All-Robbins at NYCB: DREAMER & NOCES

Friday May 9, 2008 - To be honest, I'd rather have a Diamond Project than a Jerome Robbins Celebration. Reading about San Francisco Ballet's current crop of new works (lots of them) makes me wish I liked to travel. But I'm here and the Robbins season is underway. I like and/or admire several of the Robbins ballets but I find that - unlike Balanchine's - there are quite a few Robbins works that don't really sustain my interest thru repeated viewings. Tonight we had the pretty and innocuous ANDANTINO and the over-long PIANO PIECES (which seems to me to be two ballets trying to mesh - unsuccessfully, in my view) and the new production of LES NOCES which is impressive without being truly enjoyable. Gleaming beautifully as ever was the mysterious and musically inspiring OPUS 19/THE DREAMER - one of the Robbins works I truly love. OPUS 19 thoroughly entranced my friend Rob; he couldn't stop talking about it and wants to see it again.

Evan has a beautiful perspective on the RUSSIAN ROOTS programme here.

Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz (in a Paul Kolnik photo from BAISER DE LA FEE) led off the evening with the lyrical duet ANDANTINO. It was great seeing Joaquin onstage again after he missed the Winter season due to injury. He and Megan danced expressively although for a moment I thought they had a partnering gaffe - but that was quickly smoothed over.

OPUS 19/THE DREAMER seemed dreamier than ever tonight. Faycal Karoui, the NYC Ballet orchestra and guest violinist Erin Keefe stressed the shining quality of the music. The corps of twelve in muted shades of blue contribute so much to the other-worldly feeling of this ballet; tonight they seemed especially tuned-in to the slow port de bras which sustain the trance-like atmosphere. The six boys - Kyle Froman, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Allen Peiffer, Christian Tworzyanski, Giovanni Villalobos and Aaron Severini (welcome back!) propel themselves across the stage in flying combinations which echo and enhance the principal male dancer - Gonzalo Garcia in a magical performance.

This Spring Gonzalo has truly hit his stride at NYCB and tonight's performance affirmed his status on the roster and gave me reason to think he may have as memorable a career here as Peter Boal's. The Dreamer was one of Boal's greatest roles and in fact he danced it at his farewell; Gonzalo shows the same full-bodied lyricism and attention to detail but he's also already put his own stamp on the ballet most notably with his expansive arms and the poetic nobility of his presence. I can't wait to see him in this ballet again.  Wendy Whelan's got just the right mixture of angularity and flow in her dancing of this ballet - the occasional jagged combination Robbins throws into the role eventually smooth out as the dream deepens. Wendy's slowly accelerating series of turns as she swirls into the wings is always breath-taking. She and Gonzalo seemed thoroughly entranced by one another. OPUS 19 ends with the couple falling asleep, their heads resting on one another's open palms.

Using Tchaikovsky's opera EUGEN ONEGIN as a jumping off point - an opera in which  peasants dance in Act I and the landed gentry dance at Tatyana's birthday party - I tried to find a key to enjoying PIANO PIECES tonight. A group of peasants in their white tunics bordered in red - led with charm and strong technique by Antonio Carmena - open the ballet. And then there is a changing of gears and a trio of romantic duets is presented. Sara Mearns and Jared Angle expanded on their SEASONS/Spring partnership with a sustained, poetic feeling. Abi Stafford and Amar Ramasar responded vividly to their music and they are two dancers who always convey a sense of joy. Abi's solo in particular felt the singing pulse emanating from Susan Walters' keyboard. Kaitlyn Gilliland (Kolnik headshot) and Stephen Hanna were an interesting new pairing. Kaitlyn's softly sailing extension and Stephen's attentive partnering meshed smoothly and culminated with him sweeping her into an unusual upside-down pose as he carries her offstage. 

For all the fine dancing, PIANO PIECES never captures the imagination. The choreography seems so facile but always dutiful rather than inspired. Each number goes on just a little too long. Rob agreed with me that the ballet is perfectly pleasant but also unmemorable.   

This interesting article about LES NOCES is well worth perusing if you are planning to see the ballet his season. I can recall the last revival at NYCB with Alexandra Ansanelli and Robert Wersinger as the young couple.  In this new setting, we have the four grand pianos, chorus and soloists onstage against a towering backdrop with looming iconic figures. LES NOCES is musically relentless; the musicians, chorus & vocalists never have a moment of repose. Choral director Judith Clurman had impeccably prepared her  ensemble and they threw themselves into the complexities with gusto.

Tiler Peck and  Adam Hendrickson ideally conveyed their numb, youthful terror at being cast into marriage with no say in the matter. Manipulated, pushed and pulled by their parents (Rachel Rutherford & Stephen Hanna, Rebecca Krohn and Jonathan Stafford) and the crowd, the young couple didn't stand a chance against the rhythmic onslaughts of the music and the stomping, swaying masses of villagers. Gina Pazcoguin and Benjamin Millepied as the Matchmakers went around, overseeing the details with the efficiency of rural wedding planners. Ben's dancing was especially vital.

When LES NOCES ends you sort of have a feeling of not knowing what's hit you. I'm sure that is how the young wedded couple feel, too.

After a warm ovation - the audience seemed somewhat puzzled by the piece but in the end overwhelmed by its sheer energy and force - we went back to see the tenor, Bryan Griffin who is a client of Rob's. And there I met up with a dear lady who I'd rather lost track of, soprano Sari Gruber. The singers commented on the demands of the score and what a rigorous - but in the end, exhilarating - experience LES NOCES is to sing. Along with mezzo Elizabeth DeShong and basso Jason Hardy, Sari and Bryan (photos) made strong contributions to the musical success of NOCES. Sari is lovelier than ever and I got to see a picture of her little daughter.

I felt in the end that, for all its driven quality and somewhat off-putting harmonic structures and its lack of choreographic variety, LES NOCES is a masterpiece in its own right and I look forward to seeing it again...even though I can't say I really enjoyed it.
 

Comments

[Deborah]

I was there last night too. I'm a big Robbin's fan; I adore Piano Pieces and Opus 19, and was thrilled by Les Noces. I truly can't wait to see Wendy (hooray!) today (mat) in Bukagu! I'm going to tomorrow as well.
Enjoy!

ps love your review!

[Philip]

It was funny last night when we went backstage to see the singers that several people asked me if I was related to Jerome Robbins...

Deborah, I wish I could share you enthusiasm for PIANO PIECES!

[jolene]

I agree with you about Robbins - I was excited about the Robbins program that SF Ballet had this year, but a little disappointed the inconsistency of his pieces. Being new to Robbins, his "Night" was a bit boring, if I had a choice I would have loved to have seen his "Afternoon of a Faun" and his "The Goldberg Variations".

I'm glad to hear that Gonzalo Garcia is doing well in NY. Anyways, great review!

[Laura]

I was there last night too, and I think your rewiew is dead-on. I really enjoyed Piano Pieces but it did seem to mesh two ballets into one. Sara Mearns is lovely and she gets cast so frequently. One wonders when she will be promoted to Principal! Les Noces was unlike anything I have ever seen (or heard). That seems to be the theme among Robbins ballets. Never again will I voluntarily watch Watermill!!