<https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/22817-sylvia/#comment-185354>
<http://schema.org/text>
"The ballet began with a long overture—a preview of the tuneful music. I think if I were designing it I would have had a scrim there (I think everyone likes the two Swan Lake drops, and Petrouchka has the fabulous and fantastical Benois designs to look at), but probably musical purists don't mind the lack of visual distraction. \nThe first act did not open well at all. \"Ragged\" and \"messy\" would be generous in describing the corps work; it seemed downright unprofessional how the dancing was so unsynchronized and the formations so unclear. I went through an agony of trying to decide whether this was intentional and decided it wasn't. Ashton's choreography was too quick and precise for some. There was a peasant boy with curly hair who navigated the choreography better than the rest (I think this was Remy Wortmeyer of the Australian Ballet), and things started looking up with the arrival of the hunt attendants. Stella Abrera demonstrated her versatility by adopting more of the Ashtonian twisting torso than her colleagues. \nHowever, the evening was a success because of Gillian Murphy's incredible, true ballerina performance. She carried the ballet, as it demands. To be expected was her power, pride and agility in Act I. At the beginning of Act II, where she is entrapped by Orion, she seemed like a wild creature in captivity; though she was not cowed, her vitality would be lost by further imprisonment (shades of Firebird). However, she quickly mastered the situation (her a-ha moment gleefuly legible) by getting Orion drunk and pretending to seduce him (shades of Odile). Marcelo Gomes' smoothness, control, virility and wonderful partnering were in evidence, and it was priceless watching him stumble around drunk. \nMurphy was a revelation in Act III where she appeared warm and womanly, her pride thawed by love, a new softness in her arms. She seemed to be dancing her own homage to the Royal Ballet style (her coach is Georgina Parkinson). She would hold a pose crisply and long and then melt out of it. More crescent curve, arms to her side and palms up, was given to her arabesques than the arrowy ones she did in Act I. It was all a bit reminiscent of Raymonda and Sleeping Beauty. She had witty legs a la Danilova. I have never seen her better, and hope she brings the same joy to her other roles. This may become her signature role, and ought to convince her detractors she is no empty technician. \nIt was a pleasure to catch a brief glimpse of Eric Underwood's gorgeous line, partnering Veronika Part as Apollo to her Terpsichore (there aren't variations for any of the bit players besides the goats). On the goat question: I can't imagine anyone doing a better job than Craig Salstein. He had a serene upper body while he executed the challenging petit allegro cleanly. As to their overall effectiveness, the whole atmosphere is a bit twee anyway, with boys in shorts carrying in mythological statues on palanquins. I can appreciate the slice of ballet history (England in the 1950s reflecting back on the Paris Opera of the 19th century), but I think it would be interesting to redesign it. I know this criticism is made of some other Ashton ballets—that their sets or costumes date them—like Scenes de Ballet. "
<https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/22817-sylvia/>