Stay in the Loop
BSR publishes on a weekly schedule, with an email newsletter every Wednesday and Thursday morning. There’s no paywall, and subscribing is always free.
Pennsylvania Ballet's 'Giselle'
A star is born (maybe two)
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
Here’s a Philadelphia rarity: Years from now, classical ballet fans who attended the opening night of Pennsylvania Ballet’s Giselle will be able to say that they were there the night a ballet star was born. The electrifying Gabriella Yudenich joined the corps de ballet less than two years ago and has been fast-tracked in small roles, but when she entered as Myrta the Queen of the Wilis in Act II of Giselle (a role she is alternating with Amy Aldridge and Hawley Rowe), she instantly owned the part, and the audience had no trouble believing she could summon spirits from another world.
Not only does Yudenich possess both regal and earthy carriage (her stage presence reminded me of Maria Callas), she is a steely technical dancer capable of thrilling execution. She easily achieves élévation in her jeté run and displays diamond-cut clarity of movement with every gesture.
Yudenich was the cherry on the cake of Pennsylvania Ballet’s handsome production of this easily mummified classic.
Ballet orchestra conductor Beatrice Jona Affron draws out what narrative drama there is in Adolphe Adam’s symphonic soup. Marius Petipa‘s classicism requires full company excellence to build real drama within the fantasy.
Act I can wheeze along, with its village soap opera plot of a young maiden torn between two suitors, peasants and gentry, but things move quickly along, helped by the skilled character acting of Zachary Hench as Albrecht and, notably, Alexander Iziliaev as Hilarion. Julie Diana’s portrayal of the weak-hearted and haywire Giselle has static moments, but she built touching layers in the difficult mad suicide scene and her second act haunting is moving and eerie. Hench’s series of double tours and leg-scissoring battement were full-throttle and crisp.
Valerie Amiss and Francis Veyette danced with sublime chemistry in their peasant duet, although Veyette atypically pitched out of a couple of jumps. Also not so tight were the peasant men displaying misfired unison lines and unstable group jumps. In contrast, the female corps de ballet, often this company’s secret weapon, keeps the air in the Wilis (those deceased betrothed brides) in Petita’s porcelain romantic ballerina formations.
Another performance, another star
Three rotating principal casts paired new soloist Sergio Torrado with principal Riolama Lorenzo as Albrecht and Giselle, respectively. Torrado is a ringer (he had strong tenures at San Francisco and Houston Ballet), loaded with great technical flair, natural facility and smoldering matinee idol looks. In Act I, Lorenzo had complete command of every moment of Giselle, but Torrado wasn’t always in her moment. He almost seemed to stalk the stage like a panther ready to pounce and bound in a role that requires much hand gesturing and posing as ballerina prop. Petita’s danseur solos of Act II fired Torrado to a more complete performance, and he created dramatic moments flying around in grief over Giselle’s departure. Hawley Rowe essayed a studied Queen of the Wilis, earnest but deflated as danced. The same could be said for Yosbel Delgado in the peasant dance, though with partner Barette Vance they ignited that dressed-down class and fire. This section is commonly cut from productions of Giselle; thanks to PB for restoring it.
LEWIS WHITTINGTON
Here’s a Philadelphia rarity: Years from now, classical ballet fans who attended the opening night of Pennsylvania Ballet’s Giselle will be able to say that they were there the night a ballet star was born. The electrifying Gabriella Yudenich joined the corps de ballet less than two years ago and has been fast-tracked in small roles, but when she entered as Myrta the Queen of the Wilis in Act II of Giselle (a role she is alternating with Amy Aldridge and Hawley Rowe), she instantly owned the part, and the audience had no trouble believing she could summon spirits from another world.
Not only does Yudenich possess both regal and earthy carriage (her stage presence reminded me of Maria Callas), she is a steely technical dancer capable of thrilling execution. She easily achieves élévation in her jeté run and displays diamond-cut clarity of movement with every gesture.
Yudenich was the cherry on the cake of Pennsylvania Ballet’s handsome production of this easily mummified classic.
Ballet orchestra conductor Beatrice Jona Affron draws out what narrative drama there is in Adolphe Adam’s symphonic soup. Marius Petipa‘s classicism requires full company excellence to build real drama within the fantasy.
Act I can wheeze along, with its village soap opera plot of a young maiden torn between two suitors, peasants and gentry, but things move quickly along, helped by the skilled character acting of Zachary Hench as Albrecht and, notably, Alexander Iziliaev as Hilarion. Julie Diana’s portrayal of the weak-hearted and haywire Giselle has static moments, but she built touching layers in the difficult mad suicide scene and her second act haunting is moving and eerie. Hench’s series of double tours and leg-scissoring battement were full-throttle and crisp.
Valerie Amiss and Francis Veyette danced with sublime chemistry in their peasant duet, although Veyette atypically pitched out of a couple of jumps. Also not so tight were the peasant men displaying misfired unison lines and unstable group jumps. In contrast, the female corps de ballet, often this company’s secret weapon, keeps the air in the Wilis (those deceased betrothed brides) in Petita’s porcelain romantic ballerina formations.
Another performance, another star
Three rotating principal casts paired new soloist Sergio Torrado with principal Riolama Lorenzo as Albrecht and Giselle, respectively. Torrado is a ringer (he had strong tenures at San Francisco and Houston Ballet), loaded with great technical flair, natural facility and smoldering matinee idol looks. In Act I, Lorenzo had complete command of every moment of Giselle, but Torrado wasn’t always in her moment. He almost seemed to stalk the stage like a panther ready to pounce and bound in a role that requires much hand gesturing and posing as ballerina prop. Petita’s danseur solos of Act II fired Torrado to a more complete performance, and he created dramatic moments flying around in grief over Giselle’s departure. Hawley Rowe essayed a studied Queen of the Wilis, earnest but deflated as danced. The same could be said for Yosbel Delgado in the peasant dance, though with partner Barette Vance they ignited that dressed-down class and fire. This section is commonly cut from productions of Giselle; thanks to PB for restoring it.
Sign up for our newsletter
All of the week's new articles, all in one place. Sign up for the free weekly BSR newsletters, and don't miss a conversation.
