57 replies to this topic

[4mrdncr]

Did anyone ever see the Russian/Soviet happy ending to R&J?  What happened?
Soviet sensibilities are also a little odd since SL, and I assume Giselle, kept their original sad endings, but the powers-that-were then didn't want the same for Shakespeare.

(Still my favorite scene of an alternate interpretation: Romeo doesn't get the note about Juliet being still alive in the Luhrman (sp?) film because no one was home when the UPS/FedEx guy came.)

[esperanto]

SandyMcKean, on 27 February 2012 - 02:09 PM, said:

Quote

Juliet becomes a mother-in-law. So what about Balanchine's statement that there are no mothers-in-law in ballet? Will Juliet have to give up her dancing career?

Precisely.  This is the reason for the otherwise unexplainable fact that Mr B never did a sequel to any of the existing R&Js.

however Raymonda has an aunt! (why not a mother? how are we supposed to guess?)

[Hamorah]

I didn't see the Russian happy ending to R & J, but I did see their happy ending to the "duck pond".  The Kirov/Maryinsky performance was brilliant - after the third act we were in tears and then came the 4th act...........  The music soared and there we were expecting duck and prince to rise up to heaven in their duckmobile, when the prince somehow manages to kill Rothbart and he and aforementioned duck stand centre stage in a very mundane pose, whilst the divine music makes us long for some matching visual magic.  It was like everyone in the audience started muttering together - "Why did they do that?  How could they do that?  Talk about lame duck.............

[esperanto]

There was an old Soviet ballet film of Swan Lake with Ulanova, I believe, in which there was a very happy ending. The swans turned into maidens at sunrise and Odette and Siegfried wnet off into the horizon.

[esperanto]

The Golden Idol in Bayadere is seen by a Hollywood executive, borrows Jean de Brienne's sword and models for a new statuette to honor best movie actor of the year.

[esperanto]

How about Albrecht abdicates and marries Giselle. Bathilde dies and SHE becomes a wili.
Or:  albrecht (or Hilarion) acidentally cuts himself on the sword and dies of blood poisoning.

By the way, I heard of a sequel to Giselle called Giselle's Revenge. It uses the same music and has her enticing albrecht in to
her grave, then shutting it and dancing on top. Has anyone else heard of it or seen it?

[Mme. Hermine]

Myra Kinch!

http://archive.dance...6e-be9f57c03ccf

[esperanto]

Thanks, Mme. Hermine. Have you ever seen it? Sounds great.

[Mme. Hermine]

i think i may have but only a piece of it, a long time ago.

my favorite alternate ending is the one featured by the now-archived ballet.co as one of their (in)famous april fool's:

http://www.ballet.co...m/news/330.html

[lmspear]

Dr. Coppelius sells the doll he could not animate to a band of gypsies passing through town on their way to Russia.  The gypsies try using their brand of magic on the doll that they then sell to the charlatan in the long robe they meet at that year's Shrovetide fair.  In the next scene we learn that Coppelia has given birth to triplets, those human-doll hybrids, Petrushka, the Ballerina, and the Moor.

[esperanto]

I like your triplets, Imspear. Very clever.

[bart]

Quote

Talk about lame duck.............

[esperanto]

James wraps the enchanted scarf around the sylphide.  But just as her wings drop off Peter Pan flies on and asks all the spectators to clap if they believe in Sylphides.  and then she'll recover!