Oberon's Grove

NYC Ballet SLEEPING BEAUTY 2010 #2

Saturday January 30, 2010 evening - Tonight is was Megan Fairchild's turn to accept the roses from her suitors as she danced the role of Aurora in the New York City Ballet's SLEEPING BEAUTY. Megan's Aurora in the last revival of the production was well-nigh perfect, but she's surpassed that level now. She looks ideally girlish and petite but her dancing has the poise and stature of a fully-matured artist. Given her technical fluency, the steps are spun off with complete command. Beyond that she has developed a lovely capacity for dreaminess and romantic longing that made her Vision Scene a real pleasure.

But: I've gotten ahead of myself. Megan began casting her magic spell on the ballet very early in the Rose Adagio as she makes her way up the diagonal of the suitors by striking a supported arabesque with each man and then moving to the next. Megan made the transition from one partner to the next with a sort of swooning feeling that was really attractive. The first big unsupported balance of the adagio was grandly sustained. In the variation that follows, her multiple pirouettes were pristine.

Megan's partnership with Joaquin de Luz has been a big success and even though she is now a bit taller than he is when she's on pointe, they are so accustomed to dancing together that it doesn't matter. From the first encounter in the Vision Scene to the final coronation, they are a dream team in this ballet. Joaquin's solo dancing was splendid: three sets of blazing air turns with cushioned landings were a high point for him, but everything in his performance was so vividly alive. And he's a handsome prince to boot. Joaquin and Megan had the best success with the fishdives of any pairing I've seen in this production in recent revivals. The audience lavished waves of cheers on Megan and Joaquin when they took their curtain calls.

   

Production photo by Paul Kolnik of Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz in the ballet's final moment. Ellen Bar is the Lilac Fairy here.

Jennie Somogyi was tonight's sparkling Lilac Fairy, flourishing in the multiple pirouettes and sustained attitudes of the role. It was a real pleasure to see her on such fine form tonight after her long road back from a serious injury, reminding us of her many virtues as a dancer. As her counter-part, Maria Kowroski was an imperious Carabosse with a dash of sexy thrown in. The audience adored her.

The fairy set-piece in the Prologue went especially well tonight; I felt that Maurice Kaplow's tempi helped the five girls make the very most of their solos. Maya Collins (Tenderness) danced radiantly and one of our newer ballerinas Sara Adams was impressive in the Vivacity variation. As Generosity, Faye Arthurs showed all the facets of her dancing that have made her a very special ballerina for us. Alina Dronova (Eloquence) showed a lively coloratura style and Ellen Bar looked superb and danced with flair as Courage. Then there are the largely unsung cavaliers - the production does give them moments to shine, and shine they did: Andrew Scordato, Chase Finlay, Vincent Paradiso, Cameron Dieck, Daniel Applebaum, and Sam Greenburg.  Among the Lilac Fairy attendants, Megan Johnson was my girl to watch this evening. Justin Peck and Gwyneth Muller were the royal pair, nicely doting on their daughter. In the Hunting Scene Georgina Pazcoguin's Countess was more hurt than huffy when the Prince dismissed her: a nice little vignette.

Jared Angle led the Jewels pas de quatre with a stylish performance; I wish he'd been cast as Desire this season but we do have his Siegfried in SWAN LAKE to look forward to. Savannah Lowery was having a grand time as Diamond until she slipped; she recovered quickly but I fear she may have injured herself. We sometimes forget what a precarious job this is. Lauren King was a lustrous Emerald with a superb concluding balance, and Ashley Laracey a delight as Ruby. Kristen Segin's White Cat was menaced by a wonderfully vivid Puss-in-Boots from Craig Hall.

Abi Stafford's purity of technique and innate grace made her a very appealing Princess Florine. Antonio Carmena danced impressively as the Bluebird but had a momentary falter in his partnering. Christian Tworzyanski was the stalking Wolf. Troy Schumacher's lightness of touch in the Jester pas de trois marked him out as a future Bluebird; Vincent Paradiso and Giovanni Villalobos completed the trio in this lively dance just before the classic Somogyi solo and the Fairchild/de Luz truly grand pas de deux brought the evening to a coronation-conclusion.

Watch Kristin Sloan's vastly entertaining and informative video about performing the Wedding pas de deux from SLEEPING BEAUTY with Megan Fairchild and Andrew Veyette here.

Tonya writes about the BEAUTY cast I was unable to see here.

Sweet Sixteen

Roger Federer has won the 2010 Australian Open claiming his sixteenth Grand Slam victory by beating Andy Murray in straight sets. I'd love to see Fedi pull off a calendar-year sweep of the Slams in 2010.

NYC Ballet SLEEPING BEAUTY 2010 #1

Friday January 29, 2010 - The New York City Ballet's very attractive production of SLEEPING BEAUTY is running for two weeks at Lincoln Center; tonight was my first opportunity to attend. The settings are straight out of a fairy tale with the passage of time and the changing of the seasons depicted in lovely projections. Clothilde Otranto conducted the somewhat truncated score fairly briskly and a huge contingent of dancers - from principals to young SAB students - filled the stage in a performance that was very enjoyable despite a few passing flaws. The production features the Balanchine choreography for the Garland Waltz, always a stage-filling spectacle with its pattern-richness. 

Sterling Hyltin as Aurora (above, in Paul Kolnik's photo) was really superb; her elegant line and her technical certainty were combined with her lovely characterization of a girl on the brink of womanhood. In meeting her four suitors, her sense of eagerness and curiosity was kept in check by the instinctive good manners of a princess. The Rose Adagio went very well and the big solo variation even better but it was in the Vision Scene where Sterling was at her most was sublime, her dancing so refined and poetic. Her solo in the Wedding pas de deux was dazzlingly executed. For all her technical strength, Sterling has a complimentary air of delicacy which makes watching her such a sheer pleasure.

Jonathan Stafford matched Sterling very well and he spun off some polished air turns; Jon is a very good actor, unfussy and sincere. Only in the fish dives did they falter: a stunning first one was followed by a precarious second.  I really wish something could be substituted for the dives which are so seldom accomplished with the necessary flash. Progressing to the Vision Scene, Jon, Sterling and Teresa Reichlen (the Lilac Fairy) wove in and out among the dream-like nymphs creating a living tapestry of movement. Tess is a pure delight as the Lilac Fairy, a role which seems tailor-made both for her long-limbed physical grace and her benevolent radiance of expression. Her calm dignity and her gentle reprimand of her nemesis Carabosse were beautifully expressed. With her many attitude poses, flourishing pirouettes and magical extension, Tess wove a silken thread of dance that holds the whole ballet together. 

Jenifer Ringer, one of the finest Auroras I ever saw, took on a new role: one might think of her as an ideal Lilac Fairy but, having been cast against type, Jenifer revels in joyous nastiness as Carabosse, gleefully foretelling Aurora's demise only to be thwarted by the omnipotent Tess. In this production Carabosse is a glamorous woman and Jeni fills the bill to perfection. 

Among the beautifully-costumed fairies in the Prologue - featuring Gretchen Smith, Georgina Pazcoguin, Stephanie Zungre and Gwyneth Muller - Ashley Laracey made a particularly fine impression both in her variation (Generosity) and most especially in her solo passage in the coda. The Lilac Fairy has a very pretty octet of attendants 'led' by the always-lovely Likolani Brown. Ask LaCour's was a perfect king and Arch Higgins was Catalabutte, the much put-upon Lord Chamberlain. In an all-too-brief appearance in the Hunting Scene, Amanda Hankes was a fetching Countess.

There may be a shortage of men in the Company now - some are out with injuries - which meant Vincent Paradiso had to dance in the Garland Waltz and then transform himself into the Bluebird. It was really nice to see Matthew Renko back onstage; having watched Matthew at close range lately working with Avi Scher and Adam Hendrickson he seems one of the finest young male dancers around. Let's hope the reunion becomes permanent. The four princely suitors in the Rose Adagio included Justin Peck who looked striking in the Native American costume and later appeared as a high-leaping Wolf in the wedding divertissement. 

Wei and I greatly enjoyed seeing Faye Arthurs in a new role: the White Cat where she cannily found ways to show off her extension; Adrian Danchig-Waring was the wily Puss-in-Boots. Rebecca Krohn was a regal Diamond in the Jewel pas de quatre where Alina Dronova's fancy footwork and Erica Pereira's fluent charm were seen to advantage as Emerald and Ruby respectively. Tyler Angle (Gold) looked great partnering Rebecca but he could not quite bring off the end of his variation. As Princess Florine and the Bluebird, Ana Sophia Scheller and Vincent Paradiso were physically well-matched in their dark-haired attractiveness. Vincent's diagonal of fluttering beats at high velocity was impressive - the steps here look impossible to me - and Ana Sophia was superb, giving a lesson in classical presentation that the new-comers among the girls in the Company should heed. Daniel Ulbricht's spectacular air combinations brought whoops of delight from the House, with Allen Peiffer and Ralph Ippolito as his jestering pals keeping pace in this spirited interlude.

For all this array of wonderful dancing I found myself constantly drawn to one person onstage who does not dance at all: Kaitlyn Gilliland as the Queen. Right from her first entrance Kaitlyn's majestic height and gorgeous face grabbed my attention; whenever she was onstage my opera glasses would drift over to watch her beautifully expressive mime or the royal radiance with which she simply sat watching the festivities.

A couple of costume malfunctions were distracting but not nearly as much as the audience chatting during the interludes, the unwrapping of food and people getting up during the music and wandering to the exits possibly thinking they were at the cinema and could come and go at whim. Newcomers to the ballet are needed, of course, but they also have to be educated in how to behave during performances. In a time when common courtesy is no longer common, it's up to the Company to assure an atmosphere where the people who really care about the ballet aren't alienated.

TURANDOT @ The Met

Thursday January 28, 2010 - This was my friend Kokyat's first experience attending an opera at the Met. It was overall a good performance and when Lise Lindstrom (our Turandot) was onstage it really took flight. The lavish Zeffirelli production has, like so many Met productions, deteriorated somewhat. The lighting seems flat now, and the chorus absurdly does aerobic gestures in unison during much of Act I. Making his Met podium debut, Julien Salemkour had the score well in hand with good tempi and pacing, though he doesn't seem as yet to put a personal stamp on the music in terms of bringing out orchestral details.

Lise Lindstrom created quite a stir earlier this season when she stepped into the prima cast on short notice, subbing for Maria Guleghina. A bit later I happened to be passing thru the Met lobby while Lise's Turandot was being aired on the plasma screens; this really whetted my appetite.

Turandot is one of my favorite test roles for a soprano. Over the years I have gone to see many singers undertake this cruelly demanding (albeit quite short) role, from immortals like Birgit Nilsson to names the public has quickly forgotten.

With this performance, Lise Lindstrom marched comfortably into the top ranks of my Turandots. Aside from the glistening thrust of her upper range deployed into the big House there is a nice vein of lyricism one doesn't often hear in this music. In a role frequently embodied by large, lumbering dramatic sopranos who fare best when standing still, Lise moved about the set with the graceful hauteur of a prima ballerina.

Above, Lise Lindstrom in a Marty Sohl production photo. It's rare to find a Turandot so attractive that Calaf's obsession becomes believable, but that's what Ms. Lindstrom gave us. Her acting is wonderfully expressive but of course in this role all the physical appeal and theatrical rightness go for naught if the voice isn't up to it. What impressed most was the evenness and clarity of sound and the feeling that she was never forcing her tone. Lise's timbre reminds me a bit of my great favorite from the past, Maralin Niska, although Lise's sound is brighter. She very wisely avoids the temptation to lean on the chest voice thus keeping her top steady and gleaming.

To revel in the high notes of 'In questa reggia' as Lise does is impressive, but she also was very moving in the Act III aria 'Del primo pianto' and was stunning in the high-lying climactic phrases of this scene, going on to her final swelling of tone on '...amor!' and bringing her performance to a triumphant end.

Whenever I hear a singer I really like I start thinking of roles I'd like to cast her in. Three come immediately to mind for Lise Lindstrom: Senta, Minnie in FANCIULLA DEL WEST, and the SIEGFRIED Brunnhilde. Eventually I hope she will sing Isolde.

Keeping a high standard in the cast were Hao-Jian Tian's heartfelt and vocally very fine Timur and Patrick Carfizzi who followed up his excellent Paolo in BOCCANEGRA with a clear-toned declamation of the Mandarin's lines.

The diminutive soprano Grazia Doronzio made her 'big role' Met debut as Liu (she has previously been heard as Countess Ceprano in RIGOLETTO). At first she seemed too vocally reticent but she soon got the feel for the House and her singing was warm and steady with a securely sustained pianissimo B-flat on 'Perche un di...' in Act I. Her lovely diction and childlike presence helped endear her to the audience and she was warmly received.

Frank Porretta, whose father of the same name I heard at NYC Opera in the 1960s, looks great onstage: tall and with a handsome physique. Much of the time he seemed somewhat underpowered vocally; the sound is attractive but he seems to be just able to stay afloat when the orchestration gets dense.  He pulled out all the stops for 'Nessun dorma' with a powerful climax - his best showing of the evening.

Joshua Hopkins, Tony Stevenson and Scott Scully sang the trios of Ping, Pang and Pong with a lyrical rather than a 'character' approach. 

And the farewell performance by tenor Charles Anthony as the aged Emperor Altoum won this Met stalwart an affectionate tribute from his colleagues and the audience.

The backstage photo of Lise Lindstrom in costume courtesy of the soprano and used with her permission.

From Days Gone By

My brother, sister and I grew up in the tiny town of Hannibal, New York. My father was the town pharmacist and my mom helped out in the store as did each of us kids in turn as we grew up. The town marked the intersection of five roads and was - in the earliest days I can recall - a retail center where area farmers could buy lumber, feed and teat dilators. At a point in the 1960s a highway was built which skirted the town and things got very, very quiet. Most of the time that I lived there I was very unhappy. I was different from all the other kids and they let me know it at every possible opportunity.

But we won't dwell on that at the moment. My parents took hundreds of slides during those years. We took an annual summer family vacation and my mother always had her camera to hand although she tended to take photos of scenery or famous landmarks - without people in them. Landmarks are nice, but it's more fun to look back on the photos from family gatherings or just day-to-day happenings. My sister has been sorting thru the hundreds of slides that my mom had kept and she recently sent me a batch which I've had printed and scanned. Click on the images to enlarge.

We lived in the snow belt, right off Lake Ontario. Every winter we would have several 'snow days' when school was canceled. It was probably on one such day that the above photo was taken; not having to go to school would always make me happy because 1) I hated school and 2) I could stay home and listen to opera all day, as soon as I finished shoveling the snow. One winter there was no school for two solid weeks; we didn't even bother to get up in the morning and check the radio for closing announcements. Our school was in a centralized district of many secondary roads and often they would be plowed one day only to be filled in the following night by the next blizzard sweeping in off the Lake.

Driving. Yes, I love to drive. Once I drove alone from Houston, Texas to Syracuse. I loved every minute of that trip and I'll never forget it. When I was in college (or rather, supposed to be) I never went to class: I drove all over the countryside for hours and often ended up at the beach in the off-season walking around on my own. I really miss driving but it seems pointless to own a car while living in Manhattan.

Sundays with the cousins. My mom and dad each had one sister; the McFarlands on my fathers side lived nearby but the Hubers lived in Naples, NY about eighty miles from Hannibal. One Sunday a month the Hubers would come to see us in Hannibal or we would all go to Naples for a big dinner (above). My Aunt Joy worked as a secretary for the Widmer's Wine Cellars for many years. Because my parents were teetotalers, we were never allowed samples.

During the 1960s you could really feel the influence of the Beatles, even in the hinterlands.

Henry Moore Restored

Henry Moore's Reclining Figure has been restored to its setting at Lincoln Center in the new reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Center Theater. Kokyat's photos show that, while some construction materials remain in place on the Plaza, it is slowly nearing the time when things will get back to normal.

 

Above: looking southeast across the campus by night. Unfortunately, litterbugs are already at work in the reflecting pool. Click on each image to enlarge.

The drive-under tunnel and the grassy hill remain works-in-progress.

New Settings for Stravinsky: Gyor Ballet

Tuesday January 26, 2010 - The Gyor National Ballet of Hungary have brought two familiar Stravinsky scores to The Joyce in new choreographic settings: Dmitrij Simkin has taken a fresh look at PETRUSHKA and Attila Kun has set THE RITE OF SPRING. Photo from RITE above by Bela Kanyo.

The Gyor's programme commemorates the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. In Mr. Simkin's rendering of PETRUSHKA there are no puppets, and Fokine's beloved vision of the traditional Butter Week Fair in replaced  by a 1930ish public square dominated by a glowing red star and a huge sculpted head of Lenin, a hammer and a sickle. The young populace, in school uniforms with bright red scarves, dance in regimented, mindless synchronization - very much like marionettes - but one man (Balint Sebestyen, the Petrushka figure) is scarfless and won't join in the dance with proper enthusiasm. His contrarian attitude attracts the notice of the 'Magician', a military figure danced with stark authority by Balizs Patkai.

In a duet, Petrushka is blind-folded with a red scarf and tormented by the Magician. Failing to be absorbed into the collective, Petrushka is stripped of his shirt and sent to the gulag where the wary inmates treat him with disdain. Beaten down on all sides, Petrushka finally expires.

The two leading dancers were superb both in movement and characterization, and Mr. Sebestyen put me in mind a bit of Cedar Lake's powerful Jason Kittelberger: a fine compliment in my view.

 

Stravinsky's SACRE DU PRINTEMPS has been danced to in so many incarnations; it is a very long score and one which does not provide options for cutting. So a choreographer tackling it must craft meaningful movement for long stretches of time. Attila Kun mostly succeeds; there are a few blank stretches where things meander a bit (as does the music) but the excellent dancers - all white-clad and moving in squares of light - keep the work on a forward trajectory.

In one arresting visual image, the black curtains at the back of the playing area are swept open and a vast panel of white parachute silk is brilliantly lit as dancers are seen - like trapped spirits - behind its billowing surface. However, this aspect was not pursued further.

True to the original libretto, a victim is chosen as the work moves towards its conclusion. Lilla M. Horvath looks fragile and vulnerable as she was isolated and tormented by her tribe. Eventually bloodied, she struggled in vain to avoid the inevitable.

In his program note, Mr. Kun describes his RITE as "a feast" and for a moment it seemed the ritual was a cannibalistic one. But Ms. Horvath's body was left alone in the fading light, still intact.

This programme continues at The Joyce thru January 31st.

Katie Morgan!

Henry Leutwyler's portrait of New York City Ballet soloist and soon-to-be Aurora Kathryn Morgan.

Watch a video of Katie at a recent photoshoot here.

Jie Zheng & Na Li @ the Australian Open

Jie Zheng (above) has become the first Chinese woman to reach the semi-final round at the Australian Open. Her next opponent will be Justine Henin, the former world #1 who has come back to the sport following a premature retirement in 2008.

UPDATE: Na Li (above) has beaten Venus Williams to join her compatriot Jie Zheng in the semi-finals.

BOCCANEGRA @ The Met

Monday January 25, 2010 - Above, Placido Domingo as Simon Boccanegra in the Council Chamber scene of the Metropolitan Opera production of the Verdi opera. Photo by Mary Sohl from the Met website. Click on the image to enlarge.

Placido, who has been singing professionally since 1957 and who I first heard at the New York City Opera in 1966, recently made the decision to take on the great Verdi baritone role of the Doge of Genoa and it has turned out to be not only a career-extending role for him but also one of the most truly satisfying and impressive vocal and dramatic performances of the past quarter century.

Domingo is in fact the last man standing who was part of the 'last' golden age of opera which began fading out in the early 1980s. He sang with Tebaldi, Nilsson, Price and Sutherland in a period when the singing was what made opera vibrant.  Blessed with the greatest asset a singer can possess - a unique and immediately identifiable timbre - Domingo, like the ladies he sang with, made a personal mark on many of the great operatic roles.

 

And now he has done so again, with Boccanegra. Firstly, there is the sheer presence of the voice - a truly Met-sized sound that fills the big space effortlessly and projects clearly at any dynamic. Then there is the instinctual Verdi style, the legato and portamento so expressively used, the words always so clearly declaimed and the vocal coloration so emotionally apt. His physical portrayal - including a couple of very risky falls - is uncomplicated and devoid of melodrama: he doesn't act, he just is. And finally there is the simple generosity of spirit which has been an essential component of his career. Photo above: Adrianne Pieczonka & Placido Domingo in the great father-daughter duet. Photo/Mary Sohl from the Met's website.

Yes, of course: this is a tenor sound singing in the baritone range. But after only a phrase or two, the ear is tuned-in and Domingo just lets it roll. From the anguish of finding his beloved 's corpse thru the elation of meeting his long-lost daughter to the authoritative declamation of the Council Chamber scene and on to the poetic expressions of tenderness as he dies in Amelia's arms, Domingo was magnificent. Well-supported by Levine, Placido phrased so generously with many sustained notes in the upper reaches of the role, and a spine-tingling prolonged piano on the word 'Figlia!' at the end of the recognition scene.

The rest of the cast gave of their respective best: Adrianne Pieczonka, best known for her excellent Sieglinde, seemed miscast to a degree. But despite some edginess here and there, she was successful in modulating her voice which has the power and warmth needed if not always the delicacy of expression. Marcello Giordani gave another maddeningly uneven performance - he could be sublime one moment and sloppy the next - but his singing had a strong emotional undercurrent and in his best phrases he was impressive, and his singing had the right Italianate throb. James Morris has kept his voice 'up' for so many years singing Wotan, Hans Sachs and the Dutchman and now suddenly he wants to go back 'down' to plumb the depths of the music of Jacopo Fiesco. Unfortunately it didn't work: his lower range has little resonance now and so for all his good intentions the role lost its profundity. Patrick Carfizzi had an excellent opportunity as Paolo Albani and seized it with a strong vocal and dramatic portrayal of this creepy, duplicitous character. Richard Bernstein's Pietro was also powerfully sung.

The orchestra played grandly under Maestro Levine's baton; I always feel he rushes the tempo of Amelia's opening aria but perhaps he does it to accommodate the breath-control of his soprano. A couple of times the brass playing covered the singers but the overall sweep of the music with its leitmotif characteristics was beautifully served.

Domingo won a big volley of cheers when he stepped out for his solo bow, and then in the next group bow Levine held Placi onstage after the other singers had walked off. It was a nice salute to the great tenor but of course as soon as the houselights came up everyone dispersed. In the old days there would have been a fifteen-minute ovation...confetti...the asbestos curtain stopped in its tracks.