20 replies to this topic

[Paul Parish]

I thought he was crude, too, till I saw his "Raymonda," which contains much that is exquisite and delighted me beyond measure.

And Bessmertnova was a fabulous creature, as fantastic in her way as Suzanne Farrell (who also got the bulk of the film roles). NOt that  I wouldn't welcome more Maximova...

Marc, what have you got to say on all this?

[dirac]

Grigorovichturns 85. Happy birthday! But are these "his best ballets"?

A celebration in his honour will take place in the Bolshoi Theatre on the 6th of January with the performance of ballet suites based on Grigorovich’s best ballets – Romeo and Juliet, The Golden Age and The Nutcracker.

[FauxPas]

As many of you are aware, the Bolshoi has been very busy recently filming HD transmissions of its repertoire. The Bolshoi productions of Giselle, Swan Lake and Nutcracker are all revivals/restagings of the Grigorovich versions and all have been recently filmed and broadcast to movie theaters worldwide. The current Bolshoi administration has invited Grigorovich back to stage the productions and coach the dancers.  During the intermissions of the HD broadcasts, Grigorovich has been interviewed backstage (looking very energetic and alert) and has been sincerely enthusiastic about the current state of the company - particularly the soloists. So after all this disgrace and drama 15 years ago, Grigorovich is suddenly the adored grand old man of Russian ballet. Very much in line with the wave of "Soviet nostalgia" that Russia has been experiencing in the years of change and confusion after communism fell.

[esperanto]

Paul Parish, on 27 January 2005 - 06:27 PM, said:

I thought he was crude, too, till I saw his "Raymonda," which contains much that is exquisite and delighted me beyond measure.

And Bessmertnova was a fabulous creature, as fantastic in her way as Suzanne Farrell (who also got the bulk of the film roles). NOt that  I wouldn't welcome more Maximova...

I found his Raymonda to be the most boring of all the Raymondas.

[Natalia]

Esperanto, is that last sentence yours or Paul's? I totally agree with whomever wrote it, i.e., the Grigorovich Raymonda is the most boring one out there, even though it still contains some lovely ensembles. YG's reworking of the Act II Pas de Six (Raymonda, Abder and the 4 friends) is a delight.

[Paul Parish]

When I wrote that, YG's was the ONLY complete Raymonda I'd ever seen. I still prefer it to Nureyev';s, where the dances are stuffed with awkward excrescences and Raymonda herself has gone faisandee. WOuld love to see others in the flesh.

I was NOT bored by YG's; I was enchanted by the dancing.