The matinee began with SONGS OF THE AUVERGNE which I liked a little better this time - but not much. They have a nice backdrop of misty hills, and Lucy Schaufer sings the songs with simple sincerity (she was a Flowermaiden in the recent Met PARSIFAL). Philip Neal was back and he looked great, dancing with freedom and partnering Darci very well. She put aside attempts to be overly girlish which detracted from her performance last season. Rebecca Krohn & Rachel Rutherford were both looking sweet, but the most captivating performance came from Sterling Hyltin. For me, Hyltin is a lyric rather than allegro dancer: a Sugar Plum rather than a Dewdrop. She can do the fast and fancy things, but I feel she really wants to "sing" something more sustained and romantic. She's a baby Darci. I'd love to see her partnership with Veyette explored. She was very fondly applauded here.
IN THE NIGHT finally made it to the stage after two cancellations. Rachel & Tyler Angle are perfect compliments to one another and their duet was full of tender, youthful passion. The more subdued and stately couple were Sylve & Askegard = stylish & legato; Sylve is a sophisticated beauty. The frantic couple, madly in love but tossed by emotional tempests, were Ringer and Ramasar. Jeni has probably her greatest role - did I say that earlier about B-S Q? - portraying the woman's wildly fluctuating moods with such clarity and detail that the character seems real. Amar handled the tricky partnering with polish and looks madly handsome. They made the dancing & drama all of a piece: very exciting.
Abi & Jon Stafford were purely joyful in SYMPHONY IN C first movement; Jon was easy & fluent while Abi radiated with the unabashed pleasure of dancing Balanchine's sailing steps. Rebecca Krohn replaced Savannah Lowery as a demi-soliste and she & Reichlen gave sparkling performances. Then Wendy & Askegard appeared to unfold the adagio; Andrea Quinn provided just the right sense of mystery and weight from the pit, giving Wendy the opportunity to suspend reality and draw us into her heavenly realm. I have seen her dance this piece so often and each time she amazes me with the freshness and calm authority of her dancing. Everything beautifully sustained: rapture! Askegard is her ideal partner here. I wanted to look at Laracey and Arthurs in the demi roles, but I was glued to Wendy. Enslaved, actually. Then Fairchild & de Luz charmingly intruded on my reverie; I forgave them because they danced with such flair. Megan had a minor bobble in one supported arabesque but she made a nifty switch to the other foot. Tiler Peck wowed the audience with her brilliant opening passage in 4th Movement and proceeded to illuminate the stage with Arch Higgins as her cavalier. Then all the couples and all the corps filled the stage and brought the afternoon to an exhilirating conclusion, drawing lusty cheers from the audience.
With time to kill between performances, I ambled over to the Met stage door and ran into one of my opera buddies, Barry, and together we watched some of the stars arriving for the Volpe Gala: Stephanie Blythe, Renee Fleming, Juan Diego Florez, Rene Pape, Marius Kwiecien, Sam Ramey, long- time comprimario champ Charles Anthony, Maestro Gergiev, former mezzo Joanna Simon on the arm of Walter Cronkite, the incredible Marilyn Horne, Waltraud Meier. Domingo stopped to chat (Barry knows everyone) and dear Frederica von Stade came by and was so sweet to the knot of fans gathered there. And yes, Mollie, I gave her your greeting and took her picture! The last time I was at the Met stage door was after a Gwyneth Jones/Leonie Rysanek ELEKTRA. It was kind of fun to see everyone in glamourous attire. Except Denyce Graves was wearing jeans - if only she could still sing as good as she looks!
Then I met up with my guy and after dinner we were back at NYS Theatre. They reversed the programme, doing LIEBESLIEDER first. Good idea, as people tend to leave after the first half of that ballet if it is the closer. The ballet wove its spell again and the joy of watching four of the greatest ballerinas in one setting is sublime. Kyra, Darci, Wendy & Miranda offer a wealth of contrasting beauty and allure. I did not find the Tyler Angle/Weese pairing odd in the least: Tyler was wonderfully elegant and ardent and Miranda lusciously girlish. Askegard and Darci danced in their own world, and Hubbe & Wendy drew elated applause for their final duet. Darci swept thru a series of spectacular turns. Kyra looked wonderful; one touching moment came as Nilas knelt at Kyra's feet and kissed her hand; then he looked up into her eyes and his face lit up with a spontaneous smile. I liked Peter's RED VIOLIN a little better this time but the music is just too long & big to be sustained by only 8 dancers, though they were excellent. Somogyi in red creates a vivid picture; Sebastien was back looking magnetically sexy. My partner hated this ballet.
Then EVENFALL again showed its unique qualities. I found that knowing the ending did not distract from enjoying it, and I noticed more astutely the trajectory and progress of the relationship of the two principals which ends with him abandoning her. Weese and Woetzel were glorious throughout, and I especially liked the pairing of Kaitlyn G and William Lin-Yee among the excellent corps.
I could write more, but I have to go to work. Hope I can stay awake all day!
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