Showing posts with label Peter Tchaikovsky. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Tchaikovsky. Show all posts

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Manassas presents exquisite 'Swan Lake'

 

The Manassas Ballet Theatre performs Swan Lake/Manassas Ballet Theatre


It's seldom that I cry at a ballet, but it's seldom that I see one like Swan Lake as presented by the Manassas Ballet Theatre and Orchestra. It tore at my emotions, extracting unexpected physical responses as they were affected by outstanding music and dance.

It was Peter Tchaikovsky's classic which never grows old.


Odette/Odile*(Aliaksandra Krukava) was the prima ballerina, both good and evil in different roles, the white and black swan, captivated by the evil minded Rothbart* (Nurlan Kinerbayev) and rescued in love by the handsome Prince Siegfried* (Vladimir Tapkharov). 

In perfect unison, Mr. Kinerbayev and Mr. Tapkharov made grand jete leaps and splits simultaneously in opposite directions towards the corners of the stage to take away your breath to see them hang in space together and independently in solos. 

Mr. Tapkharov's lifts of Ms. Krukava were made with ease, he never exhibiting the slightest weariness. 

Ms. Krukava was equally as impressive, capturing her flight and waving her swan wings up and down, her arms about as long as her legs, as she fluttered all over the Prince and tried to beat back the evildoer Rothbart, he, who disguised his daughter, Odile (Ms. Krukava), as a copy of Odette (identity theft!) so the daughter could steal the Prince, and Odette would forever remain a swan.  

It almost worked.  

Odette was shy and timid, chosen by the prince to be his bride, trying hard to resist the evil around her. But as the cruel Odile, Ms. Krukava became aggressive and loud, matching the fast movement of her wings with those of her father, both in black, he like a giant raven swooping in and around and waving his arms like a flying dinosaur about to catch his prey.

One of the ballet's most famous scenes is Act II's "Dance of the Little Swans" when four ballerinas clasp their hands crisscross with perfect precision, bobbing and turning their heads and dancing together across the stage.  Victoria Bartlett, Annemieke Bruce (also a costume assistant),  Alice De Nardi, and Claire Thomas were the pas de quatre for Manassas. 

They followed the delightful Pas de Trois in Act I, another synchronized dance by Veronica Plys (also a costume assistant), Hallie Wilde, and Pavlo Yevtushenko.

But, it was the jester* (Pavel Bochkovsky) who stole the scene whenever he was on stage with huge leaps and splits mid-air and a jolly good nature to bring dashes of humor to the tragedy in play.

The ballet included a large cast with children, some who appeared to be as young as four years old, whose long hours of rehearsal were evident with their attention to timely dance and steps. 

Each scene's finish was timed to equal the final orchestral sequence, the music under the baton of Christopher Hite, the beloved conductor who received enthusiastic endorsement by the audience. Eric Sabatino dominated much of the ballet with Tchaikovsky's soft harp of which I can still fortunately hear 48 hours later.

Costume mistress Juli Masters, aided by assistants Ms. Bruce and Ms. Plys with Marie Komyathy, Morgan Mikluscak and Jennifer Sparlin, created beautiful gowns and tutus with luminous sparkle for the ballerinas while the men wore white tights and feminine vests to color coordinate with their female companions.

Stephen Winkler's lighting was on pointe, fading and brightening as the acts required, showering the two lovers at the end with bright diamond light.

After the first act, the ballet's executive director Mark Wolfe popped from behind the curtain and came on stage to thank major sponsors and to recognize the talents of scenic artist, Tim Grant, who created the massive, colorful backdrops of a garden, the haunting lake, and a magnificent ballroom.

At the end, the audience warmly received artistic director Amy Grant Wolfe and choreographer Vadim Slatvitskiy, whose assistants were Joshua Burnham (who was Prince Siegfried at other performances), and dancers Claire Thomas and Hallie Wilde. 

Some Swan Lakes end sadly but Manassas gave us a happy finish to send us all into that good night and revel in the grand evening.   

If the ballet and music were independent performances, one without the other, they would be marvelous, stunning as separate shows but the combination of the ballet with live music produces joy to those lucky enough to witness them. 

The dancers came from around the world: Egypt, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and the U.S. exhibiting excellent showmanship and demonstrating that culture and the arts should not suffer for war and political reasons.

The performance was at the Hylton Performing Arts Center with free parking,  printed programs, comfortable seating and more room between rows than what is usually found at Washington venues.

*Dancers in these roles at other performances were Pavel Bochkovsky, Hannah Locke, Kyrylo Kruhlove, Ahmed Nabil, and Kurumi Miwa.

patricialesli@gmail.com


Monday, June 1, 2015

'The Letters,' an extraordinary show at Metro Stage


Michael Russotto and Susan Lynskey star in The Letters now playing at Metro Stage/Photo by Chris Banks
Michael Russotto and Susan Lynskey star in The Letters now playing at Metro Stage/Photo by Chris Banks

Two actors, one act, one scene come together brilliantly in the drama The Letters by John W. Lowell now playing at Metro Stage.

It's as good as what you've heard and read, and stars a tight script matched by exceptional performances with every word, every clap, every desk walk around and eye rub, important to the show.

Set in the Soviet Union in 1931, a government bureaucrat (Michael Russotto) summons an employee (Susan Lynskey), a prudish. timid little lady, to his office (eerily reminiscent of a prisoner's dark cell) to see if she likes his news about a promotion. 

It doesn't take long for Herr Direktor to show his real colors which illuminate why he brought her in for a tete-a-tete in the first place!

"You are right for this, if I say you are," he thunders.  "The more you accomplish, the more you're expected to accomplish."

Bit by bit, the sharp dialogue unfolds and reveals what he was brewing in his concoction. How would she like her apartment to be searched to find the letters?  Or, her colleague's apartment?  Her co-worker who has been tortured for the last 24 hours because the government can't find copies of the letters.

What letters? 

Copies of letters written by a famous composer (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), whose actual sensual correspondence with a man lay the groundwork for  Mr. Lowell's play.

Under the masterful direction of John Vreeke, The Letters grabs you from the get-go with excellent lighting (by Alexander Keen) and design (Giorgos Tsappas) which, with film noir effect and shadowy silhouettes against an opaque glass door, accentuate the dialogue's edgy angles, and its twists and turns until control is relinquished. 

Institutionally painted walls and singular props from a purse to a big desk to the phone (sound design by Aaron Fensterheim; I can hear it ringing) cast the black mood of the all-too-real story.  

Ivania Stack, the costume designer, made sure that nothing distracts from the exchange, especially the little lady's apparel in black and muted browns, from head to toe which complement her mousiness, at least at first.

The Letters first ran on stage in Los Angeles in 2009, after the extension of the U.S. Patriot Act passed in 2006 (strong-armed through Congress by President George W. Bush) and another extension in 2011 (endorsed by President Barack Obama; who would have thunk?).

Lowell presaged the stage performances currently running this week on the floor of the U.S. Senate where some members have dared question the government's collection of citizen data and its purposes while their loyalty and obeisance are doubted by other senators and the president.

Sound familiar?

Talk about the timing of a D.C. premiere! An Edward Snowden strike.

No D.C. drama lover will want to miss this show with its coming Helen Hayes nominations, I just know it...er....them.

It's scary out there.

Other key crew members are Carolyn Griffin, producing artistic director; Richard Lore, stage manager; and Eliza Lore, assistant stage manager.

What:  The Letters by John W. Lowell

When:  Wednesday through Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m., and weekend matinees, Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. through June 14, 2015

Where:  Metro Stage, 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

How much: $50 and $55

Duration:  75 minutes, without intermission

Parking:  Plentiful, on-site, and free

For more information:  703-548-9044


For more reviews of The Letters and other plays, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

patricialesli@gmail.com



 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Live music drives 'Nutcracker' fans to Manassas



Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC
 
It's sad that in Washington, D.C., live music accompanied only two ballet companies for their 2012 Nutcracker performances, and one was 30 miles away.
 
Peter Tchaikovsky's Christmas ballet was played on tape for the rest of the dances that I found, including the Washington Ballet's production at the Warner Theatre which Sarah Kaufman criticized in a Washington Post article.
 
The sounds from a junior high or high school orchestra would be preferable to tape.
 
The only companies featuring live orchestras were Ballet West at the Kennedy Center and the Manassas Ballet Theatre at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on the Prince William campus of George Mason University. Please correct me if I am wrong, and an abbreviated production is not the same.  

Yes, it cost more money to have real music. Yes, it is worth it.
 
For some Tchaikovsky enthusiasts, music is more important than ballet which may partially explain the consistent sell-out crowds in Manassas and why about half the audience came from outside Prince William and Loudoun counties, according to a show of hands at intermission requested by Mark Wolfe, the company's executive director.
 
It was worth every mile for the hike out to Manassas to listen. And to see.


Sara Gaydash and Aleksey Kudrin in Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC

Manassas has its very own Manassas Ballet Theatre Orchestra, under the direction of Christopher Hite, to help it put on a really big, but charming, show.
 
Not only did real music add sparkle to an evening's enchantment, but the many young, adorable dancers added magic to the professionals' performances.


Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC

 
It seemed like hundreds of little mice and rats swarmed the stage, costumed (Christina Brooks and Donna Huffman Pelot) in grey outfits from head to toe with long tails and rats' heads, dancing in fast, curving lines, and whoops, there goes a fallen mouse, but not to mind. Other opportunities soon presented themselves to upright topsy-turvy.

Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC
 
Other stars of the show were, naturally, Bethany Cooke ("Clara") enjoying her first season with the Manassas company, Margaret Hannah (the Sugar Plum Fairy), Joshua Burnham (the Nutcracker), Sara Gaydash (the Snow Queen), Aleksey Kudrin (the Snow King), William Smith (the Mouse King) and, with Kathryn Carlson, (the Russians).

Bethany Cooke ("Clara") in Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC


William Smith and Kathryn Carlson in Manassas Ballet Theatre's 2012 production of The Nutcracker/2011, B. Payden Photography, LLC
 
At intermission Mr. Wolfe was effusive in his praise of Macy's sponsorship whose divisional manager was invited onstage to address the audience as "you guys." 

The advertisement did not detract from the entertaining evening which introduced many first-timers to excellent quality, surprising for a town with a population right under 40,000, and just down the road from many things to do in Washington, D.C.



patricialesli@gmail.com