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I treasure my ever growing collection of VHS', among them all those "Stars of the Russian Ballet" ones, which haven't been released on DVD. My three last adquisitions were the Natasha/Misha's "Giselle", Natasha/Nagy's "Swan Lake" and Dolin's "A Portrait of Giselle", all of them via E-Bay, always thanks to Mr. rg's heads up. :wink:

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I have only seen the 2nd act when it was broadcast on tv, and I thought it a very fine version of the ballet. It's about half a year ago so I don't remember much of the interpretation etc, but after seeing it I felt I would like to see it again - a feeling I didn't have with some other filmed Giselles. :clapping:

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Greetings! Looking to add to my DVD collection and I wondered what people are thinking of the POB Giselle, which is VERY difficult to find and was at one time was very expensive. Given that I've heard some negative things about it, but have also seen a magnificent entrance of the Willis from the film on YouTube, I'd be interested in hearing what members have to say about it. Also it appears to have been released by two different companies: Naxos and ArtHaus Music - the only one I can find available is the ArtHaus release. is there any difference between the two releases? They seem to be the same production: Dec 2006.

Also, does anyone know about the Mariinsky Jewels with Lopatkina? The video clip looks gorgeous but I've never seen it around, only POB's Jewels. Any thoughts about either production?

I would be most grateful for any information you can provide. Thank you.

Karen

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There should be no differences between the versions available. Initially the POB's Giselle was released by TDK. After TDK was bought by Arthaus Musik, it was issued a second time. Both versions seem to be a little hard to come by these days. If you can't afford the versions currently on sale, you can wait until it is re-issued yet again. For a number of years the Ferri Giselle was out of print and available only at high prices, but eventually it was re-issued, and now it can be acquired at a perfectly reasonable prince. There's just no telling how long a re-issue may take.

The performances by Pujol (technically) and Le Riche (interpretively) are not perfect, but the film has a lot to recommend it, especially the corps, the peasant pas de deux from Ould-Braham and Thibault, and Gillot's Myrtha.

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Greetings! Looking to add to my DVD collection and I wondered what people are thinking of the POB Giselle, which is VERY difficult to find and was at one time was very expensive. Given that I've heard some negative things about it, but have also seen a magnificent entrance of the Willis from the film on YouTube, I'd be interested in hearing what members have to say about it. Also it appears to have been released by two different companies: Naxos and ArtHaus Music - the only one I can find available is the ArtHaus release. is there any difference between the two releases? They seem to be the same production: Dec 2006.

Also, does anyone know about the Mariinsky Jewels with Lopatkina? The video clip looks gorgeous but I've never seen it around, only POB's Jewels. Any thoughts about either production?

I would be most grateful for any information you can provide. Thank you.

Karen

The Mariinsky Jewels is a mixed bag. The camera work is horrid, often employing on the "eagle" cam that swoops in with sudden closeups of dancers. Lopatkina/Zelensky are a highlight in Diamonds and worth watching by themselves but Rubies is IMO horrible. Irina Golub and Sofia Gumerova were maybe the worst combo. They completely don't get the jazzy rhythm of the work. I saw the Mariinsky do this with Olesia Novikova who would have been much preferable.

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Am I the only one who thinks the Fracci/Bruhn Giselle is the standard (in spite of, as discussed elsewhere, the bizarre camerawork?).

Also, I know it's not the classics, but I enjoy the Dance Theatre of Harlem's Creole Giselle.

I think the Mariinsky Jewels is good, especially Diamonds, and some of the camerawork is interesting. POB has a better feel for Emeralds (as they should), and Rubies. Only POB does the final movement of Emeralds - La mort de Melisande. I think this movement was added later by Balanchine and some companies do not do it. It is a beautiful part of Emeralds and that alone would favor POB.

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Two of my favorite Giselles are Bessmertnova/Lavrovsky and Mezentseva/Zaklinsky. Both are available on DVD from Amazon.com

The Makarova/Baryshnikov version is also quite impressive, but it's available on VHS only. Still worth getting, methink.

As an aside: it's a real crime that Lopatkina's Giselle has not been recorded comercially, and now time is about to run out on Vishneva sad.gif

I could not agree more. Why has Lopatkina been recorded in more roles? This great ballerina, adored by St Petersburg audiences and balletomanes worldwide, is woefully neglected in commercial recordings. I am so happy that at least I saw her perform live in this role on the Mariinsky stage. Of the recordings that exist though, Mezentseva/Zaklinsky with Terekhova as Myrtha was the first ballet video I bought, and I watched it every evening for a year - truly! This is a WONDERFUL Giselle!

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Of the recordings that exist though, Mezentseva/Zaklinsky with Terekhova as Myrtha was the first ballet video I bought, and I watched it every evening for a year - truly! This is a WONDERFUL Giselle!

I got that on tape early on, and spent quite a lot of time with it.

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I have the following Giselles on DVD or Blu-ray. There are a few more available but I think I'll have to call a halt soon. All have something to offer except -sadly- Bessmertnova's. The image quality on this DVD makes it simply unwatchable. I think it may have been issued along with a monthly magazine about ballet for girls. (You know the kind: one pays $8-10 each week for a year or two and more for binders. I bought one on dinosaurs for my kids years ago when the craze was active and you can guess what it cost overall).

The best is Ferri, but Mezentseva is close. I suggest looking on amazon.fr and amazon.de. A few years ago I bought a remote from a company in the UK which hacked my Sony Blu-ray player in about two seconds. It has played DVDs without a problem from all around the world since then.

1. Carla Fracci, Eric Bruhn, Toni Lander, ABT Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel 1969 + 2005 DVD

2. Rudolf Nureyev, Lynn Seymour, Monica Mason, Kultur DVD 1979

3. Creole Giselle Virginia Johnston, Eddie Shellman, Lorraine Graves, Dance Theater of Harlem Kultur DVD 1988

4. Galina Mezentseva, Konstatin Zaklinsky, Tatyana Terekhova Kirov,1983 NVC Arts

5. Anna Tysgankova, Josef Vargas, Igone de Jongh Dutch National Ballet NVC Arts 2009

6. Alicia Alonso, Vladimir Vasiliev Ballet Nacional de Cuba 1980 VAI 2007

7. Svetlana Lunkina, Dmitry Gudanov, Maria Allash Bolshoi BelAir classiques 2012

8. Nadia Nerina Nikolai Fadeyechev, Margaret Hill, Lydia Sokolova, 1958 BBC ICQ Classics Legacy 2011

9. Laetitia Pujol, Nicholas Le Riche, Marie-Agnes Gillot. Ballet de l'Opera national de Paris TDK 2006

10. Alessandra Ferri, Massimo Murru Isabel Seabra La Scala ArtHaus Musik 1996

11. Karen Kain, Frank Augustyn. National ballet of Canada CBC Video VAI 1976

12. Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobberg, Marianela Nunez Royal Ballet 2006 Opus Arte 2008

13. Creole Giselle Virginia Johnston, Eddie Shellman Lorraine Graves Dance Theatre of Harlem Kultur 1988

14. Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle, Marta Romagna La Scala TDK 2005

15. Natalia Bessmertnova, Mikhail Lavroski, G. Kozlova Bolshoi 1975 ABC Entertainment www.zyx.de 2008

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