8 replies to this topic

[cubanmiamiboy]

A bit early..? Oops! Oh well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and so I'm already in celebratory mood with White Zinfandel and Tchaikovsky's 2nd Symphony.  Anyway...this was a GOOD year...good health, new dream job and great ballet viewing.  Glad to have BalletAlert in my life and so I want to thank all of you guys for keeping the site alive.  Wishing you all the best for 2012, and that all your dreams come true.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

[cubanmiamiboy]

cubanmiamiboy, on 30 December 2011 - 10:42 AM, said:

A bit early..? Oops! Oh well, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and so I'm already in celebratory mood with White Zinfandel and Tchaikovsky's 2nd Symphony.  Anyway...this was a GOOD year...good health, new dream job and great ballet viewing.  Glad to have BalletAlert in my life and so I want to thank all of you guys for keeping the site alive.  Wishing you all the best for 2012, and that all your dreams come true.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

...and a little card for you all...

http://www.jacquiela...5362&path=83554

[Bonnette]

Cristian, what a delightful card and message! Thank you so much, and my happiest new year wishes to you and everyone here!

[Jack Reed]

Another lovely card, Cristian!  Thank you so much!  And...  hey, wait!

cubanmiamiboy, on 30 December 2011 - 10:42 AM, said:

... I'm already in celebratory mood with White Zinfandel and Tchaikovsky's 7th Symphony. ...

Which symphony?  How much of that Zinfandel did you have?  I thought there were six.

But never mind, a snappy Happy (as my high-school algebra teacher, a jazz fan, used to say) to you, and to all the BA!-ers.

[Birdsall]

I have been watching Legend of Love this New Year's Eve on YouTube (can only find first half of a Mariinsky performance with Lopatkina and 2nd half of a Bolshoi performance, but it makes a complete performance in the end). It is a fun way to spend New Year's Eve, b/c I am unfamiliar with this ballet and love it! I didn't think I would like it at all, but I am really enjoying it.

So will try to finish it before meeting friends out for a New Year's Eve celebration. Happy New Year's, Everyone!

[cubanmiamiboy]

Jack Reed, on 31 December 2011 - 12:46 PM, said:

Another lovely card, Cristian!  Thank you so much!  And...  hey, wait!

cubanmiamiboy, on 30 December 2011 - 10:42 AM, said:

... I'm already in celebratory mood with White Zinfandel and Tchaikovsky's 7th Symphony. ...

Which symphony?  How much of that Zinfandel did you have?  I thought there were six.

But never mind, a snappy Happy (as my high-school algebra teacher, a jazz fan, used to say) to you, and to all the BA!-ers.

Oops...my bad! There are six, of course...too much of the Whithe Zinfandel maybe...?  He,he Anyway, I was listening to the "Little Russian", my favorite one...Tonight Zinfandel has been served again and Mr. T's Piano Concerto # 1, a la Liberace, is doing the honors.  Kitsch, crass, bombastic, just what I need tonight...!  

[Cygnet]

Quote

I have been watching Legend of Love this New Year's Eve on YouTube (can only find first half of a Mariinsky performance with Lopatkina and 2nd half of a Bolshoi performance, but it makes a complete performance in the end). It is a fun way to spend New Year's Eve, b/c I am unfamiliar with this ballet and love it! I didn't think I would like it at all, but I am really enjoying it.
So will try to finish it before meeting friends out for a New Year's Eve celebration. Happy New Year's, Everyone!

Hi Bart Birdsall!  FYI "Legend of Love" was Yuri Grigorovich's second great success. It remains a favorite in the Russian rep. That ballet and his redux of "The Stone Flower," (Prokofiev's last ballet), put him at the forefront of Soviet ballet choreographers.  "Stone Flower" was his first big success.  When he mounted his version of "Spartacus" in 1968, that supplanted Jacobson's version and he was the undisputed "choreographer of the Party."  That ballet and everyone concerned with it received numerous Soviet awards and titles.  

"Legend" was created on Yuri Grigorovich's first wife, the great but often unsung Kirov (Mariinsky) prima, Alla Shelest.  Shelest was the "officially unremarked" rival of Natalia Dudinskaya, who with her husband Konstantin Sergeyev ruled the Kirov company from the late 40s through the late 60s. The ballet's success was due to Shelest's prodigious technical and dramatic abilities.  The roles of Shirine and Queen Mekhemene Banu were both created on Shelest by Grigorovich.  She was one of the great dance actresses of Russian ballet, a ballerina whose talent Ulanova and Plisetskaya revered; and they both worshipped her as a unique artist.  She was the only one among their colleagues that these primas pronounced a "genius."   After "Legend's" premiere, Grigorovich was "sent" to the Bolshoi, where his influence hasn't waned in +50 years.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE  !

[Birdsall]

Cygnet, on 31 December 2011 - 03:59 PM, said:

Quote

I have been watching Legend of Love this New Year's Eve on YouTube (can only find first half of a Mariinsky performance with Lopatkina and 2nd half of a Bolshoi performance, but it makes a complete performance in the end). It is a fun way to spend New Year's Eve, b/c I am unfamiliar with this ballet and love it! I didn't think I would like it at all, but I am really enjoying it.
So will try to finish it before meeting friends out for a New Year's Eve celebration. Happy New Year's, Everyone!

Hi Bart Birdsall!  FYI "Legend of Love" was Yuri Grigorovich's second great success. It remains a favorite in the Russian rep. That ballet and his redux of "The Stone Flower," (Prokofiev's last ballet), put him at the forefront of Soviet ballet choreographers.  "Stone Flower" was his first big success.  When he mounted his version of "Spartacus" in 1968, that supplanted Jacobson's version and he was the undisputed "choreographer of the Party."  That ballet and everyone concerned with it received numerous Soviet awards and titles.  

Cygnet, thanks for the info! I am surprised how much I liked it. I wonder if it will ever become more popular (played) in the U.S. I think the choreography is unique and exciting. I suspect many dancers would love to dance this ballet.

[cubanmiamiboy]

I remember another poster here, Nanarina, who once wrote "Legend.." was her all time favorite ballet.  I'm intrigued.