Last night was the last ballet in my subscription series - Sylvia. I've only seen Sylvia one other time and it was quite awhile ago, so it was almost like seeing a brand new ballet. :) I was excited because originally Osipova was supposed to dance, but she got injured earlier this week and Xiomara Reyes took her place. It was Xiomara's debut in the role. I'm glad I knew about the change beforehand, I could get over my disappointment and then look forward to Xiomara's performance. I could hear a lot of "oh no!" exclamations happening around the house before the show started, so clearly the word didn't get completely out and about beforehand.
(I have again borrowed some photos from the ABT Facebook page. The one at left is by Andrea Mohin.) Sylvia has a bit of a boring plot - Aminta loves Sylvia; she mocks love and shoots Aminta; Eros shoots her with a love arrow amd brings Aminta back to life; Orion kidnaps Sylvia; Eros rescues Sylvia; Sylvia and Aminta are reunited. The actual plot could be resolved in probably fifteen minutes. So not much excitement there, but there's lots of excitement in the dancing and in the music. Especially for Sylvia - she has wonderful choreography with lots of leaps, turns and fast footwork. And Delibes score is spectacular. I had forgotten how much of it is already familiar to me. The powerful horns that announce Sylvia's first entrance are so exciting. The music is strong and propulsive, but even the slower sections move the action forward. 
Xiomara Reyes made an impressive debut as Sylvia, in my opinion, though the role may not be the best fit for her. She's rather tiny and not very imposing, whereas Sylvia is a huntress and is used to ordering people around. Xiomara is more flirtatious, rather than imposing. But her dancing is superlative, with quick feet and impressive leaps. Her best work was in the seduction scene, I thought. I mean, she was great, don't get me wrong. But the role may not be the best representation of what she can do best.
Orion has huge leaps and powerful agressive choreography, since he's the villain of the piece. And Ivan Vasiliev surely exceeded expectation. Some of his leaps were so big, there were audible gasps in the audience. For Orion, this kind of bravua dancing is completely appropriate. I liked Vasiliev very much.
Herman Cornejo was spectacular as Arminta. Admittedly, he doesn't have much to do, but when he's on, he commands our attention. Arminta's solos are lovely, with beautiful soft leaps and extensions. No one leaps and extends like Cornejo. And he was a delightful partner to Xiomara, acting as if he was almost afraid to touch her, she was so beautiful. Their acting together was lovely, though there may have been one tiny bobble, where it seemed as if Xiomara came off pointe. But it certainly didn't diminish the overall impression of their work together.
The rest of the cast was also excellent. Daniil Simkin was terrific as Eros - very regal with beautiful lines and airiness to his dancing. And his miming in the comic section was very funny. Simone Messmer was gorgeous as Terpischore and Stella Abrera was so lyrical as Ceres. But really, everyone was good, and the orchestra sounded especially inspired. I'm so glad I saw Sylvia again and I hope it's not long before I can see it again. I can't believe my ballet season is over! I'm crossing my fingers that some Sleeping Beauty tickets somehow fall into my lap next week, but if they don't, this year's ABT subscription made me so happy. Thankfully, ABT has already announced what they're doing for the fall season, so there's even more gorgeous dancing for me to look forward to...
No comments:
Post a Comment