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Liebeslieder Walzer (NYCB)by Mary Cargill
This hour-long ballet for four couples dancing to Brahms' waltzes played and sung by two pianists and four singers is one of the most magical of Balanchine's compositions. Without formal mime or over story-telling, the ballet is packed with drama and drenched with emotion. Using only ballroom dances in the first half, and balletic variations in the second, the dancers must bring eight characters from an unfamiliar world to life. These are upper middle-class nineteenth century ladies and gentlemen, in the decorous old-fashioned sense, but each person should have a rich and vivid inner life.
I did not see the original cast, but did see most of the cast of the highly-praised 1985 revival. The performances during the 1991 Balanchine Celebration were on the whole disappointing, missing much of the elegance. (A friend called it the servants' night out.) The current revival, while not flawless, is a major improvement. The many injuries suffered by City Ballet seemed to take a toll on the male casting, which was a bit on the clunky side. With the exception of Charles Askegard, they seemed as if they were wearing gloves for the first time and concentrated on partnering more than on creating personalities.
Kyra Nichols was the only veteran, dancing the doomed Verdy role. It is one of her greatest triumphs (which is a bit like calling it one of the highest mountains of the Himalayas). She is a seemingly happy young lady, who has intimations of an early death. Nichols uses her weight and size to pull away from the earth while suggesting some implacable force pulling her back down. Pascale van Kipnis, in a remarkable debut, danced one performance of this role, and with her lighter frame, stressed the more spiritual aspect. Like Giselle, she seemed ready to float away. She does not give it the monumental sense of tragedy that Nichols, with her long experience with the role, does, but it was a consistent and beautifully developed portrait.
Miranda Weese, with Damian Woetzel, danced the Jillana role (which I associate with Stephanie Saland and Ib Andersen.) They seemed to portray a mismatched love; he kneeling pleadingly at her feet and she looking away, as though trying to find something greater than her enclosed, comfortable world. She is fond of him (at one point she gently and almost sorrowfully touches his bowed head), but is fundamentally not happy. Some of this came through Weese's performance, but it was not consistent. She does not as yet act through her dancing, which was ravishingly beautiful, but her solos tended to be danced with a generic "I'm a pretty ballerina" smile.
Maria Kowroski, with a very supportive Charles Askegard, danced the more giddy role, and her eagerness was infectious. In the more sedate first act, she tended to overwork her extraordinarily fluid extensions, so instead of a lustrous arc of her satin skirt, the audience was given an indelicate view of her frilly drawers, as if a local can can girl had burst onto the scene. And a waltz and a can can do not mix. Wendy Whelan with Nilas Martins were the more mature couple, whose arm movements echo each other, as if finishing each other's thoughts. She danced, especially in the first act, with a refinement and graciousness, but her innate attack made it seem at times as if she were interrupting her partner.
Liebeslieder Waltzer is a difficult ballet, full of subtleties. It is especially difficult to dance in a large theater, where the details can get lost. But the cast has, by and large, a real understanding of the piece, which should be developed in future performances. It is a ballet the reveals itself slowly, both to its dancers and to its audience, and it seems a shame to be introduced to the lovely, fascinating, complex people and not see them again.