miliosr Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 The program is posted for Nicolas Le Riche's farewell in July: http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison-2013-2014/ballet/nicolas-le-riche-soiree-exceptionnelle?genre=2 Link to comment
tomorrow Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 No offense to Le Riche's fans or the man himself, but so much money and PR has been pumped into this evening. Did any other POB dancer (Hilaire, Legris, Guerin, and the recently retiring dancers) receive this level of special trewtment, and how many companies would slap their retiring dancers in the face by pushing out PR claiming somebody's the greatest dancer of his generation? They're even streaming the evening online now. The Paris Opera is a strange company... Link to comment
miliosr Posted June 28, 2014 Author Share Posted June 28, 2014 In a way, maybe the big farewell for Le Riche is really a big but unspoken farewell for the Nureyev era at the POB. Wasn't Le Riche the last of the great stars to arise under Nureyev? Perhaps this is just a final farewell to Nureyev in addition to saying goodbye to a much-loved etoile. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 ...how many companies would slap their retiring dancers in the face by pushing out PR claiming somebody's the greatest dancer of his generation? They're even streaming the evening online now. The Paris Opera is a strange company... Well, I am among those who believe Le Riche is the greatest dancer of his generation, and I don't think any of the POB's recent or imminent retirees would dispute this. As for the stream, that was a matter of public demand. Tickets to the retirement performance weren't made available even to subscribers. Big donors and VIPs snapped up all of them. The stream was a last-minute addition, but under the circumstances, it seems quite sensible. If no one shows up to claim tickets for the cinema screenings in Paris, then we can say that this was just a PR bubble. But if viewers do come, then we can conclude that the POB was reacting to the public's vehement wishes. (Remember, Darcey Bussell's retirement gala was televised nationally. I wonder whether any other Royal Ballet principal has ever been given that treatment. I don't know, that's why I'm asking.) Link to comment
tomorrow Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Nicolas Le Riche is a great dancer and perhaps the 'greatest' of his generation for his fans, but this evening is still questionable and I am not alone in that (even Les Balletonautes mocked the decision to single him out, and they're French). There was public demand for Laurent Hilaire and Manuel Legris to receive galas but nothing came out of it. I would have thought reaction to Millepied's appointment proved Le Riche isn't the company's only iconic male thus no more deserving. I'm sure also given Isabelle Ciaravola's devoted fan base streaming her farewell online would have been more than welcome. But nope... The private and elitist nature of the gala is another issue and should never have happened but as I said; the Paris Opera is a strange company. Link to comment
silvermash Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Agnès Letestu said in an interview she was proposed a gala for her farewell but she declined. Nicolas Le Riche said yes, why not?. I remember Legris asked the Défilé du ballet for his farewell which could be seen more pretentious… From this point, it was clear that this unique evening would be something special, compared to Agnès or Isabelle farewells which were like regular shows topped by 15 minutes of confettis and flowers. The programme is special, it gathers nearly all male Etoiles and two female ones, Sylvie Guillem is guesting, people want to see that. I have the personal feeling that his fame is a lot higher than any other dancers in the recent generations. Nicolas le Riche has has been Etoile for 21 years, with a lot of charisma, he is an audience favourite. There was a huge demand for his farewell gala both from VIPs and from regular and non regular ballet goers. It’s a really good idea up to me to film and broadcast this farewell gala so everyone can enjoy it for free, from everywhere, whether they know him well or not, this is a plus for ballet fame, not only for Nicolas Le Riche one... Link to comment
tomorrow Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Agnes Letestu wasn't clear about whether she was offered a gala or, as traditions go, an extra ballet of her choice added to the evening. Brigitte Lefevre did not ask Nicolas Le Riche if he wanted a gala, he asked her and organised it himself. Would others have been given that luxury? I'm not convinced and that is my point entirely. Le Riche may have broken down walls and entered the mainstream of French culture but I am for fairness, not favouritism, regardless of a dancer's wider fame, sorry.Back to the topic at hand, does anyone know if the three cinema screenings are open to the public? Link to comment
Amy Reusch Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 It does sound as if the tickets were snapped up so quickly that the gala was not done at a loss... Weren't the retiring dancers of Tsarist Russia granted "benefit" galas at their retirement, with the house proceeds going into the dancer's pocket? Link to comment
pherank Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 In a way, maybe the big farewell for Le Riche is really a big but unspoken farewell for the Nureyev era at the POB. Wasn't Le Riche the last of the great stars to arise under Nureyev? Perhaps this is just a final farewell to Nureyev in addition to saying goodbye to a much-loved etoile. That does seem to be the 'way the wind is blowing': what with Laurent Hilaire leaving and Benjamin Millepied becoming the director, there seems to be a real effort underway at POB to move on to another generation. Link to comment
silvermash Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Agnes Letestu wasn't clear about whether she was offered a gala or, as traditions go, an extra ballet of her choice added to the evening. Brigitte Lefevre did not ask Nicolas Le Riche if he wanted a gala, he asked her and organised it himself. Would others have been given that luxury? I'm not convinced and that is my point entirely. Le Riche may have broken down walls and entered the mainstream of French culture but I am for fairness, not favouritism, regardless of a dancer's wider fame, sorry. Back to the topic at hand, does anyone know if the three cinema screenings are open to the public? Some on Dansomanie seem to think it's subscibers only. I don't know where you get your information about Nicolas Le Riche asking for a gala but Agnès Letestu was clear about being offered and declining the opportunity of a special evening because she wanted to end her carreer in a full length ballet. (cf Interview of September 17, 2013 Frequence Protestante) Link to comment
tomorrow Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I will track down the interview you've cited but etoiles are offered the chance to alter programmes to make it more personal by adding a one act ballet to their farewell evening, and unless my memory serves me wrong, Agnes Letestu didn't specifically mention a gala. Here's one of the interviews which says Le Riche proposed the farewell gala (Google Translate : https://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?act=url&depth=14&hl=en&ie=UTF8&nv=1&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://m.lesechos.fr/redirect_article.php%3Fid%3D0203307923202%26fw%3D1&usg=ALkJrhhgBb1_xwCysvop2FieKnKG4BIyTw. I am not saying the spend isn't justifiable, but questioning whether other etoiles would be given the opportunity? I'm not aware Busell's farewell gala at Sadler's Wells was funded by the Royal Ballet, for comparison's sake. As for tickets being snapped up, were they? It's an increasing problem in Paris - private evenings where even subscribers don't get a look in, despite both the general public and subscribers funding at least some of the evening. Link to comment
silvermash Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I just checked Agnès Letestu Fréquence Protestante interview and she definitely and clearly mentioned she was proposed a gala. Well I don't really read in this paper that he asked for a gala but that he proposed a special event elaborated by himself. This will not be a series of pas de deux as in usual galas but he wanted to evoke some steps of his career with the male Etoiles, POB school, his particular partnership with Sylvie Guillem, his links with other artists like with singer Mathieu Chedid and actor Guillaume Galienne. This is clearly a project of different nature than any other farewells yes, (although Jean Guizerix did one like this) but why not from the moment you can have an evening of your own? Regarding the tickets, a quota of POB long term subscribers were offered a possibility to buy tickets but it is clear that only one special evening couldn't satisfy all demands because Nicolas Le Riche is so famous, and all the other people famous who will be on stage have attracted some fans too... So that's why I still think that the filming is a good idea if not really satisfactory but yet it’s something. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 In case anyone has not seen this thread, Le Riche's farewell performance will be streamed live from two different websites on Wednesday, 9 July at 7:30pm local time (CET), 1:30pm EDT, 11:30am MDT, and 10:30am PDT. David Hallberg tweeted: I remember watching #nicolasleriche when I was @ school @operadeparis. A dancer that inspired me for years! What a shining career he's had. as well as this photo: https://twitter.com/DavidHallberg/status/485644134305521666 Link to comment
silvermash Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 The picture is from his last performance in a full length ballet yesterday evening. He was dancing Quasimodo in Petit's Notre Dame de Paris and seemed surprised at the end when his partners withdrew and pushed him alone in the centre of the stage. Then some confettis and colored feathers fell from the ceiling as it is the use in POB's farewells. That was moving as a lot of fans were attending. So this was his first farewell before the celebration of July 9th! Link to comment
Helene Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Many thanks, silvermash! It's wonderful to hear that Le Riche is being honored along the way to Wednesday. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Unfortunately, I wasn't able get the stream until after the first two pieces ("Les Forains" [Entrée des Forains] and "Le Bal des cadets" [solo du petit tambour]) and I have no idea what Guillem did. (I assume Chedid sang something, if he was involved.) This was a spectacular program to honor a treasured dancer. I would buy the DVD in an instant. Link to comment
canbelto Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Guillem just walked out during the final curtain call -- in a loose lime green blouse, black capri leggings, and white sneakers. There wasn't the traditional bouquet presentation by other etoiles, and blink and you missed Clairemarie Osta and their kids. In fact overall I thought the farewell was a bit cold and lacking in feeling. I thought for a farewell program it was kind of fluffy and lacking in substance. I liked Le Jeunne Homme de Mort but Bolero's so overdone and cheesy. And the earlier excerpts were really short. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Osta walked off to the side (or offstage) right away, but their two girls stayed on for several minutes of the ovation until he sent them back to Osta. I found the gala full of feeling, especially with the men of the company joining him for "Bolero" which has to be one of the most fun ways to end a gala, cheese or no cheese, and the company clapping along from backstage along with the audience during all of his solo bows. Not everything has to be serious. I think it was great to have the big three of the choreographers from the latter half of the 20th century who were so associated with the company: Nureyev, Bejart, and Petit. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Dorothée Gilbert certainly seemed to be crying copious tears, and it was lovely to see Claude Bessy right at the end. Link to comment
miliosr Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 and it was lovely to see Claude Bessy right at the end Thanks for confirming that was Bessy at the end. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I think if Guillem hadn't gone over to start hugging Bessy, Le Riche might have lost it there and then. Link to comment
Amour Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Guillem just walked out during the final curtain call -- in a loose lime green blouse, black capri leggings, and white sneakers. I heard from friends that attended the gala that Guillem and Le Riche did perform a mats Ek piece but for some reason it wasn't streamed. Link to comment
canbelto Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I also read from tweets that apparently the people who bought HD movie theater tickets got to see the duet, but it was cut from the livestream at Guillem's request. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 All of the reviews described it, but none of the critics I've read said why. Maybe someday one of those involved will say why on record. Link to comment
Helene Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Whose tweets said it was cut by Guillem's request? Link to comment
Recommended Posts