ABT – Sylvia – Murphy, Gomes 6/24

Sir Frederick Ashton's Sylvia opened the seventh week of ABT's season at the Met Opera House.  Created in 1952 to the glorious music by Léo Delibes with original designs by Robin and Christopher Ironside, Sylvia was a spectacular vehicle for Margot Fonetyn in the title role when the Royal Ballet premiered it.  The choreography for the principal role of Sylvia is so demanding that it's understandable why so few companies today attempt to present the ballet.  ABT's opening night cast did itself proud, and Haglund is especially looking forward to the performances on Wednesday when Jared Matthews and Veronika Part face the challenges of their big debuts.

Last night there was something exciting about how Sylvia and her Hunt Attendants, all iron women armed with bows and arrows, flexed their weapons and aimed them out generally toward the parterre box where ABT's director usually sits.  Yes, Gillian Murphy, Stella Abrera, Sarah Lane, Simone Messmer, Kristi Boone, and Yuriko Kajiya had the opportunity for a little fantasy last night.  Their platoon was further enhanced by Devon Teuscher and unannounced substitutes Skylar Brandt and possibly April Giangeruso, although that last guess might be wrong – sorry, if it is.  They were all fierce, fearless femme fantastics who deployed their circles of complex grand allegro with feminine authority.  Aminta, the shepherd, (in the handsome form of Marcelo Gomes) was truly afraid for his life when the Hunt Attendants dragged him out of the woods – where he had been hiding since his pristine Act I solo of pinpoint-perfect placement – and threw him at Sylvia's feet.  He finally took an arrow in the chest when he got in the way of Sylvia trying to shoot Eros (Daniil Simkin) and died with appropriate drama.

Ah, Sylvia.  There are probably some witnesses still alive who could claim that Margot Fonteyn danced it better in 1952.  In fact, David Vaughan, who was sitting in the seat usually occupied by the NYT critic (NYT was on the other side last night) might be one of the few who could argue that point.  But Gillian Murphy was phenomenal. There's not much in the ABT repertory these days that requires its lead principal to execute such complex and taxing classical technique.  It's rare that men perform the strength-sapping combination of consecutive grand jetes with the right leg going forward and then the left; having Sylvia triumph in them beautifully underscored her power and authority.  Murphy's coupe jetes were huge, just huge last night.  Turns, feet, finishes were all gorgeous.  She raised hell, succumbed to love, suffered in captivity, schemed-up an escape, and rejoiced in being reunited with Aminta – each chapter as fully developed and divinely danced as the one before it.

What a treat it was to see Marcelo Gomes as Aminta again and to see him embrace the legendary Ashtonic quick changes of direction without any fudging.  In Act III, there was such joy on his face during his grand allegro variation to the glorious and uplifting melodies by Delibes.  His soaring sautes fouette where the foot attached to form a parallel passe were sustained in the air beautifully.

Cory Stearns gave a fantastic performance as the evil hunter, Orion, who kidnapped Sylvia for his own use. Once again, as happened in The Moor's Pavane, when this guy was put into sinister makeup and thrown onto the stage with Gomes, he really stepped up his game dramatically.  And his partnering of Murphy looked pretty smooth, too. (If Stearns can handle a gun, do drugs, and convey mental instability, we could have ourselves another potential Crown Prince Rudolph for MacMillan's Mayerling – if ABT ever again decides it wants to mount a work that will sell out its house.)  Orion doesn't have a lot of choreography and you can't really see his legs which are in loose pants, but Stearns pulled off some nice sized jumps.  Hopefully his more classical assignment as Aminta to Veronika Part's Sylvia will go as well on Wednesday.

Haglund has no complaints about Daniil Simkin's performance of Eros.  Ashton is not his native language but he managed to communicate his character very well.  The quick little ronde de jambe en l'air movements were tongue twisters for him but those are minor elements of the role. 

The goats were to die for.  Honestly, Misty Copeland and Craig Salstein with his little tail quivering excitedly almost made you forget about Sylvia and Aminta.

Several of the iron women danced two roles during the evening.  In Act III, Kristi Boone was an enraged but elegant Diana who dispatched Orion and finally allowed Sylvia and Aminta to be joined together.  Stella Abrera was the beautiful Aurora Ceres who glistened in her solos and duets with Grant DeLong's Jaseion.  Simone Messmer and Thomas Forster as Terpsichore and Apollo were handsome together. Forster has an extraordinary set of legs and feet, and every time he extended his leg to the side, the developpe made quite a statement.  Messmer, an audience favorite for several years, will be missed terribly, but she'll do exceedingly well in San Francisco if it turns out that's where she's going.  Luciana Paris and Alexei Agoudine performed Persephone and Pluto confidently.  The attendants in yellow tutus were lovely but it's becoming more and more difficult to watch the beautiful and supremely accomplished Sarah Lane and Yuriko Kajiya relegated to these ensemble roles when they should be in starring roles.

Earlier in the day, word was spreading that Natalia Osipova had withdrawn from Thursday's performance because she needed more time to rehearse; the Ashton steps weren't coming easily for her.  By the end of the day, the reason for her withdrawal had evolved officially into an injury.  Unfortunately, in its clumsy announcement, ABT failed to say anything nice about her replacement or that it would in fact be her own debut on short notice. A more appropriate announcement would have included, "We're sorry that Natalia cannot perform but we are pleased and excited that Xiomara Reyes, a beloved Titania in Ashton's The Dream, has agreed to debut in the role on short notice." Xiomara will be a fantastic, fearless Sylvia on Thursday and a better partner for Herman Cornejo than anything else he's been handed this season. Haglund wishes he could attend, but he has a pair of expensive tickets to see Sara Mearns perform with the New York Philharmonic that night. However, if Natalia can't pick up the steps in time for Saturday's performance and Xiomara dances instead, you can bet Haglund will be there.

The HH Pump Bump Award is bestowed upon Gillian Murphy for her "showing 'em how it's done" performance in Sylvia.

Comments

[jessica]

Oh I would have loved to see Gillian in Sylvia, it sounds like it was a wonderful performance! As for osipova it concerns me that she will struggle with Ashton notoriously difficult steps when she comes to the royal ballet next season- she has great jumps and turns but dancing Ashton requires intricate footwork and lyricism. the pas de deux in Ashtons midsummer night's dream I believe is one of the most difficult in the royal ballets repertory and it is being performed next season at Covent gardens.

[J]

Haglund, thank you for the report on the opening Sylvia, and most especially for mentioning Thomas Forster, who is one of my favorites at ABT, and who, indeed, has extraordinary feet and legs, and also has a natural stage presence. His is another talent that deserves more roles, nurturing, and promotion.

[J2]

Alastair Macaulay was in his usual seat (approximately) Monday night. Robert Johnson of the New Jersey Ledger was on the opposite aisle. I did a double-take when I read that passage and checked on Google-images.

[Haglund]

Not correct, J2. David Vaughan and guest occupied L1&3 (NYT's usual seats) while A.M. was completely on the other side of the house – house right on the aisle. I wasn't looking for Robert Johnson who I am quite familiar with, but I'm certain where A.M. was.

[Haglund]

J, you're right about Forster. I enjoyed Forster a lot as Iago in The Moor's Pavane when I saw him in Washington DC. Maybe he'll get some more opportunities during the fall season.

[Haglund]

Jessica, it's going to be interesting to see what the RB does with Osipova for that 3-bill that includes Ashton's The Dream, Robbins' The Concert, and a new dance by Marriott. If they pass her over for The Dream, what will ABT do when they present it next year? Will ABT follow or reject the RB's assessment? If the RB spends the money to teach Osipova The Dream, it's probably a given that ABT will cast her, too. Frankly, I think she'd be more suited for The Concert but would probably covet any opportunity to have a new work made on her which might also be the easiest path for the RB and yield the greatest audience interest.

[J]

Hi, again, Haglund. I just read an interview with Simone Messmer in Time Out New York, confirming that she is taking a soloist position with San Francisco Ballet. You probably already know this, but Paris Opera Ballet sujet Mathilde Froustey is joining SFB as a principal, starting on July 1, after dancing 11 years with POB.

[Haglund]

Thanks, J.

[jessica]

Hi Haglund, I think she would be much more suited for the concert (which is a wonderful ballet) but, given how popular she is in London and that she has expressed wanting to dance more Ashton, I have a feeling they'll cast her in The Dream. I think that Osipova doesn't have quite as much artistic freedom at ABT as she had hoped for when she left the Bolshoi- I noticed that she wasn't cast in Swan Lake, despite having danced it at the Royal and the Mikhailovsky, and she hasn't danced Sleeping Beauty again.

[Haglund]

True, Jessica. Osipova has had a great deal of trouble coming to terms with Sleeping Beauty. Right in the middle of her admitted difficulty with rehearsals a few years ago for her first S.B., she suddenly was "mugged" on the way home one night which instantly threw her some sympathy. Then the very next year, she "lost" her passport which prevented her from getting to New York to dance Sleeping Beauty. Then, just this year, she was supposed to do Sleeping Beauty at the Mikhailovsky but two days before she suffered an "injury" and went off on vacation with Vasiliev.

Now after incurring difficulties learning the Ashton, Osipova is suddenly injured again and has been replaced for the first performance. And yet, ABT continues to sell tickets to the Saturday night performance with her in the cast even though her "injury" has prevented her from rehearsing all week. All I can say is F.R.A.U.D. Londoners should consider themselves forewarned.

As for Swan Lake, she's as much an Odette as I am.

[Genna]

Hi Haglund, would you mind providing the link to article/ posts which detailed Osipova's difficulties rehearing Ashton's The Dream? I am most interested as it's one of my favorite ballets.

[Haglund]

Hi Genna. Osipova's difficulty wasn't with The Dream; it was with Sleeping Beauty back in, I believe, 2010. It was noted in a NYT article or possibly a NYT interview. Can't recall which, but it's somewhere in the NYT database.

[Erica]

The Bolshoi management knew that Osipova was limited in versatility and therefore cast her accordingly. The care of her pointe shoes is what drives me nuts as they're unsightly and not performance ready. This is apart of a ballerina's preparation to perform - but that's an entirely different story. She's really a demi-caractere/soubrette/virtuosa/jumping-bean hybrid. I know, that's a mouthful but this is the type of dancer she is. She doesn't succeed as Aurora because she's not regal and doesn't exude classical authority. She's more of a peasant, not a Princess. Therefore Kitri, the first act of Giselle and earthy roles like "Esmeralda," "Laurencia," and comedic roles like Swanilda, and roles such as Jeanne in Ratmansky's "Flames of Paris," best suit her - not Petipa's heroines. Also, I'm ITA with the assertion posted above that Covent Garden should be "forewarned." If there's one role that she would do quite well in it's Ashton's Lise. By the same token, an Ashton Cinderella would be a long night at the ballet - especially Act 2. The essence of Ashton's works is subtlety, with a healthy dose of irony - that's in his steps. If Kevin O'Hare is wise ->(?), he should let her dance MacMillan's one act works - as opposed to the famous dramatic full-lengths. IMO Osipova isn't the type to be tossed around believably as Manon or even Juliet - although she has danceed the latter with ABT. I think her best MacMillan full-length would be Mary Vetsera in "Mayerling" for the obvious reasons. The lead roles in "Judas Tree," "Different Drummer," and the like suit her artistic temperament. I can't picture her as Aurora in the 1949 reconstruction of "Sleeping Beauty." I simply can't. Also, her dim debut in Ashton's "Romeo & Juliet" with Vasiliev last summer (?) confirmed that; and the London critics agreed. I apologize if my post is deemed a "misspeak" and not "PC," but this is how I really feel about her Royal Ballet appointment and her MVP status at ABT. Unfotunately, this plane has left the gate, as they say.