richard53dog

Sparklesocks, there are a couple of versions of the prologue that I know of. ABT's has one, Odette is wandering along (at night in a secluded place....hmmmm) and she comes across the handsome Rothbart who dances with her a bit and then drags her into his lair. In the theater, you then see the ugly Rothbart (SwampThing) holding up a swan. On the DVD version, which I dislike for a number of reasons,ugly Rothbart isn't holding a swan, you see Odette in her Act 2 costume Going back a little further, the Kirov film from 1968 or so has a similar version(I'm hoping I'm remembering this correctly) Odette is a young maiden and is abducted by Rothbert(only one of them here) Back further, in time the Bourmeister version (newly released on DVD with Zakharova and Bolle) has something similar. Odette the maiden is wandering along in the dark collecting flowers and runs into Rothbart who once more abducts her. There may also be other variations that I'm not aware of, but you do see Odette before she has been put under a spell Richard

Helene, I thought much of what Goberman said was annoying and self serving. I understand clearly the issue of contracts to release some of this stuff commercially. If it wasn't negotiated upfront , it's a huge challenge. But just sticking with 2 of the Live From Lincoln Center items, the ABT Swan Lake and Giselle WERE commercially released. Not just on VHS, the Swan Lake was released by BelCanto on VHS, but also by Pioneer and from the clarity of my copy, I would say it was a Laserdisc. I don't accept that these at least can't be released on DVD. And no one would buy them??? As you note, the Met has been able to go back, years and years after the fact and gotten releases for some broadcasts. Perhaps that these are fundraisers made the deals easier to set up. But the Met has also evidently figured out a way to release on DVD some of it's early telecasts from the late 70s and 80s. Were they smart enough to forsee the economic value these items would have 25+ years later and have commercial release addressed in the original contracts? Maybe or maybe they have decided there is a market for these old telecasts and they figured out a way to negotiate . Goberman mostly sounded like he didn't want any boats rocked and the Met issue may be cleaner (Live from the Met.....Met performances) and the Live from Lincoln Center with performances from various entities of Lincoln Center Richard

What to do with the witches? I've seen three different productions of Macbeth and this was a failure point in all three. Helene, I agree with you in that I think the problem is inherent in the music. But what can you do? Traditional approaches tend to look trivial and out of the norm ones end up looking silly, confusing , or stupid. I'm not sure , but I don't think Verdi touched the witches' Act 1 music when he took the original 1847 version and modified it in 1865 for Paris. Too bad; he gave the opera La Luce Langue at that point which adds gravity, too bad he didn't do something with the witches in Act 1. Richard

Good point. No, I've seen him with a half dozen or so different ballerinas and it always seems to work out well. And it's not that there was just an absence of splats; he always seems to really show off the ballerina's strengths whether it's virtuosity, lyricism, or drama in a highly positive way. I also loved him with Sylve at the YAGP. Richard

Got my brochure today for Eifman Ballet in NYC April 13-29, 2007 at City Center Rep includes: Gala Opening Night Red Giselle Seagull Russian Hamlet Anna Karenina Tickets $100-35 with volume discounts Richard

For a twist,ABT may be out a singer rather than a dancer tomorrow night. Swenson cancelled her appearance last night in the Vople farewell gala at the Met. So lets see if she feels better tomorrow. I'm assuming she will sing Dinorah's Shadow Song since that's the tag that has been given to the piece Richard

I love cookbooks and this sounds intriguing. I went to abebooks several times this morning and it as of right now it looks like several copies were snapped up . I bought one too, what a deal, $3.52 and that INCLUDES shipping. And I love bittersweet chocolate too I'm looking forward to getting the book, thanks papeeteepatrick! Richard

The Kennedy Center website is only showing the 2 leads in the SB dates so no telling who the Lilac Fairy will be in those 5(?) performances. But Ansanelli is shown in the cast for La Valse in both the Mixed Bill nights so it looks like she will be in D.C. Richard

Some bits off news from Vishneva's site. Evidently the tour will include Ottawa as well as Boston and Chicago. Per Vishneva's performance schedule she lists "Oct 24 Swan Lake Chicago Boston, Ottawa, Mariinsky" Surely not all three on the same date. She also list Costa Mesa, Oct 2 R&J, Swan Lake, Mariinsky. Obviously this is all a bit sketchy. But she seems to be very good about updating the performance schedule on her site so I guess for us here in the US and Canada, the thing to do is wait and see. Richard

I liked the photo too. I'd love to hear more on this, including reports on different casts. I'm hoping to catch the production in D.C. next month when the Royal Ballet travels to the US. Richard

Phaedra392, I looked on Amazon (I want to see this too!) . It looks like a Japanese release so it is NTSC, which is compatable with North America but it is Region coded 2. US/Canada is Region 1. Now this is just a player issue, I have heard that it is very easy to modify a DVD player to remove the region coding restriction but wouldn't have an idea how to go about it. Some players sold today have that chip removed that makes it region specific, but I wouldn't count on that either. Best best is to wait a bit and see if there is a Region 1 release (the whole region thing seems so stupid to me but I don't make the rules) Richard

Paul and Joseph's advise is sound. Pressed CDs and DVDs are vulnerable to a few odd problems (back a few years there was an issue called "bronzing" that made CDs unplayable) Don't know if there are any new trends along this line. CDRs and DVDRs are far more vulnerable than their pressed counterparts. The recording surface is also softer than on the pressed items and more easily scratched or marred. So far I haven't had an DVDRs go bad other than scratches but I've had a LOT of CDRs become unplayable after 2-3 years. It seems to be the ones that have the "skins" that are most unstable. Generally individual tracks go back rather than the whole disc. Also other wierd things can happen. I took a CDR out of a paper sleeve yesterday and it stuck slightly. When it came loose a bit of the magnetic material stayed stuck to the sleeve. I didn't try to play but assume that's now material for the trash can. So by all means transfer the tape to DVD. But if it is a favorite , keep the tape as backup. Not to sound like the voice of doom here, but while VHS tapes last a long time, they have to be stored carefully. Otherwise the tape deteriorates and the leads can dry out. And wind and rewind them occasionally. Richard

My thought too. It would be possible , I guess, but why saddle him with all the managerial stuff. Is there any indication that he has any experience or aptitude as an administrator? Because of Balanchine, there has always been this idea that the NYCB administrator was the primary choreography and vice versa. I don't think that's necessarily valid anymore; they are two very different sets of skills. For myself, I'd rather see Wheeldon work as a choreographer and try to develop along that line. Richard

Michael, it sounds intriguing. Thanks for the write-up! Richard

Me too. And also Fonteyn and Nureyev (very early in my ballet going days) Richard

I think the point of Rockwell's article was that the two issues are intertwined: as long as Martins gets along well with the board of directors, and the board supports him, you will see performances that Martins has produced. Well , that's unfortunate then. I pick and choose my NYCB events VERY carefully and still rarely see anything near what I would call "great". So as long as the board considers what MArtins does is a good job, they will only see occasional ticket purchases from me. I went to MSND Saturday night and it was a typical mixed bag, at least as far as I was concerned. Richard

Mel, You are right about the RB film. I was going on memory, always risky. This Act 3 doesn't match up with the version I saw in my first RB Sleeping Beauties. Desire and Aurora do get their coda here. Richard

Oh, thanks for the info, Natalia . So, no coda originally. I can see how their might have been a bit of a committee that Vikharev had to take account of. Still what an accomplishment on these two reconstructions. So then what the RB is doing isn't really so contrary, just having some character dancing instead of a couple fairies and possibly at a different point in Act 3 . This makes more sense now! Richard

Well, I'll answer, since I dislike this so much. Instead of the Act 3 pdd having a coda, the coda music is taken away and used as a divertissement, I used to hear it called the Three Ivans, but maybe it's more correct as Ivan and his brothers. It looks almost like a variety show act. So what happens after Aurora's variation, the finale starts I saw this a number of times with the Royal Ballet in the 70s I'm not sure where this comes from but I really dislike it. I'm almost positive that if you look at the An Evening With the Royal Ballet DVD, where they do Aurora's Wedding you can see this. Richard

art, This sounds something like the performance I saw last June here in NY. Your description is a little disappointing, I was hoping by tackling it a second season that ABT (particularly the corps) had digested it a bit and that it worked more naturally. But I guess the idiom is tough for them, although they managed in The Dream. Sylvia seems like a very tough Ashton piece. I may still try to catch a performance this Summer here. Richard

Well, first , rather than "advocate" , I would call the Sunday role "editorial/survey" . And I don't think there is implied in that a requirement to do any kind of promotion, passionate or otherwise. Anthony called it "soft" and it is "soft" but this is the trend for todays media , not just the Times. TV is even further down the path of pillowy features. And "asking too much"? I think he has come a long way from his first columns, even if he has a ways to go. Personally, I don't care about critics, I make up my own mind. Richard

I'm thinking Pamela has a very good point here. Solor, you won't get that much about Nijinsky's dancing from Ostwald but I think you will be moved by his unhappy life. Richard

Paul's words also make a lot of sense to me and they also raise a number of important questions. Richard

ABT's gala casting on their website has been updated to: May-22 6:30 PM Opening Night Gala OK, looks good to me! Richard

I'm hoping there are no goats. That would be a big plus for me Richard