The audience should be forgiven for chuckling at the pre-curtain announcement of the corporate sponsor for Pennsylvania Ballet's new Giselle. Honestly, corporate community engagement can be ticklish for some industries. Creativity and even a bit of serendipity is needed to find a good match between corporations and non-profits. And when a good philanthropic arrangement is finally nailed down, it can yield a casket of dividends for both parties. So, we give a nod to Pennsylvania Ballet for nabbing West Laurel Hill Cemetery & Funeral Home as its presenting sponsor for its season of Giselle which premiered Thursday evening at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. It may be the best ever match of a sponsor with a ballet.
Love, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness — it’s all beautiful at Pennsylvania Ballet. The company’s new Giselle choreographed by Artistic Director Angel Corella after Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot was given a glistening performance by Oksana Maslova as Giselle and Arian Molina Soca as Albrecht. Of fragile form and weak heart, this Giselle possessed an unbreakable love for Albrecht. Her discovery of his dishonesty may have shaken her to the core and caused her heart to stop, but her love lived on and was strong enough to ultimately save Albrecht’s life.
Oksana Maslova portrayed the Act I Giselle as innocent and trusting. Her joy soared along with her jetes. Arian Molina Soca’s Albrecht was neither cad nor playboy – in fact, there was nothing not to like about him. The viewer sensed that his feelings for Giselle were honest whenever he was with her. She was far more than just a side dish. Giselle's descent into madness upon discovering Albrecht’s duplicity was fairly standard — that’s not to suggest it wasn’t convincing, but it did seem a little like connect-the-dots. However, we clearly saw the life leave her body in the final moments when Albrecht lifted her into the air.
Act II is where both of these artists soared in performance and delivered the breathtaking beauty for which this ballet is widely known. Giselle’s awakening spin and variation had the force and vengeance of a Fury. She seemed destined to be one heck of a Wili but for her love of Albrecht getting in the way. Maslova’s slender limbs belied her steely strength, particularly in phrases of unsupported adagio where she held developpes aloft and then stepped around into the long attitude position with the leg behind. Throughout, she projected a delicacy that was hauntingly beautiful. Molina Soca danced Act II as though this ballet was the substance of his soul, as though all of life came down to these moments, this role, this chance for Albrecht’s redemption. His epic overhead lifts of Giselle drew gasps from the audience. His flying brisés down the diagonal where he stopped nose-to-nose with Myrtha were thrilling. In the final tableau, he walked slowly up the center of the stage to the front and gazed outward in what appeared to be his moment of finally realizing what Giselle's love had meant to his life.
There were several other strong performances in addition to Maslova’s and Molina Soca’s. Dayesi Torriente’s Myrtha was a powerful and unyielding spirit. We saw and felt her anger but we never saw the hurt beneath it. Ian Hussey’s Hilarion danced to his death with convincing fatigue and horror. Nayara Lopes and Albert Gordon were brilliant in the Act I Peasant Pas de Deux, traversing the many difficult technical passages with ease. Both are technically gifted artists, but Lopes forged such a strong and immediate connection with the audience that it seemed she should be Giselle, too. She reappeared in Act II to dance Moyna along with Alexandra Hughes’ Zulma; both performed beautifully.
The corps de ballet seemed well rehearsed in both acts. The voyage section in Act II didn’t look bad at all but it would have looked better on a larger stage. Some of the corps sections looked cramped for space at times.
The orchestra was outstanding the whole evening. Tempi seemed perfect for every dancer and the ensemble. There were no lengthy pauses between sections that have tended to kill the momentum in other productions. The conductor, Peter Stafford Wilson, was making his debut with PA Ballet. He currently conducts for Tulsa Ballet and has previously conducted for BalletMet and Michigan Opera Theater. He also currently holds the post of Music Director of Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Ohio.
The costumes, designed by David Huevel, and scenery, designed by Peter Cazalet, were from Louisville Ballet’s production. All of it was traditional and complementary, if a bit muted colorwise.
We also want to mention that the Playbill included an outstanding piece written by ballet master Charles Askegard which discussed the importance of this ballet and its themes to a 21st century audience. He maintained that Giselle is a character of great strength in life and in afterlife – a woman who made her own decisions, chose her own love, and had the great strength to confront Myrtha to save Albrecht. Perhaps PA Ballet will figure out a way to upload it to their website.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Arian Molina Soca for his portrayal of Albrecht.
12 responses to “Pennsylvania Ballet – Giselle 3/7”
Haglund,
I went to the matinee today and in the words of a friend: charmless. Sterling Baca is the first Albrecht I can ever remember seeing who had no discernible personality of any type. He wasn’t the heartless cad of a Nureyev or a Malakhov. He also wasn’t the boyish puppy-love type either a la Frank Augustyn (if I am remembering correctly.). He was a total cypher; the only emotion he showed at all was when Albrecht tried to run Hilarion through with a sword. I honestly wondered what Giselle ever saw in him. There was some nice dancing throughout but it never came together. Everyone can have an off day. I guess this was the one for Pennsylvania Ballet.
Haglund,
I went to the matinee today and in the words of a friend: charmless. Sterling Baca is the first Albrecht I can ever remember seeing who had no discernible personality of any type. He wasn’t the heartless cad of a Nureyev or a Malakhov. He also wasn’t the boyish puppy-love type either a la Frank Augustyn (if I am remembering correctly.). He was a total cypher; the only emotion he showed at all was when Albrecht tried to run Hilarion through with a sword. I honestly wondered what Giselle ever saw in him. There was some nice dancing throughout but it never came together. Everyone can have an off day. I guess this was the one for Pennsylvania Ballet.
Oh my gosh. So sorry to hear this. I won’t be able to get to any more of the performances in this Giselle run, but I’m glad that I saw the cast that I did. I wonder what Sterling’s motivation for Albrecht was. How was Giselle, Dayesi Torriente? She’s rather statuesque for a Giselle, but Cynthia Gregory was able to pull it off years ago. On the other hand, Martine van Hamel could not.
Oh my gosh. So sorry to hear this. I won’t be able to get to any more of the performances in this Giselle run, but I’m glad that I saw the cast that I did. I wonder what Sterling’s motivation for Albrecht was. How was Giselle, Dayesi Torriente? She’s rather statuesque for a Giselle, but Cynthia Gregory was able to pull it off years ago. On the other hand, Martine van Hamel could not.
I liked Torriente. Her mad scene was very good and her second act lovely. Overall the second act was a big improvement over the first. Baca did entrechats in the second act and I so prefer brises; I think they fit the story better. They get A for effort but not for the end result; it was like ABT lite.
I liked Torriente. Her mad scene was very good and her second act lovely. Overall the second act was a big improvement over the first. Baca did entrechats in the second act and I so prefer brises; I think they fit the story better. They get A for effort but not for the end result; it was like ABT lite.
Did they use something better than that awful Lanchbery orchestration?
Did they use something better than that awful Lanchbery orchestration?
Hello Haglund, so happy to hear that you enjoyed the opening night performance. I saw two performances on Saturday March 9 – matinee [Giselle/Yuka Iseda; Albrecht/Aleksey Babayev; Hilarion/Ian Hussey] and evening [Giselle/Mayara Pineiro; Albrecht/Zecheng Liang; Hilarion/Arian Molina Soca]. I agree that the orchestra was outstanding, but I found some of the tempos a bit on the slow side, especially in Act 2. Both performances I saw were quite solid. The standout at the matinee was Yuka Iseda – she was spectacular. The audience was hanging on every balance on pointe, every penche arabesque. The height of her leaps, deep into Act 2, showed amazing stamina. The evening performance as well was solid all around. To my eye, the standout in the evening was Etienne Diaz in the Peasant pas de deux. He was so completely in sync with the music that it seemed that he was conducting the orchestra with his body. I’m looking forward to seeing two more performances this coming Saturday March 16 – matinee [Giselle/Alexandra Hughes; Albrecht/Ian Hussey; Hilarion/Federico D’Ortenzi] and evening [same as opening night, Giselle/Oksana Maslova; Albrecht/Arian Molina Soca; Hilarion/Ian Hussey].
Hello Haglund, so happy to hear that you enjoyed the opening night performance. I saw two performances on Saturday March 9 – matinee [Giselle/Yuka Iseda; Albrecht/Aleksey Babayev; Hilarion/Ian Hussey] and evening [Giselle/Mayara Pineiro; Albrecht/Zecheng Liang; Hilarion/Arian Molina Soca]. I agree that the orchestra was outstanding, but I found some of the tempos a bit on the slow side, especially in Act 2. Both performances I saw were quite solid. The standout at the matinee was Yuka Iseda – she was spectacular. The audience was hanging on every balance on pointe, every penche arabesque. The height of her leaps, deep into Act 2, showed amazing stamina. The evening performance as well was solid all around. To my eye, the standout in the evening was Etienne Diaz in the Peasant pas de deux. He was so completely in sync with the music that it seemed that he was conducting the orchestra with his body. I’m looking forward to seeing two more performances this coming Saturday March 16 – matinee [Giselle/Alexandra Hughes; Albrecht/Ian Hussey; Hilarion/Federico D’Ortenzi] and evening [same as opening night, Giselle/Oksana Maslova; Albrecht/Arian Molina Soca; Hilarion/Ian Hussey].
Hi, Bryan.
It cannot be easy for a conductor to be handed six different principal casts for his debut run. He certainly got it right on opening night.
Glad to hear that Yuka Iseda was spectacular. I remember well her elegant classicism in Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto when Corella Ballet (Barcelona Ballet) came to New York City Center years ago.
Enjoy this week’s performances!
Hi, Bryan.
It cannot be easy for a conductor to be handed six different principal casts for his debut run. He certainly got it right on opening night.
Glad to hear that Yuka Iseda was spectacular. I remember well her elegant classicism in Tippet’s Bruch Violin Concerto when Corella Ballet (Barcelona Ballet) came to New York City Center years ago.
Enjoy this week’s performances!