It’s kind of hard for me to be my usual enthusiastic self after hearing about the death of Pina Bausch earlier today, but I’m getting too far behind on blog posts to take the rest of the day off, so I’ll try.
Of course, I should have written about this performance earlier, but I was too busy at the stage door that evening, and then I’ve had a ballet every night since then. Anyway, hope I can make sense of my notes!
Overall impression was that they both — Veronika and Roberto — gave a beautiful, stunning performance, that he did very well when dancing on his own, that she did very well both on her own and when being partnered by him, and that she out-acted him. By a long shot. I have been told that (despite posing for photos like this) he is actually rather shy, though, and it did kind of seem like that at the stage door, so I think maybe he needs to get used to a ballerina for a while, and will do much better the more comfortable he gets. The reason I say that is because I loved him so much in Romeo and Juliet two years ago, and he danced wonderfully and completely comfortably with Alessandra Ferri. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to our ballerinas and perhaps American audiences.
Whenever he was on his own, his dancing and acting were solid. I really felt like I saw Odette flying away after Siegfried’s encounter with her, as Bolle’s sad eyes traced her imaginary path along the ceiling. And his early solo, when Siegfried is at the party, pre-Odette, and he’s feeling alone and ill at ease with his mother’s demands that he choose a wife, Bolle really conveyed that mixed emotion, confusion, loneliness. Later, his jumps were stellar. It just seemed that whenever he partnered Veronika, he was concentrating so hard, he had no time for emotion. So, Angel, Ethan, and Marcelo (when I last saw him as Siegfried, a year ago, anyway), were more passionate. But others think differently. Read Haglund (an excellent newish ballet blog by the way!) for a different take on Bolle’s performance.
Veronika was just gorgeous, and so passionate. She did her usual thing of taking me on her character’s journey with her, of making me feel Odette’s plight and pain, and Odile’s desires as well. She has such sweep and breadth, when he’d take her down into an arabesque penchee on pointe, her arms brushed the floor. And her extensions are always so breathtaking, and the overhead lifts — they are both so tall they were just spectacular, she just touched the sky. In the Black Swan Pas de Deux, she did the straight fouettes, as did Nina Ananiashvili the following night (review coming soon!) She has such height she moves a bit slower than other ballerinas and she didn’t really make the 32 fouettes, but who cares. She really devoured the stage with those fouettes, and when she did her turns around its perimeter. What’s important in that scene is how you eat up all the space around you and command the attention of the audience and poor Siegfried, and you can do that in a variety of ways — a ridiculous number of turns is only one. She had a really wicked smile all throughout that scene! I really love her!
Hehe, one other thing: poor Roberto. No one told him that, thanks to a certain David Hallberg, New York audiences are accustomed to an all-out Olympic gold medal-level Swan Dive off the cliff and into the lake at the end 🙂 Or perhaps he didn’t want to out swan dive his lady, because Veronika just kind of tossed herself off the cliff. Either way, Roberto followed her with a slight jump, not even really a jump — almost like he was falling into the water as well. Of course I’m partly joking about the need for an extravagant suicide jump, but I do have to say, in my quest to see casts other than my regulars this season, I did so miss that Hallberg dive!
A couple of other things: I have a bunch of stars next to Craig Salstein’s name in my Playbill so he must have done something I liked… Oh yes, he was one of the two Neapolitan high-bouncing jumping jack guys in the court scene. I also have written “violins ***” which reminds me that I thought the violinist was very good during von Rothbart’s seduction of the court ladies scene. I always forget about the hard-working orchestra!
Agree wholeheartedly about Veronika and her wonderful performance, though interestingly I found Roberto's acting much stronger than you did – particularly in the introductory mime sequence. I thought he really reacted in the moment to her mime, and thought he was very touching in the White Swan Pdd. (I reviewed it on my blog too, which is finally updated after seeing you a month and a half ago!) Reading this and other people's comments about the performance, I feel like people have been all over the map in reactions to his performance, as though all of us attended totally different shows while looking at the same stage… it's interesting reading all the varying reactions though, and you make good points too.
Just a couple of quick comments – I was also at the Bolle/Part performance. Btw, thanks for posting the stage door pics – someday I want to do that but so far I'm kind of shy about it. Anyway we really did experience a very very special performance that night! Shallow comment: I thought Bolle would be taller. But he is drop dead gorgeous.
Then I saw the Hallberg/Wiles mat the next day. David was simply perfection. And altho Marcelo of course owns the role, I believe Cory Stearns is a real up and coming VonRothbart. But Tonya you would be shocked – David did NOT do his death defying JUMP! He did a regular fall off the cliff. I have to admit I was looking forward to that jump the entire performance. Wonder why he changed his mind about it. I know last year he was musing about whether it was self indulgent but Winger readers assured him that wasn't the case and that they loved it. One day I'd like to see him as Von Rothbart. I only have one more performance – Sat mat R&J with Hallberg/Murphy. I'm already sad about the end of the season.
Thanks you guys! Art, I'm so glad you're posting again. I'll have to read your blog regularly now! Yeah, a lot of people really liked Roberto in SL, so you're definitely in good company. I saw him last night in Sylvia — am writing about it soon — and really liked him in that. Best role I've seen him in thus far, although maybe he is just growing on me. I have yet to see Marcelo in that role. It is fun to read varying reactions to performances.
Barbara — no, David didn't do the famous swan dive??? How could he not? I don't believe him! Maybe someone advised him not to — a coach or something? Although Angel did a bit of a stylized dive, albeit not as extravagant as David's in years past. Aw!
It's funny about Roberto — I thought he was taller too, but maybe sometimes he looks taller than other times? I thought he was 6'4, but he looks to be about 6' or maybe 6'1 — 6'4 is really quite tall, and he doesn't tower over everyone else; he's just a slight bit taller. But last night as Aminta he looked really really tall. He did tower. I don't know — I guess it depends on who he is standing next to or dancing with, although at the stage door he kind of got lost in the crowd; he wasn't head and shoulders above everyone. And Ariel was wearing flats and she's maybe 5'6 and he didn't seem nearly a foot taller… Who knows. I think we need to measure him 🙂 Thanks for the update on Cory as von Rothbart. I'd really wanted to see him in that role but apparently didn't get the right night. I did see him as Orion, the “bad guy” in Sylvia last night and he was excellent in that role! So I can imagine he did well as VR too – -who knew!
Thanks you guys! Art, I'm so glad you're posting again. I'll have to read your blog regularly now! Yeah, a lot of people really liked Roberto in SL, so you're definitely in good company. I saw him last night in Sylvia — am writing about it soon — and really liked him in that. Best role I've seen him in thus far, although maybe he is just growing on me. I have yet to see Marcelo in that role. It is fun to read varying reactions to performances.
Barbara — no, David didn't do the famous swan dive??? How could he not? I don't believe him! Maybe someone advised him not to — a coach or something? Although Angel did a bit of a stylized dive, albeit not as extravagant as David's in years past. Aw!
It's funny about Roberto — I thought he was taller too, but maybe sometimes he looks taller than other times? I thought he was 6'4, but he looks to be about 6' or maybe 6'1 — 6'4 is really quite tall, and he doesn't tower over everyone else; he's just a slight bit taller. But last night as Aminta he looked really really tall. He did tower. I don't know — I guess it depends on who he is standing next to or dancing with, although at the stage door he kind of got lost in the crowd; he wasn't head and shoulders above everyone. And Ariel was wearing flats and she's maybe 5'6 and he didn't seem nearly a foot taller… Who knows. I think we need to measure him 🙂 Thanks for the update on Cory as von Rothbart. I'd really wanted to see him in that role but apparently didn't get the right night. I did see him as Orion, the “bad guy” in Sylvia last night and he was excellent in that role! So I can imagine he did well as VR too – -who knew!