Ballet Boot Camp Year II aka Ashley Bouder Knows My Name aka Darci Kistler: The End of a Remarkable Era

Well if you have been wondering what I have been up to the past.....month I have not been posting, then you should know that I have been dancing my tail feathers off at a ballet summer intensive in Saratoga Springs, New York.

DARCI:
One of the benefits of this particular program is that many of the dancers you look up to on the SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) stage then come to teach your ballet class! For example, my intensive was witness to the incredible New York City Ballet Gala which marked the final performance of Darci Kistler in Saratoga in the ballet "Slaughter on 10th Avenue." She is retiring with the NYCB next year at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. Her retirement marks the end of an era with the NYC Ballet because she is the last ballerina in the company to have been chosen by Balanchine to join the company. Just a few short days after this amazing gala I was taught by Darci Kistler herself. First she watched our rehearsal of the "Raymonda Variations" and then taught us an amazing pointe class. Oh and just saying: She said I did beautiful pique turns =D =D It was possibly the best moment of my life.

ASHLEY:
We also had the fabulous opportunity to be taught the Raymonda Variations (and many other classes) by none other than Ashley Bouder, one of the best ballerinas in the whole world and a principal dancer with the NYCB, and Melinda Roy, a former principal dancer with the NYCB and the director of the summer intensive. We worked so closely with Ashley that she quickly learned all of our names. She is one tough cookie, but she makes everything perfect. She is a wonderful teaher and oh my gosh what a gorgeous dancer. I can't even describe! One day we walked into the studio and she was rehearsing Firebird. All of us were stunned. We sat 5 feet from her as she danced through the pas de deux by herself, hearing her breathe and seeing her every move. That's an experience that none of us will forget.

JOCK:
One of the perks of being in the highest level of the intensive (while it is extremely difficult) is the opportunity to take a partnering class with dancers from the NYCB. Such participants include Ask la Cour, Amar Ramasar, and Henry Seth who are so wonderful and kind and are so helpful. This was my first experience in a pas de deux class and they were so understanding and always wanted to help. The other wonderful thing is that we had four classes: two taught by Jason Fowler, one taught by Philip Neal, and one taught by the legendary Jock Soto. It's hard to imagine my emotions when he walked into the room. He said so many funny and wacky things like "You want to be like the prize turkey" and when we stood proud before a combination he turned to Melinda Roy and said "Those are prize turkeys." He was quite the character.

DANIEL:
Daniel Ulbricht.... Oh my what to say what to sayyyyy. Well he complimented my passe and had me demonstrate a balance for the whole class. It made my day. He taught us only twice but both times he was so charming and personal and we all learned a lot from him. He is such a charismatic dancer and he translates that so well to his teaching. He gives difficult combinations that are often very fast and very complicated and it's fabulous because it makes us work so hard! Plus we're trying to impress him =) but that's not a big deal haha. He says that he gives us these crazy things so that when another teacher comes and gives us a simpler combination, we can relax and focus on our technique rather than too much on the steps. I found that to be so logical, or maybe I was just charmed. No....it's logical.


This NYCB SPAC season, while a week shorter than last years, was just as exciting. Even more exciting than the season itself, however, was the dancers that I had the privilege to study under this summer. Thank you NYCB!

Back to opera soon I promise!

Happy Listening!! =)

"The Year in Classical And Dance" from New York Magazine

The Big Entrance
The unofficial start of Alan Gilbert's reign at the NY Philharmonic with a free concert in Central Park takes the cake as the most important classical music happening of 2008. While some people (and some players) expressed grief at his replacement of Riccardo Muti who, as we know, lovingly declined the position of music director, his official reign (which starts in September) is guaranteed to be new and exciting. He already expressed some new ideas he has for the Phil: Phil: "a new-music ensemble, a renegotiated balance between contemporary music and traditional repertoire, and the world premiere of a work by composer-in-residence Magnus Lindberg; Messiaen’s Poèmes pour mi, sung by Renée Fleming; and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique."

The Year in Superlatives
Best Changing of the Guard: City Ballet's New Male Trio
Sean Suozzi, Tyler Angle, and Robert Fairchild are the three new male headliners for the New York City Ballet. Having seen all three I can tell you that these are three thrilling dancers. Sean Souzzi happens to be my favorite of the three, with his "dark romanticism" and gorgeous dancing.
Best Choreographer: Benjamin Millepied
I've only seen him dance (and sing) in Jerome Robbin's West Side Story Suite so I can tell you nothing about his choreography. To experience Millepied's "unique vision" for yourself you can visit the New York City Ballet this spring at the start of its new season.
Best Use of an Unexpected Space: Die Soldaten
This avant-garde opera written by Bernd Alois Zimmermann found an equally obscure home at the drill hall in the Park Avenue Armory. In this extraordinary production has movable bleachers that transport the audience from one scene to another.

The Top Ten Classical Events
10) Youtube Symphony- Global online auditions for an orchestra to play a new work by Tan Dun were launched by Google last week. All auditioners post a video of themselves on Youtube playing the music Google posted. Sounds like I'll be wasting even more hours on Youtube!
9) Tristan und Isolde- That old cursed thing? Apparently New York Magazine thinks it was worth the wait.
8) Alarm Will Sound- I'm not sure I understand it, but apparently this ensemble played an orchestration of a player-piano piece that can not be played by human hands.
7) The Opening of (Le) Poisson Rouge- A new hot spot for "genre hoppers." I'm not sure it's a cross-over club...
6) Brooklyn Rider at the Brooklyn Lyceum- Brooklyn's leading string quartet and Iranian fiddler Kayhan Kalhor displayed "magical logic"during that one night concert, which you can catch on their CD Passport.
5) Peter Grimes- The most disturbing production, in my opinion, of the Met's 2007-2008 season
catches this number 5 spot with Athony Dean Griffey's performances as Peter Grimes.
4) Bernstein at 90- What would a classical countdown be without a little Bernstein love?
3) Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI- A unofficial soundtrack to Don Quixote played by a Catalan viola da gamba master and his ensemble, featuring works written during the time of Cervantes.
2) Jeremy Denk at Zankel Hall- Fellow blogger Jeremy Denk performed two rigorous piano works by Ives and Beehtoven and later picked the keys out of his teeth.
1) Doctor Atomic- "Adams’s score overwhelmed the weaknesses in Peter Sellars’s quilted-together libretto." Apparently. The orchestra, led by Alan Gilbert, was the real star of the show. Not that I would know. I didn't the production and I don't possess a true ear for new music.



So, the best the Met could muster was Doctor Atomic, Peter Grimes, and Tristan und Isolde. Well, good for them, it could have been far worse I suppose.


My favorite?
The Worst of the Year:
"Already wheezing during the boom years, New York City Opera suffered a triple trauma when renovations to the State Theater forced the current season's cancellation, fund-raising hit a wall, and incoming general manager Gerard Mortier decided to take his ball and go home. The tragic debacle leaves the company on the brink."
Silly Mortier, NYCO is for Sills!



Happy Listening!!! =)

Tomorrow: The SAT II's, The Next Day: The World

Tomorrow are the SAT II's (aka every students nightmare) which are some of the hardest tests I/we will ever take in my/our life/lives. I've decided (psh) to take the Global History and the Chemistry exams...The chem was probably a mistake, but we'll see what happens!!!!!!
I'm about to go study for a billion hours, so I'm not allowed to post anything super significant until they are done and I've recovered (give it a day or two).
I promise I'll be back with some great things ie. Dudamel Tribute, Opera Exam, etc. (I mentioned those before, I think.)

Until then...
Happy Listening!!! =)

PS. Wish me luck!!!!!

Trust A Director To Ruin A Great Verdi Opera For Us All

In a disgusting new production of Un Ballo in Maschera at an opera house in Erfurt, naked pensioners walk in front of a back drop of, of all horrible things, the ruins of the World Trade Center. They are also wearing plastic Mickey Mouse masks.... but that's it!
"The naked stand for people without means, the victims of capitalism, the underclass, who don't have anything anymore." said the director, Johann Kresnik.
Did I happen to mention that there is an obvious Hitler reference where a woman is sporting a moustache and giving the Nazi salute. Ridiculous.

I find this atrocious. Who would put up with this? I'm shocked that singers didn't refuse to be a part of this.

"One has to introduce new elements," the director said. "Otherwise it is difficult to attract new theatregoers."
If this is what it has come to, I don't want any part in it. If this is what audiences want (which according to responses on opera-l and other places it's not) then I have been sorely mistaken with my assumption of opera goers' taste.

Again I will stress... DON'T DITCH ZEFFERELLI.


Happy Listening!! =)
(Because that's the only thing to keep you from throwing up)

Excuse me while I go off on a long rant about cross-over, Charlotte Church, Kiri te Kanawa, and other things...

I briefly mentioned Dame Kiri te Kanawa's small tantrum and "attack" of "opera fakes." Well now the opera fakes are fighting back!!!!! Some of it made me laugh. "Katherine (Jenkins) is looking forward to singing without a microphone in future?" "A mezzo's voice doesn't develop until she's in her early 30's?" Oh, and that's just the start! My personal favorite is: “Appreciating opera is a bit like appreciating a fine wine, sometimes you have to start with something a little light and fruity and eventually you get to your big fat burgundy.” Big...fat...burgundy? *puts hand on hip* Excuse me, who could you possibly be referring to?
They also call the crossover, popera, whatever you want to call it an "introduction" to classical music or opera. It's not. It's a substitution. Unfortunately, it is too often a substitution for opera. Do you know how many people have come up to me and said, "Oh you like opera. So, that's like Paul Potts, Charlotte Church, and Josh Groban, right?" I resisted the urge to tear out my hair. NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S LIKE.
“I can tell you now, Kiri and Pavarotti and those international singers, if it wasn’t for their compilation CDs they’d be lucky to sell in the hundreds. Now that’s the truth.”
That's another GREAT quote by "Gray Bartlett, who put Westenra on the musical map." He went on to add that Dame Kiri, THE DAME KIRI, might be jealous of the young artist's success. About the quote, who do these people think they are? Pavarotti and Kiri not singing records because the records aren't cross over? On what planet is that true? And Dame Kiri being jealous? DAME KIRI OWNS YOU. She does, really, she secretly runs the world. Why would she have any reason to be jealous of Hayley somethingorother.
I'm sorry if I seem mean or "snobbish" but these people should be jealous of KIRI, not the other way around. Just because Kiri had the determination and heart to go through years of training and those other singers evidently didn't doesn't make her a snob. This article and the "career highlights" or "mini-bio" that come at the end of the article are obviously biased and put Dame Kiri in a very unflattering light.

Dame Kiri owns the world. She rules the world. She is the world. Duh. She's amazing and everyone knows it. Her words were blunt and probably hurtful, but they were studded with truth. They may not be fake SINGERS but they are certainly fake OPERA singers. Listen to Charlotte Church's or Hayley Westenra's "O Mio Babbino Caro" and then listen to Kiri te Kanawa's and I dare you to tell me I'm wrong. They're not in the same league. They never will be. THAT'S WHY Dame Kiri was an OPERA star. She was not a popera star. These people need to get a grip and remember why exactly they are singing in halls and not in opera houses.


Happy Listening!!! =)


Oh my gosh, I'm so mean.

Don't talk to me about the Grammy Awards....

Because they cause me to bang my head against the wall. And the Pavarotti tribute?????? Puh.lease. Opera Chic has a video clip of the tribute... that actually didn't have any real opera singers in it whatsoever. I mean, alright, that's like cool and stuff but like you know all like the other people are all like "Hey look, I'm cultured because there are people singing classical songs into a microphone and stuff."

I'm kidding, but seriously what were with some of the nominations? And some of the winners??????

Okay, okay, Lorraine won one... ONE. And Renee and Anna were both nominated for one and did either win? No.
WHAT IS "TOWER: MADE IN AMERICA" ????????? And why have I never heard of it before?

Don't get me started on the "best opera recording" nominees, loves. That's a whole other story... That will never be told. Sorry!!!


Happy Listening!!! =)

"Amici Forever" on Met Opera Sirius Radio...

...just before Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and just after Madama Butterfly.






World

Has

Officially

Come

To

An

End

=O