ABT's Giselle with Natalia Osipova

(Curtain call for American Ballet Theatre's Giselle, my photo.)

Sat, Jun 13 - I really enjoyed tonight's performance of Giselle at American Ballet Theatre. The main attraction was guest star Natalia Osipova from the Bolshoi Ballet, dancing in the title role. I, and many other Stateside balletomanes, know her from sensational performances as Kitri in Don Quixote, where she showed off rock solid technique, a gasp-inducing jump and a charismatic, spunky stage personality. She has recently expanded her repertoire in Moscow to include Giselle and the Sylph in La Sylphide (which she dances later this week at ABT), and these performances are her first with the roles in the West.

She was fantastic. I really loved her performance, and not only for her jump, which was truly amazing. In the Grand Pas de Deux in Act Two, there is a sequence of entrechats - quick beats where the dancer jumps up and, basically, quickly shuffles her feet multiple times - that Osipova made look like she was bounding about on a trampoline. It was a spectacular effect: I and the audience went gaga for it. Her adage was exquisite, even if at times it seemed she was more inclined to run and jump than to pause for lyricism.

But there was more than just the technical feats. Her characterization of Giselle in Act One was very endearing. She convincingly played a young girl because she essentially is a young girl herself, and her acting was charming, but not over-the-top. I liked the choice she made to emphasize Giselle's physical weakness in her heart condition – most Giselles do the requisite faint during the group waltz, then basically forget about the heart condition until she falls again in the mad scene, but Osipova really made it look alarming when she fainted. Then, she looked genuinely sad that this condition prevented her from dancing, showing some hesitancy in rejoining the group, only finally throwing herself back in after Albrecht's very persuasive puppy-dog looks.

A good production of Giselle is more than just its star, though, and I thought American Ballet Theatre really stepped up to the plate tonight. The production is a basic one that tells the story in clear, simple terms, without fuss or extra additions (unlike the company's productions of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty). On the whole, the dancing was very strong from top to bottom.

David Hallberg was a good, very passionate Albrecht. In Act One, his peasant ruse seemed more a heedless dive into a love affair that he hadn't completely thought through the consequences of. In Act Two, he poured all sorts of sorrow and emotion into his duets with Giselle's shade.

Veronika Part's Myrta was commanding and sturdy. It was a pleasure simply to look at her dancing, with her gorgeous feet and her plush upper body. Leann Underwood made a particularly strong impression as one of Myrta's attendants, the one with the second solo in the dance of the Wilis. Hee Seo and Blaine Hoven danced in Act One's Peasant Pas de Deux: it wasn't the smoothest performance, but accomplished and entertaining enough.

It was Osipova who left the biggest impression, though. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in Sylphide on Wednesday, and with the Bolshoi in Le Corsaire on Sunday. It has most definitely become an Osipova week!

Inset photos: (1) Natalia Osipova as Giselle and David Hallberg as Albrecht; (2) Veronika Part as Myrta.

*

EDITED 6/28 TO ADD: Osipova didn't end up dancing in the Bolshoi's Corsaire after all, bummer. Ah well, casting changes are a fact of life in live performances, and I'm glad I got to see her with ABT at least.