Willie

[T]he auditorium emptied as the artists were taking their curtain call.  She was shocked as would I have been.   As she put it in her article:

 

s it just the way they do things in West Palm Beach?

My experience with Kravis Center in West Palm Beach is that many, if not most, of the patrons are elderly.  After all, West Palm Beach, as well as other Florida locations, have several retirement communities.  I simply assumed that the elderly leave for an early dinner or go home to rest.

I have been thinking of ways the management of the theatre in West Palm Beach that I mentioned in my previous post could discourage its patrons from flouncing out of the auditorium while the dancers are still taking their curtain calls.

• It could send its valet parking staff off for a coffee break until after the reverence had finished.
• It could charge a supplemental fee for retrieval of a parked car before the performance had finished approximately equal to a generous bouquet of flowers and apply the proceeds of such fee for that purpose.

Any other suggestions?

Often times, I, too, criticize those who leave a performance early.  But, in my mind, Kravis Center is an exception.  Live and let live in West Palm Beach.

[W]here is the best place to sit in the historic theatre?

My favorite place to sit is in the Stalls, Row 13, seats 12, 13 or 14, 15.  That's at the intersection of two aisles.  Lots of leg and elbow room.

Swan Lake and Bayadere ... any recommendations as to whom I should look out for? 

I saw Anastasia and Denis Matvienko in Swan Lake at Mariinsky Theatre a few years ago.  As you can imagine, their dance chemistry was amazing!  At times I felt as though I was intruding on an intimate moment.  I would like to see them again.

Denis Matvienko is a great Solor in La Bayadère.

I'm holding out for Ekaterina Kondaurova.

I'll watch "Big Red" in any ballet.

I trust they followed proper moving walkway etiquette:  arabesques on the right, Plisetskaya head-kicks on the left.

Sleeping Beauty at Teatro Costanzi in Rome.

Swan Lake at the Opera House in Zurich (and après ballet at Sternen Grill for a bratwurst with bürli and a beer).  

Svetlana Zacharova in Giselle at Teatro di Verdura in Palermo.

My experience at the world premier of Vasily Medvedev’s Cleopatra at Macedonian Opera and Ballet in Skopje was a mixed bag of disappointment, relief, fleeting joy, and an unexpected end to the evening.

I traveled from Chicago to Skopje to see Cleopatra on 19 November, the first performance after the world premier on 17 November.  When I attempted to collect my ticket at the box office, I was informed that the 17 November world premier was re-scheduled to 19 November (due to technical reasons), that the 19 November world premier was for diplomats, dignitaries and specially invited guests only, and that all tickets for 19 November were rescheduled for a performance on 25 November.  Apparently, the decision to reschedule all of the performances was made a week prior, but no notice was provided to ticket holders.  Disappointment was setting in.  I explained to the manager that I traveled to Macedonia just to see Cleopatra.  He told me to wait.  Although others were in the same situation, only about 10 waited.  As you can imagine, the not-so-specially invited guests grumbled amongst ourselves as we waited....

After waiting until all of the “diplomats, dignitaries and specially invited guests” were seated, the manager passed out the tickets of those who did not show.  Relief.

Vasily Medvedev’s Cleopatra was made especially for Aleksandra Mijalkova who played the lead role.  She was lovely to watch.  Her pas de deuxs with Vasil Chichiashvili (Caesar) in Act I and with Boban Kovachevski (Marco Antonio) in Act II were especially beautiful.  However, these lovely fleeting moments were lost in the ballet’s excessive theatrics and distracting music.  The ballet Cleopatra reminded me, in a certain way, of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, which, in my view, is more theatrics than dancing. The music was a mix of a live orchestra and recorded music, all of which was amplified (and distorted) through speakers.  I don’t know who was responsible, but my guess it was Spinal Tap’s Nigel Tufnel who set the volume on eleven.  

After the ballet, the diplomats, dignitaries and specially invited guests were treated to an after-party at the theatre where there was live music, food and drinks.  The not-so-specially invited guests found each other at the after-party and, while we indulged in our surroundings, we had a few laughs about the whole experience.

The Swan Lake performance on Sun 09.04.2017 at 14:00 is nearly sold out.  Is there some sort of special event on 9 April?  Guest dancers?

I'm tempted to purchase one of the remaining cheap seats and a plane ticket to find out.  

POLINA SEMIONOVA TO WITHDRAW FROM PERFORMANCES WITH ABT AT METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE

Does anyone know the nature of the "medical leave"?

I was planning to see Polina on 14 May in Sylvia.

In 2012, I was fortunate to see Anastasia and Denis Matvienko in Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theatre.  They were absolutely beautiful together.  The love Odette and Siegfried showed for each other on stage was, quite obviously, an extension of real life.

I want to go back....

What are your preferences and priorities? 

I, too, am 6' 3".  I prefer leg room, elbow room, and no one in front of me to block my view.  Plus, I don't want to feel obligated to slouch, slump or hunch because Janet is sitting behind me. 

To accommodate all of my needy needs, I prefer to purchase an entire box, if available.  By the way, I purchased box 59 to see Companhia Nacional de Bailado perform Sleeping Beauty in Lisbon on 12 December, and my usual travel companion cannot go with me.  If you are in Lisbon and would like to see Sleeping Beauty, let me know.  I think I have some room for you.  

Yes, I saw La Sylphide in June 2014.  At that time the facade of the opera house was covered, presumably for maintenance work.  I would like to go back to see it in all its glory.

I have to say since I discovered ballet it has become the catalyst for my travels....

Me too!  

I found my way to Vienna this past February to see Swan Lake.  I also took the tour of the Vienna State Opera, which was very nice.  It is a beautiful theater.

There are so many ballets, opera houses, cities and countries to visit.  So far I've seen a ballet in 18 European countries.  Yes, ballet is a perfect catalyst for travel.

I've pretty much decided I'm going to ____________ and gamble that _________________.

This is my modus operandi.

I am a novice ballet enthusiast.  I go (travel) and gamble (on whether I will like the performance) and learn about ballet (e.g., technique, who are the étoiles, etc.) and decide what kind of ballets I like (e.g. classical, contemporary, etc.).

A couple recommended destinations, relatively close to Milwaukee, for performances that tend to be on the “stunning” end of the spectrum.  Toronto and the National Ballet of Canada.  Excellent dancers / performances and they offer pre-performance “ballet talks” which are very educational and entertaining. New York and American Ballet Theatre.  ABT’s principal dancers are some of the best in the world.  You are virtually guaranteed a “stunning” performance.

By the way, Michael Pink’s Swan Lake, for me, is on the “stunning” end of the spectrum.

Guests at Zurich Ballet for Giselle include Polina Semionova ... and Friedemann Vogel.

This makes me very happy.  Polina and Friedemann are dancing on 12 April at 19:30.  By chance, I will be in Zurich on 12 April and, some time ago, I purchased a ticket to the 14:00 matinee.  I can't miss Polina and Friedemann, so I bought another ticket to the evening performance.  Two Giselle's in one day.  

... OMG Maia Makhateli ...

 

And I dare say Cinderella in London later this year will be worth the trip too.  I am really VERY impressed with DNB.

I saw Maia Makhateli in Cinderella in Amsterdam two years ago.  I fell in love with her dancing.  So much so, I bought her pointe shoes (to support DNB). 

those ghastly Cygnets doing an encore.

... wearing those huge nun hats from Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake.

January 25, 2014 (Sophia): The Sofia Ballet - Swan Lake
February 1, 2014 (Washington D.C.): Mariinsky Ballet - Swan Lake.
March 9, 2014 (Milan): The ballet company of Teatro alla Scala - Jewels.
March 15, 2014 (Toronto): National Ballet of Canada - Swan Lake.
March 22, 2014 (Boston): Boston Ballet - Cinderella.
April 13, 2014 (Budapest): Hungarian National Ballet - Romeo & Juliet.
May 24, 2014 (Washington D.C.): Bolshoi Ballet - Giselle.
June 7, 2014 (Toronto): National Ballet of Canada - Cinderella.
June 22, 2014 (Bucharest): Bucharest National Opera Ballet Company - La Sylphide.
June 28, 2014 (New York): American Ballet Theatre - Swan Lake.
August 23, 2014 (Helsinki): National Ballet of Finland - Onegin.
October 19, 2014 (Chicago): Joffrey Ballet - Swan Lake.
October 25, 2014 (Ft. Lauderdale): Miami City Ballet - Romeo and Juliet.
November 15, 2014 (Toronto): National Ballet of Canada - Manon.

One more to go in 2014:

December 21, 2014 (Amsterdam): Dutch National Ballet - Cinderella.

Last night I watched Limelight in the U.S. on Turner Classic Movies.  A wonderful, captivating film.

In "Limelight" the beautiful Prima Ballerina Melissa Hayden, principal of NYCB, stands in for the dance sequences of Bloom's character.   The transitions between Bloom and Hayden are cleverly done and only once for a second or two does one detect that  Claire is not a dancer. 

I did not know this.  I never noticed the transition.  The dancing was beautiful.

Here's another bit of trivia.  Limelight, a film made in 1952, won an Oscar for its score in 1972.  Why 20 years later?

To be eligible for an Academy Award, a film must make a seven-day run in a Los Angeles theater.  Limelight was set to open in Los Angles in January 1953, but due to political pressure concerning Chaplin’s politics in the 1930, the film did not make the requisite seven day run in until 1972.

Quite right!  I'm always late to the dance.  

To clarify the time. The Joffrey Ballet will live stream rehearsals from its studios in Chicago from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (CDT) or 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (BST).

That's sad.  In 2012, I saw the North American premiere of Barcelona Ballet’s Swan Lake in Detroit.  The original choreography by Petipá and Ivanov was revised by Angel Corella.  I am happy that I had the opportunity to see the performance.  A very memorable experience.

I don't think I'm an old grump just yet but perhaps I'm getting that way.

I think I'm an old grump.

I don’t like when people ask me to switch seats.

It goes something like this:  “May I switch seats with you?  You see, my husband’s seat is next to you and my seat is all the way over there.”

I think to myself, “I purchased this center stage, aisle seat ticket months ago and I traveled all this way just to sit here, and you want me to switch seats with you because you bought two tickets for seats that are not together?”

It’s a dilemma.

Do I switch seats to be polite?  I do switch, but then I am upset with myself because the seat I had was perfect and the new seat is not.

Do I decline and keep my perfect seat?  I imagine that if I say “no” everyone within earshot would think that I am an old grump (I thought that of a person who said “no”).

I wish people would not ask me to switch seats.  

Osipova and Vasiliev.  I traveled to Teatro alla Scala to see Osipova and Vasiliev (presently, my favorite partnership) in Jewels on 9 March.  They were scheduled to dance in Rubies.  Osipova did not dance (I don't know why), and that was very disappointing for me.

Semionova and Vogel.  In that same performance, Polina Semionova and Friedemann Vogel danced in Diamonds.  They dance extremely well together. Semionova is beautiful to watch; she just flows when she dances.  Vogel is a great partner, and he looks great next to Semionova.  They have beautiful long lines when they extend.  And they seem to have good chemistry.  The pas de deux was mesmerizing.  The audience certainly appreciated their performance.  I'd like to see more of them together.

The thread about Sofia Ballet's 2013 UK Tour piqued my interest, so, long story short, I went to Sofia to see Swan Lake.  A few comments/thoughts:

Audience behavior.  A wonderful audience.  Quiet during the performance and loud, long-lasting applause after each Act.  I must confess, I was the bad one.  Before the performance, I took a photograph of the orchestra and, immediately after doing so, an usher ran to reprimand me - "no pictures are allowed, ever!"  Okay, now I know.

Performance.  Marta Petkova danced Odette-Odile and Nikola Hadjitanev danced Siegfried.  Both were outstanding individually, but I did not see the chemistry between them.  Marta was a joy to watch, She was truly in character, including her smirks as Odile.  The corps de ballet of swans were spectacular.

Theater.  The theater is relatively small, compared to Royal Opera House or Metropolitan Opera House.

Seating.  My seat was in the fourth row.  I never sat so close to the stage.  What's that old saying, oh yeah, I was "unable to see the forest for the trees."  I found myself being distracted by the dancers.  I could see them breathing heavily.  I could see the dancers' eyes.  I though to myself, such things as: Why is she looking stage left?  What is that pattern on her tutu?  Is that a string holding his hat on his head?  Oh, the zipper is coming undone?  Then applause.  Oh, merde, what did I miss?

Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

About two years ago, I saw Anastasia and Denis Matvienko in Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theatre.  They were beautiful together.  At times, I felt I was intruding on a private moment.  There is something special about the chemistry between married dancing partners.