I had a Sylvia marathon, too, and saw the same 2 performances as you. While I liked Vishneva and individual performances in the matinee, something about it just didn't gel for me… was it Ethan? he's always an elegant dancer even when not at his best, but I would never accuse him of being a good actor – the corps was not at its best in a few spots, but overall quite good (as usual). Can't put my finger on it, but left the matinee with a cold feeling about Sylvia. Maybe it was because I didn't believe for a minute that Sylvia and Aminta were in love.

The evening performance was electrifying from start to finish – Michele Wiles was terrific in this part! and there was more magnetism between this Sylvia and her shepherd. Bolle was quite good, but the way the crowd seemed to fawn over him, I think they would have reacted the same if he had limped through the performance … not a very objective group. But this ballet is about Sylvia, not Aminta and Wiles danced wonderfully throughout this demanding role – seems as if she's onstage dancing almost every moment. Thinking back and contrasting Sylvias, I think I like Wiles better because she played to Bolles while Vishneva played to the audience a bit too much sometimes – small thing, but makes a difference. Both danced beautifully.

I give Simkin the edge as Eros over Salstein – he seemed to float in a way that Salstein didn't – which was doubly effective given his winged costume. Salstein, on the other hand, made a terrific goat in the evening! – he seems to own the character/comical roles.

The music was conducted at a slightly quicker tempo in the evening which, although I liked the pacing at the matinee better for straight listening because it made individual elements of this beautiful score stand out, the quicker tempo seemed to work better for the dancers.

Can't wait to see what you think of Paloma and Marcelo!! I'm envious you get to see a third Sylvia

I had a Sylvia marathon, too, and saw the same 2 performances as you. While I liked Vishneva and individual performances in the matinee, something about it just didn't gel for me… was it Ethan? he's always an elegant dancer even when not at his best, but I would never accuse him of being a good actor – the corps was not at its best in a few spots, but overall quite good (as usual). Can't put my finger on it, but left the matinee with a cold feeling about Sylvia. Maybe it was because I didn't believe for a minute that Sylvia and Aminta were in love.

The evening performance was electrifying from start to finish – Michele Wiles was terrific in this part! and there was more magnetism between this Sylvia and her shepherd. Bolle was quite good, but the way the crowd seemed to fawn over him, I think they would have reacted the same if he had limped through the performance … not a very objective group. But this ballet is about Sylvia, not Aminta and Wiles danced wonderfully throughout this demanding role – seems as if she's onstage dancing almost every moment. Thinking back and contrasting Sylvias, I think I like Wiles better because she played to Bolles while Vishneva played to the audience a bit too much sometimes – small thing, but makes a difference. Both danced beautifully.

I give Simkin the edge as Eros over Salstein – he seemed to float in a way that Salstein didn't – which was doubly effective given his winged costume. Salstein, on the other hand, made a terrific goat in the evening! – he seems to own the character/comical roles.

The music was conducted at a slightly quicker tempo in the evening which, although I liked the pacing at the matinee better for straight listening because it made individual elements of this beautiful score stand out, the quicker tempo seemed to work better for the dancers.

Can't wait to see what you think of Paloma and Marcelo!! I'm envious you get to see a third Sylvia

'bout Ashton, there is a vid in YT regarding the intro to his Symphonic Variations, where they explain some details pertaining to his choreography. The other vid I do recommend is the Cojocaru+Kobborg documentary, since it has footage of Ashton rehearsing Dowell and Sibley in The Dream.