36 replies to this topic

[zerbinetta]

:-D

I suppose I am not surprised but I am shocked.

[Roma]

Paul Parish, on Jul 24 2005, 12:23 AM, said:

If there's a connection to other versions, I haven't heard, but am curious.

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Raffaello Giovagnoli's "Spartacus" was written in 1874. It was enormously popular in Russia in mid-twentieth century, and is still in print there.

[GWTW]

Well, the NYT's blooper has been publicised worldwide.  The website of Ha'Aretz, the only broadsheet newspaper in Israel, had a picture of Spartacus at the Met with a caption saying it was the first time the Bolshoi had performed Spartacus in NY since 1970.  

[cargill]

As I recall, only one act of Spartacus was performed in NY the last time the Bolshoi was here; it was on a triple bill with the Shades scene and Symphony in C.   I have seen the Bolshoi each visit since the mid-1980's, and this is the first time I have seen the full-length version, so in this case, I think the NYTimes is right!

[dirac]

Yes, Rockwell could have been more precise -- he ought to have said something like "performed in its entirety" or words to that effect -- but hey, he's on deadline.....

[zerbinetta]

Cargill: this is not the way I remember that season, which was in the neighborhood of 1990 & was at the Met. To the best of my recollection, we had a full length Spartacus, a full length Golden Age (both starring Mukhamedov) & that masterpiece, Potemkin.

I've tried the archives of the Met website with no luck. Any other suggestions?

[nysusan]

zerbinetta, on Jul 27 2005, 07:49 PM, said:

Cargill: this is not the way I remember that season, which was in the neighborhood of 1990 & was at the Met. To the best of my recollection, we had a full length Spartacus, a full length Golden Age (both starring Mukhamedov) & that masterpiece, Potemkin.

I've tried the archives of the Met website with no luck. Any other suggestions?

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I don't know about the mid 80s - early nineties - but I have a program from the performance I saw at the Met on May 10th 1975:

Spartacus, Ballet in 3 acts, world premiere Bolshoi Theater April 9th, 1968

The cast was Vasiliev, Liepa, Nina Sorokina as Phrygia (funny, I always thought I had seen Bessmertnova) and Timofeyeva

The season included Giselle, Swan Lake & Ivan The Terrible

[zerbinetta]

Yes, nysusan, this is the one that Mr Rockwell is claiming is the last time Spartacus was done at the Met. I have a very clear recollection of a Spartacus around 1990 with Mukhamedov but can't find the info online & my programs ... ah, well, there was a whole thread about that.

[drb]

cargill, on Jul 27 2005, 08:46 AM, said:

As I recall, only one act of Spartacus was performed in NY the last time the Bolshoi was here; it was on a triple bill with the Shades scene and Symphony in C.   I have seen the Bolshoi each visit since the mid-1980's, and this is the first time I have seen the full-length version, so in this case, I think the NYTimes is right!

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A Bolshoi mixed bill which included the Appian Way section of Spartacus was performed at the New York State Theater in July, 2000.  Surely too recent for Irek.

[Paul Parish]

In 1987 I saw the Bolshoi do act 1 of Romeo and Juliet and act 2 of Spartacus (with Mukhamedov)-- both by Grigorovich. In SanFrancisco, but they might have done that program or a similar one in New York.

[FauxPas]

I seem to remember that the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet had a summer residency at Lincoln Center in the summer of 1990 or 1991.  I was too poor to go but the opera company did Mlada (with Nina Ananiashvili as the Ghost of Mlada), Eugene Onegin and Maid of Orleans.   The Bolshoi Ballet did Ivan the Terrible, Swan Lake and one other ballet - maybe a mixed bill.  Nina A. and Lyudmila Semenyaka were the ballerinas.  However, Irek Mukhamedhov already had left the Bolshoi to join the Royal Ballet to the immense shock of Grigorovich.  

Maybe Spartacus was performed on that tour, but it wouldn't have been with Irek since he had already left the company.

[Panda]

I think bolshoi performed "Romeo and Juliette" for that season. I moved to New York in 1988. I hadn't seen any 3acts of spasrutacus until this year. But Bolshoi came probably in 1987or 1986, I haerd. I don't know what they did then.

[FauxPas]

Panda, on Jul 28 2005, 01:58 PM, said:

I think bolshoi performed "Romeo and Juliette" for that season. I moved to New York in 1988. I hadn't seen any 3acts of spasrutacus until this year. But Bolshoi came probably in 1987or 1986, I haerd. I don't know what they did then.

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I checked my online resources and discovered that the Bolshoi did tour to NYC (part of a nine week four city tour) in 1987 with a "Giselle", "Raymonda" a Mixed Bill and "The Golden Age".  On the mixed bill which included many Bolshoi chestnuts like "Don Q Grand Pas", "Spring Waters" "Le Corsaire" "Legend of Love" and the first act of Grigorovich's "Romeo and Juliet" also included one act (second?) of "Spartacus" with Irek Mukhamedov as Sparty and Bessmertnova as Phrygia.   Mukhamedov didn't start dancing Spartacus in 1988 - he danced it within a year of joining the Bolshoi c. 1981.   The Grigorovich Romeo and Juliet also was excerpted in the Mixed Bill that year and was seen complete in July 1990 at the Met.   So the complete "Spartacus" wasn't seen since the 1970's.

The 1987 tour included besides Mukhamedov such dancers as Nina Ananiashvili, Maria Bylova, Lyudmila Semenyaka, Natalia Bessmertnova, Alexei Fadeyechev, Andris Liepa and Alla Mikhalchencko and Nina Semizorova.  Not a shabby lineup.

I don't know if "Giselle" and "Raymonda" were done in NYC.  The Mixed Bill and "Golden Age" definitely were.

[cargill]

Raymonda was definitely done in NY in the 1987 tour, because I saw it.  Ananiashvili and Andris Liepa, and it was gorgeous.  I remember one of the mixed bills had a bit from The Fairy Doll, too, which I loved.  It was a great visit.

[fandeballet]

I was up in standing room at NY State Theater in 1979.  I saw a Spartacus performance w/ Alexander Godenuv, a day or two before he defected!!!!  He was a powerhouse!!!!!! Does anyone remember???? Ludmilla Semeneyka also danced that run. She and Nina are 2 of my favorites   The Bolshoi also did the Stone Flower , I think.