Mel Johnson

The Ashton Daphnis does survive in Benesh notation. I recall seeing photos of the choreologists working with the Royal in '64, correcting or adding details.

The most recent major treatment of the score was by Sir Frederick Ashton for (natch) the Royal Ballet, but that was in the early 1950s, if memory serves, and didn't last until the videotape era.

Oh, yes, there definitely is a ballet entitled "Daphnis and Chloe" - the way most conductors play it, it's slightly over an hour in length.

I believe that Fonteyn was at the height of her great powers as a dancer from about 1964-68, at least from my poor powers of observation. For whatever reason, she was an astonishing technical being, but also had the indefinable "soul" which carried her after her physical abilities declined. Her last recorded performances, including the Ballerina in a Baryshnikov video, still had the unusual cool fire of what she was able to achieve, and the "Fred step" with Ashton in "Salut d'Amour" could serve as an object lesson to us all.

As Blair staged it, it was pretty much the "old" Royal Ballet Act IV.

Thanks, rg, and welcome to Ballet Talk. Re: Begichev's and Geltser's 1877 mime - too many mothers-in-law. ;)

Welcome, Richard, and thanks for the well-thought-out and well-musically-grounded commentary! The musically conscious are always a valuable addition to a ballet board! One point that I feel I have to refute is the story that the original 1877 production contained music by other composers. This is a long-standing belief bolstered by Russian archival items which have become supplemented over the last thirty years by the discovery of the "other side of the conversation". Tchaikovsky insisted that all the music for the new ballet be his, and even composed new bits to replace the interpolations. What happened to the score after he wasn't around to hear, has not come to light yet, if any such evidences exist. For an uproarious version of a happy ending for Romeo and Juliet, see the Royal Shakespeare Company's acting edition of Nicholas Nickleby!

One of the most fascinating things about Fonteyn, however, was that as the technique advanced, so did she, up to a point, and then age began to limit her. I ran across a film of her dancing the Rose Adagio in the 1950s, and thought, "She was better than that!" And certainly, by 1962, which is when I first saw her in person, she had dramatically improved as a technician.

Further on Tchaikovsky's choice of swans - he already had a little bit of material "in the can", as he had composed a one-act "Ballet of the Swans" for his sister's children. His original contract called for him to supply music to a version of Cinderella, but this plan fell through.

You're right about the email addies not showing to others, sneds. We used to have it the other way, but some people complained that they were getting spammed, so we elected not to show the emails - first, for the protection of the kids, and second, to let the adults pick out a level of privacy with which they are comfortable. Since you're an adult, if you want to post your email address in the clear, it's OK with us. If not, that's OK too!

Sure - the tempi are good, and there's no applause, and I might burn my own of that track sometime. There's no such thing as having TOO many Paquitas, or anything, as long as it's performance cut! ;)

Hi, Lara, and welcome to News and Views here at Ballet Alert! Online! Sorry, I haven't info on Tamara; anybody got an inside track on this story?

OK, Andrei and the other Paquita-sleuths, here's what I have so far: There is a recording of the Grand Pas by Boris Spassov conducting the Sofia National Opera Orchestra on Capriccio CD #10544. It is paired with the Shades scene from Bayaderka, with performance cuts and repeats and tempo changes in the variations. The one I'm trying to get is by G.G. Zhemchuzhin conducting the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra on Esta/Supraphon CD #4(!) I don't know if it's the whole thing or just the whole last act, as it is paired with selections from Sleeping Beauty, so I'll just have to find a way to the distributor and find out.

Another problem with gaining modern masterpieces to take to permission is the difficulty in determining who holds the rights to the work. The current legal wranglings over the Graham name are a symptom of this difficulty. Likewise Doris Humphrey - who owns the rights to her works? Her family? Charles Weidman? (now also gone) Her editor, Barbara Grace Pollock? It's a lot easier with choreographers who are still on live. At least, there, it's usually just a matter of getting the permission.

It still bugs me that Christopher Wheeldon retired from dancing while he still had so much to offer. But dancing's loss may still be dancing's gain in the medium of choreography. Hope springs eternal! ;)

Manon, if you'll check the forum "News and Views", that topic's been near the top of it for quite a long time, now! Have a look!

It just means "Russian ballet", but in French. In addition to having the ritzy French about it, it also expresses the Conventional Wisdom that the Russians are the very best at ballet. It also was the name of the Diaghilev company at the beginning of the last century, which organization "ballets Russes", actually, had the most profound effect on the development of ballet as an art.

And let's not forget "Vitameatavegamin"!

Sheesh! Some people won't give up beating an old dead horse! :rolleyes:

No, it's no worse than drizzle and smells faintly of vinegar, because there are small amounts of acetic acid created when the dry ice is immersed in warm water. You would breathe more acetic acid while walking through an apple orchard. [ 08-20-2001: Message edited by: Mel Johnson ]

There is an alleged complete Paquita out there in CD format, but I'm having trouble hunting it down. It seems to be on a rather obscure label (Qualiton?), and I may have to contact the record company directly in order to get it. I'll keep you posted. There's also a fine version of the Grand Pas available as the second featured work with the Shades scene from Bayadére! Check Amazon.

Only as history - but they can do a number on your head, just trying to keep them sorted out! There's the Diaghilev Ballets Russes, the de Basil Ballet Russe, the Blum Ballet Russe, the Denham Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and so on and so forth....

The original production premiered at the Bolshoi Theater in 1877. The version we're used to was presented in 1895 as a complete version with musical edits and interpolations by Riccardo Drigo, and the choreography split between Marius Petipa and his assistant, Lev Ivanov. If you go to the Ballet Alert! homepage and click the link to "Ballets", and select 19th century ballets, there's a whole THING in there about Swan Lake.

Yeah, mute swans (the ones that hiss) are particularly nasty. Trumpeter swans (the ones that bark) are nicer. I've always wondered about von Rothbart's taste in ornithology. Why change somebody into a really big, bad-tempered animal with villainous table manners? And further, one that could possibly do you harm? Some productions have made use of the dark side of the swan personality, and have them nibbling various characters to death; a truly horrible way to go! [ 08-20-2001: Message edited by: Mel Johnson ]

Small company in upstate NY. They did a rather chaste version of the story. The names are withheld to protect the innocent.