dirac

Thank you to everyone who’s posted so far. Keep them coming. papeetepatrick writes: I have to get back to De Lillo – I haven’t read anything since Players and White Noise, which were both terrific, mainly because I don’t read as much fiction as I used to, unless you count certain biographies and memoirs. Kathleen O'Connell writes: I read and liked Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle trilogy (the first volume, Quicksilver, is the best, the second is second best, and the third, System of the World, is a letdown - Stephenson has trouble wrapping things up). What is Pullman like? Le Morte Darthur. A re-read. The Ecstasy of Owen Muir by Ring Lardner, Jr. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. A Dreadful Man, Brian Aherne’s biography of his friend George Sanders. The new bio of Laurence Olivier by Terry Coleman. T.S. Eliot’s adaptation of Murder in the Cathedral for the screen.

The New York Times obit, by Anthony Tommasini.

I couldn't agree more. I don't have the DVD yet, but based on the television broadcast I think we are very fortunate to have this "Jewels" on the record. I have quibbles and cavils, many of which have already been made above, but if this is the only "Jewels" we will have on DVD for awhile, we could have done much worse. "Emeralds" comes off best, but in addition to all the reasons set forth above, I would add that it benefits from being made on a smaller scale and so suffers least from the flattening effect that filming so often has on ballet. "Diamonds," as might be expected, is hurt the most, although the corps was still a pleasure to look at. It might be interesting to see a complete "Jewels" staged for the studio. The Dance in America excerpts have cheesy sets and no room, but on the other hand you do get close to the dancers without having arms and legs cut off. Am buying the DVD pronto.

I seem to recall that Zimmer offered Tobi Tobias space in the Voice when New York magazine fired Tobias. I hope there's a place out there for Zimmer, too, although things are looking increasingly bleak for arts coverage.

I've been bothered by the same phenomenon.

ST won’t be the next Star Wars, but if it’s not too expensive, the marketing campaign is a clever one, and the picture itself is pretty good, it could earn its costs back and perhaps do better than that. Burton and Depp can do very little wrong with the critics these days and that will help too.

Thank you, richard53dog. Sad news. The Testament label is in the process of releasing a 1955 Bayreuth Ring cycle featuring Varnay as Brünnhilde. The new one is "Die Walküre" and it’s getting fine reviews.

Streep's fine singing voice is well known -- there was even talk of casting her in the movie version of Evita back in the day.

This is just another survey of what our posters have been reading this summer, dance related or otherwise. Recommend those you liked, warn us off the others.....

I think if an American troupe was involved, and it was a live performance, there might have been a bit more fuss, but I'm sorry to hear it was treated so routinely. Of course, there are so many dance specials on PBS these days, I guess they take them for granted. The broadcast will be aired locally (California Bay Area) tonight on KQED Channel 9 at a decent hour, 8:00 a.m. Pacific. I don’t have the DVD yet so I’m looking forward to this.

I don't know offhand, although I can't imagine Leigh bothering with dubbing.

Yes, comic writing is most difficult to 'get' in translation. I always wanted to study Russian but it was one of those things I never got round to, alas. I will have to seek out 'Resurrection' - that's another thing on my to- do list.

With all due respect, atm711, and without having read the book myself, I must say that Tennant's ultimatum sounds like rather more than a 'push.' Perhaps Baronova was indeed ready to quit, and that would be understandable, but I'm not sure if you can put a favorable gloss on 'abandon your career or lose me for good.' Maybe she was on the brink -- but that doesn't excuse him.

Yes -- Sondheim isn't opera, he's pop music, Broadway division. His work has shown some classical influences, but that's where his roots are. (Sweeney Todd is routinely performed by opera companies these days, but that doesn't mean it should be.)

bart writes: Well...I’m not sure I’d call that a virtue -- more of an unavoidable misfortune. I did see a movie version of Anna Karenina before reading it (Garbo’s second reading of the role, with Fredric March) and was puzzled by all the stuff about Levin and Kitty I had to plow through when I got to the book. I did eventually learn to appreciate those segments of the book, but I think it took longer because I had seen a more streamlined version first. On the other hand, I don’t blame filmmakers for concentrating on Anna – if you have only two hours or so to get your story told, you have to focus on her.

My two cents – the “Diamonds” pas de deux is one of the most beautiful and moving I’ve ever seen. I could do without the rest, although I can sit through it. The finale seems to be Trying Too Hard, but then so is Tchaikovsky in that movement, so perhaps Balanchine was just responding to something in the music. Phaedra392 writes: True, and not in a haughty or dismissive way – she combines regality and tenderness. I agree, it's such a lovely moment.

Roald Dahl was similarly situated, alas.

Thank you for that list, bart. Although movies have often led people to good books, I myself would not recommend actually seeking out any film version first. A movie has a way of imposing itself on the reader’s imagination (and this can happen regardless of whether it is any good or not). I can’t speak for others, but I plunged right into Anna Karenina as a teenager and was never sorry. The books are long, but they pull you into their world. On the other hand, if you have trouble with the book, perhaps a good movie can help you visualize the period.

With the note that all of these were read in translation, I enjoyed the following: Eugene Onegin (the Charles Johnston translation) Anna Karenina War and Peace The Possessed Crime and Punishment The short stories of Gogol Short stories and plays by Chekhov – especially ‘The Lady with the Dog’ and ‘The Three Sisters’ I haven’t read The Brothers Karamazov or The Idiot yet, I regret to say. There are new translations coming out all the time – I just picked up the latest Anna Karenina -- but I have a partiality for the old ones by Constance Garnett, odd as they are in some respects, because that’s where I encountered many of these books first. I would say that all of the above are important reading, but if you are forced to choose, get at least one Tolstoy and one Dostoevsky under your belt. The Gogol stories are great for starters, too. Thank you for starting the topic, Lovebird. I hope others will chime in with their opinions.

Well...PBS did broadcast "The Light in the Piazza" not too long ago. I'm sure there aren't as many such shows as there used to be, but I have the impression, which could be wrong, that broadcasts of theatrical shows appear far more regularly than dance programs. I agree that such broadcasts are valuable, but I also think that good translations to film are possible, if infrequent. I always liked the movie "Oliver!" and from what I understand it was an improvement on the stage original. There's room for improvement with "Sweeney Todd," too, and it could be terrific, if it has the right production. Of course, that's always a big 'if.'

Sondheim is highbrow in a Broadway context, middlebrow anywhere else, IMO. That said, now we've REALLY wandered too far out of the paddock. By all means, discuss Sondheim, but let's stick closely to Sweeney Todd and bring in other works in that context. Thanks.

Well....Kater is really reporting the sentiments of Rudolf Bing, although he does seem to be implicitly endorsing them. But this line of thought takes the low road, I concur.

I think some performers in all fields have expressed similar sentiments.

Thank you, amitava. Beautiful pictures.

I can’t think of any celebrated cases of stage fright among dancers offhand, but I’m sure it exists in some form or another. An obvious difference for dancers is that if they don’t get out on the stage, for most that means they don’t work, period, whereas actors and concert performers, especially if they are well known, have other options. It seems as if it happens to almost everyone at one time or another. A celebrated example, that I would think Lahr would cite although I have not seen his article is that of Laurence Olivier, who was assaulted by such a bad case of it in the Sixties that when he was playing Othello his Iago, Frank Finlay, had to stay in the wings in Olivier’s eyeline at all times.