Roberta
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This is all very tempting for a trip in April, Sandik. Thank you!
Cubanmiamiboy, having carefully re-read the Ratmansky interview in Kommersant, I can confirm that his version of Giselle for the Bolshoi will include the rare "Fugue of the Willis" repeat near the end, when the Willis try to ensnare Albrecht. Ratmansky mentions this, in the context of the importance of Giselle's tombstone in the form of a cross...the Willis become angry and form a circle around Albrecht, trying to pull him to his death, when they see the rays of sunlight making a shadow in the form of the Christian cross. Very interesting stuff.
I also love that Ratmansky pointed out, in answer to Kommersant's Qs about possible resistance to changes, that the Bolshoi dancers were all very positive and did not resist the changes to their existing version(s) of Giselle. Ratmansky also noted, near the end of the interview, that the idea to create a new-old Giselle based on historically-informed sources, was that of Bolshoi Ballet A.D. Vaziev. Ratmansky himself had not even thought about tackling Giselle until Vaziev's invitation. He could not resist.
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On 10/6/2019 at 4:23 PM, cubanmiamiboy said:
Hi Roberta. I really hope there are updates on this, as it is quite a monumental task to touch this important work. If the muses would behave , then they would work to inspire Ratmansky to reconstruct two scenes. One being the "Fugue des Willis", which I have always visualized, and then the very ending "Lever du soleil et arrivee de la cour (Sunrise and the Arrival of the Court)", in which a totally different dramatic turn would had to be employed, with Giselle pardoning Albrecht in front of everyone, including Bathilde, and sort of releasing him to go with her before ascending to the heavens. Bathilde would then be a completely different animal than the short lived imperious princess we all came to know. According to the written sources, in this scene she's seen weeping and trembling, while Abrecht is supposed to get at peace with his fiancee.
Cool, right....?
Cubanmiamiboy, according to this Nov 15 interview in Kommersant, it appears as if your wishes will come true, such as seeing the original ending of Giselle, in which Giselle points to Bathilde and the court entourage, directing Albrecht to go back to his fiancée. He'll do so and give her flowers - forgiveness all around! https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4149723
This new-old Bolshoi version should be a real treat, in which Ratmansky has consulted all known 19th-C and early-20th-C sources on Giselle, not just the Petipa-era Harvard Stepanov notes but also sources that Doug Fullington and Marian Smith used to stage their version of the ballet in Seattle a few years ago (for ex., Paris repetiteur Titus' notes on Adam's score, Henri Justamant's 1860s manuscript describing the Paris version, even drawings by Imperial Ballet First Soloist Pavel Gerdt detailing the Act III pdd-adagio).
The Seattle version included lost bits, such as the Fugue des Willis, so I'm hoping that we'll see that at the Bolshoi, although Ratmansky does not specifically mention it in the Kommersant interview. (He does specifically mention the new-old final scene with Albrecht returning to Bathilde. Ratmansky also seems to chuckle that he's pretty sure that Russian audiences will be surprised!)
How lucky for all of us to be seeing this version in cinemas, come January 26!
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Casting has been updated to show who's dancing Myrtha. Vlashinets dances at the premiere on Wednesday; Schipulina at the 2nd cast and Kovalyova the 3rd.
Ratmansky's Facebook shows photos of the two sets. Designer Perdziola is basically following the Benois designs to a T. Very traditional look, in other words.
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I'm wondering if this doc on Natalia Osipova will be shown or made available in some manner in the USA? It premiered in UK theatres this past summer. I've read very good reviews.
https://www.forceofnaturenatalia.com/
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The grid didn't open for me either but I checked the ABT website for casting, by ballet.
Here's what most excites me:
First and foremost:
June 2 - 6 OF LOVE AND RAGE (new Ratmansky) - while casting is not listed, I noticed that the two dancers on the publicity photo are...Hurlin & Bell (!!!)
I'm in like flint! I'll select one or two performances according to final casting.
May 21 BAYADERE SUPER-DUPER NIGHT: Smirnova/Kim/Murphy!
June 17 mat. SLEEPING BEAUTY Hurlin's Aurora debut with "TBA" prince...on the same day... June 17 eve. SLEEPING BEAUTY Lane with a "TBA" prince (at least we know that it won't be Gorak, who is paired with Trenary)
June 27 mat or July 2 SWAN LAKE with Schevchenko and FORSTER
So that's about four Amtrak trips between DC and NY next spring. However tempting, I'll pass on Abrera's and Lane's Giselles, as I've already witnessed their glories and prefer to keep the memories in my mind. R&J is not my favorite ballet, no matter who is dancing...and the Jane Eyre repeats - heck NO!
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41 minutes ago, abatt said:
That first Giselle, with Shkylarov, was exceptional. It was much better technically than her Giselle two years later at Marcelo Gomes's 20th Anniversary. I assume she will be paired with Whiteside, since he is partnering her in her Feb. 2020 D.C. Giselle performance. I would like, however, to see her dance with Hallberg just once.
Abrera and Hallberg were divine and comical together in Ratmansky's Whipped Cream, in DC a year or two ago (as seen in this photo by Schiavone). I'll miss her very much.
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Oh, no. Rest in Peace.
Adding a day later: The international reaction has been, uh...interesting. I suppose that there are very few us are around who saw her dance live. I saw her Giselle, Carmen Suite and Grand Pas de Quatre when the BNC was on tour in Spain, around 1980. Age 60 but still fantastic. Esquivel was her partner. But that was a long time ago!
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16 minutes ago, stuben said:
.... Lane....She is clearly all our favorite yet not catching the artistic's taste buds! She was amazing with Cornejo in Manon and hit that out of the park!
Not to mention the other ballets in which this partnership teamed so magnificently: GISELLE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, OTHER DANCES, T&V, etc. To me, it is absurd that Lane is not a part of Herman's celebration. Ridiculous.
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I found the link to the documentary, with English subtitles, no less:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8b1d0MzyE
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On 10/11/2019 at 9:48 AM, Polar said:
Is anyone familiar with the geneaology of Agrippina Vaganova? I have been able to determine that she had one son, Aleksandr Pomerantsev, but I cannot trace her family any further with what I know. Did Aleksandr have any children? It appears that Aleksandr did not follow his mother's pursuits and did not live a life involved with ballet. Does anyone know if that is correct? While her biographies are filled with the details of her professional life I have yet to find information about her child or subsequent grandchildren. Thank you.
Did you see this?
https://beautifulrus.com/agrippina-vaganova-queen-of-variations/
From this:
Personal life
Vaganova connected her life with the tsarist army colonel Andrei Alexandrovich Pomerantsev. The marriage was not official, as Pomerantsev didn’t divorce his first wife.
In 1904 Agrippina gave birth to their son Alexander. You know, Vaganova’s granddaughter Lyudmila also became a ballet dancer.Like anything else from the internet, take such information with care, doing your own research. The article mentions a 2010 Russian documentary, Agrippina Vaganova: The Great & The Terrible, which may be the source for the above info? It may be interesting to track that doc. YouTube?
Adding:
The tsarist army colonel, Andrei Alexandrovich, may have been connected to the famous architect Alexander Pomerantsev, who would have been old enough to have been Andrei's father.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pomerantsev
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The entire Schedrin-Bizet work is about 45 minutes long so, with one intermission, there must also be a divertissement of 30+ minutes. If the advertisement promises a tribute to Plisetskaya, then there surely will be a Dying Swan too?
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Iain Webb, AD of Sarasota Ballet, sent the following message to company patrons - Ashton to be inducted into the National Hall of Fame and Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY:
https://mailchi.mp/sarasotaballet/museum-of-dance-hall-of-fame?e=a6dedc88ec
Webb will accept the award on behalf of the Ashton family.
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16 hours ago, abatt said:
Except for the scene where Xander stood too close to Batoeva to support her in a spin or turn and her leg smacked right into him and caused her to stop mid-spin. Mr. Abatt turned to me and noted that we've been attending ballet for about 25 years and have never seen that error. It was egregious. All in all, however, it was a wonderful weekend of ballet from the Mariinsky.
Yes, now that you mention it, I checked my notes...during the adagio, as she went into the first of two supported turns a-la-seconde, she stumbled when her foot hit him in "a tender spot"...but of course it was he who failed to get out of the way!
The repetition, 10 seconds later, went much smoother. This reminds me of Balanchine's pdd for Liberty Bell and El Capitan in Stars & Stripes...El Capitan almost makes a joke of stepping way back every time that Liberty Bell's foot comes close to him in a supported pirouette...he jerks way back in a funny manner 3 or 4 times. Xander needs to study the Stars & Stripes pdd for some pointers!
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23 hours ago, MadameP said:
With regard to the variation danced by Andres in Act 3, I went to the premiere of this production (Tereshkina/Askerov/Evseeva) in St Petersburg in March 2017 and have just checked my programme. It states that the male variation has "Music by Riccardo Drigo for the variation performed by Enrico Cecchetti in the ballet The Vestal Virgin."
So helpful. Thank you, Mme P.
Well, we guessed Drigo correctly! How a military-style mazurka tune fits into VESTALKA (set in ancient Rome, Vestal Virgins and what not) is beyond me but, hey, that's 19-C Imperial Russian ballet for you.
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I returned to give this ballet a 2nd chance on Saturday night - the Batoeva-Parish-Shirinkina cast. I sat in the same seat, front row of 2nd tier, smack in the middle. This time, Acts I & II were slightly more enjoyable. I believe that spacing among various clusters of dancers was fixed & the lighting was brighter and sharper in group scenes, making a big positive difference. Still, there are way too many characters and the stage business is to busy and fussy for a ballet. It made me recall a similar problem with the long-gone Pulcinella by Balanchine (& Robbins?)...a rare Balanchine lapse in spacing and staging! So I guess that means that Yuri Smekalov is in good company.
The dancers tonight - magnificent! Batoeva nailed her 32 fouetees, her delectable variations, and was even more convincing an actress than was Terioshkina on Tuesday. AND...she had the far superior Xander Parish as her Andres. It was only my 2nd time seeing Xander live and he was terrific in every respect. Maria Shirinkina, who I haven't seen live in a while, has really transformed herself - always exquisite (wonderful Juliet!) - but now truly "prima" material. I'm thrilled about her promotion. The four other solo variations all had tiny shaky moments, except for the PERFECTION that is recent (2019) Vaganova graduate, Alexandra Khiteeva, in the 2nd variation (harp solo by Zabel from Corsaire). Eyes on Khiteeva. I preferred gorgeous Maria Bulanova's Carducha (the villainess "rich girls" in A2) to Shakirova...Bulanova has that certain glamorous face that gives her the edge in such roles, IMO.
Like cubanmiamiboy, I believe that the Vaganova kids were the true stars of this show! Each and every one a miniature Romanov Grand Duke or Duchess -- to the manor born! The audience on Saturday night was even more demonstrative of its adoration for the kids than was Tuesday night's crowd; huge volley of "Bravo!"s whenever the kids appeared, even in the midst of the dance, at times.
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You tried your best. Thanks. Some day we'll find out what this is.
In checking Meisner's bio on Petipa, I read that Petipa himself choreographed a full-length ballet based on Cervantes' LA GITANILLA, titled THE BANDITS (not notated, that we know). Interesting, right?
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I've seen Smekalov's staging of THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, of which at least 65-75% are the steps of Rotislav Zakharov, since films exists of substantial portions of the original ballet. It's a great production, which was webcast a couple of years ago, starring Terioshkina and Schklyarov. The decors are similar to the 1940s originals and the scenario is not mangled. A totally different animal than what he's giving us in PAQUITA.
I'm sorry that the Mariinsky didn't go with the gorgeous Lacotte PAQUITA for POB. The only negative of the Lacotte, IMO, is that he did not include multiple female variations in the grand pas...just the "jete variation" for Paquita (plus the variation for Lucien). C'est tout.
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12 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:
I sat again next to Smekalov, and asked him about it. He kept saying that he created the choreography, with a 50/50 "traditional/his own. And he kept mentioning Burlaka as reference. I tried to press him about how "original" was, or if he had based it on notations, or anything that would be a link to a previous variation from the older Petipa catalogue. But he didn't understand, and kept telling me about how he wanted this variation to have a military flavor. I also asked him if the music was Minkus or Drigo, but he said he didn't remember. I will try to ask an orchestra musician about it tomorrow.
Hi, cmb. Related to this the variation for 4 military men that precedes the kids' dances here is set to Drigo's male variation for the LA SOURCE pdd, interpolation. Curiously, this LA SOURCE music (also a mazurka) was used by Yuri Burlaka as the solo variation for the Lucien-Andres character in his stagings of the stand-alone PAQUITA GRAND PAS at both the Bolshoi (2008) and the Vaganova Academy (around 2016/17...before he worked on the full ballet with Smekalov). So there is no one Yuri Burlaka PAQUITA GRAND PAS. You'll notice very different variations in all versions of Burlaka Grand Pas found on YouTube.
The music for the mysterious Andres variation in A3 of the current full-length Mariinsky PAQUITA is a mazurka that's sounds a lot like other Drigo mazurkas...very rich Italianate orchestration, a great melody. I know that Burlaka (& Ratmansky) worked with Drigo's score for THE ENCHANTED FOREST while crafting their 2007 LE CORSAIRE for the Bolshoi. So maybe Burlaka found this mysterious mazurka back then? It's very Drigoesque.
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10 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:
...A very angry Smekalov-(sitting next to me)- stormed backstage to fix the mess, and shouts could be heard. I asked him afterwards about it and he told me "I'm killing someone. This is NOT high level".
To be continued.
Continued? Hopefully not in this fashion. I did not write about a similar incident at the opening night (Tues) but something also happened. There was a very long pause (about 5 minutes?) in A2, before the first jail scene. Even from my perch up in the 2nd Tier, I heard shouting from behind the scene by several men, in both Russian and English. I was relieved when, finally, the lights came on to reveal Terioshkina, as Paquita, coming down the steps to her jail cell.
Too bad about Batoeva's fouettes last night. Hope that all of this is fixed by tomorrow night.
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51 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:
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Maria Khoreva-( my first time seeing her)- felt to me like a completely underwhelming dancer. ....
After her Medora last year, I have to agree with you. Not my cup of tea, to put it politely. On the other hand, I cannot wait for Batoeva. I'm not expecting the greatness of Terioshkina, the troupe's #1 prima after Lopatkina's retirement, but Batoeva's Gamzatti impressed me last year. I also fondly recall Xander Parish's Siegfried in London a few seasons ago. Batoeva/Parish should be a dynamite team, no matter the crappy production, cotton-candy pink trees in the background, horse gimmicks, and what not.
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13 hours ago, annaewgn said:
I loved reading this! Will be seeing this cast on Sunday (except minus Tereshkina, unfortunately) and I am very excited to see Borodulina and now Ionova-- she does seem like she'd glisten in that variation.
I saw Nagahisa as the third shade when Mariinsky came in 2017 with Bayadere, it will be interesting to see how she's grown.
You're welcome, annaewgn! May was a standout...great in her lines/poses and adagio. She wasn't totally steady on pointe in all moments, as this is a legato variation, but I have the likes of Kunakova, Pavelenko and Kondaurova as earlier dancers who I saw shine in this variation. May is progressing nicely.
I spent part of last night doing my homework on the provenance of the 2nd variation (the harp variation by Zabel, Le Corsaire), making corrections on my above post. We saw this in the Burlaka-Ratmansky 2007 Corsaire for the Bolshoi - danced by Gulnara within the "Pas des Eventails (Fans)" at the start of A3.
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HowPureisIvory, this lovely variation appears as the first of six female variations in the Burlaka-staged Grand Pas section that ends the the ballet, as currently being performed at the Kennedy Center.
My fave - the violin variation ending in the tough diagonal on pointe with quick-arm-shifting pot de bras is the one danced by the Paquita character. Terioshkina was even more amazing last night than she was in the above film!
Cubanmiamiboy - I'm sorry to report that the Fokine Pavillon d'Armide celeste variation is not being performed here.
So these were the female variations seen last night (Oct 8) at the Kennedy Center...with no dancer substitutions or switches, as often happens with this company on tour:
Grand Pas Variations (Act III)
1. by Anna Pavlova in the ballet King Candaules: May Nagahisa
2. Le Corsaire: Vlada Borodulina
3. by Alexandra Shaposhnikova in the ballet Paquita: Anastasia Nuikina
4. by Maria Gorshenkova in the ballet King Candaules: Daria Ionova
5. From the ballet Camargo: Yekaterina Chebykina
6. by Anna Johansson in the ballet Paquita: Viktoria TereshkinaMy notes on these six -
1. Drigo - This is the gentle, long variation danced by Lubov Kunakova in the 1990 film of the Kirov's traditional version of the G-P..often called the "Kalkabrino variation" because it also appeared in that ballet. May Nagahisa displayed fine control, particularly nice in her 1st-arabesque positions, in the poses before commencing the actual variation. One could see the effort a bit, however.
2. Zabel - A rarity, even in performances of Corsaire. This is one of Zabel's "harp variations" for the character Gulnare, from the Stepanov-notated late-Petipa Corsaire. IWe saw this in the Burlaka-Ratmansky 2007 Corsaire for the Bolshoi - danced by Gulnara within the "Pas des Eventails (Fans)" at the start of A3. I believe that this dance was created for Olga Preobrazhenska, who danced Gulnare in that late-1890s ('99?) staging by Petipa. In 2019, Vlada Borodulina was especially charming in the use of her face/eyes! This variation is the requisite "cute-and-perky" dance in the Grand Pas, instead of the often-used Don Q "Amour."
3. Minkus...or perhaps Pugni (?), the composer of the 1855 Perrot balled ARMIDA, a name sometimes given to this music/variation - This is the female version of the famous dance performed by Fernando Bujones in the ABT-Makarova film. Nuikina was strong but not totally neat in this.
4. Drigo - this is the gentle "Valse Mignonne" originally from the ballet Vestalka (La Vestale)...no matter what the printed program states about King Candaule!!! Daria Ionova was an elegant angel, perfect. This probably has the most luscious lacy port de bras in the Petipa oeuvre...during the final diagonal.
5. Drigo - from Camargo 1901/02 staging...I've heard it to be the "Legnani variation" but the printed program doesn't mention Legnani - odd. Danced in this production by the Cristina character (Yuri Smekalov invention). This is the gorgeous variation danced by Susan Jaffe in the ABT-Makarova version. I had previously heard that the music was first used in another Petipa ballet - Esmeralda, I think...but the provenance of all of these variations can be dicey! Chebykina struggled a bit holding her positions (arabesques coming out of pirouettes) but was basically fine.
6. Drigo - the playbill states that this is from Paquita but, again, I've heard that THIS one was a part of Camargo too. Suffice to say that this is danced by the main character Paquita and that it is the one that I have long loved the most (all of the above films, including Irina Dvorovenko at Jackson). SPASIBO BOLSHAYA, YURI BURLAKA!!! And SPASIBO to the amazing Terioshkina. What an honor to have witnessed this live!
As for the guy's variation...that is anyone and everyone's guess!
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I'll write about the Grand-Pas variations in the Paquita thread of the ballets subforum.
I'm in like flint! I'll select one or two performances according to final casting.
Alexei Ratmansky's Giselle
in Bolshoi Ballet
Posted
The new-old Bolshoi version will be cinemascast live on 26 January. The presenter in N. Am. is Fathom Events. You can search for a theatre near you via this website: https://www.fathomevents.com/events/bolshoi1920-giselle
As for a commercial DVD being issued, we don't know yet. Some of the Bolshoi Ballet screenings, such as the recent Coppelia starring Margarita Schreiner, make it onto DVD/Bluray. We'll just have to wait.
I wouldn't be surprised if there's an unofficial link between the two productions. Although not specifically mentioned in the Kommersant interview, I wouldn't be surprised if Ratmansky is aware of the details of the PNB production. Ratmansky has collaborated in the past with Doug Fullington (Munich Paquita and, to a lesser degree, the ABT Sleeping Beauty). A friendly meeting of minds!