Kirov Raymonda w/ Kolpakova FINALLY on DVD!

[Natalia]

What a holiday present for ballet-lovers who have never seen the ca-1978 telecast of the Kirov's traditional 'Raymonda' starring Irina Kolpakova & Sergei Berezhnoi and umpteen spectacular soloists of the marvellous 1970s/Leningrad...or for those of us who may have seen it only on fuzzy copies-of-copies of the BBC telecast.

It's already listed on Amazon.com for pre-order, to be released on November 27 (in about one week's time).

[Mme. Hermine]

YIPPEE!! Thanks Natalia!

[nysusan]

WOW. Can't wait!

[Mireille]

That's great news. I have also been looking for the Raymonda video with Dudinskaya and Sergeev; is-it available at all?

[rg]

all i know of the dudinskya/sergeyev RAYMONDA are the clips one sees in various documentaries. i've never known there to be a 'full' film - tho' there may well be - my hunch is that RAYMONDA was filmed in the truncated way SWAN LAKE, FLAMES OF PARIS & FOUNTAIN OF BAKHCHISARAI were in the 50s. i've even wondered if RAYMONDA was meant to be included in STARS OF THE RUSSIAN BALLET but that it somehow didn't make the final edit.

i have NO basis in fact for any of these hunches, but the clips used here and there in other documentary films about the era have a look very much like that of the three ballets that did end up in the STARS film.

as Natalia notes until now the kolpakova/berejnoi RAYMONDA has been 'around' in poor quality off-the-air copies of a BBC telecast, but at least it's been 'around' - i've never known of any copies of the dudinskaya/sergeyev RAYMONDA 'around' other than, as noted, as snippets in survey films.

well one thing at a time, at least the Kolpakova/Berejnoi will be out commercially in what one hopes will be a cleanly mastered release.

[Helene]

Thank you, Natalia!

I just pre-ordered from amazone.com, but when I searched for "Rayomonda" it was not on the first page of results. To go directly to the recording, copy and paste the following code (ASIN) into the search box:

B000YRY7WQ

[canbelto]

Woohoo! I just pre-ordered.

As a bonus I hope they keep Ninette di Valois's intermission rehearsal. Madam talks about the finer differences between "production" and "choreography," the shady area of notations (particularly the Sergeyev notations), the resurgence of full-length ballets, emploi (she thinks certain variations and roles, like Raymonda, are best left to smaller ballerinas), and singles out Irina Kolpakova's arms. All this within about 15 minutes!

[rg]

it will be interesting to see if the intermission commentary stays. here in the states, such parts of the telecasts tend to be dropped from commercial releases, but the british may have a more thorough way with such re-releases.

here's hoping.

one reason many videophiles have retained their off-the-air videocassettes of 'dance in america' telecasts beyond their re-issue on the commercial market is b/c that's the only way to retain the commentary that first accompanied the broadcasts. this is certainly true if one wants to have edward villella's delivery of arlene croce's comments for the CHOREOGRAPHY BY BALANCHINE series.

[carbro]

it will be interesting to see if the intermission commentary stays. here in the states, such parts of the telecasts tend to be dropped from commercial releases, but the british may have a more thorough way with such re-releases.

Really? I haven't seen any DVDs for which I have VHSs. If true, it's a disgrace! What possible explanation can there be? It can't be money, can it?

[rg]

i suppose it's rights. in order to re-issue the commentary portions of such releases, the distributor would have to get permissions from the writers and the hosts, who would no doubt ask for payment of some sort before their efforts. (i suppose the initial contracts were for one-time use, etc.

(as i say, however, i'm only guessing, i don't know the particulars in these matters. i just know none of the commercial releases - either as videocassettes or dvds - include the danceinamerica commentary.)

[MakarovaFan]

Thanks for the heads up Natalia!

[MakarovaFan]

A heads up for all those who ordered this on Amazon. I got a notice from Amazon that the dvd won't be shipped until after Dec. 25th.

[Cygnet]

I'm placing my order asap!

[richard53dog]

What a holiday present for ballet-lovers who have never seen the ca-1978 telecast of the Kirov's traditional 'Raymonda' starring Irina Kolpakova & Sergei Berezhnoi ..or for those of us who may have seen it only on fuzzy copies-of-copies of the BBC telecast.

I am really looking forward to this. The two different copies I saw were fuzzy (to be charitable !!!).

and hopefully the master will get touched up nicely, although the performance itself is worth watching, even in less that great video and audio.

[Dale]

The off-the-TV copy I have of this is horribly out of sync (by at least 2 bars of music!), so I'm super excited about this (although disappointed it's being delayed). It's being put out by VAI, which does an amazing job with its videos.

Here's the citation in NYPL of the cast:

Raymonda [videorecording]

Imprint 1980. (135 min.) : sd., col. ; 3/4 in.

Note Telecast by BBC II-TV, London on June 29, 1980 as part of their Dance Month 1980 series. A presentation of Soviet television Recorded during a performance at the Kirov Theatre, Leningrad. Hosted by John Drummond.

Choreography: Konstantin Sergeev after Marius Petipa. Music: Aleksandr Glazunov. Scenery: Suliko Virsaladze.

Performed by the Kirov Ballet Company. Cast: Irina Kolpakova (Raymonda), Sergei Berezhnoi (Jean de Brienne), Gennadi Seliutskii, (Abderahman), Angelina Kabarova, Yuri Potemkin, Alexander Marveev, Nina Soldun, Olga Iskanderova, Valentin Onoshko, Vitali Afanaskov, Nina Sahnovskaya, Ludmilla Kovalova, Alisa Strogaya, Murat Kumisnikov, Irina Gensler, Nikolai Ostaltzov, Anelina Kashirina, Vladimir Popuhov, Evgenia Ipatova, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Ol'ga Vtarushina, and members of the company.

[FauxPas]

One wonders if VAI will also release the earlier Kirov "Sleeping Beauty" with Kolpakova and Soloviev (excerpts are on various compilation tapes). This I believe was commercially released in Japan only and I think just on VHS. Given the paucity of Soloviev films available and an earlier, fresher Kolpakova with a youthful Mezentseva as the Lilac Fairly this seems a must.

The other Kirov "Beauty"s with Sizova (sixties film truncated) and Kolpakova with Berezhnoi (1980's) are on Kultur. The Lezhnina/Ruzimatov is on Image DVD but the Asymuratova/Zaklinsky has never been on DVD, only Kultur VHS in a mediocre transfer. So VAI really would do well to get this since they lack a real full-length "Beauty" in their catalogue.

[Helene]

I just got another email from the amazon.com people:

Glazunov (Actor), et al "Raymonda Ballet" [DVD] Estimated arrival date: 12/13/2007**

**I've got amazon Prime, and this is with 2-day service.

But still, much better than January.

[Helene]

New estimated ship date: 24 December

[MakarovaFan]

Has anyone received an update from Amazon on the delivery of Raymonda? My account says delivery on or about 12/26 but no disc in sight.

[Helene]

After four-five date changes, I finally got a "Shipped" notice on 27 December to say it had shipped Fedex Second Day for delivery on 2 January.

[Mme. Hermine]

[Helene]

My fortune cookie at lunch said,

You will receive a pleasant surprise in the mail.

and when I got home, indeed, "Raymonda" had been delivered!

I plan to watch it later tonight, to ring in the new year.

[carbro]

How cool, Helene! Enjoy it, and happy New Year.

I got a slip today advising me to go over to the P.O. and pick up an oversized item that wouldn't fit in my mailbox. No info on origin (which drives me nuts), but I suspect it is my order from Amazon. I'll have to wait until Wednesday, at least.

[Cliff]

I got an email update... my copy of Raymonda may not be shipped until 2/1 - 2/15.

[Helene]

There is a marked contrast between the first two acts of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky versions of "Raymonda." It's like watching Balanchine's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Ashton's "The Dream" back to back: why are those people dancing now to that music?

In the Bolshoi version, Jean de Brienne appears immediately in the first scene, and he and Raymonda dance together, clearly as an involved couple. Tutus and pointe shoes are prominent. Abderakhman appears first in Raymonda's dream in the second scene. In the Mariinsky version, Abderakhman is introduced to Raymonda and the court in the first scene; Jean de Brienne appears in that scene on a tapestry. His first live appearance is during the dream sequence, and the dancing between them is formal and serene. The women in the first scene wear long dresses and dance in heeled shoes.

For all of its formality, I didn't get much of a sense of formal corps structure in the Mariinsky version. That may have been partly due to the filming, but the combination of floaty dresses and tutus also made it difficult to see the patterns. The Bolshoi version, in my opinion cruder in most ways, ironically does try to formalize the corps in the dream sequence.

The pluses for me in the Bolshoi version: on the whole, I thought the costumes were better, particularly the men's costumes. I love the way the corps in the dream sequence, with the dark silvery tutus, creates a blossom. I also prefer the characterization of Abderakhman. In the Mariinsky version, there's nothing charismatic about the character: in the dream sequence, he's more of a von Rothbartish figure, and in Act II, he does a lot of stalking, but little dancing. (Of course, it helps that Gedeminas Taranda portrayed him in both Bolshoi videos.)

Even: I liked both Vasychenko's and Berezhnoi's Jean de Briennes, each a very different character, and Clemence and Henrietta (Maria Bilova and Olga Suvorova in the Bolshoi. In the Mariinsky, there's a list of credits at the end, but not with character names, and there's only basic info on the single sheet enclosed with the DVD.)

The pluses for me in the Mariinsky version: Pretty much everything else. Irina Kolpakova She has the most gorgeous arms. She doesn't have the uber-pliant back of many of the Mariinsky Odettes, but her carriage is impeccable, and she dances with diamond-like clarity. Structurally, with the exceptions noted above, I much preferred the Mariinsky. For example, there is much more dancing in the Bolshoi version for Clemence and Henriette, and especially Bernard and Beranger (their partners), but I found that Clemence and Henriette's parts in the Mariinsky had more impact: they were presented as something beautiful and rare, although they had prominent solos in each act.*

I hope to read more opinions as the DVD's get delivered. I hope, too, that someone here recognizes the dancers who portray Clemence and Henrietta. One dancer is a little shorter and more muscular than the other*, but I have no idea who they are.

*Edited to add: I confused the Clemence and Henriette with the dream and third act soloists.