MakarovaFan

I’ve read some very good things about "The Invisible War" and am happy to root for it, sight unseen. It looks like the Administration is taking a few real steps to begin to address the problem.

The documentarians don’t get the attention they deserve at the ceremonies, but at least they haven’t been shunted off to an auxiliary event like the special effects guys.

Thank you Drew and dirac, for the information about "The Invisible War". Just watched the trailer on the Oscar site and have it in my Netflix cue.

Quite right about Komleva, who was a vastly underrated ballerina. Asylmuratova was a marvelous Nikiya. I really cannot possibly credit Somova with being acceptable in *anything*, to say the least.

Although Obratzsova is ravishing, I don't see her in "Diamonds" at all. I think she would be superb in the Paul role in "Emeralds," possibly in the Verdy role or as the "Rubies" ballerina as well,

but "Diamonds" will be a stretch. of course, RB had Cojocaru do it, than whom I can think of NO ONE less suitable....oh, wait, Somova.....

It'll be hard for Obratzova to beat Smirnova in "Diamonds". She was breathtaking.

It is bad to have great performances engraved in your mind. Everytime I see a Nikiya I can't help but putting the ballerina side by side with the great Komleva in the role. Of course, Miss Gabriella always takes the prize...

I feel the same way, Cristian. Obraztsova is a lovely dancer, but Miss Gabriella is the gold standard Nikiya.

I posted a link to the Perry Ballet Collection photos in the video and photos forum, but I thought these gems should be shown here (downloadable too!) -

http://digital.lib.b...r/nosort/ad/asc

pherank, thanks once more for the lovely photos. The La Valse picture is stunning and haunting in a way.

She is mesmerizing...and that last link is very intriguing!

I agree, Bonnette -- it's hard to take one's eyes off Tanny. Can't wait for the documentary and am glad Ric Burns is producing it. Thanks, pherank, for the beautiful photos, especially the Metamorphosis shots.

What a monstrous thing to do to someone. My prayers are with Mr. Filin and his family.

Best:

Olga Smirnova's debut in Diamonds (Jewels). A great young ballerina blossoming before our eyes.

Natalia Osipova's Gamzatti in ABT's La Bayadere.

David Hallberg's and Herman Corenjo's Romeo and Mercutio in ABT's R&J.

And a special shout out to the Ballet Alert meet up at ABT's La Bayadere with Part/Gomes/Osipova. It was wonderful to meet cubanmiamiboy, canbelto and so many other friends that evening.

Does anyone else recall the 1977 BBC "Anna Karenina"? Nicola Pagett's Anna is the best I've ever seen, as was Eric Porter's Karenin and Stuart Wilson's Vronsky.

Many thanks, pherank, for posting this glorious performance! Watching it I was transported back to the early '80's when I saw NYCB dance Ballet Imperial with a glittering Merrill Ashley in one of the lead roles. What a gorgeous and fiendishly difficult looking ballet! Kudos to Eddie Villella for prepping his dancers so beautifully.

Fantastic news and so richly desereved!

Thanks for posting these, rg. The photo with Jacques is gorgeous.

Thank you, Rosa, for the beautiful clip. I love Smirnova!

I'm sad Mr. O'Toole won't be acting anymore but he's left us a phenomenal body of work.

So glad you're having a fantastic time, Cristian! I've visited Paris once in 1995 for a whirlwind 3 days and, like Birdsall, the memories are like yesterday.

The Parisians were so nice and appreciated my French.

Though I've made several hundred posts on Ballet Talk and have been a balletomane since the age of 12, I know very little about the vocabulary of steps that make up the art. Basically I know what an arabesque, attitude, jete and bouree are and that's it. I want to become well-acquainted with ballet terminology to make my already fun and rewarding ballet and BalletTalk experience even better.

I found at my local library a Kultur dvd titled "Video Dictionary of Classical Ballet" This is how it looks on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Video-Dictionary-Classical-Ballet/dp/B0000DI86M/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1341340075&sr=1-1&keywords=video+dictionary+of+ballet

Would this dvd be a good way to educate myself? Thanks!

Bon voyage, Cristian! Have a terrific time with your Mom and best friend in La Ville-Lumiere. Looking forward to your report on Fille.

Believe it or not, all Raymondas I've seen never look to me up to the wonderful level of artistry and regal demeanor that the late Mme. Bessmertnova put into the character. That said, I sort of avoided watching this...mea culpa, I know, but since i don't think i will be seeing any Raymonda live any time soon, I much prefer to rewatch my favorite performer in the role over and over.

Cristian, you know that we feel the same way about Bessmertova's sublime Raymonda. I could literally watch it on a loop all day and not be bored.

Emiliene, thanks for posting! I am glad I can watch it again at a later date. Loved Alexandrova!

Duffster, I agree it is worth watching. I'm glad I saw it. I was looking forward to it since they announced it as one of this season's transmissions almost a year ago. I didn't know Alexandrova would be the Raymonda though. Very pleased with her!

Birdsall, do I understand correctly that Alexandrova's Raymonda will be shown again? I'd gladly jump in my car and drive into Manhattan to see it.

Thank you, Birdsall, for your Raymonda review. I'm so envious and badly wanted to see it today. I love Alexandrova and imagine she must have been marvelous. And, yes, Taranda was incredible as Abderrakham!

Yes, that laughter! It was coming from the older couple, sitting next to us in the orchestra. Actually, the whole ballet amused them very much, because they laughed at each movement. Pas de bourre couru seemed especially hilarious..

During the bedroom scene, when they started laughing, people in rows in front of them were turning heads to see what is wrong with them.

I was sitting up in the balcony and I heard laughter at the above mentioned points. It was more than two people. There were enough people laughing that it could be heard throughout the house on Monday. Weird.

Yes abatt. I was near the front orchestra and heard laughter from at least 10 people all around me during the bedroom scene duet with Paris and Osipova's pas de bouree couru. It was strange and inexplicable.

More good news as I noticed that the co-producer is Ric Burns - brother of Ken Burns

I saw that -- I like his doc about the Statue of Liberty very much.

Ric Burns's New York documentary is one of the best I've ever seen.

I loved last night's performance with Osipova and Hallberg. Leaving the theatre I felt exhillerated and that kind of ballet experience hasn't happened to me in years. Seeing Osipova as Gamzatti last month demonstrated that she is more than a bravura virtuoso, but her Juliet was a revelation. At the start she is a spritely bundle of energy and every bit a little girl. But when she first locks eyes on David Hallberg at the ball her face underwent a sudden, dramatic change that took one's breath away. The balcony PDD was stunning. The sheer beauty and elegance of Hallberg's line, plus his faultless jumps and turns prove why he is such a star. He and Osipova filled the duet with a rapturous, burning intensity and the way they molded their bodies together in exquisite harmony explains why the audience went crazy as the curtain fell. I've been going to R&J at The Met for 20 years and have never seen the crowd insist on a curtain call at the end of Act I. Osipova and Hallberg seemed genuinely touched by the reception.

They danced the bedroom PDD with desperate passion. But what really blew me away was how Osipova turned Juliet's inner struggle about the Paris dilemma and the sleeping potion decision into a vortex of charged energy and despair that made her look like a wild animal. She was particularly gorgeous when she had the epiphany to go see Friar Laurence and, seizing the green cloak, she arched her back langorously, and literally jets around the stage like a tornado, devouring space, with the cloak billowing behind her and exits with feet barely touching the ground. The way she flies and floats is amazing.

Herman Cornejo was the other highlight of the evening. He infused his Mercutio with a wonderful joie de vivre and, despite his small stature, his turns and jumps were superb and powerful. His Mandolin Dance was fantastic and he made the treacherous choreography look effortless.

Unfortunately, not everything was great last night. The orchestra sounded dreadful. I don't know how much was the fault of Maestro DeMarche or not enough rehearsals, but the strings sounded too thin and the horn section was positively anemic. Also, during Mercutio's dance of death there was a woodwind passage that came to an abrupt halt and I felt so bad for Cornejo. Also Kristi Boone's Lady Capulet was uninspired. I still have Georgina Parkinson's brilliant performance from the 90's in my head and her raging grief at the death of her nephew/lover Tybalt's death.

Despite the roar that greeted Osipova and Hallberg at the curtain calls, they both looked completely drained and Osipova could't even smile at first. But they both soon recovered and the extensive bows showed what a complete triumph their R&J was.

The Bolshoi has posted a preview on Youtube (if you click 'cc', there are English subtitles), with Maria Alexandrova talking about the role.

So I checked the casting on the website, and indeed it has changed from Zakharova and Volchkov to Alexandrova and Skvortsov.

The re-casting of Alexandrova is so exciting. I too am hoping this is released on DVD.

I'm still in awe of tonight's performance. Vishneva and Gomes were passionate, explosive and electrifying together. They danced with abandon. I had forgotten how tricky the partnering in this ballet is. Gomes handled all the difficult lifts superbly, and Vishneva's fully stretched out positions were heightened the drama. Vishneva was heartbreaking in the final scene. She looked completely drained by the curtain call. She also did a great job in acting out the change in her character from naive romantic girl to mature woman. I found it a little hard to believe Marcelo as the mean snob in Act I. However, he was totally in his element in the final romantic, frantic scene where he is pleading with Vishneva.

Jared Matthews was excellent as Lensky. He did an especially wonderful job in his solo in Act II. Osipova was also excellent in playing the coquette.

The sets and costumes were quite lovely, especially the beautifuly dresses in Act III. Based on past history, I'm guessing that Vishneva and Gomes will be even better on Thursday than tonight. Get your tickets now or live to regret it.

The audience cheered the wonderful cast at the curtain call. I'm finding it hard to picture how any of the remaining 3 casts could top this, but we'll see.

Thanks for the review, abatt. Per your advice, I bought my tickets for this cast's performance on Thursday.

Great to see you all here tonight! :-)

Indeed, it was wonderful to meet BalletAlertniks for the first time Friday night: Cristian, FauxPas, Bart Birdsall, canbelto, abatt, nysusan and anyone else I missed.

It was a beautiful performance overall. But Part didn't move me. She's too understated for my taste. Osipova was brilliant. She makes everything -- jumps, pirouettes, you name it -- look effortless. Her power and fearlessness blow my mind. Like Ilya, I expected her Gamzatti to be forceful like her Kitri. But she created a unique characterization: not just imperious and determined to get her way, but sexy and truly in love with Solor. It's great to see Osipova developing into a complete artist. Can't wait to see her Juliet next month. Gomes was tremendous in every respect.