Thanks much to MRR for this unofficial tip on ABT's Costa Mesa casting for the new Sleeping Beauty that he received from an acquaintance who is attending:
Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30pm – Vishneva/Gomes
Wednesday, March 4th at 7:30pm – Murphy/Whiteside
Thursday, March 5 at 7:30pm – Hee Seo/Stearns
Friday, March 6 at 7:30pm – Herrera/TBA
Saturday, March 7 at 2pm – Boylston/Gorak
Saturday, March 7th at 7:30pm – Vishneva/Gomes
Sunday March 8th at 2:00pm – Hee Seo/Stearns
Sunday, March 8th at 7pm – Vishneva/Gomes
It's interesting that Vishneva is shown to be dancing so many performances, particularly back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday evenings. What a nasty, nasty shame that Sarah Lane has been excluded from the Auroras for these premiere performances. And honestly, what an artistic compromise it is to plant such an unclassical, unappealing dancer as Boylston in Petipa's most exquisite jewel. Maybe this is just preliminary casting being thrown-up 😉 at the area market in order to have something out there when single tickets go on sale this coming Sunday. No Sarah Lane, no Stella Abrera, no Veronika Part as Auroras. Cheat. Cheat. Cheat.
Update 1/7: ABT's website now shows the Sunday 3/8 evening cast as Murphy & Whiteside.
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Interesting news from Sarasota Magazine that Joe Volpe, the retired GM of the Metropolitan Opera, has joined the Board of Directors of Sarasota Ballet. Volpe and his wife, Jean, who sits on ABT's Board have long had ties to the Sarasota area and are now official snowbirds on Longboat Key along with their 32 ft Pursuit yacht.
Says Joe: "My wife is not a beach person. My hidden agenda was to get involved with the ballet and maybe Jean would find [moving to] Florida a lot more acceptable. It's all working; we're quite excited about it."
Says Jean: "Iain Webb is building a wonderful company. I came down for the Ashton Festival and there were people there from all over the world."
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The Mariinsky Ballet's casting is starting to show the typical signs of late-date fraying. Daria Pavlenko has been scratched from Cinderella. What a disappointment. Then there are the three evenings of the faux-Mariinsky ballerina Oxana Skorik who not many are interested in seeing. Her Swan Lake is the most poorly sold so far; and her rep program that does not include Lopatkina is not doing so well either.
26 responses to “observations 1/6”
Hi, Haglund! The “unofficial tip” on Sleeping Beauty casting is posted on the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center’s website when accessed through an email sent to subscribers, which I received yesterday. I will be seeing Vishneva twice(who was beautiful in it when I saw her about 10 years ago in the Kirov/Mariinsky version), Boylston (taking a friend to a matinee), Seo, and Herrera as Aurora. I am sorry that Lane is not dancing it in Southern California.
Hi, Haglund! The “unofficial tip” on Sleeping Beauty casting is posted on the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center’s website when accessed through an email sent to subscribers, which I received yesterday. I will be seeing Vishneva twice(who was beautiful in it when I saw her about 10 years ago in the Kirov/Mariinsky version), Boylston (taking a friend to a matinee), Seo, and Herrera as Aurora. I am sorry that Lane is not dancing it in Southern California.
Thanks J!! Please let us know when you find out about the casting for Lilac Fairy.
Thanks J!! Please let us know when you find out about the casting for Lilac Fairy.
Hmm. This is perplexing. I assumed I would be swiping the old credit card numerous times but that does not seem to be the case now. My subscription tickets are for Herrera who I wouldn’t usually want to see, but feel a responsibility to see her one last time. Vishneva/Gomes is obviously a draw, but that’s about it and it’s hard to commit without a Lilac Fairy casting to persuade me further. Way to deflate an exciting event!
Hmm. This is perplexing. I assumed I would be swiping the old credit card numerous times but that does not seem to be the case now. My subscription tickets are for Herrera who I wouldn’t usually want to see, but feel a responsibility to see her one last time. Vishneva/Gomes is obviously a draw, but that’s about it and it’s hard to commit without a Lilac Fairy casting to persuade me further. Way to deflate an exciting event!
Hi K.
As usual, I’m looking for the silver lining in all of this basic house soup casting. With both Cornejo and Lane missing, my optimismethoscope is listening for a faint heartbeat of a Swan Lake in Philadelphia. That would make the new Sleeping Beauty a so-what affair in my book.
My guess is that Part will be Lilac Fairy in the Vishneva/Gomes cast and Abrera will be Lilac in the Murphy/Whiteside cast. Others with high Lilac potential would be Devon Teuscher and Leann Underwood.
That TBA with Herrera looks very fake. ABT will probably suddenly add Bolle to the cast to try to encourage a little spike in ticket sales. Herrera dances the ballet with him at the Met. His schedule, according to his website, is open from Feb 13 through March 10 — duh.
Hi K.
As usual, I’m looking for the silver lining in all of this basic house soup casting. With both Cornejo and Lane missing, my optimismethoscope is listening for a faint heartbeat of a Swan Lake in Philadelphia. That would make the new Sleeping Beauty a so-what affair in my book.
My guess is that Part will be Lilac Fairy in the Vishneva/Gomes cast and Abrera will be Lilac in the Murphy/Whiteside cast. Others with high Lilac potential would be Devon Teuscher and Leann Underwood.
That TBA with Herrera looks very fake. ABT will probably suddenly add Bolle to the cast to try to encourage a little spike in ticket sales. Herrera dances the ballet with him at the Met. His schedule, according to his website, is open from Feb 13 through March 10 — duh.
I read you regularly but this is my first comment, so thanks for your great blog!
FYI, ABT’s calendar does not show the double Vishneva weekend performances you’re worried about, but rather show Murphy/Whiteside on Sunday evening: http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=3/1/2015.
I read you regularly but this is my first comment, so thanks for your great blog!
FYI, ABT’s calendar does not show the double Vishneva weekend performances you’re worried about, but rather show Murphy/Whiteside on Sunday evening: http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=3/1/2015.
Hi again Haglund–
Very weird . . . I just went back to the ABT website to check the calendar and now the Segerstrom casting isn’t there. In fact, the Segerstrom engagement has completely vanished. Fortunately, I had not closed the browser window showing the Segerstrom casting in the calendar, so I took a screenshot of it and saved it. Maybe it’s just my browser, but wanted to let you know in case you had trouble with the link I just posted.
Hi again Haglund–
Very weird . . . I just went back to the ABT website to check the calendar and now the Segerstrom casting isn’t there. In fact, the Segerstrom engagement has completely vanished. Fortunately, I had not closed the browser window showing the Segerstrom casting in the calendar, so I took a screenshot of it and saved it. Maybe it’s just my browser, but wanted to let you know in case you had trouble with the link I just posted.
Thanks, Paula. The casting is back up on the ABT website. The absurdity of putting Boylston and Seo in that lineup while excluding Sarah Lane shows that ABT will go to any lengths to ensure empty seats and dissatisfied patrons. It seems like their mission is actually to disappoint people.
Thanks, Paula. The casting is back up on the ABT website. The absurdity of putting Boylston and Seo in that lineup while excluding Sarah Lane shows that ABT will go to any lengths to ensure empty seats and dissatisfied patrons. It seems like their mission is actually to disappoint people.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on Skorik. If you’re seen the documentary about her training in Perm I think you would understand more where she come from. After researching her rise at the Mariinsky despite a terrible social media campaign against her I admire her greatly.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on Skorik. If you’re seen the documentary about her training in Perm I think you would understand more where she come from. After researching her rise at the Mariinsky despite a terrible social media campaign against her I admire her greatly.
Hi Irina.
I admire Skorik for overcoming her disorder, but that is a separate issue from her lack of authenticity as a Mariinsky ballerina. When I see the Mariinsky, I want to see a Vaganova ballerina with a Vaganova fine-finish that is highly polished.
Hi Irina.
I admire Skorik for overcoming her disorder, but that is a separate issue from her lack of authenticity as a Mariinsky ballerina. When I see the Mariinsky, I want to see a Vaganova ballerina with a Vaganova fine-finish that is highly polished.
Hi Haglund,
Did you see that Kimin Kim from Mariinsky is going to be guesting for La Bayadere? Thoughts? I personally really enjoy his dancing
Hi Haglund,
Did you see that Kimin Kim from Mariinsky is going to be guesting for La Bayadere? Thoughts? I personally really enjoy his dancing
I saw Kim in London last August several times. A very energetic, virtuosic dancer that I adore. Since he’s not coming to BAM (why?) I’m very excited he’s guesting with ABT.
Irina, I’ve seen the documentary on Skorik and having a disorder (she’s still very thin) is a separate issue from being a Mariinsky dancer. There was one YT poster who truly hates her and filmed many performances where had major gaffes (for example in Act 1 of Giselle, instead of hops on pointe she did hops on releve). I was expecting so little that I was surprised that she wasn’t too bad in the PDD of Balanchine’s Midsummer. She’s extremely tall and thin, very flexible (the current aesthetic) and has a nice line. Actually, though you could see her struggling with the partnering, she never stopped smiling. So I came away with the impression that she’s not bad (she’s probably better than anyone at ABT) but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see. The upper body epaulement is not quite there. But she’s improving.
I saw Kim in London last August several times. A very energetic, virtuosic dancer that I adore. Since he’s not coming to BAM (why?) I’m very excited he’s guesting with ABT.
Irina, I’ve seen the documentary on Skorik and having a disorder (she’s still very thin) is a separate issue from being a Mariinsky dancer. There was one YT poster who truly hates her and filmed many performances where had major gaffes (for example in Act 1 of Giselle, instead of hops on pointe she did hops on releve). I was expecting so little that I was surprised that she wasn’t too bad in the PDD of Balanchine’s Midsummer. She’s extremely tall and thin, very flexible (the current aesthetic) and has a nice line. Actually, though you could see her struggling with the partnering, she never stopped smiling. So I came away with the impression that she’s not bad (she’s probably better than anyone at ABT) but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see. The upper body epaulement is not quite there. But she’s improving.
I haven’t seen Kimin on stage yet, and am disappointed that he’s not going to appear at BAM with his home company. But I’m not the least bit interested in seeing him try to help prop up ABT’s Met Season. The YouTube clips that I’ve seen suggest a vibrant and excellent competition dancer who has received many wonderful opportunities from the Mariinsky to hone his craft.
The fact that ABT invites in guests who are non-principal level soloists instead of developing its own soloists is Exhibit A of a weak, unfocused artistic team. The Mariinsky’s soloists, coryphees and probably even corps members are better than the last six ABT principals appointed by McKenzie (Stearns, Simkin, Seo, Semionova, Whiteside, Boylston). Why do people keep supporting incompetent management that makes bad choices, cannot develop the true talent within its ranks, and outsources its artistic responsibilities? What are people getting that is so valuable that it is worth sacrificing and wasting this company’s own talent?
McKenzie is only able to field a company cast for 1 out of 8 performances of La Bayadere, and people are cheering about it? If ABT isn’t capable of putting together more than a string of 1 Bayaderes with its own dancers, they shouldn’t be presenting the production.
I’ll be skipping the entire week.
I haven’t seen Kimin on stage yet, and am disappointed that he’s not going to appear at BAM with his home company. But I’m not the least bit interested in seeing him try to help prop up ABT’s Met Season. The YouTube clips that I’ve seen suggest a vibrant and excellent competition dancer who has received many wonderful opportunities from the Mariinsky to hone his craft.
The fact that ABT invites in guests who are non-principal level soloists instead of developing its own soloists is Exhibit A of a weak, unfocused artistic team. The Mariinsky’s soloists, coryphees and probably even corps members are better than the last six ABT principals appointed by McKenzie (Stearns, Simkin, Seo, Semionova, Whiteside, Boylston). Why do people keep supporting incompetent management that makes bad choices, cannot develop the true talent within its ranks, and outsources its artistic responsibilities? What are people getting that is so valuable that it is worth sacrificing and wasting this company’s own talent?
McKenzie is only able to field a company cast for 1 out of 8 performances of La Bayadere, and people are cheering about it? If ABT isn’t capable of putting together more than a string of 1 Bayaderes with its own dancers, they shouldn’t be presenting the production.
I’ll be skipping the entire week.
Well, I’m down for Vishneva/Gomes, Herrera, and Seo/Stearns. I wanted to make sure I got three casts in and since I haven’t seen Seo/Stearns since R&J going on 5 years ago now, I think it might be time to check in with them again.
I almost went for Boylston/Gorak to see Gorak–we’ll see if any discount offers pop up that can tempt me.
Well, I’m down for Vishneva/Gomes, Herrera, and Seo/Stearns. I wanted to make sure I got three casts in and since I haven’t seen Seo/Stearns since R&J going on 5 years ago now, I think it might be time to check in with them again.
I almost went for Boylston/Gorak to see Gorak–we’ll see if any discount offers pop up that can tempt me.