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Nureyev Production and News


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3 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Given the extraordinary interest in this new ballet, I hope that the powers-that-be add this to the Cinemascast line up (either the premiere or a later performance in the season).

 

Dear CharlieH :  "a lot of waters will flow under this bridge" till December and ticketholders may

again be treated to another two performances of Don Kixot :o:o let's wait and see. I am hoping

to be in Moscow on 22 November for the Ratmansky R&J and will keep my ears open.

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On 9/22/2017 at 8:39 AM, CharlieH said:

Given the extraordinary interest in this new ballet, I hope that the powers-that-be add this to the Cinemascast line up (either the premiere or a later performance in the season).

 

I really doubt that the company will do something that public until they've had a chance to see the work in front of an audience, see some reviews, and manage the political discussion surrounding this process.  They are not likely to take that kind of risk.

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20 minutes ago, sandik said:

They are not likely to take that kind of risk.

 

Some insiders are saying that despite the announcement the actual staging could still be

kicked down the road !!  Seems there is a power struggle between the proponents and

opponents.

 

PS - just looked up online schedule :  nothing has been posted for the Historic Stage for

9-10 December in Russian or English. There are other events posted for the New Stage.

Edited by mnacenani
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39 minutes ago, sandik said:

 

I really doubt that the company will do something that public until they've had a chance to see the work in front of an audience, see some reviews, and manage the political discussion surrounding this process.  They are not likely to take that kind of risk.

 

We are so spoiled by the Vienna State Ballet's webcasts of unusual works almost immediately after their premieres, such as the rather-risqué Pavillon d'Armide by Neumeier  last season, based on episodes of Nijinsky's life. Even the Mariinsky has recently presented webcasts of somewhat-edgy new works like Yaroslavna, Four Seasons, Divertissement du Roi, etc. 'Nureyev' falls into the highly-edgy category.

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2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

 

We are so spoiled by the Vienna State Ballet's webcasts of unusual works almost immediately after their premieres, such as the rather-risqué Pavillon d'Armide by Neumeier  last season, based on episodes of Nijinsky's life. Even the Mariinsky has recently presented webcasts of somewhat-edgy new works like Yaroslavna, Four Seasons, Divertissement du Roi, etc. 'Nureyev' falls into the highly-edgy category.

 

And the internet has really heightened our expectations of access to work -- it wasn't that long ago that unless you had a friend on the inside, you couldn't see works that weren't in the current repertory of a company.  And then you'd have to travel to see them.  Dance literacy in my generation was usually very dearly bought.

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Pavillon d'Armide was already a known quantity, having been performed in Hamburg for a number of years, so the Vienna State Ballet knew exactly what it was getting. I also think expectations for a free-of-charge stream, as in the case of the Mariinsky, and a paid transmission into cinemas are quite different. If something we watch for free turns out to be a clunker, we may be much more forgiving than if we'd paid for it. I suppose the Royal Ballet took a risk by scheduling Frankenstein before it had been premiered, to generally poor reviews, but I think the source material guaranteed ticket sales. I'm not sure that would be the case with Nureyev, when audiences don't know what sort of approach to expect.

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I wouldn't overestimate the publicity surrounding Possokhov's Nureyev. I have no idea how many of those who typically attend Bolshoi cinemacasts are aware of the controversy, and I wouldn't venture to guess how many people who read about it would be interested in seeing the actual piece. 

 

There was an interview with the director of the Vienna State Opera streams a few years ago in which he explained that between the Met, the Royal Opera House, and perhaps a bit of La Scala and the Paris Opera, the powers in Vienna decided that the cinema market was saturated, and to try to elbow in would be impossible. And since in certain countries, I think he mentioned France and China, people were watching more streamed content than traditional television, they decided to go the paid stream route.

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The numbers of people attending these events around where I live are very modest--in that context even a very small uptick due to the publicity surrounding Nureyev would, in terms of percentages, make for a substantially larger audience. I also have been wondering if just the name "Nureyev," quite apart from any scandal around the postponement of the premier, might bring in a few curious people.

 

Well, we are unlikely to find out...

Edited by Drew
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If only it could have premiered this summer!!! I had to stand and then sit for two back to back Don Quixotes, their 'Nureyev' alternative. Either way, hopefully some better recordings emerge online from the premiere. I suppose the Bolshoi decided to stall its Coppelia revival to make room for this. 

Edited by mtthwbrehm
To make a statement clearer
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In  some quarters not just Nureyev's sexuality--and not just the sexual explicitness of the ballet "Nureyev"--but even Nureyev's ethnicity is on the table for discussion. In this context--and to say nothing of Serebrennikov's legal troubles--I can't help but hope the ballet is a smash whether it's to my taste or not:

https://realnoevremya.com/society/culture/1989-vsevolod-chaplin-about-nureyev-ballet

 

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Kirill Serebrennikov, who has been under house arrest since August, will remain there until at least January 19.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/russian-court-keeps-theater-director-under-house-arrest/2017/12/04/2d1a3706-d8f5-11e7-a241-0848315642d0_story.html?utm_term=.62f7e3616548https://www.rferl.org/a/rusia-serebrennikov-house-arrest-upheld/28895832.html

One of the reasons tickets for this week's premiere of Nureyev sold out so quickly is that only 500, less than a quarter of the Bolshoi's capacity, were released to the public, and only two performances have been scheduled, rather than the four that were to have taken place in July.

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/press/articles/none/Nureyev-sale/

Edited by volcanohunter
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24 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

Kirill Serebrennikov, who has been under house arrest since August, will remain there until at least January 19.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/russian-court-keeps-theater-director-under-house-arrest/2017/12/04/2d1a3706-d8f5-11e7-a241-0848315642d0_story.html?utm_term=.62f7e3616548https://www.rferl.org/a/rusia-serebrennikov-house-arrest-upheld/28895832.html

One of the reasons tickets for this week's premiere of Nureyev sold out so quickly is that only 500, less than a quarter of the Bolshoi's capacity, were released to the public, and only two performances have been scheduled, rather than the four that were to have taken place in July.

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/press/articles/none/Nureyev-sale/

Thank you. Two performances are better than none. Less than a week to go - this coming Saturday.  It's now or never!

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Casting has been posted for Nureyev (not date specific) 

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/1025/roles/#all

Nureyev    
Vladislav Lantratov
Artem Ovcharenko
Igor Tsvirko


Auctioneer/Avedon/The Grey Man    
Vladimir Koshevoy
Igor Vernik


A Letter to Rudi. The Pupil    
Georgy Gusev
Vyacheslav Lopatin
Denis Savin


A Letter to Rudi. The Diva    
Ekaterina Shipulina
Svetlana Zakharova


The Ballerina    
Daria Bochkova
Anastasia Stashkevich


Erik    
Vladislav Kozlov
Denis Savin


Margot    
Maria Alexandrova
Nina Kaptsova
Kristina Kretova


Mezzo-soprano/ The Porter/ The King    
Alexandra Durseneva
Svetlana Shilova


Tenor/ The Intendant    
Marat Gali
Igor Tsurcan


Countertenor, the singer of the king    
Vladimir Magomadov
Vadim Volkov


Ballet Teacher    
Victor Barykin
Yan Godovsky

 

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Plenty of curtain call photos have been posted which show that Possokhov, Demutsky and some other members of the production team wore t-shirts with Serebrennikov's portrait and the caption "Svobodu rezhisseru," but the dancers were wearing their costumes.

In any case, you could say Zakharova provided the necessary political cover.

But yes, it's possible that in an election season especially the government won't want to appear to be caving in to the "creative class" and may double down on Serebrennikov.

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Still excited after yesterday's evening. Nureyev is not a ballet. It is a masterpiece that has fused multiple art forms into a spectacular event, a phenomenon! At a loss of words of how to describe it, but I felt as if I was actually inside Nureyev's body and mind and experienced his life first hand. A very unusual experience.

The audience being packed with representatives of Russia's ruling elite, who eagerly joined in the long applause, while the very same system is now putting the director of this work on trial, can be viewed as a spectacle in itself - surreal, but also, unfortunately, so real.

Edited by Fleurdelis
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10 hours ago, Fleurdelis said:

Still excited after yesterday's evening. Nureyev is not a ballet. It is a masterpiece that has fused multiple art forms into a spectacular event, a phenomenon! At a loss of words of how to describe it, but I felt as if I was actually inside Nureyev's body and mind and experienced his life first hand. A very unusual experience.

The audience being packed with representatives of Russia's ruling elite, who eagerly joined in the long applause, while the very same system is now putting the director of this work on trial, can be viewed as a spectacle in itself - surreal, but also, unfortunately, so real.

I can't speak to Serebrennikov's contribution, but your description reminds me of a number of Possokhov's recent ballets, which have a definite multi-media aspect (as the German's would say, Tanztheater). His Swimmer featured video effects (by Kate Duhamel) and lighting effects that were arguably as important to the ballet as the actual choreography - which at times was quite emotionally stirring, and other times totally pedestrian. It was a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. That seems to be Possokhov's current approach to ballet: to create a collage of visual, emotional and psychological associations that manage to support one another, and create a powerful 'experience'. Much like your description above, if you were to read a writer's descriptions of Swimmer you would no doubt think it sounds quite interesting, but it would be impossible to picture the ballet without witnessing it in person.

Edited by pherank
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Thanks for the interesting observation and the links to Swimmer, saw excerpts of it, namely Lolita, thought that Tom Waits fit the theme perfectly. The multi-media aspect, actors singing and playing instruments onstage, a narrator reading in the background, and shifts between dramatic action and more abstract visual performance pieces is also something that Serebrennikov used quite a bit, almost becoming his trademark. I guess he and Possokhov have found each other as thought partners. "Noureev" takes in ALL of these elements, combines and magnifies them, and the effect is overwhelming. 

Edited by Fleurdelis
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14 minutes ago, Fleurdelis said:

Thanks for the interesting observation and the links to Swimmer, saw excerpts of it, namely Lolita, thought that Tom Waits fit the theme perfectly. The multi-media aspect, actors singing and playing instruments onstage, a narrator reading in the background, and shifts between dramatic action and more abstract visual performance pieces is also something that Serebrennikov used quite a bit, almost becoming his trademark. I guess he and Possokhov have found each other as thought partners. "Noureev" takes in ALL of these elements, combines and magnifies them, and the effect is overwhelming. 

Yes, Serebrennikov and Possokhov sound like kindred spirits - at least in their approach to presenting theater art. The Swimmer video trailer that I linked to provides some nice commentary from Possokhov, but unfortunately gives one very little sense of the spectacle of the ballet. At the time the video was released I don't think the creators wanted to give anything away. I hope Noureev is being filmed for posterity, as Swimmer was not.

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6 hours ago, pherank said:

Yes, Serebrennikov and Possokhov sound like kindred spirits - at least in their approach to presenting theater art. The Swimmer video trailer that I linked to provides some nice commentary from Possokhov, but unfortunately gives one very little sense of the spectacle of the ballet. At the time the video was released I don't think the creators wanted to give anything away. I hope Noureev is being filmed for posterity, as Swimmer was not.

The Swimmer was filmed. In many companies every production is filmed, often with multiple casts. Such recordings are not released though, on the other hand the (well connected) professionals have access to them. Otherwise, your observation is spot on. The first time you see it, the Swimmer makes an impression if one is not familiar with this kind of multi-media stage productions. It is not a ballet in the proper sense, it isn't dance theater in the way we know it either. The novelty wears out, however, rather quickly on repeated viewings, especially if the dancers themselves lose their initial enthusiasm, therefore I don't expect great longevity for such works.

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