Ostrich

I'm looking for a good international opera forum in English or German - NOT for the Opera Browser, which is all I seem to find so far on my Google search! Particularly I am looking for discussions re. the tragic death of South African born opera star, Deon van der Walt.

I have seen this company on three occassions, once in a mixed programme, once in Carmen and once in DonQuixote. As another poster said some way back, their standard is mixed. The first two programmes I saw were good - some items were even outstanding (such as the Mariinsky's version of the Waltz of the Flowers), but their Don Quixote was pretty awful, with the exception of the character dancing and a few of the soloists. I'm not sure how good their Swan Lake will be - I suppose it depends a lot on which dancers you get to see. I remember I was dying to see the soloist who danced Amour in the dream scene of DonQuixote doing Kitri - she was beautifully trained and far better, technically and artistically, than the dancer who actually danced Kitri!

Here is the plot of The Golden Age, as explained by the pamphlet accompanying my tape: Act 1: Rita is among the crowd at a local festival. Her attention is caught by a performance of "the Young Worker's Propaganda Theatre" whose actors are young fishermen led by Boris. Boris and Rita meet, but she disappears before he aks her name. He sets off to find her. His search leads him to "The Golden Age", a nightclub, where an entertainment is in progress. The stars of the show are two dancers, Mademoiselle Margo and Monsieur Jaques. To his surprise Boris discovers that Mademoiselle Margo is the girl he is looking for. Overjoyed at meeting one another again, they are unaware that Monsieur Jacques is watching them. A gang of bandits is planning their next crime. Their leader, Yashka, is Monsieur Jacques. Lyuska, Yashka's girl, intercepts and beguiles two drunk revellers whom the bandits attack and rob. Returning to "The Golden Age", Yashka sees Boris and Rita dancing together. He starts a fight, but Rita bravely throws herself between them. Yashka leaves, planning revenge. Left alone, Boris and Rita confess their love for each other. Act 2 Unused to defeat, Yashka tries to seduce Rita but she rejects him and flees to find Boris and his friends. Yashka's gang commit another robbery and go into hiding with their spoils. When Rita arrives at the coast, the fishermen are working. Her happy reunion with Boris is interrupted by the bandits who start a fight. Rita goes for help and brings back fishermen who rescue Boris and chase away the bandits. Act 3 There is merry-making back at the bandit's camp when Boris and the fishermen rush in. At "The Golden Age" the clientelle amuse themselves. Rita is obliged to dance her routine with Monsieur Jacques. Rita resolves to leave "The Golden Age" forever but as she steals out she finds her way is blocked by Yashka who demands her love. Lyuska is watching them and, maddened by jealousy, she snatches a knife and attacks Yashka. In rage he turns it on her and kills her. Yashka snatches Rita and using her as a hostage, tries to escape. Yashka is captured and Rita is safe. Rita and Boris are together at last and can celebrate their happiness with their friends.

Recently I had a (for me) very unique experience - enjoying top-quality ice-skating in a theatre! This was the Russian Imperial Ice Stars company, who performed Sleeping Beauty on ice in an opera house. For me this was the first time I have seen anything like this. Are there many ice-skating companies around who do this sort of thing (particularly, I mean, with regard to performing so-called "ballets")? Technically, the performance was superb. The only problem was the costumes!!! Really, I wouldn't have thought that anyone can dream up such horrifically unbecoming coustumes for any performing art. Worst of all, some of the costumes, particularly that for Carabosse, obscured a lot of the detail of her movements and detracted from the appreciation of the outstanding technical performance the company gave. Also, I didn't like Mandy Woetzel much as Sleeping Beauty. Maybe I am judging by ballet standards, but she was stiff and dumpy compared to some of the lovely Russian girls who danced the fairies with such grace and with lovely lines.

I forgot to add Yvette Chauvire. Wasn't she also particularly famous for her first act? I can't judge myself, having only seen her in very brief excerpts of Giselle.

Well, I have only seen an excerpt of Alonso dancing Giselle, and only in the first act, but I must say that I found her a pleasure to watch - very lively, very "real". She is evidently much influenced by Alicia Markova's interpretation, but personally I prefer Alonso's more cheerful (I could add, less simpering) interpretation of Giselle. However, if anyone asked me, "who IS Giselle?" my answer would be: equal tie between Carla Fracci and Galina Ulanova. Interestingly enough, Art076, I would certainly have classed Alina Cojocaru as one of those ballerinas with a better second act than first act. Her act one was very good - as you say, she acts it all very naturally, but to me, it was her act two that really classed her with the "great" Giselles. She brought a truly spiritual quality into her dancing and masterfully kept up the illusion of being a disembodied spirit throughout the second act (I've never believed that Giselle really turns into a willi - she just comes back to save Albrecht). Wasn't Olga Spetssivtseva famous for her first act?

As an ex-ballet student and more recently a ballet teacher, I find that being aware of the technique of dancers during performances can be both a great pleasure and an intense pain. Obviously, if I am seeing a technically strong dancer, the experience will be even more meaningful to me than to someone who is unaware of the details of ballet technique, because I can more fully appreciate the technical achievement I am witnessing. At other times I find, however, that while most of the people around me seem to have enjoyed a performance, I was dying all the way through because of some (to me) glaring technical fault. I do "forgive" dancers for technical faults if they are artistically a pleasure to watch, though, whereas I am far less likely to pardon a technical phenomenon who is artistically a pain.

I have never seen this company before, but judging from the few pictures I saw of the Belarussian Ballet, they look like a well trained company and one I would be very interested to see!

I quite agree re. Nina Alovert and Marc Haegeman. I also admire Mikhail Logvinov and Hidemi Seto. I always particularly like photographers who capture the atmosphere, or essence, of the particular dancer/work being performed.

Thank you, Mashinka! In that case, I will certainly go and see them!

Thanks for the detailed recommendations, chrisk217. That Great Pas De Deux video is a good idea. Can you give me the names of some (or all) the dancers who perform in this video? I have seen The Golden Age with Taranda and am dying to possess my own copy of it, but it's very hard to get. I am also looking for the Raymonda video with Taranda, but again, it seems unavailable in VHS PAL format. I'll definitely go for the Kirov Le Corsaire as well as the POB La Bayadere. I was wondering how the Fracci/Nureyev Giselle (Rome Opera Ballet) compares with the Fracci/Bruhn Giselle - purely for interests sake, really, as I haven't found PAL copies of either of these.

Are the following videos worthwhile: Ludmilla Semenyaka in "The Stone Flower" La Bayadere - POB with Laurent Hilaire, Isabelle Guerin and Elisabeth Platel Le Corsaire - ABT with Stiefel, Corella, Kent, Herrera and Malakhov Thanks.

I think it is wonderful for dancers to be allowed artistic freedom of choice. I suppose that a large part of the reason why this is not possible for many companies, however, is that they simply don't have enough dancers to allow the principals to be "picky". I quite agree that Spartacuse would not suit Tsiskaridze, though why he feels unsuited to Romeo I am at a loss to imagine. However, I've wandered badly off-topic here, and to come back, I'd like to know what I forgot to ask earlier: did Tsiskaridze partner Lunkina in Pharao's Daughter? If not, who was she partnered by?

Thanks for the links, chrisk217. I'm looking for VHS, PAL format. Thanks for the info. re. Essential Ballet, richard53dog. I would love to see Return of the Firebird, but as far as I know it is only available as a DVD - not an option for me right now.

Thanks, I was considering that one. Just a pity that she isn't patnered by Ruzimatov. Is there any PAL video around in which they perform the lead role together?

I want to order some ballet videos, but the problem is that they have to be in PAL format. This narrows down my choice badly on Amazon. Where else could I order good ballet videos, in PAL format? Also, I would appreciate reccommendations about good buys. I am particularly looking for videos featuring Altyani Assylmuratova, Ludmilla Semenyaka, Gedemis Taranda and the Paris Opera Ballet. I'd also like to know whether the video "Essential Ballet", featuring such dancers as Makhalina, Assylmuratova and Andris Liepa is worth while. I am a particular fan of Andris Liepa, but find it very hard to get hold of video footage of him.

Thanks, coda, for the info re. Tsiskaridze's roles. Do many ballet companies allow their dancers this much freedom with regard to which roles they want to dance and which they don't? Certainly I know no dancers in our local companies who would dare do that! Won't you tell us a bit more about your week at the Bolshoi? Also, I've been waiting eagerly for reports about "Le Deux Blue" and would love to hear your comments about it.

Thanks, Jasper, for your review. I was paricularly interested to hear about Friedemann Vogel's performance, as I have very recently seen him dance the same role in South African Ballet Theatre's production of Sleeping Beauty. I am very surprised that you find he didn't look at his partner enough. In the 2 performances I saw him in, I was particularly struck by his attention and "dedication" to his ballerina (Angela Malan). He is indeed a very elegant dancer, with exquisite musicality and a radiant stage presence.

I am looking for information about when NAPAC, South Africa's Durban-based ballet company, closed down. In spite of repeated Google searches, I could find no information about it whatever.

Thank you for the update - has she danced La Sylphide before? I should imagine that the role would suit her very well! She has the neccessary lightness and delicacy to make an enchanting sylph.

We're very pleased to welcome her back to South Africa. She has clearly benefitted from her experience with the National Ballet of Canada and is techniquely more secure and polished than previously. Her partnership with ex-Birmingham ballet principal Michael Revie in Sleeping Beauty was, by the way, very successful and we hope to continue seeing them together.

Last year Alina Cojocaru made a big splash with her performance of Giselle, which I had the privilege of seeing, but now I can't find any information about what she is currectly doing. Does anyone have any news for me? Is she still dancing in partnership with Kobborg?

When I heard that the St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre was to pay a visit to South Africa in 2006, I was ready to jump for joy, thinking it was the same company I saw a year or two ago. It was a magnificent company (I see it is discussed in a topic a little further down on this forum). However, this is a different company with a similar name. I hear that Irina Kolesnikova is to star in a full-length performance of Swan Lake. I have never seen her, but to be quite honest, I don't like the pictures I found on the internet of her. She looks very hard and cold. As the tickets are very expensive, I wonder whether this company is worth seeing and would appreciate any comments from anyone who has seen it.

While I'm dying to see Kings of the Dance, I have serious doubts about whether such a performance will really be good for ballet as an art. Won't it turn into a virtuosity competition? Comparisons between the 4 dancers will be inevitable and the result could be very much the same as the "3 Tenor" situation - lots of technique, but not much art.

As far as I know, neither Spartacus nor Don Quixote are in Tsiskaridze's repertoire, but it does seem strange that they didn't give him a chance to show his full ability. Wasn't "Queen of Spades" originally scheduled to be performed? That would have been "his ballet" and one in which I am sure it would be fascinating to see him. I am delighted to hear about Lunkina again. I saw her only once, in Giselle, but she stole my heart completely! She has an exquisitely loving quality in her dancing. I WISH I could see Kings of the Dance - at least on video! However, I wonder whether it really is such a good idea. However, this is off-topic and I'd better post my concerns about it in a separate topic.