American Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented Swan
Lake, choreography by Kevin
McKenzie after Marius
Petipa and Lev
Ivanov, music by Peter
Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, at the Metropolitan
Opera House. It is probably the most popular
ballet in the repertoire, and the audience
was privileged to see a stellar cast. Maria
Kochetkova (Odette-Odile)
was simply perfect. She was a superb fragile
swan in Act
II: Later at the Lakesidewith Herman
Cornejo as
a magnificent Prince Siegfried in his solos
and duets. Kochetkova received a thunderous
ovation in the Act
III: The Great Hall scene,
where James
Whiteside gave
a brilliant performance as von Rothbart in
the same scene. The three dancers were a joy
to watch. It was a memorable night at the
ballet.
Honoree 91-year-old Theodore
Bikel received the Lifetime Achievement
Award from Alan
Alda from
the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF),
who are the main presenters of the
KulturfestNYC, at the Museum of Jewish
Heritage. 36 Battery Place. It followed the
screening of In The
Shoes of Sholom Alechem, starring Bikel.
It is a wonderful documentary, with Bikel
explaining the respect he has for the writer
and why singing songs in Yiddish is
important for him. Afterwards, there was a
VIP reception for Bikel, where he was
congratulated by guests Sheldon
Harnick and Dr.
Ruth Westheimer, with live music,
including a song performed by Bikel in his
wheelchair. It was a lovely event.
|
The 2015 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre was
presented at ASCAP, 1900 Broadway, to Sam
Willmott as
the Most Promising Musical Theatre Lyricist and
to Sam
Carner as
the Most promising Theatre Librettist. Two
selections from each prize winner were
performed, and Sam Willmott performed one of his
selections. He was sensational, and I predict a
wonderful career for this talented young man. A
reception with delicious food and wine followed.
It was another lovely event.
We were
invited to a delightful Meet & Greet luncheon at
the Strand Bistro, 33 West 37th St, for
Shakespeare and Company's 2015 Summer Season.
The Co-Interim Artistic Director Jonathan
Croy addressed
the attendees, and introduced John
Douglas Thompson, who will be starring in Red
Velvet as Ira
Aldridge, the first African-American actor
to play Othello on the English stage in 1833.
Also present was Communications Director Elizabeth
Aspenlieder and
publicist Molly
Clancy. The food served was delicious.
We were
invited also to Swifty's restaurant, 1007
Lexington Avenue, to view Water
Works Art Show, featuring artist Elizabeth
Nagle, with water as the predominant theme.
As we drank delicious wine and ate scrumptious
hors d'oeuvres, I had the occasion to chat with Chef
Stephen Attoe's wife, Patricia,
who curated the exhibition. It was a pleasant
event.
I attended
a press conference for the Subway Cinema/2015
New York Film Festival The
Hong Kong Panorama at
the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office. Film
Star Aaron
Kwok was present, and answered questions
from the media, and posed for photographs. Also,
film director Ringo
Lam attended.
The program of films to be presented at the
festival from Hong Kong was given to the
attendees. Later that evening, we attended a
reception at the Walter Reade Theater, where the
prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award and Star
Asia Award was presented to multiple-award
winning director Ringo Lam, and superstar Aaron
Kwok before
the opening night screening of his film Port
of Call.
|