Saturday December 13, 2008 matinee - It's hard to imagine a more bizarre double-header than an afternoon at New York City Ballet's NUTCRACKER and an evening performance of the Richard Strauss masterpiece ELEKTRA performed in concert by the New York Philharmonic. But that is how I spent my day. I asked Dmitry if he could think of anything the two works have in common and he said: "They both have a waltz!"
The afternoon's NUTCRACKER was a 'family' matinee; after the performance there was a big party on the Promenade. Making it a festive occasion for NYCB regulars as well was a generous offering of role debuts with some of the Company's brightest young lights stepping into the leading roles for the first time. Monica writes about the afternoon here.
The feeling of newness, almost like unwrapping a gift, was there right from the start because one of our two fine concertmasters, Arturo Delmoni, took over the baton. Even if I didn't know who was conducting I would have known it was someone whose NUTCRACKER I'd never heard before: the overture had this nice, crisp feeling and all afternoon Delmoni kept the tempos bright and let us hear - if you can believe it - little details of the score we hadn't noticed before. He's probably played this score hundreds of times and so had his very own ideas of how it should go. Luckily, they are all good ideas. And his co-concertmaster, Kurt Nikkanen played the interlude in Act I so beautifully today, with just a touch of the gypsy style.
Topping the list of NUTCRACKER newcomers were the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier of Erica Pereira and Allen Peiffer who were so appealing when they danced together in ROMEO AND JULIET (a Paul Kolnik photo, above) a couple of years ago. Erica danced the opening solo today with such clarity and pristine technique; she looks so delicate but she's a very strong dancer and extremely poised. She and Allen created a nice feeling of youthful courtliness in the adagio, skirting the many hazards of the choreography and finishing with a neatly-timed balance from Erica before Allen swooped her into the final fishdive.
Kathryn Morgan in Snowflake mode above (and can you find her among the Snowflakes in the very top photo?) debuted as Dewdrop this afternoon. I never met a Dewdrop I didn't like and since my very first (Colleen Neary) I have seen every kind of Dewdrop imaginable from large & luminous to petite hummingbirds. Katie was a breath of fresh air, a youthful lyric soprano singing with full-voiced sweetness. Do we still need to mention how pretty she is? Her complete command of all the technical demands of the solo passages in the Waltz made watching her a real joy; and she saved a last magical flourish for the finale where she timed her pirouette combination with dreamy pauses on pointe as she gradually slowed the whirling motion into a dazzling finish.
Kaitlyn Gilliland was new as Coffee. The tall, pale ballerina with her sense of mystery created an intriguing atmosphere that tingled with sexual allure yet was never blatant. Provocative but self-contained, she made me think Balanchine would have loved her. Ballerinas are forever reminding us of other ballerinas and while there are hints of Farrell, Whelan and Kowroski in Kaitlyn's persona, she is very much her own dancer. And what a face! I can't wait for her debut as Sugar Plum on December 24th. Meanwhile, an extra bouquet for her today for including the brilliant pirouette combination in the finale.
Mary Elizabeth Sell with her large eyes and pretty smile made the most of her opportunity in Spanish (after making a sneaky unannounced appearance as the Grandmother in Act I); she and Devin Alberda were elegant and confident. These two dancers show us the reserves of talent in our Company; I feel certain they will have many more chances to shine. Mary Elizabeth's in the top Snow photo, too...can you find her?
In their familiar roles, Matthew Renko (Tea), Giovanni Villalobos (Candy Cane) and Lauren King (Marzipan) all excelled - the boys with their easy bravado and Lauren with her neat technique and wonderful way of connecting with the audience. The pretty quartet of Marzipan shepherdesses (Faye Arthurs, Maya Collins, Alina Dronova and Stephanie Zungre) had the feel of a beauty pageant; luckily I didn't have to judge. Amanda Hankes and Ellen Ostrom led the Flower waltz; they've both been referred to as 'aristoctratic' and that sums it up nicely.
Presiding over the festivities was Darci Kistler making her debut as Frau Stahlbaum. Her portrayal was rich in detail and - as a perfect hostess should - she connected with each of her guests and their children as individuals. So good to see Jock Soto again, making a guest apearance as Dr. Stahlbaum and sporting a moustache. Andre Kramarevsky is the most balletic of Drosselmeyers; if you keep an eye on him you'll see bits of dancing and port de bras woven into his interpretation as well as old-school manners and a touch of charm, with magical capework. He orchestrates the dancing dolls (Brittany Pollack, Stephanie Zungre and Anthony Huxley) and is clearly delighted with their effect.
This was my first time seeing the 'other' children's cast: Callie Reiff and Colby Clark as Marie and Fritz were much fussed-over by Darci and Jock. As Drosselmeyer's nephew, Lance Chantiles-Wertz was a real petit prince. He already has the manners of a young cavalier, and good clarity of mime. {Photo, rehearsing with Garielle Whittle}. All the children today seemed terribly tiny.
[NYCB photos and headshots by Paul Kolnik; Lane Chantiles-Wertz and Garielle Whittle by Andrea Mohin/NY TIMES].
Thank you for your beautiful re-cap of yesterday's matinee! I'm literally sitting here with tears in my eyes reading it. And while I couldn't be there, I am so grateful for your impressions and detailed account of what sounded like a magical matinee.
Posted by: kathy | December 14, 2008 at 10:29 AM
PS: I believe Kaitlyn Gilliland's sister Raina will be performing "Coffee" in Minnesota Dance Theatre's "Nutcracker Fantasy" next week.
Posted by: kathy | December 14, 2008 at 10:48 AM