sf_herminator Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I see there haven't been any posts here for a while, which is a bit disappointing. While not as well known as San Francisco Ballet, Silicon Valley Ballet (formerly known as Ballet San Jose) has scored such fine addition to their rep. With the changes in the relationship between the US and Cuba, this is quite noteworthy. Here are links to a few articles (which are also posted in Links) Coaching - http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2015/10/14/silicon-valley-ballet-makes-history-with-cuban-giselle/ Review - http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Rebranded-Silicon-Valley-Ballet-makes-spirited-6575580.php There were four performances over this weekend. I went to the Saturday matinee. This was a beautiful production and the company danced wonderfully. Principal Dancer Junna Ige was Giselle, Soloist Rudy Candida was Albrecht, Soloist Jing Zhang was Myrtha, and Artistic Director Jose Manuel Carreño was Hilarion. Here is a pic of the program which I had posted on Instagram: https://instagram.com/p/886puss45-/?taken-by=herminator65 I am glad I had the chance to see this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubanmiamiboy Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 Tell us more about the choreo. If this is a 100% Alonso's derived,you probably noticed some differences in the music. The Cuban version is a hybrid between Mary Skeaping staging from the 50's (the company retained for a while the now long lost "Fugue of the Willis" recreation by the scholar) and Dolin's own around the same years. I even remember a mimed segment, now defunct in current productions, between Giselle and Albrecht at the grave site during the final scene, in which she tells him she should go back to the grave. How was Carreno's Hilarion..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sf_herminator Posted October 20, 2015 Author Share Posted October 20, 2015 Tell us more about the choreo. If this is a 100% Alonso's derived,you probably noticed some differences in the music. The Cuban version is a hybrid between Mary Skeaping staging from the 50's (the company retained for a while the now long lost "Fugue of the Willis" recreation by the scholar) and Dolin's own around the same years. I even remember a mimed segment, now defunct in current productions, between Giselle and Albrecht at the grave site during the final scene, in which she tells him she should go back to the grave. How was Carreno's Hilarion..? Hi Cristian, The one thing I definitely remember that was different with respect to the music was the very end. The flute is playing as the sun is rising and Giselle bids farewell to Albrecht. In this version, all of a sudden the music sped up. It was as if Albrecht lives to see another day and springs back to life!! It was a bit jarring for me since I was not used to that. I did recognize Giselle telling Albrecht she should go back to the grave as you describe Another aspect that I noticed is that at the end of the first act, Albrecht's squire is doing everything he can to get Albrecht out of the chaos of the village. Here he did not leave and fell to Giselle's feet as the curtain comes down During Giselle's entrechats in Act 2, the music seemed as if it was a bit faster. Probably because of that, it appeared to me that the entrechats were very fast but not very high. I thought Carreño was fine as Hilarion, I actually had never seen him dance before. BTW, this production used recorded music. It's what I expected, but of course live music is always better. According to the program, this production of Giselle was created by Ms. Alonso for Paris Opera Ballet, 1972 (I'll send you some pics from the program & cast sheet). Wished I could have seen a second performance - I never tire of Giselle!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubanmiamiboy Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 The original Adam score for Act 2 ends with No 13 "Lever du soleil et arrivée de la cour", which was intended as an extended mime farewell scene among Albrecht, Bathilde, Giselle, and Wilfrid, and also includes the fast coda that you refer to. The slow music I think is an interpolation from the 1903 Pavlova debut in the role. When I saw Giselle for the first time out of Cuba I had the same feeling, but in reverse. I was like ..."What happened to the fast ending?!" I think this ending is almost extinct by now. Glad to know is being revived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts