102 replies to this topic

[leonid]

Thank you, Natalia, for posting such a full description. I look forward to reading more.

[bingham]

Thank you for such a detailed report. I will be looking forward for the rest of report.Someone should send you to all major revivals Is La Source in your list?

[EricHG31]

That is a fantastic review, and has made me all the more excited, and hopeful, to have a chance to see this!  You basically answered every question I've had (I suspect I know at least one of the "surprise" spots the White Lady appears in--you can clearly hear it in the music, yet the Grigorovich and Makarova productions don't use it, and of course the K Sergeyev doesn't even have her).  Looking at the photos on their website, while reading your review, *almost* can bring it to life.  The amazing colours of Vsevelozhky's costumes, which remind me of his for Sleeping Beauty, are thrilling and prove how much is lost in those original black and white photos.

I admit, as a purist, I always question when any changes are made, when the purpose is to do a faithful reconstruction, but the ones you describe *do* make sense.  I think, even with an audience knowing they're seeing a reconstruction, it's very hard to stage a long ballet and not give the premier danseur a solo--I can completely understand why the change was made.  And I always thought the quick introduction of Aberakham's retinue in the first scene that Petipa had added to the score seemed unecesary, and to ruin some of the surprise (though perhaps he felt he had to telegraph the moment to his audience).  

As for the apotheosis, that sounds exactly what it was in the original production--the Joust depicted as a painting, not a tableux vivant, which seems strange to me, considering Sleeping Beauty's apotheosis.  (Then again isn't Nutcracker's original, somewhat bizarre, apotheosis of a harmonious beehive a painted backdrop as well?)  

One question--the souvenir program sounds amazing.  Is it only offered in Italian--and would anyone know if it's possible to buy online or by mail order?  I know it's a long shot, but I know you can buy souvenir programs online from Broadway shows and Met Opera performances.  There's so little about Raymonda in ballet books, and being one of my top 2 ballets, I'd love to be able to buy it.

Thanks again for your detailed write up and can't wait to read more thoughts!

[Cygnet]

Thanks Natalia for your wonderful report!  Brava Novikova & La Scala!   

[Lidewij]

A clip of Olesya Novikova in the new/old Raymonda has appeared on youtube:  

[Paul Parish]

THank yu, Lidewi!

That's pretty thrilling.

Does Raymonda "usually" do entrechat-quatres to pointe? These are STUNNING, and i don't think I've ever seen them before. I THINK they're usually just changements to pointe.

Maybe Cecchetti had all his advanced students doing these. Karsavina says he taught her to do entrechat huit -- he told her to just do another entrechat quatre before she came down, and she did. But probably not to pointe.

[Drew]

Paul Parish, on 12 October 2011 - 03:35 PM, said:

Does Raymonda "usually" do entrechat-quatres to pointe? These are STUNNING, and i don't think I've ever seen them before. I THINK they're usually just changements to pointe.

They are stunning and, at least on Youtube, Novikova made them seem perfectly light and easy.

[leonid]

Drew, on 12 October 2011 - 09:40 PM, said:

Paul Parish, on 12 October 2011 - 03:35 PM, said:

Does Raymonda "usually" do entrechat-quatres to pointe? These are STUNNING, and i don't think I've ever seen them before. I THINK they're usually just changements to pointe.

They are stunning and, at least on Youtube, Novikova made them seem perfectly light and easy.

Watch the 43 year old Irina Kolpakhova execute the same steps.

[Mme. Hermine]

Quote

Watch the 43 year old Irina Kolpakhova execute the same steps.

        

[chiapuris]

Let me be plain with you...I loved the reconstruction of Vikharev and colleagues. Raymonda the ballet, makes sense as a narrative, makes sense as a dance, makes sense as a multi-scene production. Petipa lives.

The Petipa production of 1896 glowed through the transmutation of Vikharev’s reconstruction.

Olesya Novikova is the personification of elegance as Raymonda. No one so far as I know, since Pierina Legnani, has done changements sautes sur les pointes but ,never......entre-chat quatres sautes sur les pointes as Novikova does in the pizzicatto on Tuesday 11 October at the premier at La Scala. Frankly it was an overwhelming experience.  I shall never forget it. (did the Harvard notes indicate entre-chat quatres?)

The earlier full- length productions of Raymonda so far, have tried to eclectically pick and choose musical, choreographic, and dramatic moments and combine them.
They miss.(Except for the Balanchine reminiscence of the Hungarian
wedding cortege).
The story gets botched, the main ideas, say, dream verses reality gets botched,and dances follow the musical score willy nilly get botched. Nothing but shambles.

Vikharev’s reconstruction is elegant, the scenes follow the narrative, the costumes
revivify the milieu and the atmosphere, and the universe is teeming with humanity:
the Vitruvian human, the aged, and, by far, the young.

One is impressed with the dozens and dozens of the La Scala academy boys and girls who inhabit the dreams and realities of the narrative of the scenes within the acts of Raymonda.
Bravi to them and to their teachers!

One is also impressed with the achievement of the ballet artists of all rank of La Scala.
The soloists of Henriette, Clemence, Bernard and Beranger, the White Lady and
Abderrakhman are noteworthy. Bravi.

Particularly intense was the performance of the saracen, with strong lines and passion.

Of the guest artists, Friedemann Vogel, is a flawless partner and earned a variation with
cabrioles en avant in the wedding scene.

Kudos for Olesya Novikova for all the variations (I’ll count them on the 14th) but more for the transcendent grand pas classique which I liked unreservedly.

For myself, the tutus for the principals grew to my liking more and more---  I liked the luscious star-strewn red tutu and the Hungarian pink tutu with green vest and three-feathered red hat.

The conductor led the orchestra on a gorgeous musical journey.

I was struck that no-one offered  any flowers to anyone, especially to Novikova, at the curtain call, She deserved them.

Is that la Scala tradition?

Until my next performance, Friday 14 October.

jc

[cubanmiamiboy]

It took an Italian ballerina to go to Russia to create the role.  Now it took a Russian one to go back to Italy to revive it.  Bella Novikova!!  

[leonid]

chiapuris, on 13 October 2011 - 04:12 AM, said:

Olesya Novikova is the personification of elegance as Raymonda. No one so far as I know, since Pierina Legnani, has done changements sautes sur les pointes but ,never......entre-chat quatres sautes sur les pointes as Novikova does in the pizzicatto on Tuesday 11 October at the premier at La Scala. Frankly it was an overwhelming experience.  I shall never forget it. (did the Harvard notes indicate entre-chat quatres?)

Regarding your statement, "Olesya Novikova is the personification of elegance as Raymonda. No one so far as I know, since Pierina Legnani, has done changements sautes sur les pointes but ,never......entre-chat quatres sautes sur les pointes as Novikova does in the pizzicatto on Tuesday 11 October at the premier at La Scala. Frankly it was an overwhelming experience. I shall never forget it. (did the Harvard notes indicate entre-chat quatres?)”

The entrechat quatre sur les pointes were probably standard for tecnichians like Natalya Dudinskaya and other Vaganova pupils as it was for Irina Kolpakhova which was the point I was making by posting the above youtube clips.

Dopo il periodo di Legnani, one should not think there were no virtuosi able to perform in her manner at the Maryinsky or Kirov Theatres.

PS
As mentioned earlier Kolpakhova was age 43 at the time of the filming.

[bart]

For statisticians, here's the entrechat count:   Novikova 30, Kolpakova 20.  There are noticeable musical differences at this point, and Novikova starts her 30 more slowly than Kolpatkova does her 20.  Both accelerate as the sequence goes on.

Question:  as someone who has not seen entrechats to point done in such numbers, is the movement forward in a straight line an expected part of the routine, as with travelling fouettes?  Novikova is amazing the way she sticks to the fat white line on the floor.  A trick, perhaps, but a good trick.

One detail from the Novikova clip that is probably not an accurate reconstruction:  her very high developpes a la seconde.  Kolpakova's are more restrained at just a bit north of 90 degrees.

[Cygnet]

Lidewij, on 12 October 2011 - 02:39 PM, said:

A clip of Olesya Novikova in the new/old Raymonda has appeared on youtube:  

Thanks Lidewij!  I searched for something last night and I gave up about an hour too soon !

[EricHG31]

Chiapuris, thanks for another wonderful review!  I am so glad that it looks like this has been filmed and will air in some fashion.  In regards to one of your comments--it is striking from the photos how the original costumes made it so clear who was from what area of the world, etc--this all gets kinda abstracted and vague in nearly every modern production (of course the Bolshoi's is from that long Grigorovich era where he and designer Versadze prefered those semi abstract swashes of colour and glitter faintly hinting at buildings, that I think don't work at all for these classical ballets, and certainly look very dated to the 50s-70s now, much more dated than the original designs).

bart, on 13 October 2011 - 11:08 AM, said:

One detail from the Novikova clip that is probably not an accurate reconstruction:  her very high developpes a la seconde.  Kolpakova's are more restrained at just a bit north of 90 degrees.

This is always one of the "problems" with these reconstructed ballets (and one reason detractors often call them pointless--which I disagree with, obviously).  Personally, it doesn't bother me so much.  I think it's important to teach the dancers twhat is known about the style of the time, particularly when it comes to mime, and to try to keep some of that--but it's an obvious compromise and unavoidable (and modern audiences would probably be disappointed, as would the dancers, if they had to mentally force themselves to under extend everything they're used to, etc).  

It's like The Globe Theatre in London which tries to fairly accurately recreate the original Shakespeare performances (although only for certain special performances are they completely authentic and have the female roles played by young men).  And while they try to teach the actors how to perform in a historically correct style--as best we can tell--you're still going to get actors with modern training and technique, and audiences expect that.  Similarly, for these ballet reconstructions, it could be argued that they use modern lighting techniques, modern toe shoes, etc etc.  I think that's more or less irelevent, if the piece still manages to capture the feeling and intention of the original production, which I feel these Vikharev productions have done as best as possible.  (I admit, this is also why it doesn't bother me that they did give the premier danseur one extra solo, though I'm sure some purists hate that).