10 replies to this topic

[kbarber]

The Guardian newspaper website is streaming what it describes as "a classic performance of Tchaikovsky's glittering masterpiece" (no other details, but it's not live, as there is no Nut performance at the Royal Opera House today), starting at 1 pm Eastern Time:
http://www.guardian....ideo?CMP=twt_gu

[California]

Thanks for the heads-up. It just started but the caption says:

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. . . the video is available for the next seven days, until 26 December, so you can catch it at your leisure.

I can't find information about when this performance was taped, but here's the cast listing:

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Miyako Yoshida (the Sugar Plum Fairy)
Steven McRae (the Prince)
Gary Avis (Herr Drosselmeyer)
Iohna Loots (Clara)
Ricardo Cervera (Hans Peter / The Nutcracker)
Artists of the Royal Ballet
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov

[kbarber]

California, on 19 December 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Thanks for the heads-up. It just started but the caption says:

Quote

. . . the video is available for the next seven days, until 26 December, so you can catch it at your leisure.

I can't find information about when this performance was taped, but here's the cast listing:

Quote

Miyako Yoshida (the Sugar Plum Fairy)
Steven McRae (the Prince)
Gary Avis (Herr Drosselmeyer)
Iohna Loots (Clara)
Ricardo Cervera (Hans Peter / The Nutcracker)
Artists of the Royal Ballet
Choreography: Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov

Oh it's the one they released on DVD from 2009. Worth it for Miyako alone! But good all round.

[sandik]

California, on 19 December 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

Thanks for the heads-up. It just started but the caption says:

Quote

. . . the video is available for the next seven days, until 26 December, so you can catch it at your leisure.

Oh good -- I'm not really in a place to watch right now...

Quote

I can't find information about when this performance was taped, but here's the cast listing:

... Steven McRae (the Prince)

Didn't we see him in the Ballet in Cinema screening of Fille mal Gardee last year?  I liked the Colas very much -- I'm pretty sure it was McRae.

[kbarber]

Quote

Quote

I can't find information about when this performance was taped, but here's the cast listing:

... Steven McRae (the Prince)

Didn't we see him in the Ballet in Cinema screening of Fille mal Gardee last year?  I liked the Colas very much -- I'm pretty sure it was McRae.

Yes it was McRae as Colas in the broadcast of Fille. He was also in this year's broadcast of Nutcracker. I say "was" because we already saw it last week in Canada but I believe you in the US have yet to see it.

[Birdsall]

There is a commercial video available with that same cast or very similar. It might be a transmission of that dvd. But I am not home to doublecheck. I do know that Yoshida and McRae and Loots are in the dvd I own. That doesn't mean it is the same performance, but it could be.

[cubanmiamiboy]

I could never watch Yoshida on this after having discovered divine Collier's video-(which is now off Youtube, I'm afraid...).  That's the one I own, and her PDD with Dowell is just sublime, stage sliding for her and everything...(I wonder WHY they got rid of this...)

[Birdsall]

cubanmiamiboy, on 19 December 2012 - 01:50 PM, said:

I could never watch Yoshida on this after having discovered divine Collier's video-(which is now off Youtube, I'm afraid...).  That's the one I own, and her PDD with Dowell is just sublime, stage sliding for her and everything...(I wonder WHY they got rid of this...)

That dvd is still available from Amazon. There is one with Collier/Dowell (1985), one with Cojocaru/Dowell (2001), and the latest release with Yoshida/McRae (2010). All Royal Ballet Nutcrackers on dvd.

If you mean why they took it off YouTube. That is copyright law, although the law changes, and is actually quite intricate, b/c there is "fair use" and the owner of the actual video has to renew copyright, I think . There really aren't supposed to be full-length commercial videos on YouTube, because these videos are owned by the Royal Ballet, for instance or else the BBC or whatever organization owns the actual copyright and whoever owns it is still trying to sell it and make money from the sale. When someone like me or you posts the entire video on YouTube we would be breaking the law, b/c I am stealing and keeping someone from buying the video legitimately.

With that said I am thrilled when I find full-length ballets available for watching on YouTube, but whoever posts these things runs the risk of having to delete his/her account if the owner of the video in question finds out and pursues legal action, I believe.

That is why you should watch a full-length ballet video the day you find it if possible, b/c it can be wiped off YouTube within days, especially if it is a Balanchine performance!!!!  

[Birdsall]

Oh, now I get it!!!!

Cristian, I realize what you were saying now. I misunderstood you. You were asking WHY they got rid of the sliding on the cape. I have no idea. That is a great moment. I wonder if that is where Balanchine came up with the idea of doing a slide but instead of using a cape he used a special contraption that made it look like the ballerina is sliding on pointe as the Cavalier pulls her.

I did check and actually watched the video tonight that this whole thread is discussing. It is the same cast as the dvd I own. So I suspect they simply streamed the one that is available on video.

I do think the sets in the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker are gorgeous. The Christmas tree is like an actual German Christmas tree with candles and pretzels and wooden things. I also like the angels. Overall, Peter Wright's production is a very nice one. I think it is a good overall Nutcracker for most people to have. This is not a gaudy Christmas set. It presents a more European style Christmas, and I actually like that.

The Russian dance is fun! Some of the other dances are not my favorite choreography, but the Russian dance is designed to rev up the audience!

[EricHG31]

Wright says *somewhere* that the contraption to have Sugarplum float like that proved too difficult to use. I've also heard that some doubt the historical accuracy of the moment, thinking it may have just been a staged photograph (of the original production) that didn't reflect the choreography, although Balanchine pays hommage to it as well, so I wonder... I prefer the Collier/Dowell version too, partly just because I'm a traditionalist and I don't feel the need for Clara and her Prince to dance in the divertissement, or some of the other changes that were made to the production.

It kinda seems weird to me--Peter Wright's original goal was to use as much of the Ivanov as possible (though he already made the change to the story of having the Nutcracker be Drossmeyer's nephew), although from all interviews it seems as he was originally staging it he decided much of the Ivanov nottation wasn't useable (ie the original 60+ snowflakes, even though he said he tried to keep many of the same patterns, he couldn't have as many on stage, and said the actual steps they performed were too simple for modern audiences, and he disliked the Waltz of the Flowers which I believe was danced around a big basket of flowers.)  I also dislike the design for the second Act--a candy kingdom shouldn't be all done in pink pastels (if you ask me)--the design for the original production of that shows a brightly coloured, nearly tropical place with palm trees, etc.  But the First act is handsomly designed.

There is a nonetheless fascinating interview with Peter Wright about the production and the Ivanoc authenticity that I know has been discussed here in past years.  I thought it was on ballet.co.uk but with their new site format, a simple search didn't bring up anything.

[Birdsall]

Did you notice the second act set is actually the cake that is shown briefly in the first act? I liked that touch although I sort of agree that the colors and the sets are not as good in the second act, but for me it was saved by the fact it is supposed to be them dancing on top of the cake.