San Francisco Ballet: Peter Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Would I stay awake for Sleeping Beauty? That was the question I posed as I made my way to the Opera House to see Helgi Tomasson's choreographed production of this timeless fairy tale set in Russia before and after the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725). There was no need to worry. A 4.2 earthquake jolted everyone at exactly 8.40, including the critics. This one's epicenter I found out was in Lafayette. Many people were blase. After all, this is San Francisco. My witty companion said: Maybe they'll do it again? Many became agitated,excited and exited the balcony. By the way, not one dancer missed a step even though later a friend said, one of the girls almost fell over.
A young boy behind me muttered, "Jesus H. Christ, is that an earthquake?" Later, he quipped he pretty much did not believe in Jesus. "Unless there's an earthquake or turbulence?" Silence
Starksy Dias, who has worked at the Opera House since the last earthquake, in 1989, joked with me. "Anna, there's no safer place to be than this retrofitted building!" "If you were in Connecticut during a 9.0 earthquake", he said, "San Francisco's Opera House is where you'd want to be."
It turned out to be a wonderful production and everyone continued to yield to the sweet childishness of a 16-year old princess who is being asked to step into womanhood.
Earlier, at Books, Inc. I met Anya Ulinich, in SF from Brooklyn after a reading of her art-novel, Petropolis (2007, Viking). Anya is an artist/mother/author who emigrated with her family from Russia at age 17. It is a poignant debut, an unforgettable story of familial faultlines, cross-cultural confusion, the beguiling allure of new beginnings. It tells the story of Sacha Goldberg, an ultimate outsider: chubby, biracial, fatherless, living in Asbestos, Siberia with her mother. She is fatherless and eventually flees Russia as a mail order bride and lands in Arizona. Eventually, she embarks on a misadventure-filled journey in search of a father. I practised my college Russian on Anya ("very good") and left for the ballet. It truly was an unforgettable night with the Russians.
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1 comment:
Great! Russians in San Francisco would love this. How I wish there will still be productions like this.
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