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Sonja G
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28-05-02, 10:58 AM (GMT) |
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"Munich Manon with Pankova/Tewsley"
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Last night I went (despite of still bad jet lag - only returned Saturday from my business trip to NZ) to a performance of "Manon". If it was not for this particular cast, I would have dropped it - but I am glad I went!
Principals were:
Manon - Elena Pankova
Des Grieux - Robert Tewsley
Lescaut - Alen Bottaini
Lescaut's Mistress - Maria Eichwald
There was such a fabulous rapport between all of them - I have not often seen anything similar in this ballet. In the first scene, Lescaut showed his mistress off like a circus horse - and she danced brilliantly, plus she adored him. She would probably do everything for him. And the drunk pdd - not many others are as drunk as Alen Bottaini, and not many mistresses I have seen throw themselves as recklessly into the lifts as Maria Eichwald.
Lescaut and his sister were a great team - at first she was rather timid and looking for shelter with her experienced brother - but when she got the coat and the neckless from Monsieur GM, she suddenly realized this was what she wanted to have all the time. And was only too willing to follow Lescaut's instructions to seduce Monsieur GM to achieve further luxury.
Des Grieux was fabulous, too - I love Robert Tewsley's arabesques, although I admit this is not the basic thing to look for in this ballet. But he was also totally in the role - so Elena Pankova went for it, too. Honestly, in some nights her acting did not fully convince me (maybe if there was something wrong with the costume, some sort of disturbance or a partner she did not particularly like) - but last night she was really really good. Plus you forgot about the technique - it did not look like choreography, but like coming from the heart. Especially when Des Grieux has killed the gaoler - he became mad when he realized what he had done, swirling around the stage like hardly anyone I saw before (well, Irek Mukhamedov, probably, but that was quite a few years ago...).
This was the second last performance of Manon in Munich for the near future (costumes and scenery will go back to Vienna) and the last one of this cast. There were lots of flowers (not very common here...) - and it was a performance to remember! |
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