72 replies to this topic

[Yvonne]

Balletnut, what a bummer!  Well....I'm on eBay frequently.  The next time that video comes up for auction (and it ALWAYS does - at least twice a month), I will post here and let you know.  Ebay is very simple to use and you should be able to nab the video for well under $25.00.  It's (eBay) a great way to find ballet videos!

[Yvonne]

I should have checked eBay before I wrote that last post!  Balletnut, there is one copy of that video up for auction NOW!  The bidding starts at $11.99 (no reserve price), and nobody has bid on it yet.  The auction closes on May 5th.  Go to www.ebay.com  and after the page loads, type in "Makarova" and your movie will come up.  It's simple to register and bid - Good Luck!!!

GO FOR IT!!!!

[cubanmiamiboy]

Juliet, on Apr 27 2001, 01:14 AM, said:

Why has no one mentioned the Alicia Alonzo Giselle?  It is very distinctive, and although one marvels at her age when it was filmed, I think it is lovely.......

Well, Juliet, if nobody has mentioned Mme. Alonso's "Giselle"  yet, then it's my duty to do so !, considering that i just can't get  enough of her and everytime i can i try to pass the message of her artistry to whoever wants to receive it   ...The last Giselle i saw with her (AT THE AGE OF 73 AND  NOT HER LAST ONE!     ) in 1993 was as unique as every single one of the maaaaaaaaaaany others that i saw from this XX Century ballet living legend.  What can i say that hasn't been already said about her "Giselles"? Only that one can't have a whole accurate  idea of this phenomenom just from the 1965 B/W DVD  with Azary Plisetsky.  Alonso's Giselle live were different everytime you would go and see it...sometimes more shy, sometimes with a little bit more of a "flirt" and  sometimes she even would make you "guess" earlier in the first act that something terrible was about to happen later on..like a secret that she shared with the public.
Why NBC hasn't released any other "Giselle" performance on DVD, like the one with Vladimir Vasiliev, is something  i don't know,   and it's a pity.  For now, this is the only recorded version on the market, and it doesn't really describe her in this role as she deserves...

[Mariano]

cubanmiamiboy and other friends:

Alicia Alonso's full-length "Giselle" has been captured on video or film at least 3 times.  First, the black-and-white movie that was filmed not live in the former Blanquita theatre (today "Carlos Marx") in Havana.  The other 2 Giselles are live performances in the Teatro García Lorca in Havana.  The first of these 2 was with Vladimir Vasiliev in 1980, when the diva was 60 years old, and the second one was a Gala for the 150th aniversary of the ballet "Giselle" in 1991 where Alicia (71 years old!!!) participated with all other prima ballerinas of the company, alternating in the title role, in the same performace!  I have all 3 on DVD from VHS recorded not commercially in Havana.

The last word I received this year from the people I know in Havana is that they are working on the Alonso-Vasiliev tape in order to release it commercially.  It is a very hard work because they gathered all available copies on tape of that performance, all recorded from the air, and took the best preserved section from each for doing an extensive restoration of both image and sound.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Mariano, on Aug 5 2007, 10:01 AM, said:

The second one was a Gala for the 150th aniversary of the ballet "Giselle" in 1991 where Alicia (71 years old!!!) participated with all other prima ballerinas of the company, alternating in the title role, in the same performace!

Hey Mariano...you just took me back in time...i was one of the lucky people that was at the Lorca the day of that all-stars  cast "Giselle" (MEMORABLE!!   ), and i even remember me and my friend Bismart (   ) breaking  the doors of the San Rafael entrance along with that human mass wanting to watch the performance...Anyways, back on topic, those are great news about the Vasiliev/Alonso production going on DVD   . It was a brilliant duo  , and it sure deserves to go public... If you get any news about it, please, let us know.

[Mariano]

You were at that performance!  I'm sorry I missed it, I was already in the USA. (I'm glad you broke the doors!).

I'll let you know if I receive any new information.

[Natalia]

The 1980 one (with Vasiliev) has already been announced at amazon.com and can be pre-ordered, although they keep delaying the release. Maybe September '07? I keep getting messages about the estimated date of shipping, as I pre-ordered it a couple of months ago. I am sure that it will be worth the wait.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Natalia, on Aug 9 2007, 01:24 PM, said:

The 1980 one (with Vasiliev) has already been announced at amazon.com

  

[87Sigfried87]

BalletNut, on Apr 25 2001, 12:46 AM, said:

So, what do you think is the best production of Giselle captured on video? The worst? The most unique?

Mmmm........My favourite one is the one with Alessandra Ferri and Massimo murru.She is my favourite dancer.She has a great talent in perfectly wear the shoes of the character she has to represent.When She's on the stage,You don't see Alessandra,You see Giselle,a young peasant,innocent,at her first love,wondering about her man.And when She sees him,She's a shy little girl,embarassed and longing to stay with Albrecht.It's wonderful how She gives you all these feelings and make you understand for example that She's wondering what to say and what to do when She will meet him without speaking,if not with her body.I can't describe how well She can be Giselle.I hope You can get the chance to see the video.The couple is out of the world,really.Unfortunately She has given her last goodbye to the scene,as She's already 40 some....Everybody knows her,especially in the USA,for her partnership with Julio Bocca in what is defined her best role,"Romeo and Juliet".I'd say She's even better in Giselle and I can't forget her last ballet here at Scala:John Neumeier's "Lady of the Camelias".Perfect in partnership with Roberto Bolle.Also Carla Fracci's Giselle is perfect.And I have to say both Alessandra and Carla have their best roles in common.Sometimes You would confuse the two.But Fracci's Giselle It's in my opinion,old dance.I don't like those old videos with little arabesques,penchés at 90°.So I give you the advice to get the video of the Giselle I talked You about.

[Mariano]

Natalia:

I searched amazon.com but could not find that announcement.  There is, however, another DVD which is "Alicia Alonso: Giselle, La Leyenda", but that's another story.  Do you think a link would work?

[cubanmiamiboy]

Mariano, on Aug 9 2007, 06:18 PM, said:

Natalia:

I searched amazon.com but could not find that announcement.  There is, however, another DVD which is "Alicia Alonso: Giselle, La Leyenda", but that's another story.  Do you think a link would work?

I think "La leyenda" is based on the Alonso/Plisetsky production...

[canbelto]

I think the Royal Ballet will probably release the Giselle telecast with Cojocaru and Kobborg eventually, considering its new partnership with Opus Arte. And it's too bad that the Giselle of Vishneva and Malakhov is only available in Japan, as it preserves Vishneva's implacable, unforgettable portrayal.

[Ray]

Can anyone tell me which Giselle video does the best job in showing the mad scene?  By "best" here I mean in terms of filming/video quality--I want to show it to a non-dance class of students and I want them to see it clearly.

[carbro]

Just yesterday I viewed two mad scenes on YouTube:  Fracci's and Makarova's.  They are  starkly different.  I suggest you check them out.  The contrast is fascinating.  

There may be others, but those two popped up first on my Fracci search (the later earlier Giselle, opp. Nureyev  Bruhn), then, on the suggestions to the right of the screen, for the link to the Makarova version.

Edited by carbro, 27 August 2007 - 11:36 AM.
To correct embarrassing error.

[rg]

i haven't looked lately but if the filming is even 'fair' i should think that lynn seymour's performance (opp. nureyev's albrecht/loys) would be a fine example of vivid ballet acting.