How freakin' lucky are we at the ballet to be able to listen to a program of four of the greatest composers to ever live! Tschaikovsky, Mozart, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich. That is one huge musical program -- more substantial than what one will likely hear these days at Geffen Hall. NYCB not only comes through with the biggest ballet but with the biggest music played brilliantly by the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Call us grateful.
In some respect the ballerina in the Preghiera section of Balanchine’s Mozartiana serves Tschaikovsky’s adaptation of Mozart’s Ave verum corpus like the choir of voices serves Mozart’s hymn. They both tap into the divinity of the music allowing its humanity to flow freely as song. Tiler Peck used reserve and texture in her eloquent interpretation on Wednesday evening. The reserve was the hard part while the musical texturing was innate. Her elimination of the extreme cambré didn’t go unnoticed but it didn’t soil the performance either. Tiler’s elegant curves in the elbows and the length of the triceps in the upper arms revealed a new eloquence in her port de bras that, if one can even imagine, enhanced her storied musicality. The subtle peeling apart of the palms to open a fifth position overhead was one of many details in this exquisite performance.
The pas de deux with Anthony Huxley revealed slight imperfections while also promising something new and interesting. What could these two offer one another? How might they inspire and challenge each other? Huxley’s allegro solos astonished in their clarity and effortlessness. His allegro sprang from joy and anticipation — always on the “o” of count one, the “f” of the four, the “e” of the eight.
Troy Schumacher’s Gigue was enjoyable, and we were glad to see him back in top form. The Menuet crew of Christina Clark, Naomi Corti, Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, and Malorie Lundgren were mostly precise but offered some unhelpful facial expressions.
My oh my, how a fresh coat of paint can make the old walls new again. Mira Nadon and Adrian Danchig-Waring brought a daring amount of glamour and sensuality to Monumentum pro Gesualdo and Movements for Piano and Orchestra. It takes a lot more than just the right physiques to bring these two abstruse creations by Balanchine to clarity and to fasten them securely to Stravinsky’s musical ideas. Enlightening, to say the least, were these performances where strength and beauty were equals.
Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH saw the performance levels of David Gabriel and KJ Takahashi soar to their next stages. Both of them — so charismatic and confident. Indiana Woodward as their scampering compeer blazed through her allegro like her feet just couldn’t stop even if she wanted them to. Sara Mearns and Tyler Angle showed great joy in their pas de deux. However, Tyler appeared to be dead-lifting Sara most of the time. Can he accomplish that and make it work? Yes, he’s that strong. Should he have to? No.
The corps de ballet in DSCH was ready to go. We need to make a special mention of Mary Elizabeth Sell who always excels in this work. Stephen Gosling's piano performance was worth the price of the ticket.
The H.H. Pump Bump Award, black lace from Manolo Blahnik, is bestowed upon Tiler Peck for her dancing in Mozartiana — not yet at the center of her bailiwick but soon could be.
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