Solor

thanks guys - yes for certain that is little Altynai Asylmoratova sitting in class (not ballet class but, like, regular "desk" class), as well shes doing the 'folk dancing' at Mme. Zubkovskaya's house w/ Alec Tomishin........I'd be interested to know what happened him. There were also some dances being performed in the film that I have never seen/heard before.....Id love to know their origins. During the Graduation performance, Vorontsova and her partner Logamere Tafta (spelling?) perform the "fascination" pas de deux from "Satanella" (AKA the Carnival in Venice pas de deux) to the music of Cesare Pugni. Princess Grace gives the date of this number's inception as 1870, but according to "The Diaries of Marius Petipa", the pas was first staged by Petipa on 2/12/1859 as the "Venetian Carnival Grand Pas de Deux", and the music as 'Cesare Pugni based on a theme by Nicolo Paganini'. Right after that Princess Grace says "heres the pas de deux from "Talisman" - its obviously a the Coda from some 19th century Imperial-Era Grand Pas de Deux, danced by Tatiana Votkopayeva in a lovely baby-blue tutu w/ an unidentified partner. The music doesnt sound anything like the "Talisman" pas de deux, and sounds far too 'rum-ti-tum' to have been written by Maestro Drigo - the music sounds Cesare Pugni-ish to me......what is this piece??? The other piece, only shown being rehearsed on the Mariinksy stage, is an elaborate Grand Pas of some kind, in the spirit of the "Rose Adagio". The music sounds very much like something that would have come from the hand of Rubenstein, but Im no musicologist. Princess Grace calls it (try not to laugh at my fo-net-ik spelling, as english and 'ballet-french' are the only languages I speak) - "The Divertessment Bree-ent" ('ent' = the sound the letters e-n-t make when together in the french language). It is danced by Vorontsova's freind - and here goes my speeeeling again- Me-ky-ella. What is this piece?

76-77? I know it says that on the back of the packaging but - Assylmoratova was born in 1961 - in the brief shot of her she looks no more than 10 or 11 years old...so I would think that this film was done in the early 70s, as in "backstage at the kirov" she is 21 (1982).

I just watched the "Children of Theatre Street" - I had'nt seen it in a long time. I found it very interesting when Princess Grace said something to the affect of the Petipa ballets still being danced at the Kirov "exactly as he envisaged them"....even Konstantin Sergeyev listing the ballets that still "retain" Petipa's choreography" - what a laugh! I also found the all of those staged scenes to be very amusing, particularly the rediculously fake scene where the boy being profiled "sneaks" into the girls dormitory. Also there was that wonderful brief shot of little Altynai Asylmoratova, looking no more than 10 or 11 years old. I found it very interesting to see the young Galina Mezentseva and Konstantin Zaklinsky dancing the "White Adagio" from "Swan Lake".....Mme. Mezentseva had extremely under-arched feet when she was young....the Kirov teachers really must have worked her, because her feet looked nothing like that when I saw her dance. I was wondering the fate of the 3 students who were profiled - there was the older girl, Elena Vorantsova - I have seen her in the film of the Kirov "The Sleeping Beauty" w/ Kolpakova as the fairy Coulante. There was also the little girl in the 2nd year class I think, and the little boy, whose names escapes me. As well, there was also the girl who was "Elena's freind"....I believe her first name was Michalena (spelling?)....she was from Chechoslavakia, and after her graduation she was going to the USA to study.

I was wondering if anyone had any information on this recent revival of this near extinct work by Lacotte......I see on the Mariinksy web page that it has yet to premiere (I was under the impression it has premiered already?)...isnt it also known as "The Naiad and the Fisherman"? I was wondering about the ballet's history, and when it was last performed, and why it became lost. What of Lacotte's work on it.....is the ballet notated? According to "Diaries of Marius Petipa" Petipa revived the work in 1892, and then in 1903, for none other than Anna Pavlova......is this revival based on the 1903 staging? What of Pugni's score? Whats it like? Most importantly - IS IT GOING TO BE FILMED?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? --Solor

I recently purchased 2 recordings of the 1834 score for Bournonville's "La Sylphide" via Amazon.com, the music of Herman Severin Lovensjold. Luckilly after a long wait a used copy finally popped up on Amazon.com of a long out-of-print recording of the ballet, and I quickly purchased it - on the label CPO records, conducted by Harry Damgaard (conductor of the Royal Danish Theatre) & performed by the Danish Radio Symphony. The other recording I purchased is still in print - on the label Chandos, conducted by David Garforth with the Royal Danish Orchestra. The Damgaard recording is of the full, complete, unedited score of Lovensjold, where as the Garforth recording is of the performance score - this recording includes the full overture of Act I, usually edited for performance as well as a rarely heard Pas de Deux edited out of traditional perfromances. Damgaard's recording includes James solo from Act I, which for some reason is not included in the Garforth recording. I have 2 other recordings that have excerpts from "La Sylphide - the first is by Bonynge and has been included on 3 compilation discs released though Decca/London - the first is "The Art of the Prima Ballerina", then "Grand Pas De Deux", and then on the 10 CD box set "Fete du Ballet", the only one of the 3 still in print. This recording is of the divertessment of the Sylphs, beginning right about where the Sylphe calls her sisters to dance - this excerpt is also on the Garforth and Damgaard recordings, and are all identicle. The second recording I have is included on the "Ballet Gala" CD from the long out-of-print 6 CD box set of rarities called "The Original Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra", conducted by Georgi G. Zhemchushin. This recording has an excerpt from "La Sylphide" which is similar to the excerpt recorded by Bonynge/Damgaard/Garforth, but it is orchestrated differently, and does not contain certain passages that are in the other recordings - for example, after the solo for flute right before the Sylphs make their entrance, the musical passage that turns up in the Bonynge/Damgaard/Garforth recording is not in the Bolshoi recording, nor is the allegro passage for violin solo.......on this disc the music is credited to Jean-Madeliene Schnietzhoeffer. II always thought that Lovensjold's score utilized sections from Schnietzhoeffer's 1832 score, but I am not certain. I know that Bournonville originally wanted to use Schnietzhoeffer's score, but that the price for the manuscript was far to much...so if that is the case, then how could Lovensjold have taken any passages from it? Maybe he had a good memory and just 'borrowed' a few themes.....but I dont know. I have yet to see Lacotte's revival for the Paris Opera of the original 1832 Philippe Taglioni production, set to the score of Schnietzhoeffer.....perhaps the Bolshoi recording made an error in musical credits, as this same disc credits the "Le Corsaire" pas de deux to Adolphe Adam, and not Riccardo Drigo, so go figure.

RG - I found the publication Brolga's site. Listed under -Issue 18 June 2003- there is a title "Drama and music in ballet scores: a glossary in the form of an essay - by Rodney Stenning Edgecombe" this sounds alot like the article in question? If not is anyone familiar with it??- They have all of their issues listed up to December '03, and then they list nothing.....I could find nothing on any current issues. http://www.ausdance.org.au/outside/resourc...als/brolga.html

Is the Bazhok music Minkus's march from Petipa's 1878 ballet "Roxana, the Beauty of Montengro"?

I know exactly what you mean!!! Thats why I became so invloved as far as learning the history of the classical ballets. As I got older, and more knowledgable, I used to pi** my teachers off, as most of the time I knew more about the variation/pas they were teaching than they did!! HA! I decided to bust out my trusty-dusty DVDs of the 'Nina Ananiashvili & International Stars' performances filmed in Japan (the first DVD is from 1991, the second is from 1993 - these were originaly released to video in 4 volumes, as I have those to). I dont think one should ever take it as fact when one sees the credits on any given ballet video/DVD....for example the first DVD in this series credits the music of the Pas d'Esclave from Corsaire (danced by Vadim Pisarev and Inna Dorofeyeva) as being by Adolphe Adam, when its really by Prince Peter Von Oldenbourg.....such errors occur on nearly every DVD/video ballet performance I have! Regarding the perfomance of the "Don Quixote" Grand Pas de Deux on the second DVD, with the whole ensemble participating, the choreography is by ALOT of people, not just Gorsky. If they were to have credited everyone involved the screen would have been FILLED!! The variation after the adagio is from Act I of "Don Quixote", danced traditionally by Basilio and the 2 'flower girls' (danced by Inna Dorofeyeva, Rose Gad, and Alexander Kolpin). The music is by Minkus. Terekhova dances what today is treated as the 'supplemental' variation for Kitri in the "Don Q" Grand Pas de Deux, which I think was the 'real' variation written by Minkus for Kitri in the pas - Terekhova also dances this variation in the Kirov film of the full-length "Don Quixote" with Rouzimitov. This variation is sometimes danced in modern times by a lone female soloist in the context of the "Don Q" Grand Pas, as in Nureyev's production. On the first volume of the "Nina Ananiashvili and International Stars" DVDs this variation is danced by Rose Gad during the "Don Q" Grand Pas performance of Rouzimitov and Ananiashvili. Yuri Possokhov dances a mysterious variation I have never seen or heard before....I actually posted a question once here on ballet talk about this variation. Also in this same post I asked about Alexander Vetrov's mysterious variation in the Act II Grand Pas from the Bolshoi's film of the full-length "La Bayadere", but for both questions I got no replys. Heres a link to that post - http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...topic=21045&hl= Elisabeth Platel dances the next variation - the 'fan variation' to the harp solo, which in modern times in known as THEE variation for Kitri in the "Don Q" Grand Pas - this is the solo that, I am almost 100% sure is really by Riccardo Drigo, not Leon Minkus as usually credited, as it was added into the pas for Kschessinska in 1903, way after Minkus left Russia. Vadim Pisarev dances what dnznqueen called the 'cup variation', also danced on film by Baryshnikov in the 'tavern scene' of that 1984 film of his version of "Don Q" for ABT. This music is really by Adolphe Adam, and comes from his ballet "La Diable a Quatre" (AKA "The Willful Wife"). The music used for Pisarev's performance sounds like a reorchestration to me. This variation is more well-known as the male variation from the "Paquita" Pas de Trois (AKA Minkus Pas de Trois). There are only 2 films I know of where this Pas de Trois is performed. One is of the Kirov Ballet, called "Kirov Classics" on DVD (or "The Maryinsky Ballet" on the previous VHS release). In this film the Pas de Trois is danced in the context of the entire "Paquita" Grand Pas Classique. The other film is that dreadful yet still interesting revival by Pierre Lacotte of the full-length "Paquita", danced by the Paris Opera Ballet. Both of these have the good ole' 'cup variation'. Ananiashvili dances the 'grand jete/saut de chat' variation from the "Paquita" Grand Pas (the music used in this perfromance sounds like a reorchestration). As far as I know this is the 'real' variation for "Paquita" in the Grand Pas, as the other variation traditionally danced by the lead ballerina in the "Paquita" Grand Pas is by Riccardo Drigo (the 'harp' variation), choreographed by Petipa especially for Anna Pavlova's performance in "Paquita" in 1904. Drigo originally wrote this variation for Vavara Nikitina (the first Princess Florine in the 'Blue Bird pas de Deux') in 1892 for Petipa's revival of Taglioni's orignal "La Sylphide" Last Zelensky dances the traditional solo for Basilio in the "Don Q" Grand Pas. Thankfully this variation doesnt have any complex history....or does it? Confused Yet? Believe me it gets worse! dnznqueen - I know you will find this post very intersting.....it concerns "Paquita" and who scored what, etc., w/ links to older posts on the subject - http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...topic=20768&hl= well, its saturday night, time to go boogie-woogie at the clubs! --Solor

I think it was Natalia who posted this, but someone put up a list of all of the ballets stemming from Petipa still active in the repertoire of the world, mostly by the Mariinksy and the Universal ballet academy. Anyone know where this was posted, as I cant find it.

Thanks RG - Does RSE not post on Ballet talk anymore?

I have read somewhere, and here goes my memory again, that the Diane and Acteon PDD has its roots in "Le Talisman".

regarding Petipa and the revivals staged while he was still alive of his own ballets - Petipa HATED anyone tinkering with his 'compositions' as he called them. I know that during the presentations of the Mariinksy reconstructions of Bayadere and Beauty there were those who said how Petipa probably would not have approved of his works staying the same, without changes......In fact I think he would have been pleased! I wish he were alive today so that he could scold the Mariinksy company on how they handeld the revivals, not to mention how they waste their archives......WHOOPS, Im getting off topic....... Petipa hated Gorsky's revivals of his "Pharoah's Daughter", "Don Q", etc, as well as those of Pavel Gerdt. After reading his diaries I learned that Petipa only wanted himself altering his works, and no one else.....as he grew old he worked more and more....I really wish that somehow his dances from this time were filmed/notated, I bet they were masterpieces! It was Gorsky who interpolated into the "Don Q" Dream Scene the variation for the Queen of the Dryads to the music of Anton Simon (this variartion was danced by Fonteyn in the Corsaire pas, and before her Sizova w/ Nureyev). I believe that the variation for Kitri as Dulcinea in the dream scene is a later insertion from Gorsky's 1903 staging of his version of "Don Q", put in for Kschessinska (who danced Kitri) to the music of Drigo, as well as the famous 'fan variation' w/ the harp solo (ruined by Lanchbery in his reorchestration) in the grand pas, again to the music of Drigo. The only solo that is by Minkus is the one for Cupid. How much of the Dream scene is Petipa anyway?

I have some questions, if anyone can help, about Minkus's last years w/ Petipa & the Imperial Ballet. The post of 'First Imperial Ballet Composer' was abolished in 1886. Minkus's last ballets for Petipa were "The Magic Pills" and "The Offerings of Love" both in 1886. Petipa and Ivanov staged a revival of Minkus's "Fiametta" in 1887, though I dont know if Minkus had a hand in it, and then there were no other ballets from Minkus until his last work "Kalkabrino" in 1891. Why such a long gap? The years that followed saw "The Vesatle", "The Talisman", and of course "The Sleeping Beauty", but then there was this last ballet from Minkus "Kalkabrino", the only part that survives in performance as far as I know is a variation often danced in "Paquita". Could it be that Petipa had had enough of the 'new' composers of ballet music and went back for one last one with good ole Minkus?

I was wondering if anyone had seen this documentary, and if its any good, etc, as Im considering purchasing it.

Yes I agree, as she is wonderful, but Clara participating in the Grand Divertessment of "The Nutcracker" seems like something one would see in an amateur ballet recital w/ an audience full of cam corders and a really bad 16 year old ballerina hopping around to a cd of "The Nutcracker".

RG was great enough to list all of the ballets in the Sergeyev collection....but what of the dances from Operas? Im fascinated, as Petipa staged many quite famous dances from Operas (all are listed in "Diaries of Marius Petipa".

I was wondering about The Royal Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" as presented in the film w/ Leslie Collier & Anthony Dowell as the Sugar Plum Fairy & Cavalier. I know that there is also the more recent film of this production w/ that AWESOME ballerina Yoshida as the Sugar Plum Fairy, w/ the more recent changes to the Grand Divertessment of Act II w/ Clara and the Prince in all of the dances (bad idea if you ask me!). Is this a reconstruction of the orginal 1892 Imperial production? Or is it just merely a parttial reconstruction w/ just some dances? Are the sets/costumes based on the 1892 premiere?

QUOTE Leonid - "When I wrote that "possibly never danced on point" it was an unanswered question, not an assertion. Marie Petipa was already nearly 33 years of age and was of a full figured stature in 1890, as a photograph of her in the Prologue costume shows(Compare Lubov Egorova photographed in same costume design). There are two extant notated versions of the Lilac Fairy variation the first marked M.Petipa according to Wiley is technically less demanding, "Marie's choreography is based on the plainest of floor plans and requires very little pointe work......" By the time the 'Sergeyev' notation of her(supposed)version was recorded, Marie Petipa was 46 years of age, very plump in the body and had not danced the Lilac Fairy for a good number of years. Is it possible that she collaborated with Sergeyev given her fathers antipathy towards the Stepanov notation? It it has been stated that Petipa re-choreographed his own variations for particular dancers, did this happen when other dancers succeeded to the role of the Lilac Fairy? Perhaps Doug Fullington who knows the Sergeyev notation well, could at some time give an indication how clearly demi-pointe work is shown compared to full pointe work? Is the Marie version in Sergeyev's hand, as Mr. Fullington's earlier writing on the Kirov reconstruction talks about a ' scribe ',rather than directly crediting N.Sergeyev notating the Fairy variations?" According to Roland John Wiley's "Dances from Russia: An introduction to the Segeryev Collection" - (Im not quoting this exactly) In February of 1891, a special commission of senior dancers (Marius Petipa, Ekaterina Vazem, Pavel Gerdt, Lev Ivanov, and Christian Johannson) certified the Stepanov Notation as a practical way of notating ballets. But in February of 1892, Marius Petipa turned against it, saying in a letter "I am completely convinced that important ballet masters will not use the method of notation that Mr. Stepanov, by the way, was not first to introduce". I have seen many photos of Mare Petipa in her Prologue Lilac Fairy costume wearing pointe shoes. Wether she was Marius' daughter or not, I dont think he wouldve cast her in a role where she would have to dance a formal Pas de Six on half toe. Ive never read anywhere if Petipa re-did the Lilac variation, but Im sure he did, as he always reworked solos for ballerinas.

Thanx RG - Yes I to have both of those books by Wiley (BRAVO WILEY) as well as "Diaries of Marius Petipa", given to me by Ms. Garafola herself (her last copy I might add....the woman is awesome!) --- I just had to brag, as "Diaries" is so extraordinary QUOTE - "On the 29th of January 1849, a circus opened with a festive equestrian show in the hall built opposite the Bolshoi Theatre by the architect Albert Cavos. This building was designed so that it could accommodate theatrical performances. Exactly ten years later, the circus caught fire and burnt down. This time the reconstructed building was designed purely for musical performances. The opera company of the Bolshoi Theatre was the first to be transferred here, followed by its ballet troupe. The new theatre was opened on the 2nd of October 1860 with a performance of Glinka´s opera A Life for the Tsar. It was named the Mariinsky Theatre after Alexander II´s wife Maria. " ---So was the Mariinksy orignally built in 1849, but then it was damaged via the circus fire?? The way this is worded makes it a little unclear.......

I am not sure if it exists or not, but isnt there a book that details the history of "Giselle", sort of in the spirit of Roland John Wiley's "Tchaikovsky's Ballets"? I thought that maybe at some point I had heard about it, and I think the title was "A Ballet Called Giselle" but I could be mistaken........

Regarding the pic on of the bearded gentlman - That photo is actually of Leo Delibes. In my recording of the Delibes/Minkus "La Source" this photo is included in the accompanying booklet, and is credited to Delibes. Heres a pic of Adolphe Adam -

I was wondering about the situation regarding the Imperial Ballet and their once home theatre of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre. I think it was around 1886 that they began performing at the Mariinksy Theatre. When was the Mariinksy Built? Why did the Imperial Ballet leave the Bolshoi Theatre of St. Petersburg to perfom at the Mariinksy instead? Is the Bolshoi of Petersburg still there?

Im reading Coryne Hall's magnificent bio of Kschessinska's life called "Imperial Dancer: Mathilde Kschessinska and the Romanovs". There were quite a few times where Hall mentions Kschessinska inserting her favorite variation from "Pharoah's Daughter" into various performances - I am fascinated........if anyone knows, what variation is this? I was thinking that maybe it was Aspicia's variation from the 'under-water' scene, but I really dont know (that variation seems just right for the extravagant Mme. Kschessinska!) Also, there is the 1900 revival of "La Bayadere" for which Kschessinska added a variation for herself for the Grand Pas d'action of the last act. I was wondering if anyone knew what variation this is, and why it never turned up in the reconstruction? She was fond of this variation as well.......

Well, that all depends on what staging your reffering to. Im sure different people have staged this ballet, and edited the music accordingly for their stagings. Just like "The Sleeping Beauty" or "Swan Lake", both of which were modified by Riccardo Drigo for their premeires ("Swan Lake" the most for the 1895 revival) Im sure someone tailored Dorati's arrangements of Strauss' themes for "The Graduation Ball. Id say that 99.9% of all recordings of ballets out there are of the full, unedited scores (ie "Swan Lake" "Sleeping Beauty"), and hardly ever does anyone ever record the 'performance scores'. The "Graduation Ball" recording you have is of the full scire, and not of the 'performance score' with all of the theatrical edits and (sometimes) additions. I have this recording, I think its great!

A few things - What is the deal with the Mariinksy and how stingy they are with their archives? I have heard many times, different things here and there from teachers of mine, etc. about how jealously they gaurd their theatrical materials. Marat Daukeyev, a long time teacher of mine and former Mariinksy danseur was talking about this once, that there are so many valuable resources in that theatre - entire scores for the ballets of Petipa, TONS of them, set designs, photographs, etc, in the archives of the Mariinksy, but that all they do is just sit there, and that more often than not anyone wanting to use anything is refused. What is the deal? Grant it, for instance, a musical manuscript may be very old and fragile or something, but they could always photo copy it! Faux Pas - whats the deal with the "Sleeping Beauty" repetiteur?