiefel.
And then she has one full-length Romeo & Juliet with Hallberg.
The lack of Radetsky in anything besides the Tharp and Fancy Free is quite disappointing. I guess he will go back to doing von Rothbarts and Espadas to infinity. It's too bad-I don't begrudge Cory Stearns anything because I have seen him and I quite like what he could turn out to be, but he has a ton of very coveted role debuts this season (Armand and Oberon certainly)...one wonders if the bounty couldn't have been spread more evenly among the soloist men with Steifel and Corella further reducing their time with ABT.
ksk04 -- I'm not sure I lament the high use of Stearns relative to Radetsky, but Gomes and Hallberg will continue to be very very busy and Cory Stearns will, as you noted, be heavily utilized. Radetsky may suffer from, among potentially other things, not being viewed by the Company as a tall "princely"-type of danseur.
In the Beijing performances in November, Stearns gets one Basilio out of four total performances there of Don Quixote, and that is one of the two evening performances of the work (again pairing Michele Wiles). He also gets one performance of the Gomes role in the two Beijing performances of "Everything Doesn't Happen at Once".
I wouldn't disagree with an assertion that Stearns is getting more roles than he probably should, at this stage in his career, given the number of good danseurs who are principals (leaving aside Radetsky and other soloists) and who would probably like to get some of Stearns' roles. But, as suggested by abatt above, some of the ballerinas who require pairing are relatively tall. (Like ksk04, I also do not begrudge Stearns getting these roles, looking at things in a vacuum.)
BTW, how tall is Stearns relative to Hallberg? Hallberg seems pretty tall. I noticed that he is taller than Saveliev when I was watching Seven Sonatas, but maybe Saveliev is not that tall??
In the Beijing performances in November, Stearns gets one Basilio out of four total performances there of Don Quixote, and that is one of the two evening performances of the work (again pairing Michele Wiles). He also gets one performance of the Gomes role in the two Beijing performances of "Everything Doesn't Happen at Once".
I wouldn't disagree with an assertion that Stearns is getting more roles than he probably should, at this stage in his career, given the number of good danseurs who are principals (leaving aside Radetsky and other soloists) and who would probably like to get some of Stearns' roles. But, as suggested by abatt above, some of the ballerinas who require pairing are relatively tall. (Like ksk04, I also do not begrudge Stearns getting these roles, looking at things in a vacuum.)
BTW, how tall is Stearns relative to Hallberg? Hallberg seems pretty tall. I noticed that he is taller than Saveliev when I was watching Seven Sonatas, but maybe Saveliev is not that tall??
QUOTE
Ambonnay, Wiles is dancing Kitri with Corey Stearns on 5/31/10. Depending on as yet unlisted performances of Lilac Fairy in "Sleeping Beauty" and one of the girls in "Fancy Free" - we may be seeing quite a bit of Michele. As for taking her away from David Hallberg - they really don't ignite as a couple onstage. Despite the matching height and blond good looks they really don't bring anything special out of one another.
Barring injury, I would be very surprised if Wiles does not perform the Lilac Fairy during the Spring Season.
Also, although I like both Wiles and Hallberg very much separately, they have gotten very mixed reviews as a pair. In some ways, they remind me very much of Angel Corella and Paloma Herrera who were paired many times early in their ABT careers and less and less as they developed and it became clear that working with other dancers brought out more from their performances.
I'm surprised(and disappointed) that N Osipova is not cast as Kitri in any of the Don Q.
QUOTE (bingham @ Oct 19 2009, 11:26 PM)
I'm surprised(and disappointed) that N Osipova is not cast as Kitri in any of the Don Q.
I'd rather have seen her as Kitri too, over Aurora or the Macmillan Juliet. But who knows how complicated her Bolshoi schedule is? Remember there was a lot of noise last spring over her dates with ABT at the Met. And the Bolshoi shuffled around her performances in the DC Corsair.
So let's wait and see. It looks like she's zooming in for two isolated performances and a lot can happen in eight months
QUOTE (sidwich @ Oct 19 2009, 07:09 PM)
Also, although I like both Wiles and Hallberg very much separately, they have gotten very mixed reviews as a pair.
Part of the reason for the mixed reviews may have been that sometimes McKenzie would cause Hallberg and Wiles to be premiering in their respective roles in the same performance -- like in Don Quixote as Kitri and Basilio, and also in their Swan Lake, I think. So, if they got some less than perfect reviews initially in some cases, that might have been because they were each relatively new to their leading roles.
Also, I don't think either of them is the very strongest (or the most obvious, in the sense of "in your face") of actors, although Hallberg has gotten better and better in terms of strength of acting (without compromising his more subtle and nice approach). I happen to like the more subtle approach they both took to their acting even early on -- it seemed less artifical than certain other people's acting, such as X Reyes or V Part.
I don't disagree with richard53dog and bingham that it would have been nice to see Osipova as Kitri again. However, apart from scheduling, here are some potential reasons that each of ABT and Osipova might want to do something else:
1) Osipova received a great deal of acclaim from critics already for her performance of Kitri in NY. Also, she is well-known internationally for that Kitri role. Therefore, if I were Osipova and I wanted to show the Bolshoi team that I have full capabilities beyond Kitri or that I can receive acclaim in other roles, I would want to do a different full-length ballet. Especially one in which Osipova is not known for starring internationally. That way, she can garner more favorable reviews from US critics for other roles and further establish herself within the Bolshoi.
2) ABT might want Osipova to do something other than what she already did at the Met in 2009, to build up the anticipation among audience members for her performance. Also to build up the anticipation by the critics too. For example, who wouldn't want to see how Osipova does in the Rose Adagio -- even if it's in the context of the last McKenzie production of Sleeping Beauty?
If one assumes that, leaving aside tourists, many members of the ballet going population are repeat attendees, having Osipova take on roles that are new for her at the ABT would increase the curiosity factor.
3) Romeo & Juliet and Sleeping Beauty could both showcase a "softer" side of Osipova than Don Quixote, as Giselle might have for some of the scenes. That might be a good thing for Osipova.
Further observations on the Met casting:
1) Special Don Quixote: I didn't notice this until just now, but the June 3 Don Quixote (Thursday) performance features 3 different pairs of lead performers (likely to be all-principal, although one Kitri is not yet named).
7:30 PM
Don Quixote
P. Herrera
M. Gomes
X. Reyes
H. Cornejo
tba
J. Carreño
The press release says the following about this performance: Alicia "Alonso’s 90th birthday will be marked by a special performance of Don Quixote on Thursday evening, June 3 featuring three Principal casts, each dancing the lead in one act of the three act classic."
2) Sleeping Beauty: It seems like the most recent production of Sleeping Beauty will again be used.
The press release states: "Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreño will lead the season’s first performance of The Sleeping Beauty on Monday evening, June 14. This production of The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on June 1, 2007."
Not surprising, given the current state of the economy, etc. Also, the Swan Lake production seems to be the same.
3) Fancy Free: The Friday, June 3 and Monday, June 28 performances of "Fancy Free" feature the following three danseurs:
H. Cornejo
E. Stiefel
J. Carreño
4) There is the Paloma-equivalent role in On the Dneiper that is TBA in the following cast on June 28 and July 1:
TBA [lead ballerina]
Saveliev
Messmer
Tamm
That team had debuted together in the work as follows in 2009:
Riccetto
Saveliev
Messmer
Tamm
I wonder why there is doubt as to Riccetto being the lead. One possible explanation I can think of is that, on July 1, right before On the Dneiper is the Brahms/Haydn Variations, which includes Riccetto. I wonder if there are other factors in play?
1) Special Don Quixote: I didn't notice this until just now, but the June 3 Don Quixote (Thursday) performance features 3 different pairs of lead performers (likely to be all-principal, although one Kitri is not yet named).
7:30 PM
Don Quixote
P. Herrera
M. Gomes
X. Reyes
H. Cornejo
tba
J. Carreño
The press release says the following about this performance: Alicia "Alonso’s 90th birthday will be marked by a special performance of Don Quixote on Thursday evening, June 3 featuring three Principal casts, each dancing the lead in one act of the three act classic."
2) Sleeping Beauty: It seems like the most recent production of Sleeping Beauty will again be used.
The press release states: "Gillian Murphy and Jose Manuel Carreño will lead the season’s first performance of The Sleeping Beauty on Monday evening, June 14. This production of The Sleeping Beauty received its World Premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York on June 1, 2007."
Not surprising, given the current state of the economy, etc. Also, the Swan Lake production seems to be the same.
3) Fancy Free: The Friday, June 3 and Monday, June 28 performances of "Fancy Free" feature the following three danseurs:
H. Cornejo
E. Stiefel
J. Carreño
4) There is the Paloma-equivalent role in On the Dneiper that is TBA in the following cast on June 28 and July 1:
TBA [lead ballerina]
Saveliev
Messmer
Tamm
That team had debuted together in the work as follows in 2009:
Riccetto
Saveliev
Messmer
Tamm
I wonder why there is doubt as to Riccetto being the lead. One possible explanation I can think of is that, on July 1, right before On the Dneiper is the Brahms/Haydn Variations, which includes Riccetto. I wonder if there are other factors in play?
QUOTE (Ambonnay @ Oct 19 2009, 08:20 PM)
I happen to like the more subtle approach they both took to their acting even early on -- it seemed less artifical than certain other people's acting, such as X Reyes or V Part.
interesting you cite those two as they are completely dissimilar in type and style both of dancing and acting and happen to be one of my most favorite and one of my least favorite dancers at abt.
You see them as similar?
QUOTE (Ambonnay @ Oct 19 2009, 08:20 PM)
I don't disagree with richard53dog and bingham that it would have been nice to see Osipova as Kitri again. However, apart from scheduling, here are some potential reasons that each of ABT and Osipova might want to do something else:
1) Osipova received a great deal of acclaim from critics already for her performance of Kitri in NY. Also, she is well-known internationally for that Kitri role. Therefore, if I were Osipova and I wanted to show the Bolshoi team that I have full capabilities beyond Kitri or that I can receive acclaim in other roles, I would want to do a different full-length ballet. Especially one in which Osipova is not known for starring internationally. That way, she can garner more favorable reviews from US critics for other roles and further establish herself within the Bolshoi.
2) ABT might want Osipova to do something other than what she already did at the Met in 2009, to build up the anticipation among audience members for her performance. Also to build up the anticipation by the critics too. For example, who wouldn't want to see how Osipova does in the Rose Adagio -- even if it's in the context of the last McKenzie production of Sleeping Beauty?
If one assumes that, leaving aside tourists, many members of the ballet going population are repeat attendees, having Osipova take on roles that are new for her at the ABT would increase the curiosity factor.
1) Osipova received a great deal of acclaim from critics already for her performance of Kitri in NY. Also, she is well-known internationally for that Kitri role. Therefore, if I were Osipova and I wanted to show the Bolshoi team that I have full capabilities beyond Kitri or that I can receive acclaim in other roles, I would want to do a different full-length ballet. Especially one in which Osipova is not known for starring internationally. That way, she can garner more favorable reviews from US critics for other roles and further establish herself within the Bolshoi.
2) ABT might want Osipova to do something other than what she already did at the Met in 2009, to build up the anticipation among audience members for her performance. Also to build up the anticipation by the critics too. For example, who wouldn't want to see how Osipova does in the Rose Adagio -- even if it's in the context of the last McKenzie production of Sleeping Beauty?
If one assumes that, leaving aside tourists, many members of the ballet going population are repeat attendees, having Osipova take on roles that are new for her at the ABT would increase the curiosity factor.
I believe you are a bit confused. She has never done Kitri in NY. She performed Giselle and La Sylphide last year. Yes she is famous for Kitri but she has never performed it in NY. I believe she danced it in DC in 2007. Maybe she has danced it elsewhere in the US but not in the last few years and not in NY ever. Last year was her first time ever performing full length roles in NY and they were only the romantic roles.
That said I am very much looking forward to her Juliet which is a role she has long said she wanted to dance and I imagine would be very good for her personality.
You're right. She's never done Kitri in NY. How unfortunate for me to have forgotten, given I attended the two performances she had with Hallberg this year (although not her performances with Cornego).
I'm hoping Simkin/Lane get the SB tba. Lane has had success in SB and as Gamzetti (last spring) interesting that she hasn't been cast. Also interesting that Part has Aurora again. Many months for cast changes, it will be fun to keep an eye on things. This is why I no longer buy subscriptions. I wait for casting and buy individual tickets.
I'm disappointed to see so little here for my favorite up and coming corps members: I don't see anything new here for Eric Tamm, and where is Isabella Boylston? ... but perhaps I'm expecting too much. But I'm totally dismayed at the absence (are they in there *anywhere*?) of Misty Copeland, Kristi Boone and Yuriko Kajiya.
Osipova has said in interviews that she's done Kitri so much that she could do it if they woke her up at 3 am in her sleep. I don't blame her if she wants to expand her horizons.
QUOTE (Ambonnay @ Oct 19 2009, 05:27 PM)
Other observations from the Met casting:
-- As you suggested, V Part seems to paired with Bolle a lot. She partners him in her only two La Bayaderes, in her only Swan Lake. She partners Gomes in Sleeping Beauty, and continues to pair with him as part of the first team cast in her only two performances of On The Dneiper. Her partner for the "Awakening PDD" is tba in both her performances. In the Brahms-Haydn Variations, V Part might be paired with A. Hammoudi, if the partner is listed in order.
I guess part of the reason that V Part pairs with Bolle is that she is the recently minted principal, and he is the recently-resident danseur at the principal level, presumably? But could other factors be that V Part's jump is not that strong and pairing her with Hallberg might highlight that weakness in Part's dancing? (Note I have not seen Bolle perform, so I do not know what his jumps are like.) Also, Hallberg is very busy already without having to partner V Part.
-- As you suggested, V Part seems to paired with Bolle a lot. She partners him in her only two La Bayaderes, in her only Swan Lake. She partners Gomes in Sleeping Beauty, and continues to pair with him as part of the first team cast in her only two performances of On The Dneiper. Her partner for the "Awakening PDD" is tba in both her performances. In the Brahms-Haydn Variations, V Part might be paired with A. Hammoudi, if the partner is listed in order.
I guess part of the reason that V Part pairs with Bolle is that she is the recently minted principal, and he is the recently-resident danseur at the principal level, presumably? But could other factors be that V Part's jump is not that strong and pairing her with Hallberg might highlight that weakness in Part's dancing? (Note I have not seen Bolle perform, so I do not know what his jumps are like.) Also, Hallberg is very busy already without having to partner V Part.
You have an interesting way of wording things. I take it you dislike Part.
Her "only two La Bayaderes"--That is what most people get. If that. You didn't state other performers number of performances in the same way, you simply stated the number of their performances with no judgment implied.
I believe she is partnered with Bolle because they are both tall and statuesque. She has been a difficult dancer to partner because of her height.
Hallberg (who I adore!) is tall but not terribly strong and performs a lot. Bolle looks very well with Part and it makes a lot of sense to partner them.
I don't think that Hallberg highlights a weakness in Part's dancing. In fact I don't see jumping as a weakness in her dancing. Her leaps eat up the stage. Have you seen her as Myrtha? Weak is not the term I would use.
Opinions of course vary on dancers, and Part divides opinions perhaps more than most. I don't mean to imply that you aren't entitled to see her jump as a weakness, of course you are. But you stated it as if it was a fact. I just wanted to point out that at the least, fairly educated opinions differ on this issue.
QUOTE (christine174 @ Oct 20 2009, 03:41 AM)
I'm disappointed to see so little here for my favorite up and coming corps members: I don't see anything new here for Eric Tamm, and where is Isabella Boylston? ... but perhaps I'm expecting too much. But I'm totally dismayed at the absence (are they in there *anywhere*?) of Misty Copeland, Kristi Boone and Yuriko Kajiya.
There are 3 other female soloist-type roles in Dame de Camellas. I imagine the ladies you mentioned will be cast in these roles.
QUOTE (canbelto @ Oct 19 2009, 07:45 PM)
Osipova has said in interviews that she's done Kitri so much that she could do it if they woke her up at 3 am in her sleep. I don't blame her if she wants to expand her horizons.
From an interview with ballet.co.uk:
"I dream about serious, major work – about Juliet. I would really like to dance it now, at my age, not when I am thirty. I don’t even care which version I dance...It would be interesting to dance “Sleeping Beauty”, but it’s performed so rarely that I am unlikely to get it. In that ballet I would have liked to dance the happiness of youth. After all,I am still so young. "
Interview, 2008
So I am not surprised she wound up dancing these roles.
QUOTE (aurora @ Oct 19 2009, 10:56 PM)
I don't think that Hallberg highlights a weakness in Part's dancing. In fact I don't see jumping as a weakness in her dancing. Her leaps eat up the stage. Have you seen her as Myrtha? Weak is not the term I would use.
aurora:
I have seen V Part as Myrtha, such as in the June 13, 2009 PM Osipova/Hallberg performance. I think Part's weakness in her jumps is not length (i.e., how she can traverse the stage, which I agree she does a fair job of). At least to me, one of her major weaknesses in her dancing is a lack of height in her jumps (ie vertical coverage). Also, to me, a lack of a sensation of lightness when she jumps. Hallberg's jumps carry length, height and lightness combined.
Also, I wonder if Robert Bolle might look better with Part because Robert looks more mature than Hallberg, and Part has a more mature look for a ballerina, despite being the recently minted ABT principal (it took her some time to make principal, as we all may recall). Bolle joined La Scala Ballet in 1994, and has been principal since 1996.
http://www.abt.org/dancers/detail.asp?Dancer_ID=229
Hallberg is the youngest of the ABT danseurs. There are some ballerinas, e.g., Vishneva, who actually have a lot more experience than Hallberg in terms of years, but wouldn't (at least based on not having yet seen them dance Swan Lake together) look out of place with Hallberg. With Part, that seems to me to not be the case. The only time I've seen Part look fresh and youthful is in her picture on her ABT bio page.
As you noted, Part is "statuesque". I don't know how imposing Bolle looks in person, but Hallberg, while tall, does not come across as especially broad (he comes across on stage as just right). Part, on the other hand, does have a certain breadth to her body that some would perceive as creating a "more substantial" look for her when she dances. Part is not a petite ballerina. So, maybe Bolle would also be a better match for Part physically if Bolle were physically stronger than Hallberg.
And, yes, I generally dislike Part's dancing. I've said that before on this board.
QUOTE (vipa @ Oct 19 2009, 10:08 PM)
Many months for cast changes, it will be fun to keep an eye on things. This is why I no longer buy subscriptions. I wait for casting and buy individual tickets.
I am rolling over my subscription because I am pretty happy with the seating I've had. As you might know, at least for my seating (all seating??), if you roll over your subscription from last year for the same evening at the Met in a timely manner, you are guaranteed your seat from last year. (I haven't subscribed for that long, so I'm not sure what the deadline is, but I was able to renew the subscription yesterday, although I did not get confirmation of additional tickets I requested yesterday because they have to wait for other subscribers to decide, among other things.)
Does anybody know whether, as a matter of formal policy, if one has one subscription series, but gets other tickets, those other tickets can also be exchanged? Or is it just the tickets constituting the subscription itself that can be exchanged?
Also, can you clarify what you refer to when you say "casting"? Are there big changes ahead typically?
There is no new Ratmansky ballet on the spring schedule. I had hoped that he would choreograph a full-length ballet for ABT. Perhaps in 2011...
QUOTE (RUKen @ Oct 20 2009, 01:35 PM)
There is no new Ratmansky ballet on the spring schedule. I had hoped that he would choreograph a full-length ballet for ABT. Perhaps in 2011...
Or perhaps, he will do some"tinkering" with Sleeping Beauty or Don Q
Ambonnay, I have to concur with Aurora here vis a vis Part. I saw Part dance with Hallberg in "Swan Lake" and they looked lovely together. There were no partnering glitches. If Hallberg can lift Wiles, Part should be no problem (though ballerina coordination is a big factor is smooth partnering). However, Bolle does have a bit more upper body strength and both he and Part have a dark-haired movie star glamour that complement beautifully.
As for strength in upper body, I think that Stearns is actually weaker in that department than Hallberg. He actually is well over six feet but lacks the upper body muscular development that maturer dancers like Carreno and Gomes have.
Hallberg I find either connects emotionally and dramatically with his partner and role, or he doesn't. "Giselle" with Osipova this past Spring was a magnificent interpretive achievement from both. Xiomara Reyes I actually think is a superb actress with a real genius for portraying seriocomic waif-like roles. Her Cowgirl in "Rodeo" was Chaplinesque. I think if miscast (which she has been at ABT i.e. Raymonda) she can come across as flat and brittle. But cast right she is charming (i.e. Swanilda in "Coppelia" or Lise in "Fille"). Part also can bring an emotional amplitude to roles like Odette. She even was rather impressive as Lady Capulet recently, a mime role. Neither Part or Reyes I would characterize as a bad actress. They are both stronger in that regard than Herrera or Murphy.
Also, Part's jump has a kind of horizontal power covering great distance - it actually is one of her strengths. The weightedness actually increases the sense of power. I don't think that Murphy is a better jumper. Part's serious deficiency is in turning and petite allegro which she recently has become more consistent in though by no means a natural.
As for strength in upper body, I think that Stearns is actually weaker in that department than Hallberg. He actually is well over six feet but lacks the upper body muscular development that maturer dancers like Carreno and Gomes have.
Hallberg I find either connects emotionally and dramatically with his partner and role, or he doesn't. "Giselle" with Osipova this past Spring was a magnificent interpretive achievement from both. Xiomara Reyes I actually think is a superb actress with a real genius for portraying seriocomic waif-like roles. Her Cowgirl in "Rodeo" was Chaplinesque. I think if miscast (which she has been at ABT i.e. Raymonda) she can come across as flat and brittle. But cast right she is charming (i.e. Swanilda in "Coppelia" or Lise in "Fille"). Part also can bring an emotional amplitude to roles like Odette. She even was rather impressive as Lady Capulet recently, a mime role. Neither Part or Reyes I would characterize as a bad actress. They are both stronger in that regard than Herrera or Murphy.
Also, Part's jump has a kind of horizontal power covering great distance - it actually is one of her strengths. The weightedness actually increases the sense of power. I don't think that Murphy is a better jumper. Part's serious deficiency is in turning and petite allegro which she recently has become more consistent in though by no means a natural.
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