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"Sylvia" Dances Across Lincoln Center
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 20 May 2016 02:25
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Photot by Gene Schiavone
The new season of the superb American Ballet Theater at Lincoln Center opened with one of the strongest works in its repertory, the Frederick Ashton’s masterwork, Sylvia, from 1952, set to the magnificent and famous score — greatly esteemed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky — by Léo Delibes, the composer of the delightful ballet Coppélia (also in the company's repertory but not presented this season) as well as the gorgeous opera Lakmé. Ashton is arguably the greatest choreographer of the 20th century (along with George Balanchine) and the company is to be commended for devoting a week each to Sylvia as well as to one of his other full-length ballets, La Fille mal gardée. Other highlights of this season include six one-act ballets — three of which are set to scores by Dmitri Shostakovich — by artist-in-residence extraordinaire, Alexei Ratmansky, possibly the finest choreographer of his generation, including one world premiere (with music by Leonard Bernstein), as well as his 2015 production of Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty, choreographed in 1890 by Marius Petipa.
The performance of Sylvia on the evening of Friday, May 13th, featured an outstanding cast headed by the exquisite Russian ballerina, Maria Kochetkova, whose grace and precision were unfailingly dazzling in the title role. Her partner, in the role of Aminta, Herman Cornejo, one of the most brilliant dancers in the company, was equally riveting. My only caveat with respect to these two leads were limitations in the performances from an actorly viewpoint — I would have liked to see more emotional conviction.
This reservation did not apply to the marvelous Daniil Simkin, the best character player in the company, in the role of Orion — the dancer's performance was delightfully hammy as well as choreographically arresting. Excellent support was given by the other featured players — Arron Scott as Eros and Christine Shevchenko as Diana — while the other thrilling dancers, especially in thedivertissements,were too numerous to mentions. (Thecorps de balletwas also in fine form.)
My only significant criticism of this production is that it requires a strong directorial vision — elements of the scenography and lighting and some of the costumes are lovely and effective but as a whole the staging lives only in the dancing whereas it could — and should — be a complete spectacle. Still, any opportunity to see Ashton's endlessly creative choreography so vividly realized should not be missed by any connoisseur.
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