Another powerful portrayal of love, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness tonight in ABT's Giselle. Tonight Diana Vishneva and Angel Corella took the stage, and the next thing Haglund realized, it was10:00 p.m. and he'd just clapped his hands red. A tremendous effort by everyone tonight made this performance spectacular.
Vishneva gave an exquisite performance from the time she stepped out of her cottage until she returned to her grave after freeing Albrecht. The manner in which she used her eyes to convey that she was now a spirit and no longer an earthly being was brilliant. Her Act II variation that began with the saute double ronde jambe was simply stunning in its clarity while being so delicate. As she was doing her speedy entrechat quatres, a layer of tulle magically flew up into her face and stayed there for a second or two as she danced making the whole scene even more other-worldly.
Corella gave a masterful performance as well – expending a vast array of emotions while resisting any temptation to push the tricks too far. His partnering was impeccable. [Sidebar: Haglund was for the second night in a row sitting around people who were opera crossovers. Tonight he heard someone explain with committed confusion how she had come specifically to see Corella, because "he was with the Met Opera before he went with ABT" and she "saw him dance with Borodina in La Giaconda." Don't picture that immediately before trying to fall asleep. For the record, Corella did indeed dance as a guest artist in La Giaconda a few seasons ago with Italian ballerina Letizia Giuliani.]
Isaac Stappas was a terrific Hilarion - maybe the best ever. He's caring and obnoxious at the same time and you're kind of relieved when the Wilies hurl him into the lake.
The Peasant PdD was performed wonderfully by Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin. They looked like a pair of teenagers, but it worked - peasant teenagers. Simkin engineered one particularly impressive series of turns, which at the end of' he seemed to chuckle at himself knowing full well that the audience was about to go crazy.
Michele Wiles was a commanding Myrta, but Haglund thinks that maybe this is not such a good role for her. Michele needs to rethink her upper body, in particular, her arms. They are thin but without sufficient muscularity to enable the lighting to bounce off various levels along the arm and shoulder to create the shadows that make beautiful ballet arms (Vishneva, Herrera, Kayija). A little more definition in the shoulders would probably go a long way toward calling attention to the head and face area and thus to the emotional aspect of her dancing. That said, her Myrta tonight was fierce and relentless.
Melanie Hamrick was a Moyna in progress. She's got the steps, but needs to add a lot more artistry to it.
Last but not least, Lovely Stella Abrera administered a little test run via Zulma this evening and blew Haglund away with her astonishingly beautiful port de bras. Gorgeous beyond description.
Haglund awards this Gucci Pump Bump for tonight's masterful performances.
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