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San Francisco BalletFebruary 2008 San Francisco, Opera House by Renee Renouf |
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Those who have sat with obstructed views will appreciate my desire to see the Opera House amplification system move in and from the sides ofthe proscenium arch during performance. Thanks to a friend, I was given a ticket for two to the February 17 open rehearsal of Giselle, preceding the evening opener with a different cast of principals. Despite the obstructions, I saw Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada as Giselle and Albrecht, Katita Waldo as Myrthe and Pascal Molat rehearsing Hilarion and his part of the peasant pas de cinq. Missed, of course, was the action downstage right, though we could see the loving concern in Anita Paciotti’s Berthe. What was seen was a non-stop run through of justifiable excitement. Molat’s Hilarion is impulsive and passionate; Waldo’s Myrthe, with her sloping shoulders and the regal line of her neck and spine, quite chilling. Kochetkova and Boada were well matched and harmonious, she the image of peasant youthful innocence, he nervous in his disguise, fussing with his cuffs and simple tunic, genuinely concerned when Giselle has warning heart palpitations. Kochetkova’s self-concern and gathering focus which followed was as naturalistic and convincing as her point work was firm, steady,her port de bras soft,luxuriant in its gentle detail. Saturday evening Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets danced Giselle and Albrecht. Sofiane Sylve was a chilling Myrthe whose death gesture could paralyze the strongest soul; demonstrated by her strength of attack in grande jetes and renverses, she galvanized Act II. Damian Smith appeared as Hilarion, his costume mercifully devoid of the original contrasting color cod piece. For the peasant pas de cinq Pascal Molat, Nicholas Blanc, Frances Chung, Elizabeth Miner and Clara Blanco repeated their afternoon dress rehearsal, wonderfully well matched; Blanco continuing articulated port de bras, Miner and Chung dancing with strength, Molat and Blanc matched in their schooling, divergent in individual style. Val Caniparoli and Erin McNulty represented the Courland clan. In Act II Chung and Miner took the roles of Myrthe’s lieutenants, and were extremely well paired. The corps in Act II danced consistently in those all-exposing lateral hopping arabesques.  Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets in Tomasson's Giselle © Erik Tomasson I would like to see Yuan Yuan Tan with an all Asian cast for Giselle to determine how she would appear as a ghost among Asians; her mad scene resembled eerie floating premonitions depicted in illustrated Asian folk tales. Technically, Tan was a dream; her musical phrasing was especially nuanced at moments, unique. Helimets balanced her with a classicism rooted in the earth; always correct, his arabesques and cabrioles lower, his demeanor totally classical. Mikael Melbye’s triple credits for scene, costume and lighting design makes a consistent vision of this Nineteenth century French Romantic Era classic. The tangled tree scrim at the beginning of Act II is particularly effective, accenting the rush and confusion as a Wili appears overhead.
The company also is blessed with Martin West as its conductor.
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