In Seventh Heaven („Im siebten Himmel"), Revival, Vienna State Ballet (Wiener Staatsballett), January 20th, 2023

Funnily, this very „creative" (and, apparently, for no special reason created) tittle always reminds me of a Chinese Legend that includes the „Sixth Happiness" instead of a heavenly present. Anyways…

I have already written about this three-bill Evening on Nov. 15th, 2021 (See: https://www.attitude-devant.com/blog/2021/11/15/in-seventh-heaven-im-siebten-himmel-vienna-state-ballet-premire-november-14th-2021 ).

Copyright: Ricardo Leitner

To find out how much progress was made since the Première on November 2021, I decided to watch this particular performance again even if the two members of the cast, who I especially wanted to see, Olga Esina and Brendan Saye, were changed on short notice. I will have to wait until February.

The evening opens with „March, Waltz, Polka" (Marsch, Walzer, Polka). I won't write once more about the unfortunate girls´costumes as “Vedettes from the Lido de Paris”. Or the ones that look more like either a „Tierno de Yucátan" (A Mexican traditional costume fr om the Province Xucátan) or one of the bizarre costumes worn by Frida Kahlo. All this apart from the fact that Miss Bisovsky is a designer but not really a ballet Designer. I won't write again about the lack of musicality (so beautifully offered by the music itself). I won't write either about Patrick Lange's lack of empathy towards the dancers while conducting. Nearly everything that had to be said has been said before and there's just very little to add.

The choreography by Martin Schläpfer reconfirms, even more emphatically, my previous thoughts. The ones I had as I saw this piece for the first time. It reveals a total lack of Knowledge of the Austrian Mentality while expressed through music, a unique result of this country's culture, past, way-of-living, feeling, and „soul". This reminds me of how Germans (I know, Mr Schläpfer is not German but he made his choreographic occupation in North Rhine-Westphalia) are mostly unable to understand Austrian Culture, and tend to put Austrians „in a conservative drawer", expressing opinions that are so cliché, that one cannot take them earnestly (more or less as the nearly insulting display made during the „Radetszky-March" in this choreography). This “attitude”, so artificially made to sound as if it were an extremely „creative" and innovative idea, is supposed to create the effect of novelty, intellectualism which is nothing but fake. I am not joking.

Not being quite sure when this piece was written to the end, I must question: Was it when minimalism became fashionable in Germany and every choreographer tried it? Or was it when „Tanztheater" became „the latest scream" and everybody copied it? And was it just after Maurice Béjart created his (incredibly brilliant) „Wien, Wien, nur Du allein" in the 90s, that was reason enough to „inspire" so many choreographers about the „Viennese Theme"?

Ketevan Papava. Copyright: Ashley Taylor / Vienna State Ballet

The dancers gave their best, no question. But the effortt was not enough to overcome the static, unimaginative choreography which lacks effect and, most of all, dynamic. Starting with gifted Ketevan Papava, who had the difficult task of opening the show with the motionless, stagnantly choreographed „Danube Waltz" („An der schönen blauen Donau"), which was poorly applauded, till the very end, a certain lack of proper coaching could be observed, especially in the group segments. All this culminating as a member of the Corps de Ballet, a blonde dancer whose name I don’t know, so awkwardly out of tempo, disturbed the whole group dynamic and its effect upon the audience.

Having read the programme once more after the show, I find no real connection between this work's very creative and inventive (written) description and what has been shown on stage. Two completely different cups of tea that have absolutely nothing in common.

The poor applause after the End would have died into complete silence, hadn't the forced curtain calls „milked" it. Definitely not a piece to be shown in a serious, international Opera House.

There is nothing wrong with breaking up with traditions. One must only know when and where. The Vienna State Opera is not really the „Holy Land" for that. There are other places which are much more adequate for that.

Marco Goecke's irritating, annoying, aggressive, provoking, and WONDERFUL „Fly paper bird", the second piece of this triple bill, is a definite wake-up call to many of the so-called contemporary choreographers. This not only because of its very own, peculiar language but also because of its content and its clever use dramaturgically AND musically. A work of consistence, which is being quite copied in Germany by other choreographers, the same way I have mentioned minimalism, Tanztheater...

Personally I won’t ever expect to listen to someone whistling Mahler´s „" Bewegt. Mit größter Vehemenz" (Freely translated as „Emotionally moved. With largest Vehemence”) in the bus but its use, especially in contrast with „Adagietto" can only be described as inspired Geniality. A beautiful dramatic choice. That for sure.

Helen Clare Kinney. Copyright: Ashley Taylor / Vienna State Ballet

Not an easy piece for the company, physically and musically, it is brilliantly performed by the likes of imposing and confident Sveva Gargiulo, brilliant and down-to-earth Helen Clare Kinney who gives not only a new life and a superb reading of a role that had been somehow diminished into a cliché by the Dancer who had originally created the role at the première from 2022, but also “makes a point” with her strong stage presence and, last but not least, Marcos Menha in an extensive role, which is not one to face without full-concentration. Also to be mentioned, Masayu Kimoto, a dancer whose discipline, strength, clean technique and, most of all, versatility allows him to „give himself" to the most different kind of roles in the most varied styles.

One last thing: the lighting is even darker than the usually used by Mr Schläpfer in his choreographies.

The audience „gasped" at the sight of Ballerinas wearing tutús, as the curtain opened for Balanchine's „Symphony in C". That is enough to give a hint of what the public wants to see and why it came last night to the Opera (Even a former, retired Ballet Mistress of the company confessed to me that she had only gone to yesterday's performance just because of it). In case we analyze „Symphony" a bit further we can surely find some parallels to the company´s present situation: Deviations. Let us start focusing on arms – we won’t discuss technique at all (as the level of the company, with all “departures” from the last 2 1/2 years has sunk to a provincial level) but just arms, so important to Mr B's work and the lack of homogeneity, if we compare the staging last November, supervised and coached by Patricia Neary (New York City Ballet) to last night’s revival. There was even less homogeneity on stage this time. Let us also focus on the „homogeneous visual group harmony". In times like these (In which „political correctness" is not only exaggeratedly and opportunistically used but also unfairly abused by many), it is quite difficult to express certain opinions. Some of the members of the Corps de Ballet, and I am not only speaking of the girls, are not physically in the shape of what the audience primarily identifies with the idea of a dancer´s body. Apart from the public, that wishes to see some harmony on stage, there are some principles that should not be ignored – the same way as in other professions, for example Stewardesses, who have to be slim otherwise they will not be able to pass the by aisle as the Serving Trolley is in the middle of it. And I am not making this up, this is a fact.

Masayu Kimnoto/Kiyoka Hashimoto (Background). Copyright: Ashley Taylor / Vienna State Ballet

To the main couples: Ioanna Avraam, who „stole the show" with a Brilliance that seems to appear so self-evident, accompanied by Géraud Wielick who, in spite of some “turbulence” by the landing of a Tour-en-l'air, gave a bright and secure performance. Kiyioka Hashimoto and Masayu Kimoto setting quite a scale for others to follow in what elegance and clean technique are concerned. Less fortunate the interpretation of Liudmila Konovalova who „overdid" the role emotionally- although technically quite correct– this is a serene pas de deux, with an abundance of plenitude, not a dramatically exaggerated “second Act of Swan Lake” - so much to the understanding of Balanchine’s work by a non-Balanchine dancer – and Marcos Menha, who due to some casting inaccuracy danced extensive roles in all three ballets, was surely tired and not so „at home" as in more contemporary works. For the fourth pair, Sonia Dvořák and Lourenço Ferreira, it was a bit of a „notch above" as both are not technically prepared for this task.

Ricardo Leitner

January 21st, 2023

Ioanna Avraam / Géraud Wielick. Copyright: Ricardo Leitner