Helene

I don't think anyone could surpass Isuzu Yamada in Throne of Blood, but if I were going to do an American re-make, my Lady MacBeth would be Ariana Lallone. Gediminas Taranda as Carl Magnus in Smiles of a Summer Night Gediminas Taranda as Octave in Rules of the Game Gediminas Taranda as Kyuzo in The Seven Samurai Gediminas Taranda as Bouchard in Paper Wedding Gediminas Taranda in any part he wants to play.

I lasted about 10 minutes while watching Sideways on a plane. I didn't even last for Sandra Oh, who's one of my favorite actresses. I couldn't quite walk out, but I went back to my book.

Thank you for posting these, harpergroup! I disagree with Roger Downey's assertion that, "Stowell's choreographic style...is an idiom in which grace, fluidity, charm, and personality count for a lot; in which music functions more like a backdrop than a design for dancing. It is in the strongest possible contrast to the musically rigorous, technically exacting, understated elegance of Balanchine's work and in the long run, the stretch to accommodate two masters has left PNB's company stylistically ill defined and out of focus." While I'm not a great fan of Stowell's one-act ballets, I think that Nutcracker, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and large parts of Cinderella were were sensitive responses to the music. And grace and fluidity were key to most Balanchine works, and, regardless of Balanchine's "no acting" policy, a number of Balanchine dancers exuded charm and personality, if not Personality. La Source and Tarantella are two ballets that become tedious exercises without charm. And while it is arguable that the Company's stylistic approach to Balanchine's and Stowell's works differed -- Russell's stagings were rooted in the versions she knew from the 1950's-1960's, where the ideal was Diana Adams more than Suzanne Farrell, while Stowell's was current -- the Company's approach to both choreographers was technically clean and sound and direct.

I wouldn't classify these films as "overrated," but two much-lauded films that nearly everyone loves but which left me cold are The Bicycle Thief and Children of Paradise.

Does anyone know which couple (Principal 1, Principal 2, Principal 3) is the couple that will dance the 2nd Movement of Symphony in Three Movements? I don't think it's clear from the casting. Le Yin has recovered from his injury/surgery and is cast in Duo Concertante with Louise Nadeau. (They will make a visually stunning pair.) Among other new pairings are Brittany Reid with Christophe Maraval and Jodie Thomas with Jonathan Poretta in Artifact II, Carrie Imler with Kiyon Gaines and Carla Korbes with Jordan Pacitti in Symphony in Three Movements -- both of them "juicy" dancers -- and the re-match of Lallone and Wevers, who were sizzling in The Moor's Pavane. The cast list looks like a feast!

This press release dated 31 October has a different cast for 16 October matinee: http://cpinfo.berkeley.edu/information/pre...rovBalletPR.pdf which lists the cast as Ocmolkina as Aurora, Sarafanov as Desiree, and Nioradze as Lilac Fairy. By the time the Company arrives, it may be entirely different

According to this press release from Berkeley (dated 31 August 2005), the casting is as follows: 10/12: Vishneva/Zelensky/Lopatkina/Petrov 10/13: Nivikova/Sarafanov/Pavlenko/Skripkin 10/14: Somova/Fadeev/Esina/Petrov 10/15m: Nioradze/Korsakov/Vostrotina/Skripkin 10/15e: Vishneva/Kolb/Lopatkina/Petrov 10/16: Ocmolkina/Sarafanov/Nioradze/TBD http://cpinfo.berkeley.edu/information/pre...rovBalletPR.pdf

There is an AP article on the Louisiana Philharmonic that was published on the andante.com site: http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25918 As a self-owned and managed organization, the players are responsible for future plans for the orchestra. At the bottom of the article is a link to the organization's Google Group, which is visible to the public. It's an interesting combination of people trying to contact each other, find out about where orchestra players they know are now, and others offering help of various kinds.

We won't know until the performances are published, either on the site, or on the touring sites. The Mariinsky website, at least in English, is updated only through October 2005, and there's no Beauty performed in the first two months. You can keep checking this link for updates: http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill They're bringing Sergeyev's version to Berkeley on tour, not the reconstruction. Since the set and costume design for each version is by different people (see "repetoire" link below for details), it would seem extremely costly for them to tour two versions of Sleeping Beauty. There's no 2005-6 season repetoire list -- just the entire rep -- on the English website, without which it would be hard to tell if they were touring Sergeyev and performing the reconstruction at home. http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/ballet/spectacle Edited to add: The Sergeyev version, not the reconstruction, will be performed in Los Angeles and Detroit as well.

What spoiled them for me was the nightmarish aspect of their real-life relationship -- talk about "ick" factor -- which I can never forget, especially since Hepburn is described as an iconic independent woman.