21 replies to this topic

[Alexandra]

Welcome, MarketingGuy!  I've seen the same video, and I was in awe.  She's so pure -- and was considered the great Soviet Aurora of her day, some would say THE greatest.  (For me, she and Fonteyn were both the greatest.)

I envy you, watching her walk the halls on a regular basis!

[emhbunhead]

On video, Viviana Durante (in a performance that helped add fuel to my love for ballet fire), Fonteyn, Kolpakova

In person, Paloma Herrera, who basically treated her role as Kitri but in a pink tutu instead of red.

And from the back of the stage and the wings, the principals in the company i dance with, we just finished a SB run of shows

[MakarovaFan]

On film:

Cynthia Gregory -- which sparked my passion for ballet.

Fonteyn -- black & white and color films of Rose Adagio.
No Aurora, in my opinion, has ever been so magical as Fonteyn's. She owns the role.

Kolpakova -- Radiant and pure

Durante -- Nothing special

In live performance:

Susan Jaffe in Act III -- terrific technically but ho-hum otherwise.

[Cygnet]

MakarovaFan, on Jun 10 2004, 07:12 PM, said:

On film:

Cynthia Gregory -- which sparked my passion for ballet.

Fonteyn -- black & white and color films of Rose Adagio.
No Aurora, in my opinion, has ever been so magical as Fonteyn's. She owns the role.

Kolpakova -- Radiant and pure

Durante -- Nothing special

In live performance:

Susan Jaffe in Act III -- terrific technically but ho-hum otherwise.

Live:  Lesley Collier, Marguerite Porter, Asylmuratova, Vishneva

Tape (*= Full performance):   Margot Fonteyn, Merle Park*, Veronica Tennant*, Gabriella Komleva, Cynthia Gregory*, Carla Fracci, L. Lezhnina*, L. Semenyaka*,
Nina. Semizorova*, Irina Kolpakova* , Viv Durante*.

I agree with you regarding Viv's performance.   The scenery and costumes didn't help either - (anyone remember the 1994 Covent Garden production )?    
                
For me, Kolpakova was the best. It looked like she kept a perfect turnout for 3 hrs and 30 minutes.  As a result you could see the pattern in every enchainment.  Radiant, pure, and I'll add crystal clear.  Extraordinary ballerina.

[mohnurka]

I have seen 3 videos: with Kolpakova, Asylmuratova and Lezhnina. I would probably say that Kolpakova and Lezhnina were wonderful. They created the mood perfectly. On tape, Asylmuratova didn't look like the perfect Aurora; it seems that her acting was a little too deep for this role. However, performances are different so it may very well be just this one that isn't so successful.

[esperanto]

One Sunday matinee many years ago I was lucky enough to see Annette Page and her husband Ronald Hynd in Beauty. They were someting special. One bit that has stayed in my mind ever since was a moment during the Vision Scene where Hynd tried to grasp Aurora but she magically, it seemed, eluded him almost as though she was not real.  It was at the moment that the true meaning of "Vision" became apparent. I had never seen such a moment before or after. (And Fontyn was always one of my favorite Beauties, if not THE.) Until that performance I was never sure if Aurora was really there or it was just a vision of her. That clinched it for me