On the Lake -- On the Map

Cincinnati Ballet and Ballet/Met Columbus made a splash with "Swan Lake" October 23-25 at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati.
   The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra led by music director Paavo Järvi is getting its feet wet in Japan, where they arrived Oct. 22 to begin a two-week tour of the country.
   It's all about flexing Cincinnati's artistic muscle and staying afloat in the uncertain economy.
   The Ballet, currently in the middle of a fund drive to keep live music for its productions, had the full Cincinnati Ballet Orchestra Orchestra in the pit for its spectacular "Swan Lake" led by music director Carmon DeLeone.  It was a reminder of the city's good fortune in having a ballet that still performs with live accompaniment (one of the very few in the country that continues to do so).

Cincinnati Ballet conductor Carmon DeLeone

However, it was a reminder also that, despite this advantage, the Aronoff's Procter and Gamble Theater just doesn't deliver acoustically.  Ever sit near one of those tinny speakers?   The sound that comes out -- and ideally amplification should not even be necessary -- was simply an embarrassment to the cause of live music.  Tchaikovsky's ravishing score deserves far, far better, and I doubt this production made much of a case for keeping it, at least in 2,719-seat P & G Hall.
   Music Hall anyone?  Though even larger at 3,516 seats and controversial as a purely symphonic venue, the acoustics there are outstanding, especially for such things as this late romantic ballet, perhaps the greatest of its kind.  ("Swan Lake" opened October 16-18 at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus without live music.)
   The production, the dancing, the sheer aura of this storied ballet were a triumph, with CB's Kristi Capps and Anthony Krutzkamp as Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried and a generous corps de ballet from both companies (two dozen in all) that filled the stage with visions of snow white wings.  It was a triumph of partnership, with the two companies pooling their resources to make it happen.  One can only cheer and say "encore." 
   The CSO has just begun its tour, and you can follow its progress online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org/japan

Cincinnati Symphony music director Paavo Järvi

The four-city, seven-concert tour commences tonight at NHK Hall in Tokyo with a live radio broadcast of their opening concert, which is being taped for a nationwide telecast November 9 in Japan.  Cost were covered in advance through a combination of presenter's fees and private funding.  The latter was provided by a generous cadre of CSO supporters, who not only believe in Järvi and the CSO, but are willing to put their money where their mouth is.
   I love the video sent back by CSO communications director Christopher Pinelo documenting the orchestra's arrival in Tokyo up to Järvi's first step onto the podium for their initial rehearsal.  Pinelo has timed it to Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," given its world premiere by the CSO in 1942 and a logical component of the repertoire for the Japan tour.  View it at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhImXbbNVis
    In addition to four concerts in Tokyo, the CSO will perform in Nagoya, Nishinomiya and Yokohama.  They return to Cincinnati November 5.