Tournées et galas de l'Opéra de Paris / Invitations

[voyageur]

Macaulay, Gottlieb, and their coterie (and wannabes) subscribe (in varying degrees) to a particular aesthetic which includes the deification of Balanchine and the dislike of academic formal classicism. As much as I have disagreements with that aesthetic and other issues with the members of that group (e.g., rightly or wrongly, any NYT critic wields enormous power and I don't think it's been used judiciously in recent times), I do not think francophobia has anything to do with it. Macaulay (who is indeed NOT an American) may have pondered publicly that perhaps he doesn't really like ballet upon seeing La Danse, but he asked the identical question upon seeing the Kirov perform an evening of Petipa.
None of these people does a good (if any) job of checking their facts, by the way. Harss has Ganio in l'Arlesienne last night--it was Pech.

I'll post shortly my impressions of last evening's performance.

[voyageur]

The ONP presented the same program, with multiple cast changes, on its second night. (Full casting in the link I previously provided.)
In Suite en Blanc, Dayanova, back in La Sieste, was again gorgeous, and I thought the Theme Varie was better danced than on opening night. I should have commented in yesterday's post on Ganio, and that lovely line and beautiful port de bras in the Mazurka on opening night; at both performances he gave his barrel turns an elegance I didn't think the step could possess.
The Arlesienne was, I think, not as strong as at the opening.
Gillot in Bolero was like a giant earth goddess--a terrific performance much appreciated by the sold-out house.

[NEOPHYTE]

Alastair Macaulay n'est pas tendre avec l'ODP mais son article est vraiment interessant.

Je ne connais pas "Suite en blanc" mais sur la photo les tutus sont plus jolis que les costumes de la "Phèdre" du même Lifar que j'ai découverte cet automne à l'ODP.

Je n'avais pas adoré le double-bill Phedre-Psyché mais malgré tout c'est dommage de faire une création avec Ratmansky et de ne pas la présenter justement à New-York...

[doudou]

Autour d'Aurélie Dupont et Brigitte Lefèvre, évocation de la tournée américaine dans Le fil AFP de la Croix.
Et version vidéo sur le fil AFP de Dailymotion.

[doudou]

Un autre avis sur le triple bill par Robert Johnson sur le site nj.com.

Sur le site Haglund'Heel un compte rendu autrement plus élogieux.

[sophia]

Comme le fait remarquer le commentateur (qui a lui-même publié un compte-rendu du spectacle), la référence à Noces est plus probante pour L'Arlésienne que pour Suite en blanc (?).

[sophia]

[sophia]

Un petit reportage de l'AFP, avec des images d'Aurélie Dupont dans le Boléro et l'inévitable interview de Brigitte Lefèvre.

[haydn]

[voyageur]

The ONP danced the first of its six scheduled New York Giselles last evening.

While I've seen the ONP's Giselle several times, I have seen the ABT and RB productions (each of which I think is its company's best production of a classic) far more frequently, and some amalgam of the two of them is probably my "default" production. Hence wherever the ONP production diverges seems fresh and particularly striking. There were so many details I loved: for example, that the villagers enter dancing ; that Hilarion is less of a clod here and leaves flowers rather than a dead animal for Giselle ; the absolute stillness as Hilarion simply holds Albrecht's sword just waiting for him to take it ; the dice players and the first appearance of some Wilis; Albrecht's PRESENCE in the mad scene as she evades his touch; Albrecht's lying on the grave ; his attempt to touch her skirt as she bourrees out of reach.
And divergences or not, I found this a beautiful production that was by and large beautifully danced.
I had seen Dupont's Giselle in Paris during the last run at Garnier, and I thought then that she was a beautiful dancer but not really a Giselle, and particularly not in Act I. I don't really think differently after last night. It's not at all a question of age--I've seen older ballerinas (Ananiashvili and Fonteyn spring to mind) be utterly convincing--but rather I think the kind of dancer she is. Her dancing strikes me as so assured that she doesn't come across as young or fragile or warm, even though she did come across as shy and rather sweet. Nor did I have much sense that the love of dance suffuses her life. But what she did do in Act I was dance beautifully (with less pointe work and a lower leg than I'm used to, but I believe that's this production), and a very creamy variation. In Act II, she was certainly spectral, and her dancing again was beautiful, but I didn't see any love reaching from beyond the grave, and it felt cold.
Ganio's Albrecht was for me (with the corps) the highlight of the performance. I prefer an Albrecht who loves Giselle, as he seemed to in an Act I with many a convincing detail: his Albrecht was demonstratively affectionate--nudging her with his shoulder, trying to kiss her, the repeated kiss-blowing as Berthe shoos her inside. I was also quite taken at one point with a fist beginning to clench and with a moment when he readopts his aristocratic stance. As for Act II, while I found his grief moving and his partnering seamless, it was his dancing that I found overwhelming. All of it beautiful, but special mention for the cabrioles and I think 28 entrechats six that went way up with oh, such beautifully pointed feet.
Fewer positive words for Cozette's Myrtha. I find her upper body difficult to watch--if it's possible to be wooden and tense at the same time, that's what it looks like to me.
I liked Giezendanner in the peasant pas, and particularly her phrasing, but was less impressed with Revillion.
As for the corps, they were gorgeous. No, they do not have Mariinsky backs, but what they do have is French schooling and they were as one, with beautiful feet and lovely arms.
A full house and a very warm reception.

Wishing everyone a Joyeux Fete. I will be spending the rest of Bastille Day watching the ONP's glorious Giselle. Will post on today's performances when I can (probably not till Monday).

Finally, I should note that just before the performance began, I saw Brigitte Lefevre in an animated conversation with Macaulay for at least 5 mintues (well, she was animated, anyway.) Oh, to have been a fly on the seat in front!

[Florestiano]

Thank you so much, voyageur! Can't wait to hear from you about Ciaravola's Giselle, one of the finest ones in my view; the partnership with Paquette is however all the more unfortunate since Bullion was cast as Albrecht earlier during this tour!

[nabucco]

Il est regrettable que Laetitia Pujol ne fasse pas partie de cette tournée, si tant est qu'on peut encore l'espérer voir dans de tels rôles. C'est pour moi la meilleure Giselle de l'Opéra, avec une scène de folie proprement... hallucinante, disons!

[sophia]

C'est Pujol qui a été filmée, mais si l'on me demandait quelle est la Giselle incontournable de l'Opéra, celle qui mettrait en quelque sorte tout le monde d'accord, je serais bien en peine de répondre. Ciaravola pour le jeu et la malléabilité dramatique sans doute, mais pour l'ensemble (naturel, jeu, style, technique...), peut-être Osta (celle que j'ai préférée la dernière fois avec Ganio comme partenaire), avec un peu de Gilbert aussi.

[sophia]

Le triple bill vu (analysé) par Tobi Tobias

et le cast Ciaravola/Paquette de Giselle vu par Mark Panzarino.

[sophia]

Des impressions contrastées sur les distributions de Giselle chez Poison Ivy.