NYCB Vol. 19 No. 4 - Jewels
Updated: 5 days ago
"Gems may or may not improve with age, but there was no mistaking the enduring luster of George Balanchine's "Jewels" last night at the State Theater at Lincoln Center.
"'Jewels,' the ballet that was born last season without a name, occupied the place of honor, opening the New York City Ballet's 45th season, which was a benefit for the Women's Division of the Federation of the Handicapped.
"Like any product with vintage qualities, 'Jewels' improves upon repeated viewing. Its three section--'Emeralds,' 'Rubies,' and 'Diamonds,' evoked enthusiastic applause at first sight. In the opening section 'Emeralds,' Violette Verdy seems to have added a depth of feeling to a role that she had already overlaid with a patina of aristocratic resignation. Her partner, Conrad Ludlow, vividly projected a contrasting verve that makes their almost love affair even more poignant.
"Mimi Paul, who looks like one of those incredibly soulful children with saucer eyes, dances a solo that evokes memories of afternoons in attics full of dreams. She moves in a world of pastel passion into which Francisco Moncion, her partner, cannot really move.
"Sara Leland, Suki Schorer, and John Prinz danced the athletic and artistic pas de trois vibrantly, with a coltish zeal that could not mask their goof breeding. Mr. Prinz was particularly impressive in his elevation and general deportment. He has the endearing quality to try to do things that are still a bit beyond him and make you believe it is only a matter of time before they will not be.
"The sea-green 'Emeralds' was followed by the blood-red 'Rubies,' where Patricia McBride and Edward Villella were joined by Marnee Morriss, who was dancing the role in New York for the first time. She had only two previous performances in Chicago, and her command of the quirky idiom of 'Rubies' was staggering.
Photos by Martha Swope. Marine Morris Deni Lamont (kneeling) and (L-R) Robert Weiss, Paul Mejia and Richard Dryden.
"Miss Morris has captured the slightly raffish style, the Cole Porter insouciance, in the face of a hurrican of movement. She is a woman on a glorious spree.
"Miss McBride and Mr. Villella bounced through 'Rubies' with a pinball whirl of swift changes in direction, unexpected pauses and staccato bursts that carried them apart and then together in violent orbits of playfulness.
"In the final section, 'Diamonds,' Jacques d'Amboise partnered an icily beautiful Suzanne Farrell with grandeur. Still hampered by a leg injury Mr. d'Amboise omitted the scherzo but in no other way betrayed his disability. In the case of 'Diamonds,' two-thirds of a loaf is still two-thirds of a masterpiece. It is to be hoped that it will be intact for later performances.
Jacques d'Amboise and Suzanne Farrell. Photos by Fred Fehl, 1967.
"Real gems may or may not be a hedge against inflation but 'Jewels' is a guaranteed form of box-office insurance. All of the remaining performances have been sold out, as was the opening night.
"The orchestra was conducted by Robert Irving with the consummate skill that is found in international orchestral circles but rarely in ballet pits."
--Don McDonagh, New York Times, 1967
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