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Ballet trip. Input appreciated..!


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Should I go for their "Giselle"or Wheeldon's "Cinderella"..?

These are two very different productions, of course - I suppose it depends on how much you want to see something with elements of NEW, or if you're going to be in the mood to 'worship at the altar of tradition', so to speak. Giselle will be a Tomasson ballet, but I recall he sticks to the traditional movements and stagings.

You might want to read a few reviews of Tomasson's Giselle (from 2011) to get a sense of how things went:

Rachel Howard: Giselles Stepping Out

Ann Murphy: Touch of irony updates S.F. Ballet's winning production of Giselle

Alastair Macaulay: Where Peasants Are Graceful, Dukes Deceitful and Specters Vengeful

If you've been following the "State Theatre" tour thread, then I guess you already know how forum people have felt about Cinderella. If there's anything in particular you would like to know about, let us know. Have a great time CubanMiamiBoy!

[We also have a thread on where to stay in SF if you aren't already staying with friends]

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Thank you very much Pherank! I'm certainly ALWAYS in the mood for Giselle. No matter what, every time she shows up in her cottage door, it feels as if I'm watching it for the first time.

I'm not too familiar with Cinderella-(that is with Prokofiev score). The Cuban production uses the Strauss', and so I'm curious too about it. I will read the thread you provided.

Thanks again! tiphat.gif

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Also the Gala is three days before the opening of Giselle, so you might be able to bridge the two, plus an extra cast of Giselle on Sunday afternoon. Standing Room "seats" for the Gala – with good views of the stage – are $25.00 or so. The Gala program is bits of this and that but it's a big old fashioned SF social event – more like background scenes from Vertigo than the red carpet at the Academy Awards – and fun to see.

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Quiggin's suggestion is a good one. I personally think that if you're going to bother to fly to another city to see a ballet performance, you might as well go a couple of nights in a row so you can see more than one cast. But I realize that's not always possible with your plans. But it should be good fun, in any case.

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Thank you very much Pherank! I'm certainly ALWAYS in the mood for Giselle. No matter what, every time she shows up in her cottage door, it feels as if I'm watching it for the first time.

I'm not too familiar with Cinderella-(that is with Prokofiev score). The Cuban production uses the Strauss', and so I'm curious too about it. I will read the thread you provided.

Thanks again! tiphat.gif

I'm also traveling to SFO in April to see the SFB. But my reason is to see them dance the Ratmansky Trilogy of Shostakovich. SFB co-produced it with ABT and I think given their wonderful roster of dancers it will be very interesting to see this performed by this company. Having seen the recent presentation of "Cinderella" by this company a few weeks ago, I have no interest in seeing it again. For me, choreographically weak. But these are wonderful dancers and should do the Trilogy with great elan and style. Can't wait!

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I've seen Yuan Yuan Tan (would love to see the other casts too, especially Froustey) do the GPDD in Giselle, and my goodness, she was a dream: extensions for miles and with such a floating quality that if she'd been billowed off of the stage, I would not have been surprised. Try to catch her if you can - she is not to be missed.

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Oh, I'm planning to be three or four days maybe. I'm almost decided to go for Giselle. I've been trying to watch some different Cinderellas, and I can't never seem to endure the whole thing. Prokofiev is not "champagne" enough for my ballet viewing pleasure, to be honest.

If Prokofiev/Cinderella isn't really your cup of tea to begin with, then you are probably better off seeing a program that you know will move you. The production values for SFB's Cinderella are high, but I don't know that Wheeldon's choreography is so special that it must be seen to be believed. ;)

I've seen Yuan Yuan Tan (would love to see the other casts too, especially Froustey) do the GPDD in Giselle, and my goodness, she was a dream: extensions for miles and with such a floating quality that if she'd been billowed off of the stage, I would not have been surprised. Try to catch her if you can - she is not to be missed.

Eshana you've reminded me what's going to be especially interesting about the 2014 season - Froustey and Messmer are going to be dancing too. ;)

Froustey in Giselle would be great, indeed.

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Oh, I'm planning to be three or four days maybe. I'm almost decided to go for Giselle. I've been trying to watch some different Cinderellas, and I can't never seem to endure the whole thing. Prokofiev is not "champagne" enough for my ballet viewing pleasure, to be honest.

If Prokofiev/Cinderella isn't really your cup of tea to begin with, then you are probably better off seeing a program that you know will move you. The production values for SFB's Cinderella are high, but I don't know that Wheeldon's choreography is so special that it must be seen to be believed. ;)

I have to second Pherank on this. I doubt that Wheeldon's Cinderella, for all its virtues, would sustain multiple viewings in a short period of time. What I most remember about it are Basil Twist's wonderful tree, and the 'carriage' that takes Cinderella to the ball at the end of Act 1. I can't remember a scrap of the choreography, which isn't to say it was bad - not at all - just not very memorable.

SFB's Giselle is an attractive production, and we have some good Gs and As. If you see several casts, I don't think you'll be bored.

Enjoy!

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I wonder if Feijoo still dances the role. I think the last time I saw her dancing was like 20 years ago, but never in Giselle. She never danced the role in Cuba for what I remember.

Feijoo danced Giselle the last time they performed it, and I was lucky (and grateful) to be there. She gave a beautiful, deeply felt performance, and her port de bras was exquisite. Her farewell to Albrecht as she exited into the wings took my breath away. I personally would take Giselle over Cinderella.

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Thank you very much Pherank! I'm certainly ALWAYS in the mood for Giselle. No matter what, every time she shows up in her cottage door, it feels as if I'm watching it for the first time.

I'm not too familiar with Cinderella-(that is with Prokofiev score). The Cuban production uses the Strauss', and so I'm curious too about it. I will read the thread you provided.

Thanks again! tiphat.gif

The Cuban production uses the Strauss!? That's incredible - until you said this I didn't even know there was a Strauss score for it. And this is convincing me more and more that there needs to be serious scholarship on the Cuban ballet - (which I've never seen - doesn't mean it isn't out there somewhere already).

I have to say that, while I love Prokofiev, I agree with what's been said about it - if you aren't a fan, you probably won't like his Cinderella. The score is actual quite acerbic, more so even than Romeo and Juliet (which is odd, obviously, since it's a fairy tale). That's one of my favorite things about it, and it's given rise to some fairly dark and/or twisted ballet productions of Cinderella (Mariinsky's Ratmansky version and the Stanislavsky-Nemirovich Danchenko). But it's no champagne.

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Aschenbrödel (Cinderella): Strauss

This is on Amazon with the following spelling -- Aschenbrdel

"This wonderful ballet by the second Johann Strauss finally receives its world première recording on DVD! Recorded live in December 1999, this celebrated Vienna State Opera production combines everything a romantic ballet needs: excellent soloists, fascinating choreography and beautiful costumes. Aschenbrödel (Cinderella) is one of those stories that were made to be danced. Its cornerstone is a fabulous ball scene and at it has love, jealousy and romance at its heart. This version of Cinderella, danced to the music of Viennas musical hero, Johann Strauss II, is the composers only ballet score. The new choreography was created by Italian dancer and choreographer Renato Zanella, then ballet director of Vienna State Opera Ballet. It tells the heartbreaking story of a girl who is ostracised by her family and rescued by a prince with a touch of French flair. The elegant costumes are designed by Christian Lacroix, one of the leading Paris Fashion Designers and add to the pure joy of a delightful ballet evening."

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Thanks, innopac, for posting that clip. The Strauss music sounds more like generic Strauss than the Prokofiev like generic Prokofiev, but I do like the costumes. They're more graphic than the ones in the Wheeldon version, more contemporary – maybe like something Mike Kelley with his great color sense may have done – and I guess lend themselves to a different kind of choreography, a bit fresher?

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