Ah, the swans are back, and beautiful they were Monday night as ABT opened its week of Swan Lake performances to a packed-to-the-rafters house.
Haglund got a double-dose of the swans yesterday by way of the afternoon rehearsal during which it was evident just how perilous the lakeside can be when at the conclusion of Act II a huge piece of scenery about half the width of the stage came crashing down from the ceiling. Not a feather was ruffled among these swans of steel, however. They returned in Act IV more magical than ever – dancing with seize the day commitment – because, well, you never know when it all might end abruptly – and navigated the lakeside with the naval precision of a Force of Swanny Seals.
"Swan Force One is magnificent!" roared the capacity crowd Monday night. Yes, indeed, they were. Pristine lines, a unified single musical pulse that illuminated Tchaikovsky's phrases, quiet feet – the swans are the magic that brings the masses to the ballet.
The evening's principal dancers were an infrequent combination of some of the company's strongest personalities. When was the last time we saw Jose Manuel Carreno, Irina Dvorovenko, and Marcelo Gomes all driving the drama simultaneously? There was lots of experience on that stage last night and lots to admire. Carreno as Prince Siegfried gave us still more wonderful memories with his beautiful pirouettes and even more beautiful finishes with arms outstretched to the audience. He loves us. We love him. Thursday is not going to be easy for anyone. We'll all get through it and then maybe some day, if we're lucky, we'll get to relive the memories when he strolls out on stage in a beloved character role or two. And hopefully, he will return to pass on his gifts and great style to the company's dancers who have admired him all these years.
Dvorovenko's technique last night was very secure, particularly her balances, and she carved out her own unique version of her characters. Her entrance onto the stage in Act II was a soaring leap with a quiet landing of bird-like grace. Odette displayed anguish and mistrust of Siegfried throughout Act II. She was not a soft, vulnerable Odette; rather, she was wild like an injured creature trying to evade capture. Balances in arabesque did not breathe so much as they perched with a nervous stillness. She was in a high state of crisis, inconsolable by Siegfried until their PdD. The PdD was a little quick for Haglund's tastes. It probably was in keeping with the overall character of Odette which Dvorovenko created, but still, the choreography and the music are better served when both are performed more slowly.
Odile was Dvorovenko's better half last night. Her broad smile, evil laughs, and haughty posture conveyed how delicious the trickery was for her. Her variations were excellently danced, especially the sequence of double pirouettes that evolved into an attitude turn - all very smooth with evil glances out to the audience. Her single fouettes were not only fast but seemed to pick up more speed in the middle of the sequence making them all the more thrilling.
Dvorovenko does evil very well on her own. Imagine throwing Marcelo Gomes' incomparable von Rothbart into the mix. He only gets to do this role about once per year, and judging from last night, he'd been preparing for it the whole year. There's no other way to describe the crowd's reaction but "Holy shit!" The guy wasn't just menacing toward the forty or so people on the stage, he was menacing to the four thousand people in the audience! How big do you have to be to do that? Pretty big. Add some pretty big dancing with acute changes of direction, soaring leaps and slicing legs, pirouettes that ended not just in arabesque but with the head thrown back in evil laughter. It was dance on the operatic scale of the Met's grandest productions. It must be noted that von Rothbart's ugly half, portrayed by Vitali Krauchenka, died very well on the rocks.
Some of the soloists fared better than others. The PdT danced by Sarah Lane, Yuriko Kajiya, and Daniil Simkin started off very well, but then Simkin had an awkward landing on a jump that sent some things off course. The partnering, especially the parts involving pirouettes, was a little awkward and killer-brilliance in the variations wasn't there. That famous Swan Lake PdT by Cornejo, Reyes, and Cornejo is preserved on video. People should watch it. The only trio that has come close to achieving the Cornejo/Reyes/Cornejo brilliance has been the Hoven/Abrera/Riccetto trio. Of course, ABT broke up that team this year just like it has broken up so many other successful pairings over the seasons.
Stella Abrera and Hee Seo were the two Big Swans who dispatched the choreography well and in unison. However, Abrera shouldn't be dancing this any more. She should be Odette/Odile. She has the technical chops and the artistry to accomplish a fully impacting Odette/Odile and, God knows, she deserves the opportunity. But McKenzie has pegged her in the soloist's hole for eternity - repeating the same tragic mistakes he made by pidgeonholing Christina Fagundes, Veronica Lynn and others in their soloist holes and depriving us of their beautiful artistry while he took things in a new direction. Baryshnikov achieved so much with Fagundes and Lynn and recognized their potential. McKenzie came on board and just dropped the ball and let all their talent go to waste. Now he's wasting Abrera, Riccetto, and Lane the same way - reluctant to give them leading role opportunities in the major classics while he keeps both eyes out for the next sweet candy that appears in some video on YouTube.
Why isn't ABT's Board of Directors on McKenzie's ass for failing to develop in-house ballerinas - in particularly, not being able to develop a new Odette in six going on seven years? Why doesn't he have good enough relationships with ABT's greatest living Swan Lake legends, Natalia Makarova and Cynthia Gregory, to be able to persuade them to assist in development of a few new Odettes? Many of ABT's board members wouldn't hesitate to make a CEO change in their own companies if similar failings occurred.
The Neapolitan dance by Craig Salstein and Joseph Phillips was excellent. The Cygnettes (Gemma Bond, Marian Butler, Misty Copeland, and Maria Riccetto) were flawless. It was the best that Haglund has seen in years.
The Queen Mother (Nancy Raffa) and Wolfgang (Clinton Luckett) were both pretty much invisible, and played their roles like they were some of the untrained supers in the background. If these roles are really unimportant, why not just omit them and save some money? Come on, folks.
The Faith Laqueena Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Marcelo Gomes for his magnificent performance as von Rothbart:
so envious!! and i agree; after having seen this on youtube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER-FFbmoIaY -- i saw swan lake three times in ABT and once in NYCB; all the von rothbarts paled in comparison!
Posted by: michael | June 29, 2011 at 01:42 PM
oh man and i just realized tomorrow is carreno's farewell performance. a full length review/tribute please, haglund!!!
Posted by: michael | June 29, 2011 at 02:01 PM
Hi Michael! As wonderful as that YouTube clip is, Marcelo is MILD in it compared to his performance on Monday night!
Posted by: Haglund | June 29, 2011 at 02:59 PM