15 replies to this topic

[4mrdncr]

Recently posted on the Corella Ballet's company website:
SWAN LAKE, choreography by Angel Corella (after Petipa/Ivanov) to premiere in Valladolid, February 2010.

Link:  http://www.corellaba...temporada2.html

Please note: The calendar is subject to change.

But either way, a Swan Lake that would be very interesting to see.  And hopefully some BT members will, and report on it.

[bart]

4mrdncr, do you know anything more about this production?  The only information about it that I found on the website was a simple listing for the Valladolid run you mentioned.  Valladollid?!  Is that like an out-of-town tryout prior to opening on Broadway?

[CarolinaM]

What I can add is what Ángel mentioned me some weeks ago in that already mentioned interview:

Quote

.../...
CM:  I believe the next great production will be “Swan Lake.”  Is that so?

AC:  Yes, it will be a new production with new scenery and costumes, although the choreography, though I will review it, will be the original of Petipa and Ivanov.

CM:  When and where will it be premiered?

AC:  In Valladolid, at the Calderon Theater, at the beginning of January. (*)

CM:  Will there be other performances?

AC:  Yes, between three different theaters already confirmed, but we haven’t signed contracts yet, so I’m going to be discreet.

CM:  Thanks to you we could see, at the Liceu, the ballerina Alina Cojocaru as Nikiya.  Will there also be a great star invited for the role of Odette/Odile?

AC:  If it is necessary, we will engage a guest artist, but at this moment we have great dancers like Natalia Tapia, Adiarys Almeida, Carmen Corella, Ashley Ellis, and others.  I believe the public will get used to enjoying these dancers, because they dazzle every night in their performances.

CM:  Do you foresee being able to bring it to Catalonia soon?

AC:  At the moment, no, but we hope that, after the success of “La Bayadere”, the Liceu will be interested.

(*) Dates moved to February
.../...

Corella Ballet will be performing end of January in Barcelona at the Coliseum, with the same program they premiered at the Festival of Peralada this summer.

[4mrdncr]

Not sure how much either or both of the reasons below influenced the decision to premiere Swan Lake in Valladolid, bart, but they were probably factors in that choice...

1) There are a limited number of theatres of the size necessary to do a full-length in Spain--something Corella Ballet encountered, and were aware of for some years prior to touring the full-length "La Bayadere".
2) The government of Castille-Leon is a major sponser of CBCL (hence the required inclusion of C-L in the company's name) and another part of that sponsorship agreement was that the company tour extensively in C-L, and also do (some) premieres there.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Ah....I've seen Adiarys Almeida's SL live-(when she came down here to dance it with the CCBM).  Her Odette was beautiful, but her Odile was even better...

[4mrdncr]

Oh I believe that!  Once, after class, Angel and Adiarys had a 'turning competition' for fun.  The class pianist obliged, and ...
Angel did Don Q, Adiarys did Black Swan.  It was close, but I think she won--not only because of how many fouettes or piros she did, but for the variety and difficulty--some things she did I never saw others do, but maybe Cuba has?  (Maybe, some day,  I can release this "competition" footage and we can all decide.)

[cubanmiamiboy]

Oh, I believe you.  One of the things that I remember from that Swan Lake was how EXTREMELY DARING her Odile's fouettes were...I kept praying that she would be able to finish them without having an accident...

[4mrdncr]

The premiere performances of Angel Corella's version of Swan Lake in Valladolid are completely SOLD OUT, even though he is not dancing!  Currently, opening night will be danced by Herman Cornejo & Adiarys Almeida.  The other alternating couples are Joseph Gatti & Ashley Ellis, Fernando Bufala & Kazuko Omori.  (Carmen and Iain Mackay appeared together in Galanes photo)

FYI: Angel also is interviewed in the Feb/Mar issue of "Pointe", and Feb. ('Hollywood') issue of "Vanity Fair" regarding the NY debut of Corella Ballet.  Though contractually obligated to help promote the film, he neglected to mention the existance of the documentary in both instances.  (The "Pointe" article was shocking to me, considering where the Trailer has been posted all this time?!) There is also an interview with the NYTimes I have yet to see, but was informed by the CB company manager, that the doc wasn't mentioned there either.  I tried to email Macauley to rectify this, but don't know if he'll ever see it.

Are any BT'ers going to the CB perfs at NYCC?  Maybe I'll see you, or you'll see something too?

[CarolinaM]

4mrdncr, on Feb 17 2010, 01:39 AM, said:

FYI: Angel also is interviewed in the Feb/Mar issue of "Pointe", and Feb. ('Hollywood') issue of "Vanity Fair" regarding the NY debut of Corella Ballet.  Though contractually obligated to help promote the film, he neglected to mention the existance of the documentary in both instances.  (The "Pointe" article was shocking to me, considering where the Trailer has been posted all this time?!) There is also an interview with the NYTimes I have yet to see, but was informed by the CB company manager, that the doc wasn't mentioned there either.  I tried to email Macauley to rectify this, but don't know if he'll ever see it.

I'm sorry to read this 4mrdncr    I can't imagine why, really can't as I know how hard you've worked and how good your documentary looks.

In fact I also wanted to explain a bit about CB' Swan Lake and about the Spanish situation as far as ballet and dance are concerned.

Last year they announced the creation of a new Classical Ballet Company directed by Victor Ullate. Also they said that Nacho Duato would have to leave the CND by next month of July. But the ministry of culture was changed and now they say that what they are going to do is to turn Duato's to a Classical Company.

At the same time it seems that there is a cummulated budget for the new company they foresaw to create of about 1.260.000 Euros . Article in Spanish http://www.larazon.e...ticia/2248-1-26 ... et-clasico

Why they don't leave Duato's as it is given the great work he has made during the 20 years he has been in front of the CND and they give the money devoted to classical dance to Corella Ballet?

In still not two years of existence CB has been able to stage a great Bayadère and at the end of the month they are presenting Swan Lake. Even knowing that Angel will not dance at any of the shows, tickets for the four evenings were sold out the very same day they were put on sale. The company already has a name, dancers are well known and admired: Herman Cornejo, Adyaris Almeida, Ashley Ellis, Fernando Bufalá, Natalia Tapia, Joseph Gatti, etc., etc., are very beloved by Spanish ballet lovers. Here it is the link to the company for further info. http://www.angelcorella.org/home2.html

You will soon have the chance to see how the company looks like, I'm really excited about them to perform in NY and also eager to see their Swan Lake in Oviedo.

Will see what government decisions will be.

[bart]

Thanks to CarolinaM for sending us an English version of a fascinating interview with Carmen Corella, concerning the Swan Lake run at Valladolid.  Neither Angel nor Carmen is dancing, but the run was sold out nonetheless. Apparently this is the first Spanish-created production of Swan Lake in 22 years.

There's a dramatic photo of Carmen Corella, taken last summer. She wears a flowered summer dress and is seated, possibly at an outdoor cafe.  What a fantastic looking woman.

http://www.balletyma...;accion=noticia

Quote

Are you going to tour abroad with Swan Lake?
No, not for the time being, this is a production we have tried to adjust to Spanish theaters so that we can tour as much as possible here. What sells best abroad is blood and Spanish dancers; it is a repertoire easier to move mainly at economical level. On the other hand, it must be offered to Spain what other countries have, which are classical ballet productions, that here we are lacking.

I do not know if you are aware of the proposal the Ministry of Culture has made to Nacho Duato...
That about including classical repertoire in his company? Yes.

What do you think about?
Well, if we want to keep on inventing ideas without seeing the reality.... Ideas can raise and it can be many card’s to lay on the table, but if we really want to do things properly, one has to think a bit more about what is being offered. Not looking for a replay we want to hear but searching a solution which is feasible by everybody.

When will we see Swan Lake in Madrid?
I think soon. Tickets sold out very quickly and among theaters this was quickly known. What will happen on stage today will help very much. Audience will see the quality Ángel is working with his company and what we want in Spain which is to not making second class works but that people going to see the company can be sure that it is a matter of total guarantee.

[4mrdncr]

bart, the picture was taken at the La Granja de San Ildefonso Town Hall.  I'm not sure if it is from the July 2008 press conference I shot there, (prior to Corella Ballet's "Pre-Premiere" on the outdoor stage at the Royal Palace of La Granja) or a similar one held in 2009.

BTW: Here is a link to some EFE footage shot of Corella's Swan Lake (Act1 - Herman Cornejo as Siegfried, Fernando Bufala, Kazuko Omori, and is it Maria Jose Sales?--sorry blurry video-- in the Pas de Trois).  Some of the choreography (waltz and Siegfried menege) look a lot like ABT's (which I'm never quite sure how much is McKenzie's vs Petipas'.)
http://www.informado...vos-tiempos.htm

[bart]

Thanks for that link.  I'd love to see more of the theater, and to have seen more of the dancing without those awkwardly placed cuts.  I love the autumn color palate, and the contrast for the Prince.  This is more handsome than some big-company productions I know of.

It's still a relatively small company to take on Swan Lake.  Here's a list of the Dancers, from the current Corella website.

Quote

PRINCIPALS

           Adiarys Almeida | Carmen Corella | Natalia Tapia           Ángel Corella Herman Cornejo | Joseph Gatti
................................................................................
...........

FIRST SOLOIST
Kazuko Omori
................................................................................
...........

SOLOISTS
         Cristina Casa | Ashley Ellis| Mª José Sales            Fernando Bufalá | Kirill Radev | Yevgen Uzlenkov
................................................................................
...........

CORPS DE BALLET

Girls
    Alexandra Basmagy | Ana Cabral | Leire Cabrera | Ana Calderón | Yoko Callegari | | Alba Cazorla | Tracy Jones
Carla López | Marta Ludevid | Georgia Molina | María Sordo

Boys
Ion Agirretxe | Yerlan Andagulov | George Birkadze
Russell Ducker | Sergey D'yachkov
Daniel Fajardo | Luca Giaccio | Toby Mallitt
Roberto Sánchez | Iván Sánchez

[CarolinaM]

After Valladolid and Oviedo, Swan Lake is premiering today at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. You can have a short report (Spanish) with dates, casts and two photos at the following link: http://www.balletyma...&accion=noticia

Beginning of October they will be in Sant Cugat, close to Barcelona, for three days with a Master Class conducted by Ángel Corella on Saturday morning and an open rehearsal on Saturday afternoon.

[CarolinaM]

Corella Ballet Castilla y Leon presented their new production “Swan Lake” in Sant Cugat (Barcelona) the first week-end of October.

This has been the first time that this ballet was staged by a Spanish Company with a completely new production created specially for them. Ángel Corella reviewed the choreography but was very respectful with Petipa/Ivanov’s work, he only shorted some parts, and introduced some video projections to strengthen the magic this ballet has to have.  The sets and costumes were designed by Benjamin Tyrrell and settings were produced in the Sant Cugat Auditorium workshop.
  
The result has been a very beautiful staging with lovely costumes. The ballet has already been seen in Valladolid, Oviedo and Madrid but it premiered in Catalunya, were the company first was due to be. Three days seemed to be too much for Sant Cugat but all tickets sold out.

Even if it should have been the Liceu who programmed it, ballet lovers were happy as Sant Cugat always offers the possibility of some parallel activities to make more people able to know and enjoy ballet. On Saturday morning there was an open class for advanced ballet students given by Ángel Corella. Forty girls followed it and some spectators were attending too. It has been great to see this master class, we all enjoyed it very much and at the end with Corella conducting some wonderful port de bras at the front of all the forty students was really moving.
  
On the afternoon there was a rehearsal opened to everybody. The theatre was full of families, people who couldn't get a ticket and those ballet lovers that do not miss anything (as I am   ). Once the rehearsal ended, there was possible to raise questions and Mr. Corella who had danced the day before at the premiere but didn’t seem to be tired, was patient enough to have time for everybody. They say that classical ballet does not interest Catalan audiences but last week-end in Sant Cugat it was demonstrated that this is not true at all.
  
Now let’s go to the performances. From my point of view Corella Ballet is now lacking of leading ballerinas. Ashley Ellis and Adiarys Almeida who were really great have left and no new have joined. There still are some very nice ones but there is no balance, men win. CBCL is very strong in male dancers, they always have been and now with the new joiners the level is really, really, high.

On Friday the principal roles were performed by Ángel Corella as Siegfried, Natalia Tapia as Odette/Odile, Fernando Bufala as Benno, with Maria José Sales and Cristina Casa at Pas de Trois of Act I, and Aaron Robinson as von Rotbhart. As usual, Ángel was the king of the night, people adore him and he gives all his best. If he always has been a great artist now that he is more mature, he gives a plus to the role with every single gesture that gets to really move the audience. Natalia is a good dancer, she has a very good technique, her balances and developes are amazing and also her piruettes at Act III were perfect but to be honest she is not a complete Odette/Odile, she lacks innocence and hope on ActII, she is not enough lyrical, she is much more better as Odile. Fernando Bufala is a danseur noble, elegant, who never disappoints. As Benno he was a pleasure to watch and the pas de trois looked very nice. The three dancers were great. But the discovery of the night was Aaron Robinson. This very young dancer, born in UK, but who grew up in Barcelona, started his training in Spain and finished at the Royal Ballet. He joined Corella Ballet a few months ago from Birmingham Ballet. He astonished audience by his ballon. He is very tall and very good looking and when he appears so magnificent even if one can not see him too much because of the low light and his dark dress, you see his jumps and elevations and you get really incredulous. All audience of course did. The two swans were nice and the four were delightful, so well coordinated! The corps did it very well, really good for such a new company.

Saturday was time for Carmen Corella as Odette/Odile, Dayron Vera as Sigfried, Aaron Robinson as Benno and Segey Diyachkov as von Rothbard. I could not attend but I would have liked it very much. Dayron and Carmen must have been a wonderful pair and Aaaron as Benno… oh my God!!

Sunday and new cast: Fernando Bufala as Sigfried, Kazuko Omori as Odette/Odile, Yevgen Uzlenkov as Benno, Ana Calderón and Carla López at the Pas de Trois and again Aaron Robinson as von Rothbard. I loved Fernando, as always, he was a truly prince, they say that he remembers Ángel and it is true. And I loved Kazuko very much too. She has not the perfect conditions for a ballet dancer, she is not the typical ballerina, but one notice her love for dance, that soul she puts at every single movement. Technically she is very good and she gave the role what it demands. I think this pair fitted very well. Yevgen is an amazing Benno, what a good dancer he is! and of course Aaron, again... What a pitty to have missed him as Benno the day before. Corps was also very well but unfortunately the four swans (second cast) didn’t get it.

It’s a joy to see this company and how they are creating a ballet audience. We only pray so that they get enough support and are able to keep on growing.

Here there is an article in Spanish with some photos in balletymas

[sunday]

Carolina, I'm sorry to disagree, but I liked Natalia Tapia (in spite of some travel during the fouettés). It helped that I brought my field glasses and was able to see her facial expressions. Perhaps she received the same amount of applause as Angel himself, I dare say.

Also, past year the corps de ballet had some rough edges, but has improved since then. Great synchronization overall, and the soloists are world-class.

But the performance of the score by the orchestra was only so-so.