Last week, before I went on vacation, I made another trip to ABT for my subscription series. I saw Le Corsaire, with a supposedly new staging. I saw Le Corsaire last year and enjoyed it very much (well, I'd seen it before last year, but I blogged about last year's performance). I enjoyed myself again, but I didn't feel the constant excitement this time around.
I did see a stellar cast last week - the uber-dance couple Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev danced the leads, with Daniil Simkin and Herman Cornejo in other roles. They were all fantastic, with some truly tremendous dancing, but I didn't feel the same drive, excitement and momentum in the performance as a whole. Though, to be fair, last year I saw the next to last performance of Ethan Steifel, so everyone was probably on their high-octane best that night...
A strange occurence before the show started - all the lights went out, the chandeliers included. It was a little freaky. But they came right back on and the rest of the evening proceeded smoothly. I'll present a seat neighbor report at the end. :)
As I believe I've stated before, Le Corsaire is just a wacky ballet. There's not much plot to speak of, and what plot there is, is rather dumb. But the dancing sections contain some glorious choregraphy and many chances for dancers to shine. Natalia Osipova is a spirited Medora, who quickly changes mood. Her dancing is light and airy, with beautiful quick turns and high leaps. At times, though, especially in the bedroom pas de deux, they just seemed like steps instead of a dance telling a story. So I lost a little of the romance in her characterization.
Ivan Vasiliev is just not right. Seriously. I just don't know how he gets such lift in his jumps. And he stays in the amplitude so long - it's like he's levitating. Time has stopped and he's at the top of the leap. It's amazing. But, again, frequently they were just steps and not connected with anything else. Maybe it's just a matter of getting more reps of this ballet under their skin (this was the first performance), but I could've used a little more storytelling. I would've sacrificed a few of their tricks. 
Daniil Simkin, as Ali the slave, was spectacular. At first I thought he didn't have the right physical type to be Ali. Maybe he doesn't, but he totally won me over with his dancing AND with his characterization. He didn't sacrifice the story for big dancing. Not that he didn't bring big dancing. The balance that he did at the top of the famous pas de trois was spectacular and the turns he did were heartstopping. I mean, he was practically horizontal in the air. I've never seen anything like it. The crowd went completely insane for him. Herman Cornejo was also spectacular as Lankendem. I think they expanded his choreography a bit and he made the most of it. For a rather short guy, he fills that Met stage completely. Vigorous, virile dancing and strong acting as well. I'd actually love to see him dance Ali.
Craig Salstein was a charismatic bad guy with a couple of double takes to the audience, as if he knew he couldn't follow the dancing fireworks of Osipova and Vasiliev. He was fun. Isabella Boylston was lovely as Gulmare, and was really enchanting in the goofy dream sequence in the third act. Her rapport with Julio Bragado-Young, in the non-dancing role of the pasha's assistant, was excellent. Victor Barbee brought all the laughs to the pasha he could, as usual.
I had a really good time watching this Le Corsaire - seeing such spectacular dancing is always a treat. I couldn't detect much difference in this year's staging compared to last, though. The set and costumes looked different, I guess, so there's that. Oh, and maybe the orchestrations were a little different - I thought I detected some new harp features, especially when the girls' faces were unveiled, but maybe I just didn't notice them before. There was one trumpet who was having a bad day, but I don't think that had anything to do with the new staging. All in all, though, I guess I had a better time when I saw it last year. Oh well.
Seat neighbor-wise: before the show, there was a lady who was looking at herself in every mirror in the bathroom. There are probably six sinks, each with a mirror in front of it. She washed her hands at each and admired herself in each mirror. She reminded me of a wackadoodle, played by Claire Bloom, on an episode of Law and Order. Then, when I got to my seat, I just happened to be between two armrest hogs, which became interesting as the night wore on. I guess it was a good thing I had a sore neck, which made me still really still and keep my arms close to my sides. But I kept having to scrunch in further and further into myself, thanks to the armrest hogs. I almost said something at the second intermission, but decided to skip it.
The armrest hog on my left sounded EXACTLY like Kathleen Chalfant, so that made me eavesdrop on her conversations. I guess I thought she would say fascinating things since I find Kathleen Chalfant eternally fascinating. Things I learned from the Kathleen Chalfant Sound Alike: Rome is overrated; Tom Selleck is UNDERrated; Mad Men has jumped the shark; Kinky Boots has too many drag queens in it; Michael Douglas is no Liberace; and she could never keep straight who each character was. I finally had to straighten her out, just so she would keep quiet about it. But my favorite was her exclamation after one of Daniil Simkin's amazing leaps: "Jesus, who IS he?!?!" (though she still couldn't figure it out - I thought the libretto in the program was quite clear, but she just wasn't able to follow it.)
Oh, and everyone in my section seemed to know each other. They were all talking amongst themselves, even when they were sitting aisles apart. It was odd. I guess that's what happens when you exchange into a different series night. Though I don't know everyone in my section on my regular nights. Hmmmm. Anyway, as always, I loved being at the Met, everyone was beautiful at the ballet, and I can't wait to see what ABT brings me next.
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