rg Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 i can see the misreading of Croce's comment, but she's not saying that GB is the one to have first chosen to work the hunters into the adagio, she's pleased to see that GB included this detail in this staging - it was by time of her writing not a moment much in evidence in productions of SWAN LAKE - where else can one still see it today? Croce knows her Ivanov as well as her Balanchine. Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 where else can one still see it today? Of all places, in John Neumeier's Illusions like Swan Lake. It's a revisionist production, but since he was aiming for a 'period' look in act 2, he had Alexandra Danilova stage it, complete with huntsmen, Odette's mime and a Benno figure in the adagio. Link to comment
rg Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 thanks for this. i hadn't realized "Illusions -- like Swan Lake" was of a vintage when Danilova was still around and staging ballets. i know there is a video. is this production still in active repertory? Link to comment
volcanohunter Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Yes, EMI released a DVD, but it's presently out of print. The Hamburg Ballet performs the ballet regularly. It's also in the repertoire of the Dresden Semperoper Ballett, though I understand they're planning a new production of Swan Lake for next season. http://www.hamburgballett.de/e/rep/schwanensee.htm Unfortunately the linked photos don't include any of the huntsmen. Link to comment
Hans Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 rg, I apologise for not making this clearer--I was replying to Michael's post, not referring to Croce's writing. Link to comment
rg Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 no apologies necessary. just hoping to clarify some of the posts higher up as well. one reading of Croce's 'the choreographer' in the sentence ending the passage quoted above, could have her meaning that 'any sensitive/inspired choreographer' could do the 'dreaming' for the observer of SWAN LAKE with such choices as those under discussion in her essay. incidentally, the hunters don't dance with the swan maidens at any point; they enter the adagio twice, unobtrusively, to provide support and complete the tableau made up of Odette's sisters; by the adagio's end, they're gone. (or at least that's how they are deployed in Balanchine's SWAN LAKE.) Link to comment
kfw Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 no apologies necessary.just hoping to clarify some of the posts higher up as well. one reading of Croce's 'the choreographer' in the sentence ending the passage quoted above, could have her meaning that 'any sensitive/inspired choreographer' could do the 'dreaming' for the observer of SWAN LAKE with such choices as those under discussion in her essay. I'm the culprit here, not you, Hans. Thanks for clarifying, rg. Link to comment
cubanmiamiboy Posted April 4, 2009 Share Posted April 4, 2009 As far as I know, the hunters partnered the swan-maidens in the original Petipa-Ivanov production--each hunter had two swans. I was actually thinking more about some characters from Act III. Link to comment
EricMontreal22 Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 It would be helpful to hear what "pastiche" -- a word which usually has quite negative connotations -- means in this context, especially as it applies to Balanchine's version of a classic text which has, in its history, often been subjected to reinterpretations, alterations, abridgements, expansions, and even distortions. Is pastiche usually negative? I first came across it when I was obsessed with Stephen Sondheim's musical (with Hal prince and Michael Bennett) Follies, where half the score is pastiche of older musical composers--for instance Losing My Mind is a pastiche of Arlen. In that sense it's an affectionate hommage--and I think this is how Balanchine's Swan lake was intended too. I will agree it's not a work that's intended to be watched with the gravitas the original Act II would be (which is one reason, I admit, I'm not moved or fond of it, though I appreciate its details) Link to comment
Helene Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 The discussion continues here with today's article by Sarah Kaufman in The Washington Post. Link to comment
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