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So, I've been browsing the Internet and I've decided that I'm gonna indulge in some ballet DVDs. I have four candidates so far so I wanted to see what are people's opinions about them.

I'm considering buying either Raymonda with Semenyaka and Mukhamedov, Don Quixote with Terekhova, Coppélia with the Royal Ballet or La Bayadére with Komleva. I have the Raymonda video with Kolpakova and she was great but I also fell in love with the whole ballet and that's why I want another Raymonda, but I was wondering if the Bessmertnova one was better. As for Don Quixote I would like to know what people think about Terekhova as Kitri because she also appears as Gamzatti in the Komleva video of La Bayadére. Lastly I want to know what people think of the Coppélia production of the Royal Ballet, because Coppélia is a ballet I've never seen although I know the story of it.

If anyone would care to comment on this matters it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :thanks:

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I'm partial to the Australian Ballet's Coppelia. The Kultur transfer isn't ideal; the Faveo edition sold in Europe and Asia is far superior. But the production is lovely, and the dancing is very fine. I don't especially like the Royal Ballet version, in large part because the dancing of the corps is ragged.

I also like the Terekhova Don Quixote, but she doesn't perform the usual variation in Act III, if that matters to you.

Both Raymondas are beautiful, but I'm always floored by Semenyaka's performance.

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I love the Bolshoi Don Quixote with Nadezhda Pavlova and Vyacheslav Gordeev (1978), partly because you get to see Pavlova in a rare recording. The DVD comes with bonus scenes from the 1964 Pliseteskaya Don Quixote, so it's quite a treat. I also have the Mariinsky's Don Quixote with Novikova and Sarafanov; they're marvelous, but I don't have any others for comparison (other than the Baryshnikov/ABT version, of course).

I have just one Raymonda, the Semenyaka/Moukhamedo/Bolshoi DVD, which is wonderful, although the lighting is often way too dark.

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So, I've been browsing the Internet and I've decided that I'm gonna indulge in some ballet DVDs. I have four candidates so far so I wanted to see what are people's opinions about them.

I'm considering buying either Raymonda with Semenyaka and Mukhamedov, Don Quixote with Terekhova, Coppélia with the Royal Ballet or La Bayadére with Komleva. I have the Raymonda video with Kolpakova and she was great but I also fell in love with the whole ballet and that's why I want another Raymonda, but I was wondering if the Bessmertnova one was better. As for Don Quixote I would like to know what people think about Terekhova as Kitri because she also appears as Gamzatti in the Komleva video of La Bayadére. Lastly I want to know what people think of the Coppélia production of the Royal Ballet, because Coppélia is a ballet I've never seen although I know the story of it.

If anyone would care to comment on this matters it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! :thanks:

I would definitely get the Bayadere. It remains the only commercially available Bayadere from the Mariinsky/Kirov, and despite a middling Solor, Gabriela Komleva and Tatiana Terekhova are both excellent as Nikya and Gamzatti. Komleva is soulful and vulnerable, Terekhova cold and icy, and the two ballerinas play off each other very well in the scenes they have together. I'd also say that for those who are only familiar with the Makarova version of Bayadere watching the Kirov's version (or the POB's) is necessary to get a better feel of Petipa's actual ballet.

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The Bolshoi version of "Raymonda" is quite different than the Mariinsky version.

...which is one of the reasons I like Grigorovitch here. Having DeBrienne appear in the very beginning makes the whole thing way more understandable, aside from Bessmertnova's footwork and characterization, which are both mesmerizing. To top all this, there is Taranda's Abderakhman...just PERFECTION!!. :clapping:

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Taranda is in both the Semenyaka and Bessmertnova "Raymonda"s. He's fantastic in each.

...you see, yo made again, Helene...now I WANT to have that Raymonda too...!! :D

Will work on that...pronto!

Taranda is great in both, but his ardent Abderakhman has more potent chemistry with the soulful, vulnerable Bessmertnova, IMHO.

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Taranda is in both the Semenyaka and Bessmertnova "Raymonda"s. He's fantastic in each.

...you see, you made it again, Helene...now I WANT that Raymonda too...!! :D

Will work on that...pronto!

Taranda is great in both, but his ardent Abderakhman has more potent chemistry with the soulful, vulnerable Bessmertnova, IMHO.

Soulful...that's just the exact term to describe Miss Bessmertnova's Raymonda...

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