dirac

A review of San Francisco Ballet in "Don Quixote" by Terez Rose for Bachtrack. Jim Munson's review of SFB for Broadway World.

People should get credit for their work and it's nice for actors to do their own singing if their voices are adequate, which isn't always the case and the actors themselves may not realize or accept that. (I have no idea whether that was the case with the original WSS.) As an audience member I like to hear a score well sung and if the star you've got in hand can't sing or has a voice inadequate to the demands of the score, by all means dub.

Interesting. Harlow has little in common with Monroe apart from hair color and sex appeal. Marilyn onscreen was soft, with a sweetness of presence even at her most brassy. Harlow was diamond hard. Monroe was part of the apostolic succession of 20th Century Fox blondes, from Alice Faye to Betty Grable to Monroe, who filled the mold and then broke it. They were all basically nice girls. With Harlow you could never be sure, although she also specialized in Good Bad Girls, as in “Red Dust.” Harlow was a huge star. "Libeled Lady" from 1936 or 37 featured Harlow, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, and Myrna Loy, and she got top billing.

Thanks for your review, California. When dubbing is done with care it can be highly effective and IMO preferable in many circumstances to inferior “real” vocals. Not all dancers can sing and vice versa. Rita Hayworth, a fine dancer, could not have starred in musicals without the aid of dubbing. Catherine Deneuve was dubbed in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and to this viewer it was a good deal – the dubbing was convincing and I got to look at Deneuve for two hours. I think it was Kushner who said in an interview that they didn’t want to “privilege” English over Spanish by using subtitles. I presume this was a pitch to the Latino audience they were hoping to attract instead of the musical theater/WSS faithful and/or older viewers who did turn out for it, albeit in small numbers. I thought this was dumb before I saw the movie and I didn’t change my mind after seeing it. By me it’s better for audience members to understand what the actors are saying, but I’m not a supergenius like Kushner or Spielberg. I hope others who see the movie will share their impressions here.

What a sweet anecdote, vagansmom. Thank you for sharing that. :) Tork's birthday was last month. He would have been eighty. A nice Instagram tribute from Micky Dolenz here. Stay well, Micky!

Wonderful writer. Terrific interview subject, as well. Irreplaceable. RIP. In later life he always seemed to be able to find that sweet spot where he could appreciate what was good in the new while respecting what was good in the past. If he thought someone was better than Fonteyn in Ballet X he said so and if he thought no one had touched Markova in Ballet Y he said that, too.

Thanks for the heads-up, California. The picture will lose a lot on the smaller screen but it will still be worth checking out. I'm glad I took the opportunity to see it in a theater.

Museums in Ukraine try to protect their collections. Related.

The Garage Museum of Contemporary Arts in Moscow halts all exhibitions.

Valery Gergiev is fired by his management agency. Related. Carnegie Hall appearance canceled, amid other cancellations.

Sports and cultural organizations take action against Russia in protest of the invasion.

Laurent Hilaire resigns from the Stanislavski Theater over the invasion of Ukraine.

Performances by Russian ballet troupes are canceled across the U.K. Related. Related. Related.

An interview with Roberto Bolle.

Thanks to both of you for exploring this topic. I hope you find something, odinthor!

Suzanne Aker, the founder of what is now Ballet Lubbock, has died at age 95.

Sonia Rodriguez will say her farewell in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

A TV news feature on San Francisco's Ballet22.

Promotions at New York City Ballet.

A review of New York City Ballet by Leigh Witchel for dancelog.nyc.

Q&A with Darcey Bussell.

The dancer Dorothea Ashbridge has died at age 93.

An account of Nureyev's defection as told to Norman Lebrecht for Slipped Disc.

A review of Houston Ballet in 'Jewels' by D.L. Groover for Houston Press.

Lone Star Ballet presents "Remember the Alamo."