richard53dog

I have to agree, that I think I look at Balanchine Lakeside One Act piece as a kind of tribute to the original rather than an adaptaptation. I may go to the Martins out of curiousity, it was originally televised right? I seem to remember so. But that was during a period of very low ballet attendance for me and it did nothing to encourage me, I was so bored I just shut the TV off and copied over the tape. Richard

Helene, Odd that you mentioned this. I'm just right now in the process of copying the LPs to CDs. I saw Remedios, Hunter, and Bailey at the Met. Remedios was as Bacchus but Hunter and Bailey did Brunnhilde and Wotan as well as other roles. But it just wasn't the same as the EMI discs, they were good, but didn't match what they did in London. I guess they needed to be in the Coliseum with Goodall conductioning! Richard

To go here and against topic on another thread, she was NOT a cold dancer. Richard

Silvy, As Bart points out there was much discussion of this last Summer. Although I already posted this , I have to say it again because the discussion cracked open again. The thing is slashed, I don't think you can even describe it as cut. The last act is about 10 minutes long. I was surprised to see a telecast of Swan Lake that lasted 95-100 minutes, not counting chat, in 2005. I made a VHS copy but didn't even try to transfer it to DVD. Richard

Well, in that case we would have no Christopher Wheeldon at all! Seeing the chickens in "La Fille" on TV when he was about 7 was what got him interested in ballet!!! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> OK, so they have served their purpose , now they can be retired Richard

dirac, I feel the same way. Hopefully it will pull in a lot of viewers when PBS airs it. Plus if I like it, then I'll buy the "potential" DVD Richard

Please don't let Daniel Ulbricht hear you! There's a wonderful piece about him in the New Ballet Review. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'd happily second nixing the jesters. The first time I saw one I was still a teen and was at a screening of the Kirov Swan Lake movie. I was not happy, but most of the audience at the film evidently agreed with me . Much booing Also I would get rid of the chickens in Fille Mal Gardee and the goats in Sylvia. These do nothing but annoy me. Richard

In the documentary A Portrait of Giselle, she mentions dancing Swan Lake. I don't think she did it very often though. But in a funny kind of flashblack, at opening night ABT City Center a few weeks ago, when the curtain rose on the Paquita pdd with Dvorovenko in a brilliant red tutu, I had a flashback to many years ago with Fracci on the same stage doing the same pdd also in a brilliant red tutu. Also I was surprised, as a real newbie, to watch her crank out the 32 fouettes, since it was always said by the older fans that she had no technique. On the whole issue of how to play Giselle in either act, I think a wide range of approach is possible , and actually, that's part of the fascination; that the ballet allows so much leeway for interpretation. Richard

I'm in agreement with you re Fracci's Act 1, though I've only seen her on film. Fracci's Act 2 left me cold too. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Fracci's Giselle Act II was it's own kind of creation. Of course it's hard to recreate the atmosphere of a stage performance with a film. Fracci's Act II Giselle had almost none of the village girl from Act I. Try to picture the HUGE romatic tutu, her heavily powered face and arms, the blue black night stage lighting . She was really hardly there at all, but there were just wisps of the village girl coming through. She was almost more illusion than anything else What you ended up with was this almost completely surreal creature that somehow entered and exited the action. She used just about no facial expression. But she saved Albrecht, almost being unaware of what she was doing. Is this the only way to do it? Of course not. But it worked for Fracci. No oversize operatic acting, not from Verdi's grandniece (or whatever the relationship is) and it really was magical. I get a little shivery thinking about what it looked like. This was one of the first Giselles I saw, so like so many things along these lines first(almost) impressions count for a lot. Richard

Ostrich, I may be misunderstanding your comment but Ruzimatov does dance Ali in the Kirov Corsair. Although I suppose you would have to call Conrad the lead male part. Liepa partners Makhalina in the White Swan pdd in the London segment of Essential Ballet and then partners Ilse Liepa in what I have always found an ineffective extract from the Firebird in the Moscow segment of the program. If you are an Andris Liepa fan you may want to consider his film, Return of the Firebird. But understand this is Petroushka, Firebird, and Sheherazade opened up and shot on a film set. There is no sense of being in a theater seat. Liepa casts himself in all three pieces. Richard

Oh.....it sounds like a little of the worst of both worlds. I guess we are just spoiled here in the US, particulalry in the big cities. For the last 5 or so years here in NYC, most opera/ballet evenings do not sell out. So even if the ticket prices are on the high side (generally Met Opera, to a lesser extent NYCO) there are still the less than great seats at reasonable prices. You may have to twist your neck off or stand, but you get into the performance and aren't bankrupted by it. And because of subscriptions and such, often you can buy tickets outside on Lincoln Center Plaza from private individuals for LESS than face value. But we do have something a bit along the lines of the line to the Administrator's office. When a really hot evening occassionally pops up and there really are no tickets, then a line forms at the box office for "returns" These are for people who have turned their tickets back in because they can't use them, giving the box office the chance to sell the same ticket twice. And a lot of the ballet companies are much more reasonable. Right now ABT is at City Center (a disaster of a theater) but for $27 you can get fairly decent seats . Even NYCB at the NYST and ABT at the Met has some deals that are not so terrible. I guess we shouldn't complain, especially given all the weeks and weeks of programming we get, not even couting the foreign tours , galas, etc. Thanks for your comments! Richard

Natalia, thanks for the perspective on this, it's certainly not what I what have thought. I've never been to Russia, just watched documentaries(from the Soviet period) on the opera and ballet in the two big theaters there. You mention scrimping and saving to get tickets. In some of the films, they point out how tickets are priced so that they are in reach of all who would like to go. Is this just hogwash or did the whole set up dynamic changed with the end of the Soviet era with ticket prices obeying the law of supply and demand? Your comments are fascinating Richard

vagansmom, I have to disagree on Sideways. I thought it was a tiny gem of a movie. The complexities of the characters , which drove the plot really interested me as well as the ending when all of a sudden, you ask "who are really the losers ..." made me sit up and think, which I always think is a good sign. On Gladiator I have to agree. The special effects were very impressive but otherwise it just seemed like a business as usual 1950s MGM toga movie with state of the art digital effects thrown in. I was very disappointed Richard

Well, it's not the Olympics for sure, but wll reveal a lot of what's currently going on, at least in the US, Skate America starts today (or tomorrow, maybe) Richard

Two other good used book sites (I have no connection with either, financial or otherwise) are abebooks.com and alibris.com There is also bookfiinder.com but 've never really explored their site. Richard

Lots! First the Sizova/Nureyev graduation Corsair. I had seen Nureyev's varation before but not the pas or Sizova's variation. While Nureyev's magnatism was no surprise, Sizova's virtuosity really threw me for a loop. What strength! Too bad there was no coda though. I loved the absolute beauty of Kolpakova in the Raymonda excerpt wth Semenov; the same for the Ulanova/Sergeyev 1940 (although even here he had sagging tights) White Swan pdd. The Viennese Waltz with Kurgpakina and Bregvadze set to Strauss' Rosenkavalier. I'm normally allergic to "cute" pieces but this has so much energy and brio as well as tremendous charm from Ninel Kurgpakina. Ninel's dress played a supporting role in this and the two dancers did some complicated partnering while juggling several props. Also the Corsair pdd with Ninel; again in keeping with a recent thread she shows that there were Russians that could turn VERY well. Lots of bits and pieces with Osipenko, mostly pieces that were new in her heyday. I found her a fascinating dancer. And the filmed footaged of Karsavina exercizing. I had no idea this 1920 film even existed. Amazing For me there was very little that I looked at as "filler". Some but not too much. I really love the the DVD and would recommend it to anyone looking to get a cross section look at the Kirov in the 50s, 60s, and 70s(although a few clips fall outside these dates. chrisk217, do I sound enthused???? Richard

I just got a copy of the DVD version of this, it was released just last month here in the US. I've watched it whole or in sections several times. I thought it was well worth aquiring Any other reactions? Richard

Hans, That was exactly my reaction . Aslymuratova, as novice, seemed the one who had the idea of the flow, the overall phrasing and the direction it should go, while Mezentseva seemed to break the phrases into small groups of steps. It just seemed to be so odd to me, who is the "pro" and who is the "beginner" I too would have liked an Act II with Altynai. I know Mezenstseva is loved by many, and it's an opinion thing, but after all Mezentseva is well documented elsewhere. Richard

The whole time I saw Margot Fonteyn (from the late 60s well into the 70s) with the RB she danced under this kind of arrangement. And I believe she started this well before I saw her, back in the early-mid 60s This is not to quess how long Bussell will dance on this kind of basis but it could be one season or a couple of them Richard

Solor, Yes , London and Decca are pretty much the same thing . Years ago Decca LPs were marketed in the US as London. They have pretty much discontinued this sort of odd policy and pretty much everything is Decca here in the US now. They may have used the London label elsewhere, that I don't know. Richard Bonynge had a great interest in all kinds of 19th century music, I wonder how much has gone into limbo with the advent of the CD format. Most (but not all) of the recordings with his wife have come out on CD but 'll bet there is much of non vocal music that is lurking in the vaults. But if you found a set on a Japanese site, go for it, some of these more unusual releases come in and go out of print quickly Richard

Hans, I'm sure it looked fine in the theater. But for taping my understanding is that you need brighter than normal lighting (which could be a distraction for the audience in the house) or cameras that can handle the normal stage lighting and don't need extra light to capture a good image. My guess is that there was neither here. It's crazy really, I've seen other Bolshoi tapes and they look fine. This just seems so unlikely but maybe the taping/filming was not professionally done. Richard

Where ever it was taped, it looks to me that they had nothing even near cameras that could function in normal stage light. I find it surprising that a performance taped ca 1988-90 has such extremely poor quality. Some of it looks like it was taped at night under water and my VHS tape is a legit one , not a bootleg or a copy I remember performances from the 70s in NYC where the stage lighting was a bit brighter than usual , and the program would state that it was for taping purposes. I couldn't really tell the difference in the lighting myself. But it was enough to produce a good looking tape. Couldn't whoever was the TV director to figure out the light issue? And if it was in fact filmed at the Bolshoi, there are other tapings that look fine that originated from there. The MT too. Richard

I only saw Joyce as a very young dancer. Not only could she balance, she could pirouette like a top. When the Stuttgart Ballet presented Cranko's Swan Lake in NYC back in the 70s, Joyce would do the female part of one of two couples in the Neopolitan Dance. She would piroutte 3 revolutions, 4, maybe even 5. It was actually sort of bad taste because she was out of synch with the other three dancers, but the audience went absolutely WILD. I went 5 times. She created such a splash, she was given a performance of the Cranko Romeo and Juliet. Richard

Well, in Dancing on My Grave, Kirkland described being extremely impressed with Carla Fracci's act 2 Giselle costume and she slipped in Fracci's dressing room and snipped a piece off. She found out it was silk tulle. She doesn't go any further than than, but draw whatever conclusion you will. I didn't see Kirkland as Giselle but I did see Fracci quite a few times. The tutu was huge and very cloudlike. It was very much a part of her portrayal and made a big impact. Talk about atmosphere..... Richard

I have both these DVDs and like them both but for different reasons. The Bolshoi Return of the Firebird is opened up like a movie with lots of added special effects. The dancing in the Sheherazade is sort of indifferent, but the film has a tremendous richness to it. Also in many ways it looks like a silent film, almost like the Thief of Bagdad. There is no sense of it being framed by a stage Actually, this is not such a crazy idea I would guess to a limited event that some of the pieces Diaghelev had created and the cinema of the era cross polinated each other, how much, I don't know. I also like the Kirov Nijinsky one, although many here weren't so positive about it. But I'm happy with both discs. Richard