DD6948

Looks like The Australian Ballet with new Artistic Director David Hallberg is now starting to do live-streams of their performances to audiences all over the world. I believe they are one of the few companies that can perform right now. First show will be a gala program live on Sunday, Feb 28 and available to watch for 48 hours!

I'm really interested in seeing what David is doing with the company. Exciting, and nice to see something from a company we rarely get to see.

Link below for the news + tickets:

https://australianballet.com.au/the-ballets/LIVE-summertime-at-the-ballet

The Aus Ballet is also doing their first global live-stream on Feb 28!

https://australianballet.com.au/the-ballets/LIVE-summertime-at-the-ballet

I believe David Hallberg is hosting.

On 1/28/2020 at 10:58 AM, Helene said:

Copying @California's post in the Ratmansky Giselle thread:

I think I found the Bolshoi Video channel -- too late for this Giselle, but useful for future broadcasts:

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/about/press/articles/broadcast/bolshoi-video/?sphrase_id=96866

to set up a free account: http://media.bolshoi.ru/login

If I understand this, the broadcasts are available for 24 hours only, so Giselle is gone. But that seems to be where Hallberg and Harss got those clips.

I know this is only available to audiences who reside in Russia. Otherwise everyone has to go to the cinema to see it.

On 2/5/2020 at 7:49 AM, macnellie said:

Does anyone know why Seymon Chudin is not dancing as much? He was often Smirnova’s partner.

 

 

Chudin was injured for a few months apparently.

Casting is up for the cinema broadcast on Sunday, Jan 26:

CAST
Giselle: Olga Smirnova
Count Albrecht: Artemy Belyakov
Berthe, Giselle’s Mother: Anna Antropova
Hans, The Gamekeeper: Denis Savin
Giselle’s Friends: Xenia Averina, Bruna Cantanhede Galianone, Anonina Chapkina,
Olga Kishnyova, Elizabeta Kruteleva, Yulia Skvortsova, Tatiana Tiliguzova, Alexandra Trikoz
Peasant Pas de Deux: Daria Khokhlova, Alexei Putintsev
Bathilde: Nelli Kobakhidze
Myrtha: Angelina Vlashinets
Moina: Xenia Zhiganshina
Zulma: Anastasia Denisova

On 12/27/2018 at 5:10 AM, volcanohunter said:

The Bolshoi's cinema trailers are filmed toward the end of the preceding season, long before casting decisions are made, and don't reflect actual casting more often than not. The trailer for the repeat broadcast of Don Quixote featured Margarita Shrainer, even though the performance starred Ekaterina Krysanova. And the original trailer for the live broadcast featured Maria Alexandrova, not Krysanova. The promotional material for the forthcoming repeat of Sleeping Beauty features Evgenia Obraztsova, despite the fact that Aurora was danced by Olga Smirnova in that broadcast. The trailer for this season's La Sylphide featured Daria Khokhlova and Artemy Belyakov, while the actual performance did not include Belyakov, and Khokhlova danced the first sylph, not the lead. This has been the pattern for years. The trailers are totally unreliable indicators of who will actually dance and probably reflect who was available and/or fit to film them at the time they were shot.

I'd say this is a pretty accurate assessment. These trailers and videos with interviews are shot almost a year in advance of any kind of casting decisions made by the Bolshoi. Many times, the casting of the shoots is done according to who is available, and who knows the choreography. Same with interviews - some dancers are just more comfortable than others speaking about their roles. 

5 minutes ago, Quinten said:

Actually, Rodkin and Stepanova were originally slated for Corsaire, but Rodkin became unavailable and Tvirsko, who replaced him, is not tall enough to partner Stepanova. Smirnova was a late replacement and ultimately, wisely, chose not to perform.  The only remaining Medoras short enough to dance with Tvirsko were Nikulina and Krysanova, the latter being more ready for prime time. The problem was in choosing Tvirsko instead of Lobukhin or Volchkov, both of whom could've partnered Stepanova.  But Tvirsko was to be the "flavor of the season", presumably per Vaziev's decision, so....

Well yes, if that's true, then Vaziev boxed himself in by going along with Ratmanksy to choose Krysanova, when there was another even better Juliet available.  At that point he surely could've seen the problem of too much Krysanova, and as I said, it's ultimately Vaziev's theatre, not Ratmanksy's.

It's Vaziev's job to cope with changing plans, for goodness sake, that's why they pay him the big bucks.   He had many excellent choices for Jeanne -- Shipulina, Kretova, Obratzsova, Kosyreva.  He decided that an inexperienced, one-note and exhausted Jeanne would be better.  That's on him.

Perhaps everybody can bring something to a role, but not everybody should be given the world stage, especially when they replace wonderful dancers with short artistic lives. 

 

It's not Vaziev's job to only give opportunity to the principal dancers who have danced these roles since 2008. His job includes preparing the theatre for future generations. And Obratzsova and Shipulina are hardly excellent choices for Jeanne. 

1 minute ago, Quinten said:

Krysanova should have danced Jeanne in the broadcast; it's her role, clearly head and shoulders above any other Bolshoi Jeannes.  That is not the case with the other broadcasts this season.  Bolshoi has better Medoras and Juliets than Krysanova. Vaziev boxed himself in by giving Krysanova those roles earlier in the season instead of "saving" her for Flames of Paris.  Perhaps Ratmansky had something to do with those choices, but it's not his theatre, it's Vaziev's.  

There are several interests at stake.  Vaziev's interest is in building a new company and that is completely understandable. However, the audience has an equally valid interest, and that is in seeing great dancing from one of the world's premier companies. The Moscow audience pays high ticket prices and is apparently tired of seeing performances marred by a parade of newbies.  The international audience is left with a false impression that the Bolshoi is not that good after all.  These audiences don't care much about Vaziev's hopes and ambitions, they just want to see the Bolshoi at its best.  Hopefully in the 2018-19 season Vaziev will take audience preferences more into account in his casting decisions.

If you remember correctly, Krysanova was not supposed to dance Corsaire for instance. Smirnova was. She was listed in the cast list. Then she pulled out and Krysanova was put in. This was followed by Krysanova's encore of Taming of the Shrew, and of course she was in Romeo and Juliet which I'm sure Ratmansky and Vaziev collectively decided on once production started on this ballet. The cinema season titles are planned way in advance of casting decisions. Point is, things change in a theatre no matter how much you try to plan ahead.

I don't think anyone doubts that the Bolshoi is good or not based on one production. I am an international audience member and I can say that since I have been watching the Bolshoi broadcasts year after year, I don't mind seeing a new cast member even if she is not the absolute "best" ballerina for that role.  Everyone brings something new to a role and I think that is important to see.

17 hours ago, Quinten said:

I just don't understand why the Bolshoi shows us casts that may be good but are obviously not the best that Bolshoi has to offer.  Do they think we don't notice?  Is there some sort of agenda?  I just don't get it.

I think it is positive to show other dancers during the broadcasts. This may not have been the "best" cast but otherwise we would have a cinema season only of Krysanova for this season. I would think the Bolshoi management is aware of that.  It shows the range of the company and what others have to offer in a role. I see many people on this forum and social media complaining that too much of one dancer in a cinema season leaves everyone bored. It's exciting to see fresh faces, rising talent that can sustain a production like Margarita did yesterday in some ballets and of course mature, experienced dancers in others.  This has always been a quality of Makhar, so it cannot be surprising. I was pleased to see new faces.

Corps de ballet member Margarita Shrainer will be dancing as Jeanne in the broadcast, I believe the first time a corps dancer takes the lead in a broadcast. Pretty amazing! She will dance with Igor Tsvirko. 

Full cast list here: https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/235/roles/#20180304180000

Here is Smirnova discussing the ballet. Nice to hear some fresh thoughts: 

Olga will be dancing the live broadcast of the Bolshoi's Sleeping Beauty on Sunday, Jan 22 in cinemas! Her Prince will be Semyon Chudin bolshoiballetincinema.com

I'm ITA with you. I'd rather see the Royal's "Beauty," than Grigorovich's 1973, mach speed, two act, glam-glitz edit. As for Obraztsova, I too would love to see her Aurora again. However, it seems to me that some virtual oil of vitriol has splashed on her career there.

Based on instagram photos on Obraztsova's account, it appears that she is pregnant so I doubt she will be on stage in the beginning of the cinema season. Also, Pathe Live/Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema just released the season trailer! I love the tango scene from Golden Age, it has such beautiful music from Shostakovich.

I think it's really exciting to see an unexpected cast, especially since we don't often get to see Chudin in the broadcasts in leading roles. He's fantastic and so is Krysanova. Also noticed that Smirnova will make her debut as Kitri on April 9! Super exciting to see fresh faces in DQ.

DD6948, your ire is misplaced. If you were to look through the threads on this board, you’d find that I have been banging the drum for these ballet in cinema transmissions for the last seven or eight years. When I haven’t been able to attend broadcasts, I’ve bought tickets for them anyway, because I recognize the use-it-or-lose-it nature of the enterprise. I’ve lost track of how many transmissions I’ve attended over the years, but none has ever been close to sold out, so I am fairly confident that my phantom participation has not deprived anyone of a ticket, and if I was required to select a seat to make the purchase, I made a point to choosing the least desirable spot in the auditorium. It’s true that I haven’t always paid money to buy tickets. Sometimes I’ve redeemed loyalty points, and sometimes I’ve used vouchers received at failed broadcasts. In one instance I made three attempts to see a particular ballet cinemacast, but sadly the initial and two rescheduled screenings all succumbed to faulty technology. I have also paid to watch ballet streams online, but these opportunities present themselves less frequently. So rest assured; I’ve invested my share of time and money into the cause.

Fair enough. I do follow this thread actually and noted that you made a decisive point about missing the past few broadcasts solely because of Zakharova and then explain in detail how you then decided to "hack" the youtube link, and just insult everyone anyway. I do respect everyone has their own opinion. It's not really about depriving anyone of tickets, it's about supporting an initiative to continue showing the work of great companies, no matter the cast . Though you should know that a couple of venues for Camellias in New York were in fact sold out.

Also, casting for this was done by the ballet's choreographer himself, John Neumeier. Seems he could have chosen the roles of Manon and Des Grieux to match exactly Marguerite and Armand's height if that was something very important to him.

I could not think of a more boring interpretation of Camellias than the film by Paris Opera Ballet. It left me snoozing and so disappointed. They were so limp, lacking in energy and just lethargic looking. This ballet is about drama and it isn't supposed to be handled with absolute subtelty, and though Zakharova can be all legs and cold in some ballets, Marguerite is the role that she owned at the broadcast. Everyone in the cinema was in tears.

Also, I think it is a shame that you have said multiple times that you would not go to the cinema due to casting decisions, and yet in the end, you "stole" the link to see this broadcast for free, when these cinema broadcasts from Bolshoi/Royal and all others rely and only exist because of box office sales. This is something to support, not just "hack" online to then later spew insults at the artists. Every single one of the artists lives and breathes their profession. You can tell from the interviews they do on youtube from the Bolshoi in Cinema account.

In any case, Taming of the Shrew today was absolute rapture.

I have to disagree. It would be wrong to say I was very disappointed, because I did not have high expectations for this performance. But I was surprised to have been left so unmoved by what I saw, and I say this as someone who has been known to sob out loud during the final scene, when Des Grieux carries Manon Lescaut off the stage and Marguerite is left behind alone. On just about every point I found this performance to be inferior to the film made by the Paris Opera Ballet. I liked the performances by Mikhail Lobukhin and Vyacheslav Lopatin, and that was about it.

I could not have gone to the cinema to see this even if I had wanted to, but I did trick my browser into letting me watch the Russian feed online. I saw the first two acts live before heading out the door, and when I returned in the evening, I found that the stream was still up, so I watched the final act then. That I watched the performance on my fairly large television set rather than on a movie screen probably also factored into my perceptions. Problem number one was Svetlana Zakharova, who was, to borrow from Cygnet, all limbs and mannerisms sans pathos. But other casting decisions were bothersome, too. Anna Tikhomirova and Semyon Chudin were not tall enough to be the alter egos of Zakharova and especially Edvin Revazov, which was most problematic in the scenes where the dancers mirror each other. This was a puzzling casting choice since the Bolshoi has taller interpreters of Manon Lescaut and Des Grieux at its disposal, and dancers could have been better matched to each other.

On the filming side, there were many poor directing decisions. The choreography is often structured in such a way that the leading characters are fairly still in the foreground, while a lot of dancing takes place behind them. The camera too often concentrated on close-ups to the point of completely obscuring the dancing to which they were reacting. At other times, notably during the “black” pas de deux, the camera remained resolutely at a distance, which may not have been an impediment on a movie screen, but which certainly was a problem on a TV screen (and presumably would also be on a potential DVD release).

I just saw that there are more venues other than just Fathom that are screening the Bolshoi broadcasts. The new website for the Bolshoi broadcasts is http://www.bolshoiballetincinema.com/ and it seems like it is the same distributor as The Met! It is great to see that many more theaters all over the US will be screening Bolshoi moving forward.

Wow. This definitely helps. It moved it out of the small, old theater that puts the culture offerings in a tiny theater with a broken speaker system and a loud air vent. These other theaters are the ones where The Met and/or NT Live broadcasts are shown. Much better.

Yes, and according to the website there will be 4 theaters in Manhattan as opposed to just 1 venue, and all will be shown live. I hope to see more of Smirnova this cinema season - official season trailer shows her and Hallberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0BV9pR_wM

I just saw that there are more venues other than just Fathom that are screening the Bolshoi broadcasts. The new website for the Bolshoi broadcasts is http://www.bolshoiballetincinema.com/ and it seems like it is the same distributor as The Met! It is great to see that many more theaters all over the US will be screening Bolshoi moving forward.