Oberon's Glade

Category: Ballet

  • Balanchine Classics @ NYC Ballet

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    Above: Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette in DONIZETTI VARIATIONS; photo by Paul Kolnik

    Wednesday January 28th, 2015 – So pleasing to savour another all-Balanchine programme at New York City Ballet. Tonight’s line-up featured some prominent debuts, and there was excellent work from the soloists and corps. The audience, perhaps affected by the winter chill, didn’t seem to display the enthusiasm that the performance merited, and it wasn’t til the end of the evening that they finally roused themselves from their lethargy to give Teresa Reichlen and Adrian Danchig-Waring a well-deserved round of cheers for their joint debut in CHACONNE.

    DONIZETTI VARIATIONS is always a joy to experience, especially when it is danced with such flair and fabulousness as it was tonight by Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette. Ashley was beyond awesome and amazing (those two over-used words, but here thoroughly apt). Her dancing has reached a pinnacle of technique, artistry, and grace; but since she seems to take herself to ever-higher levels from season to season, it won’t surprise me if she continues to ascend. Tonight she was thrilling in her fluent rendering of the steps, her innate sense of stagecraft, and her sheer joy at being able to dance like this.

    Few danseurs could hold their own onstage with such a paragon, but Andrew Veyette managed to do just that, filling the space with his virtuoso feats yet also displaying a cordial lyricism in his partnering as well as a wry bit of humour when inter-acting with the corps. Team Bouder-Veyette simply danced up a storm.

    Outstanding corps dancing in DONIZETTI tonight: Mr. B gives them a lot to do and they went at it with élan. Caught without my opera glasses, I was left to admire their dancing from a distance: Mllles. Adams, Dronova, Gerrity, Johnson, Kretzschmar, and Segin along with those three genial virtuosos: Alberda, Applebaum, and Schumacher.

    LA VALSE looks gorgeous with its recently-freshened costumes. It opens with a delectable trio of “Fates” – Marika Anderson, Gretchen Smith, and Lydia Wellington; they immediately drew us into the ballet’s atmosphere with their glamorous mystique. 

    Three pairs of soloists then engage us with some marvelous dancing: Lauren King and Antonio Carmena are suave and lyrical whilst the vibrant partnership of Georgina Pazcoguin and Sean Suozzi generated a very special electricity. Ashley Laracey (surely a candidate for the leading role in this ballet) was so lovely in her solo, and she and Zachary Catazaro were another marvelous match-up. Zachary, with the poetic appearance of a 19th century romance-novel heart-throb, really commanded the stage in his extended scene with Marika, Gretchen, and Lydia.

    Sara Mearns brought a voluptuous quality to the role of the doomed girl; any ballerina taking on this iconic part must contend with memories of Rachel Rutherford and Janie Taylor, each of whom owned it during their NYCB careers. Sara, ever-lovely to watch, already draws a convincing portrait of the girl’s mixture of vanity, vulnerability, and palpitating curiosity. More nuances will doubtless develop as she goes deeper into the role (this was her debut). Tyler Angle was pale and distraught as her lover – what a courtly presence he can create – and Justin Peck, livid of visage, portrayed Death in a tour de force performance of frightening stillness and surety of domination.

    In CHACONNE we could welcome the debuts of Teresa Reichlen and Adrian Danchig-Waring, those gorgeous creatures. As a counter-poise to SERENADE, the ballerina in CHACONNE first appears with her hair down, a Grecian goddess wandering through Elysium; later she reappears in full ballerina mode: hair up, and wearing a bejeweled wisp of a frock. Tess was radiant throughout: so expressive, and with her revelatory extension. Adrian looks like Apollo re-incarnated.

    The two dancers experienced a minor partnering glitch late in their first duet, a spot where others have glitched before. They covered it beautifully, but it left me wondering what is happening here choreographically that causes the problem (my fourth time to see it happen, in exactly that same spot) and whether it might be altered slightly to assure a smooth transition.

    Thereafter Tess and Adrian were truly splendid: wonderful mutual rapport, with their dancing elegant and so musically inspired. They built their duet – where they exchange solo passages while the other observes – with dazzling assurance and together they shook the audience out of its collective winter dream into a well-deserved round of cheers.

    In the pas de trois, Aaron Sanz re-affirmed his nobility and long-limbed grace, dancing with the queenly Gwyneth Muller and – a rising favorite of mine – Claire Kretzschmar: all three so appealing to behold. Lauren King and Antonio Carmena sustained the excellent impression they’d made in LA VALSE with a polished performance of their CHACONNE pas de deux which features fast-paced, rather tricky partnering elements. In the pas de cinq, Indiana Woodward brought a light freshness to her supple dancing. And in the finale, some expert demi-soliste dancing from Ashley Hod, Unity Phelan, Devin Aberda, and David Prottas. 

    So nice to run into Jessica (Sand) and Casey Blonde, and Carol Weil tonight!

    DONIZETTI VARIATIONS: Bouder, Veyette

    LA VALSE: *Mearns, *T. Angle, *J.Peck, Kayali, King, Carmena, Pazcoguin, Suozzi, Laracey, Catazaro, Smith, Wellington, Anderson

    CHACONNE: *Reichlen, *Danchig-Waring, King, Carmena, Muller, Kretzschmar, Sanz,*Woodward, Hod, Phelan, Alberda, Prottas

  • Gallery: Intermezzo Dance Company

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    Above: Amber Neff, Abi Stafford (NYC Ballet principal), and Shoshana Rosenfield in Craig Salstein’s THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS; photo by Sarah Sterner

    On January 17th and 18th, 2015, Intermezzo Dance Company, founded and directed by ABT soloist Craig Salstein, offered a programme of works by five choreographers at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre. The theme of the evening, From Myth to Philosophy, was echoed in a gallery of artwork by four New York City-based artists in the theatre lobby.

    Since I was involved in the planning stages of the programme, I feel I cannot write a review per se, beyond saying that the five ballets were well-contrasted in style and music, and that there was some very fine dancing to be seen.

    Photographer Sarah Sterner has provided some images from the Myth to Philosophy programme, and I am sharing them here as a representation of the works performed and the dancers who took part:

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    Mauro Villanueva in Craig Salstein’s THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

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    Amber Neff in Craig Salstein’s THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS

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    ABT’s Nicole Graniero with the Intermezzo ensemble in Gemma Bond’s MYTHOLOGY

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    Tanner Schwartz in Gemma Bond’s MYTHOLOGY

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    Rina Barrantes, Alfredo Solivan, and Temple Kemezis in Cherylyn Lavagnino’s HERA’S WRATH

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    Temple Kemezis and Rina Barrantes in Cherylyn Lavagnino’s HERA’S WRATH

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    Kaitlyn Gilliland in Adam Hendrickson’s BLACK IS THE COLOUR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HAIR 

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    Kaitlyn Gilliland in Adam Hendrickson’s BLACK IS THE COLOUR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HAIR

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    Nicole Graniero (ABT) in Ja’ Malik’s JOURNEY TO PANDORA

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    Oliver Swan-Jackson in Ja’ Malik’s JOURNEY TO PANDORA

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    Rina Barrantes, Nancy Richer, and Giselle Alvarez in Ja’ Malik’s JOURNEY TO PANDORA 

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    Nicole Graniero in Ja’ Malik’s JOURNEY TO PANDORA

    All photos by Sarah Sterner.

  • Afternoon Salon @ Lydia Johnson Dance

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    Above: Lydia Johnson Dance‘s Brynt Beitman, Laura DiOrio, Blake Hennessy-York, and Sarah Pon; photo by Dmitry Beryozkin

    Sunday January 25th, 2015 – Lydia Johnson Dance offering another event in their Salon Series this afternoon at the Gelsey Kirkland studios; arriving guests got to watch part of a Company class led by the Australian dancer/actor Reed Luplau; excerpts from Lydia Johnson’s danceworks (including a work-in-progress) were performed by the Company, followed by a discussion of the influence of classical ballet on the performing of contemporary dance.

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    Reed Luplau (above) performed with Lydia Johnson Dance in 2012, dancing in Lydia’s SUMMER HOUSE and CHANGE OF HEART, and he continues to work with LJD in a teaching role. In 2013, Reed had a principal role in the award-winning film FIVE DANCES. He is currently in rehearsal to reprise the role of Bosie (which he created) in Theodore Morrison’s opera OSCAR with Opera Philadelphia. 

    Images from Reed’s Company class: 

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    Above: Chazz McBride and Oliver Swan-Jackson take a flying leap; Oliver has just signed on with Lydia Johnson Dance 

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    Above: appearing for the first time with Lydia Johnson Dance, Katie Keith Dettling and Grant Dettling have had only a couple of LJD rehearsals to date but they very kindly agreed to be part of today’s Salon presentation

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    Above: Reed Luplau

    The first of the afternoon’s danced excerpts were then presented: from WHAT COUNTS, set to jazz-based music by The Bad Plus. Here are some moments from this work, which is set for five dancers:

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    Above: Girl’s trio – Sarah Pon, Laura DiOrio, Katie Lohiya

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    Lift: Chazz Mcbride, Sarah Pon, Blake Hennessy-York

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    All that jazz…Katie…

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    …Chazz…

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    …Sarah…

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    …Laura.

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    Central to WHAT COUNTS is a pas de deux danced by Blake Hennessy-York and Sarah Pon (above).

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    Blake and Sarah were married in September 2013; there’s a gorgeous portfolio of their wedding photos – some of which I’d never see before! – here.

    BARRETTS MILL ROAD: A REMEMBRANCE is Lydia’s lyrically nostalgic 2013 dancework set to piano works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Katie Keith Dettling and Grant Dettling – another married couple! – performed an excerpt from this work today, having only just begun working on it a few days earlier. They showed the serene confidence of beautifully-trained dancers, accustomed to dancing together:

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    The afternoon’s final dance offering was of excerpts from a new work-in-progress which uses music by  Mark Mellits and Osvaldo Golijov. Calling fora  large ensemble, the piece features a lot of partnered sequences. Here are some images from this new creation:

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    Brynt Beitman, Laura DiOrio, Blake Hennessy-York, Sarah Pon, Chazz Mcbride, Min Kim

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    Chazz Mcbride, Min Kim

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    Brynt Beitman, Blake Hennessy-York

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    Chazz and Min

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    Chazz and Min

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    Chazz and Min

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    Brynt, Laura, Blake, Sara

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    Laura, Brynt, Sarah, Blake

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    Sarah and Blake

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    Above: At the end of the presentation, the dancers posed for a photo with Lydia Johnson Dance founding Board member Rayna Pomper who, with her husband Marc, held the first party in support of LJD 15 years ago. Left to right: Min Kim, Chazz Mcbride, Laura DiOrio, Katie Keith Dettling, Grant Dettling, Ms. Pomper, Oliver Swan-Jackson, Katie Lohiya, Blake Hennessy-York, Sarah Pon, Brynt Beitman, and Reed Luplau. 

    All photography by Dmitry Beryozkin.

    The works performed today will be seen on February 28th, 2015, when Lydia Johnson Dance appear at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in New Jersey. Details here.  

  • Tawny Chapman Residency @ CONTINUUM

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    Above: Tawny Chapman with CONTINUUM‘s Donna Salgado, Vanessa Salgado, Courtney Sauls, Laura DiOrio, and Dorrie Garland 

    Wednesday January 21st, 2015 – Backhausdance, a California-based company, performed at Joyce SoHo (boy, do I miss that place!) in 2010. I liked their programme a lot, and so I was glad today to have a chance to meet Tawny Chapman from Backhausdance while she’s in NYC as artist-in-residence at Donna Salgado’s CONTINUUM Contemporary Ballet.

    “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau. That quote was a springboard to what Tawny and the CONTINUUM dancers were working on, constructing signature phrases that evolved into dance.

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    Dorrie Garland and Courtney Sauls

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    Vanessa Salgado

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    Laura DiOrio

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    Courtney Sauls

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    The group

    Dorrie and Courtney worked together on a duet created to be danced in a very limited space. Some photos from this duet may be found in this Facebook album.

    Backhausdance will be performing at the Schimmel Center in New York City on February 27th and 28th, 2015. Details here. Very much worth seeing! 

  • NYCB: Opening Night|Winter Season 2015

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    Above: George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky

    Update: Happy Birthday Mr. B ~ January 22nd!

    Tuesday January 20th, 2015 – An all-Balanchine evening to open the New York City Ballet‘s Winter 2015 season. In the days leading up to the performance there were several changes to the originally-announced casting, and it all turned out very well. Clothilde Otranto was on the podium to bring us the three contrasting scores, and the spirit of Balanchine hovered overall. 

    SERENADE received a performance aglow with lyricism; having recently heard the score played at Carnegie Hall, I was again thinking how Balanchine’s choreography is so intrinsically linked to the music: when you hear it played anywhere you immediately see the dance.

    Sterling Hyltin graced the enchanting melodies with her unique mixture of sophistication and impetousity; I wonder what perfume Mr. B would have chosen for her? There was a wonderful chemistry between Sterling and Robert Fairchild, especially in the passage where he pursues her around the stage: she draws him onward, elusive but always looking back to gently reassure him. This was just one of many such nuanced moments in their partnership tonight. As the ballet seems to take a darker turn, Sterling’s vulnerability came into play…so movingly. During the intermission, we sought superlatives to describe this ballerina’s performance: yet none seemed to suffice, really. So we simply basked in her beautiful glow.

    Erica Pereira could celebrate her birthday a day early with a new role: the Russian Girl, to which she initially brought an airy charm; as the ballet progressed, Erica found deeper hues of feminine resonance in her role. She was especially lovely in the opening of the third movement, dancing with the her four sisterly demi-solistes (Mlles. Adams, Dronova, Mann, and Sell) and later, her lustrous black hair flowing free, Erica rushed into Ask LaCour’s waiting arms with a sense of urgent grace.

    Teresa Reichlen, after swirling thru her elegant pirouettes earlier on, drew sighs of admiration for her sustained supported arabesque in the final movement, always a heart-filling moment. She danced radiantly, whetting the appetite for her upcoming debut in CHACONNE.

    Throughout the ballet, the corps ballerinas provided so many moments to savour, both as individuals and in the ensemble passages which Mr. B wove for them with such an imaginative sense of visual poetry. I wanted to throw roses onstage for all of them.

    AGON tonight was a triumph, with a powerful performance of the central pas de deux by Maria Kowroski and Amar Ramasar. At their charismatic finest, these two dancers displayed the amazing stretch, uncanny pliability, and dynamic counter-balances that Mr. B demands of them. Their bold physicality clearly captivated the crowd who wouldn’t stop applauding until Maria and Amar had bowed three times.

    Andrew Veyette’s wonderfully strong and supple dancing and his brazen high kick put a personal stamp on his solo. The masculine vigor of his presence held our focus whenever he was onstage. Likewise, Megan LeCrone made an excellent impression with her poised, steady balance and authoritative movement. Demi-solistes get to shine in AGON and tonight we had Lauren King, Ashley Laracey, Devin Alberda, and Daniel Applebaum all on peak, opening-night form. The quirky Stravinsky score continues to prick up our ears, no matter how many times we’ve heard it.

    That bountiful ballerina, Ashley Bouder, took command of the opening movement of SYMPHONY IN C. Dancing with her emblematic generosity, technical dazzle, and a touch of playful rubato, she not only illuminated the Allegro Vivo but continued to dance with outstanding clarity and musicality in the ballet’s demanding finale. Chase Finlay kept pace with her and was a handsome-as-ever cavalier. Particular pleasure was derived from watching the two ballerina demis in this opening movement: Claire Kretzschmar and Meagan Mann. They have a lot to do and they did it brillliantly.

    Sara Mearns, dancing with velvety sumptuousness and her own particular mystique, was partnered with gallant grace by Jared Angle. They made the Adagio – one of the wonders of Balanchine’s world – as breath-taking as it should be, with a slow, gorgeous melt into the final pose. Their artistry and lyrical poise made this duet a bulwark of beauty in a darkening world. 

    Further illumination came as Lauren Lovette and Gonzalo Garcia filled the space with swirling vibrancy in the Allegro Vivace. They are a marvelous match-up: a fetching ballerina and a prince of a cavalier. Let’s see them together again soon: so many possibilities.

    Brittany Pollack opened the finale with some sparkling combinations, soon joined by the fascinating Adrian Danchig-Waring, a man who mixes classicism and dynamic strength in perfect measure. The stage then filled with all my beloved NYCB dancers and the evening swept on to its imperial conclusion.

    A word of praise for all the demi-solistes in the Bizet; their role in this ballet is so much more than decorative. So thanks to all: Meagan and Claire (already noted for their excellence), Andrew Scordato, Joshua Thew, Jenelle Manzi, Sarah Villwock, Lars Nelson, Devin Alberda, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Gretchen Smith, Peter Walker, Daniel Applebaum, Alina Dronova, Ralph Ippolito, Troy Schumacher and Kristen Segin (who had also made her mark in SERENADE)…and indeed to everyone who made this a grand night for dancing.

  • Trifonov Triumphs @ The NY Phil

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    Above: pianist Daniil Trifonov

    Tuesday December 30th, 2014 – My final musical event of the year. Avery Fisher Hall was packed with avid music-lovers as the Spanish conductor Juanjo Mena (NY Philharmonic debut) took the podium for the opening work, Capriccio espagnol by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. 

    Painted in vibrant colours and dancing in dazzling rhythms, this Capriccio is a vivid evocation of Spain. Finding inspiration in Spanish folk songs, Rimsky-Korsakov cast the piece in five continuous  movements: Alborada (“morning song”); Variazoni; again Alborada; “Scene and Gypsy Song”; and the fabulous Fandango Asturiano (a dance popular in northern Spain) which features the lilting sonic illusion of guitars being strummed to the jaunty clicking of castanets. The work features prominent passages for the solo violin, Sheryl Staples winning a round of ‘bravas‘ as the conductor led her forward a solo bow at the end. Likewise Carter Brey (cello), Robert Langevin (flute) and Anthony McGill (clarinet) were all embraced by the enthusiastic crowd. And the horns were having a fine night of it. Señor Mena’s debut was off to an auspicious start.

    Kudos to the Hall’s stagehands who re-configured the seating and parked the Steinway front-and-center in the twinkling eye.

    The appearance of the boyish Daniil Trifonov was warmly greeted; with a charismatic air of mystery, this pale young man seemed to summon up imaginings of such great pianistic wonders as Chopin and Liszt who, if we believe what is written, could cast a spell over the multitudes with their virtuosic musical wizardry and their spiritual connection to the piano itself. Mr. Trifonov was so clearly enamoured of the keyboard, caressing it with his elegantly styled hands, nearly putting his ear to the keys as if they were whispering secrets to him. Intense when in motion, he seemed to be under in the piano’s thrall, unable to resist it, like an obsessive lover. If all of this sounds high-flown, it’s thoroughly true – though of course it would all be for nought if he lacked the technical mastery to match his physical passion. But…he has massive technique: he seems to burn with it, in fact. 

    So it became both an aural and a visual fascination to experience his playing tonight, playing that was beautifully embraced by the orchestral sound under Maestro Mena’s articulate leadership. For all the spectacular fluency of Trifonov’s agility as his hands whisked magically up and down the keyboard, it was in the central Andante that his mystic conversation with Rachmaninoff reached us most affectingly: especially in the gentle hush of the long, slow ascent at the end.

    Hailed by the crowd, the pianist gave us a solo encore played with delicate rapture. You can get a sense of the spell Daniil Trifonov casts with his playing here. And this quote from a Playbill article about the pianist says so much about him as an artist:  “…he approaches his work almost as a mission, and has compared the classical performer to a pastor and the performance space to a temple of art. He is ever mindful of the audiences who, he believes, need to experience something profound and meaningful in every concert.”

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    Above: conductor Juanjo Mena

    Maestro Mena has an Old World aura about him: passionate yet gentlemanly. His rendering of the Tchaikovsky 6th (Pathétique) symphony had great melodic breadth as well as a sense of nobility. From Judith LeClair’s pensive opening bassoon passage, the symphony bloomed sonically with some truly splendid playing by the Philharmonic’s richly gifted artists. In the midst of so much fabulous music-making, one moment stood out as exceptional: Anthony McGill’s truly remarkable – whispered – playing of the clarinet theme near the end of the first movement. This was some of the purest and truest music-making I’ve ever experienced: how daring of Mr. McGill to play it ppppp…and how gorgeously he succeeded!

    The symphony’s final movement, the Adagio Lamentoso, was choreographed (more as a ritual than an actual ballet) by George Balanchine; seeming to be the choreographer’s farewell to the world, it was performed only once during his lifetime, at the New York City Ballet’s 1981 Tchaikovsky Festival. Longtime NYCBalletomanes have different memories of repeat performances, but it’s most likely true that it was seen again – just once – after Balanchine’s death, danced as a memorial. I never saw it, but I wish that I had.

  • AIDA @ The Met: First of Two

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    Monday December 29th, 2014 – A chance to hear two new-to-The-Met sopranos in the title-role of Verdi’s AIDA within the space of five days. Tamara Wilson (above) made an auspicious House debut last week; I caught up with her tonight. On Saturday, another soprano, Marjorie Owens, is scheduled for a single performance as the Ethopian princess. Score desks were the solution for this thrice-familiar production, the $12 price tag meaning I needn’t feel I’m throwing money away if I decide not to stay for the whole thing. Despite numerous distractions and some sub-par singing from other cast members, I was determined to hear Tamara’s “O patria mia”, so I stuck with it…and it was worth the wait.

    Tamara Wilson made an excellent impression earlier this year in a performance of Max Bruch’s oratorio MOSES at Carnegie Hall. Her Met debut came about when she was called upon to replace Latonia Moore in this series of AIDAs, Ms. Moore being pregnant. I was very glad to hear Ms. Wilson again so soon, and her performance overall was truly impressive. 

    The house seemed fuller than on many recent evenings, and the performance begain auspiciously with an evocative playing of the prelude. Marco Armiliato, both here and in last week’s TRAVIATA, seemed to be taking a more thoughtful approach to these two operas he’s conducted so often; in the past his Verdi has often felt perfunctory and over-emphatic. This season he seems more tuned-in to the niceties of the scores.

    Marcello Giordani’s voice sounded wobbly and unsuppported as the opera began. He has absolutely no resonance in the lower range now, tending to ‘speak’ the words rather than sing them. In the past, his powerful upper-middle and high registers have managed to compensate for this fault, but tonight the top notes had a steady beat and a glare that was unpleasant. “Celeste Aida”, a tenor test-piece that can defeat even singers on top form, was touch-and-go tonight as Giordani tried to a get a line going with little success. The climactic B-flat veered sharp. Two shouts of ‘bravo‘ and tepid applause.

    Violeta Urmana, after several seasons of singing soprano repertoire with variable success, has reverted to singing Amneris. Her tone was unsteady, with an unpleasantly wide vibrato. The voice is unrecognizable as belonging to the same woman who was a thrilling, contralto-rich Kundry in her Met debut in 2001. The wear and tear of such demanding roles as Isolde, Aida, Gioconda, and Odabella have worn the velvet off the tone and it was sad to hear her unpleasant singing tonight. She has power, and all the right instincts, but the voice just won’t cooperate.

    At last some balm for the ear as Ms. Wilson arrived onstage; it’s a pleasing sound, a full-lyric-to-spinto voice with Met-filling amplitude and clarity. Her phrasing and dramatic nuances served the music very well, and I very much anticipated her “Ritorna vincitor” which she began excitingly by seizing the opening phrase the moment the preceding ensemble had ended. With this impetus, she was making a fine expressive effect with the music when suddenly the sound of loud talking from the lighting bay in the auditorium ceiling broke the spell. This problem has cropped up many times at the Met over the years, but this was by far the most blatant and disruptive incident. People around me began to mutter and whisper; one man went in search of an usher to complain. Meanwhile the soprano’s “Numi pieta…” went for nought.

    The talking continued throughout the quiet opening of the Temple scene – maring Jennifer Check’s attractive voicing of the chant of the Priestess – and throughout the ballet interlude. At last the strong-voiced Ramfis of Dmitry Belosselskiy re-captured our attention: the light in the bay was extinguished and the music again became our focus. Mr. Giordani was in such pallid voice in this scene that I truly expected him to withdraw at the interval.

    After a coma-inducing forty-minute intermission, the house lights dimmed very slowly and I was sure an announcement of a new tenor was forthcoming. But no, the show went on with Giordani.

    Ms. Urmana managed by hook or by crook to sing Amneris’s tricky “Ah, vieni…vien amor mio” entrances, but it was Ms. Wilson who carried the scene between the rivals. Ms. Urmana’s voice, which has shrunk in size, was sometimes covered by the orchestra; a few of her dramatic interjections showed the desired spark, but mostly she seemed to be just getting by in parlous voice. Ms. Wilson’s “Pieta ti prenda del mio dolor..” was beautifully voiced, but Urmana’s spreading tops really deterred from their duet. Once Urmana made her exit we could finally savour Ms. Wilson’s heartfelt, dynamically poised reprise of “Numi pieta…”

    For the Triumphal Scene ballet I stood up to see if I could spot any of my dancer-friends doing the very animated Ratmansky choreography. The wigs and makeup are very disguising, but I did find Emery LeCrone at last, which made me smile.

    Once the dust had settled after the ballet and parade, the tensions and inter-play of the ensuing ensemble were quite vivid. Giordani was at sea, talking his lines, but the two bassos (Mr. Belosselskiy and Soloman Howard as the King) were nicely sonorous. The entrance of Amonasro showed off George Gagnidze’s power and dramatic word-colouring, whilst Ms. Wilson was able to sail nicely over the orchestra and massed chorus, taking a shining top-C at the climax of the great concertato. After Amneris has been awarded to Radames, the concluding ensemble went forward with a real swing to it and here Mr. Giordani’s voice perked up and he hurled forth some stentorian B-flats. Ms. Wilson was not to be out-sung, and Ms. Urmana and Mr. Gagnidze and the bassos all got into it, with an exciting result.

    I managed to survive the second intermission by chatting up a nearby Chinese boy who proved both knowledgeable and charming. It’s so nice to find a young person with a genuine interest in this dying art form.

    At last the gentle introduction to the Nile scene was heard (the orchestra doing a fine job all evening) and we were treated to a poised rendering of “O patria mia” with Ms. Wilson very attentive to the markings in the score (which I was following closely); she took an unusually powerful approach to the low-range phrase “No…no..mai piu, mai piu…” and moments later made a shining ascent to a silvery and sustained high-C; it’s been a while since I’ve heard a soprano carry this off so well. Then a wonderful swelling tone on the high-A reprise of ‘O…patria mia…” and then the final float tapering off. Excellent! 

    George Gagnidze brought crisp dramatic accents to Amonasro’s attempts to ensnare his daughter in his plan for revenge; Ms. Wilson, nicely lyrical at first, became more intense as she realized what her father’s intentions were. The baritone rose to an excitingly loud and sustained “…dei Faraoni tu sei la schiava!” and then summoned up a persuasive legato for “Pensa che un popolo…vinto…straziato.”

    Arriving to meet his beloved, Giordani did his best singing of the evening, perhaps inspired by the soprano in their duet. Tamara’s spun-silk phrasing of “La tra le foreste vergine…” had a seductive glow and the tenor tried hard to match her for phrasing and nuance, doing the best he could with a fractured instrument. And then Ms. Wilson floated up to a dreamy high B-flat.

    After their well-voiced stretta, the drama quickly built with Gagnidze’s revelation and his urgent plea that they should flee. Giordani belted out “Sacerdote! Io resto a te!” with as much authority as he could summon, but it wasn’t enough.

    Much as I wished to hear Tamara Wilson in the Tomb Scene, the thought of Urmana and Giordani slugging it out in the Judgement Scene (my favorite scene in all Verdi) proved too daunting, so I snuck out and headed home. I hope the soprano got the ovation she so truly deserved.

    Note: I sent a message of complaint to The Met early the next morning about the disruption from the lighting bay and received almost immediately a reply that there had been a “flood” which caused emergency repairs to be made during the opera and the workmen had been talking. A flood, in the lighting bay, next to the chandeliers in the ceiling of the opera house?  OK, if you say so. But the sound of talking from that location has spoiled several Met performances over time and I find it hard to believe that this wasn’t just another incident of someone working in the bay, babbling away to a colleague or on his cell-phone. 

    Monday December 29th, 2014

    AIDA
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Aida....................Tamara Wilson
    Radamès.................Marcello Giordani
    Amneris.................Violeta Urmana
    Amonasro................George Gagnidze
    Ramfis..................Dmitry Belosselskiy
    King....................Soloman Howard
    Messenger...............Eduardo Valdes
    Priestess...............Jennifer Check
    Dance...................Jennifer Cadden
    Dance...................Scott Weber

    Conductor...............Marco Armiliato

  • New York String Orchestra @ Carnegie Hall

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    Above: violinist Augustin Hadelich

    Sunday December 28th, 2014 matinee – An matinee concert by the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall brought us the scores of two favorite ballets: Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings (the setting of Balanchine’s beloved classic) and the Barber violin concerto (one of Peter Martins’ finest creations). In addition, Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony (#6) rounded out the afternoon.

    A huge crowd filled the venerable hall, perhaps drawn as much by attractive ticket pricing as by the inviting programming. Although betraying a lack of sophistication by applauding between movements – and even during one movement of the Serenade – they were on the whole very attentive and appreciative, and there were lots of young people present, a hopeful sign that live classical music still has the power to inspire in an age of I-phones and ‘clouds’. We could have done without the baby, though.

    Jaime Laredo took the podium, mustering a lush and soul-lifting sound from his young musicians in the Tchaikovsky. I sometimes wonder if people who’ve never seen Balanchine’s ballet get the same spine-tingling raptures on hearing this score played in a concert hall. For ballet-goers, this is music indelibly linked to movement: to toe shoes and ice-blue tulle; so much so that, even though we know full well the order of the last two movements will be reversed, it’s still a bit of a jolt when it happens. The musicians (so many Asian players – always a treat!) simply reveled in the rich textures and broad melodies with which the composer both seduces and inspires us. It was a – indeed, an inspiring – performance, loaded with sonic ravishments.

    Augustin Hadelich then appeared, slender and dapper, and together with Maestro Laredo and the orchestra (enhanced by winds, piano, and timpani) gave a marvelous reading of the Barber concerto. Mr. Hadelich has an extraordinary gift for lyricism, his tone remaining blessedly sweet in the highest register whilst meanwhile showing an almost viola-like resonance in the lower range. Sweeping thru the poignant themes that the composer has lavished on the work, the violinist seemed to be reaching the hearts of the listeners; and in the insanely swift and dancing coloratura of the final presto, he was indeed impressive. 

    Barber gives shining moments to some of the orchestral voices as well, most notably the oboe solo heard early in the second movement, played lovingly today by Emily Beare. Horn, flutes, clarinet and bassoon each have their say, and I love the way the piano is woven into the tapestry, Amalia Rinehart making a fine impression at the keyboard. I also greatly enjoyed the female timpanist, Yibing Wang.

    Mr. Hadelich was rightly given a warm ovation and he very much deserved the Paganini encore which was granted, though I think I would have preferred to carry my deep enjoyment of the Barber right into the interval.

    Beethoven’s Pastoral is a very nice symphony: the music is overwhelmingly lovely and cordial, and even the momentary storm (which passes as swiftly as Rossini’s witty thunderbolts in Barbiere di Siviglia) can’t detract from the sheer serenity of the music. Well-played by the young musicians, I found the symphony too lulling and too long to sustain interest over its 40-minute duration. But the first half of the concert was entirely satsfying.

  • New Music Director at NYC Ballet

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    New York City Ballet have announced the appointment of Andrew Litton (above) as music director. Litton, a native New Yorker, is the sixth conductor to hold the coveted post.

    Visit Maestro Litton’s website and learn all about him here.

    And while we’re on the subject of New York City Ballet, ballerina Faye Arthurs has posted a charming story about the Company’s annual NUTCRACKER season here.

  • Joy To The World: BRANDENBURGS @ CMS

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    Tuesday December 16th, 2014 – New York City Ballet have Balanchine’s NUTCRACKER; The Philharmonic offers the MESSIAH; and The Met’s giving holiday performances of HANSEL & GRETEL. But it’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center who give us an extra-special gift every year in the run up to Christmas Eve: the complete Brandenburg concertos of Johann Sebastian Bach.

    Last year the Society scheduled two performances of this programme, both of which were sold out. This year they have added a third performance, which is the one Dmitry and I attended tonight. And on Thursday they’ll take the Brandenburgs on the road, to the Harris Theater in Chicago.

    A large crowd this evenng, with additional rows of seating near the stage. A pair of fidgety neighbors were a bit of a distraction, but at least they were silent. The concertos, played in a different order each year, unfolded magically; each has its own complement of players and the Society assembled a roster of excellent musicians who traded off ‘seatings’ from one concerto to the next. So nice to see principal artists from The New York Philharmonic (Robert Langevin, flute, and Timothy Cobb, double-bass) and The Metropolitan Opera (Julia Pilant, horn) joining CMS from their neighboring home theatres. Mr. Cobb and John Gibbons (immaculate playing at the harpsichord) performed in all six concertos. The programme looks long on paper, but actually the evening flew by with a savourable mixture of virtuosity and expressive poetry.

    The performance opened with the #1 concerto in F-major, which sounds so Handelian to me. This is the concerto with two horns and a trio of oboes. Ms. Pilant and Julie Landsman sounded the brightly-harmonized horn calls with assurance, whilst Stephen Taylor, Randall Ellis, and James Austin Smith piped up delightfully with their oboes, joined by Marc Goldberg on bassoon. Oboe, violin, bassoon and bass sound the poignant adagio, then the high horns ring out briskly in the allegro. You think it’s over, but there’s a surprise fourth movement – it veers from minuet to polonaise – in which separate choirs of winds and strings summon up the rhythms of the dance.

    In concerto #6 (B-flat major) which follows, a trio of cellos (Pauk Watkins, Eileen Moon, Timothy Eddy) bring a particular resonance to the score. The adagio – one of Bach’s most movingly melodious inventions – opens with the solo viola (Lily Francis) who passes the theme to violinist Lawrence Dutton. This is a passage that one wants to go on and on. But the closing allegro sweeps us inexorably forward.

    Violinist Benjamin Beilman took the lead in the 4th concerto (in G-major); the satiny sheen of his sustained tones and his very deft management of the coloratura passages were indeed impressive, and he is an animated, deeply involved musician. The duo flautists Sooyun Kim and Robert Langevin warbled with silvery sweetness in the fleet phrases of the outer movements and blendied serenely in the central andante.  Ben Beilman’s striking virtuosity and his elegant lyricism marked a high point in an evening loaded with superb playing.

    After the interval, in the 5th concerto (D-major), John Gibbons’ harpsichord artistry was to the fore, giving great pleasure in a long, complex and brilliantly etched ‘mega-cadenza’ at close of the first movement. The central affetuoso movement brings the sterling flute of Mr. Langevin and the poised violin phrasing of Sean Lee, mingling their ‘voices’  with the keyboard textures Mr. Gibbons so impressively evoked. Yet again, we feel Bach’s genius being transmitted to us in all its poignant clarity. The mood and pace then bounce back emphatically with a brisk final allegro.

    The 3rd concerto, in G-major, is unique in that the expected central slow movement is replaced by a mere couple of chords before going immediately into allegro overdrive. Thus the entire piece simply rushes forward in a whirlwind of animated playing. The all-strings setting (plus harpsichord, of course) features a large ensemble and much rhythmic and melodic variety whilst always sailing onward.

    The evening’s final work, the 2nd concerto (in F-major), arrived far to soon. In flourishing flights to the upper range, David Washburn’s Baroque trumpet gave the arcangel Gabriel a run for his money. Equally scintllating to the ear was Sooyun Kim’s limpid flute playing: both in agility and in sustained, luminous tone, she made a wonderful impression. In the andante, a particularly fine blend of timbres from Ms. Kim, Stephen Taylor (oboe), Lawrence Dutton (violin) and Paul Watkins (cello) made me again want to linger; but the trumpeter’s silvery calls in the final allegro assai swept us on to the evening’s celebratory conclusion.

    The young violinist Sean Lee, playing the concertos with CMS for the first time, wrote movingly of the experience in a Playbill note: “I cannot think of a more joyous, warm, celebratory set of pieces to revel to, as if gathering around a fire during these winter months.” Amen to that!   

    The participating artists: