PeggyR

No, it loses nothing in translation; 'sparse' describes very well how it looked in the Opera House, too.

Balanchinette: Thanks for your review; we on the West Coast always enjoy hearing about NYCB, since we'll probably never get to see them live . Please forgive my hopeless ignorance, but who are Maria and Chuck? Peggy

The good news is that San Francisco Ballet has added one performance of the full-length Jewels and two of its new Swan Lake for the upcoming 2009 season. On the down side, if you look at the available seats chart for the mixed rep programs, many look no more than half sold. I have two ballet-loving co-workers who both gave up their season tickets this year (it should be pointed out that we work for a bank ). I renewed my subscription this year, but next year is iffy.

Unfortunately, SFB only posts casts about a week in advance. Here's the link: http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/casting.asp Interesting bit of casting: Sofiane Sylve as the Sugar Plum Fairy on 12/12. Nutcracker Opening Night Thursday, December 11, 2008, 7pm Queen and King of the Snow: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Sugar Plum Fairy: Vanessa Zahorian Grand Pas de Deux: Tina LeBlanc, Joan Boada Friday, December 12, 2008, 2pm Queen and King of the Snow: Rachel Viselli, Mateo Klemmayer Sugar Plum Fairy: Frances Chung Grand Pas de Deux: Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba Friday, December 12, 2008, 7pm Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov* Sugar Plum Fairy: Sofiane Sylve* Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets Saturday, December 13, 2008, 2pm Queen and King of the Snow: Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro* Sugar Plum Fairy: Maria Kochetkova Grand Pas de Deux: Kristin Long, Joan Boada Saturday, December 13, 2008, 7pm Queen and King of the Snow: Katita Waldo, Ivan Popov Sugar Plum Fairy: Sarah Van Patten Grand Pas de Deux: Yuan Yuan Tan, Tiit Helimets * Designates premiere in a role. Casting subject to change.

Sacto1654: Thanks very much for your response. Interestingly, the model you mention is at the top of my short list; glad to know it's a winner. However, that's not much of an inducement Peggy

Since prices on flat-screen TVs have been coming down lately, I'm (finally) thinking of taking the plunge. There are a couple of previous discussions on BalletTalk: from 2005 http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...4&hl=plasma from January 2008: http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.p...2&hl=plasma However, none of my research and neither of these discussions address my remaining concern: motion blur while watching dance videos. If I understand the Consumer Reports write up on flat screens, LCDs have more problem with blur than plasmas, but something called 120 Hz technology can reduce, though not eliminate, LCD blurring. Apparently plasmas don't blur much, but may be out of my current price range (max $1,500). Please note that I am not asking for brand recommendations, which would be inappropriate here. I'd just like to know if motion blur is truly that much of a problem on the lower end LCD or plasma screens. If it is, I might decide to wait a while and scrounge up more funds for a higher quality model. Thanks for any input. Peggy

And after.

The SL 2/22 performance is virtually sold out (except for the crummy balcony seats; the Opera House is waaaay too big for dance; balcony is much too far away). SL 3/1 looks like it's about 2/3 sold (excluding balcony, which is always the last to go). Jewles 4/26 about 3/4 sold, 5/10 looks pretty bad: only about 1/4 sold, but that's toward the end of the season, so undoubtedly tickets will sell better later on, especially if the reviews are decent. Anyway, I've done my part: got a ticket for each of the additional performances. I think I need a bailout

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail dated October 31 sent to San Francisco Ballet subscribers: "We've also added performances of Helgi Tomasson's all new production of Swan Lake on Saturday, February 28, at 8pm and Sunday, March 1, at 2pm and George Balanchine's masterpiece, Jewels on May 10, at 2pm. Only subscribers may order tickets to these added performances. As always, you receive the best seats at the best price before public sale." These additional performances are now listed on the website performance schedule: Swan Lake http://www.sfballet.org/performancesticket...on/program3.asp Jewels http://www.sfballet.org/performancesticket...on/program7.asp My credit card is cringing in terror at the thought of yet more ballet tickets Peggy

On the Ballerina Gallery there is a listing for an RDB dancer named Ellen Price (1878 to 1968). The same video clip is referenced there, so I assume it's the same dancer, although the dates, if correct, mean she was in her 20s rather than 40s when the video was made. According to the biographical information, she left ballet in 1913 and became an actress. http://www.ballerinagallery.com/price.htm Peggy

Well, that certainly takes care of my desktop wallpaper needs for the foreseeable future! Thank you for this treasure. Peggy

Here's the casting from the SFB website: Washington, D.C.--Program A Opening Night Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 7:30pm WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR^ Conductor: Martin West Katita Waldo, Damian Smith Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba Maria Kochetkova, Joan Boada INTERMISSION JOYRIDE^ Conductor: Martin West Sarah Van Patten, Elizabeth Miner, Jennifer Stahl, Dana Genshaft Gennadi Nedvigin, Pascal Molat, Martyn Garside, James Sofranko INTERMISSION THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas 1st Theme: Lily Rogers, Daniel Deivison 2nd Theme: Elana Altman, Brett Bauer 3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding Melancholic: Taras Domitro Sanguinic: Vanessa Zahorian, Joan Boada Phlegmatic: Pierre-François Vilanoba Choleric: Sofiane Sylve Washington, D.C.--Program A Evening Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 7:30pm WITHIN THE GOLDEN HOUR Conductor: Martin West Katita Waldo, Damian Smith Sarah Van Patten, Pierre-François Vilanoba Tina LeBlanc, Joan Boada INTERMISSION JOYRIDE Conductor: Martin West Vanessa Zahorian, Rachel Viselli, Elana Altman, Frances Chung Gennadi Nedvigin, Nicolas Blanc, Garen Scribner, James Sofranko INTERMISSION THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS Conductor: Martin West Piano: Roy Bogas 1st Theme: Lily Rogers, Daniel Deivison 2nd Theme: Jennifer Stahl, Brett Bauer 3rd Theme: Nutnaree Pipit-Suksun, Anthony Spaulding Melancholic: Pascal Molat Sanguinic: Lorena Feijoo, Tiit Helimets Phlegmatic: Ivan Popov Choleric: Elana Altman Washington, D.C.--Giselle Opening Night Friday, November 28, 2008, 7:30pm GISELLE Conductor: Martin West Giselle: Maria Kochetkova Albrecht: Joan Boada Hilarion: Pascal Molat Myrtha: Sarah Van Patten Washington, D.C.--Giselle Matinee Saturday, November 29, 2008, 1:30pm GISELLE Conductor: Gary Sheldon Giselle: Tina LeBlanc Albrecht: Gennadi Nedvigin Hilarion: Pascal Molat Myrtha: Rachel Viselli Washington, D.C.--Giselle Evening Saturday, November 29, 2008, 7:30pm GISELLE Conductor: Martin West Giselle: Yuan Yuan Tan Albrecht: Tiit Helimets Hilarion: Damian Smith Myrtha: Sofiane Sylve Washington, D.C.--Giselle Matinee Sunday, November 30, 2008, 1:30pm GISELLE Conductor: Gary Sheldon Giselle: Vanessa Zahorian Albrecht: Davit Karapetyan Hilarion: Damian Smith Myrtha: Elana Altman Washington, D.C.--Giselle Evening Sunday, November 30, 2008, 7:30pm GISELLE Conductor: Martin West Giselle: Lorena Feijoo Albrecht: Ivan Popov Hilarion: Damian Smith Myrtha: Sofiane Sylve * Designates premiere in a role. Casting subject to change.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to take either ballet or lawn furniture seriously again! I'm curious about the reaction too. I was among the few who absolutely loathed it (although I managed to avoid getting involved in any fist fights). Thanks for all the reviews. It's always interesting to hear what the rest of the world thinks about my 'home team'. Peggy

Great news (plus Don G is my favorite opera). Best news of all: did you notice this little tidbit in the Times article? "As part of the introduction of the site, www.roh.org.uk, the company will make it possible to view other complete operas and ballets online." Here's hoping this starts a trend.

Never mind the dancing -- how about those costumes! Seriously, thank you for that treasure. Too bad there's not more of June Brae.

Was this the telecast where Kirkland was interviewed during the intermission? As I recall, she was still in full costume and the interviewer asked her something like 'Does it get easier each time you dance?' and Kirkland sort of groaned and said 'It never gets any easier'.

Husband and wife Garrett Anderson and Courtney Wright, lately of San Francisco Ballet, have joined The Royal Ballet of Flanders as First Soloist and Soloist, respectively (at SFB Anderson was a soloist and Wright was in the corps de ballet). Here's the link: http://www.koninklijkballetvanvlaanderen.be/Site/dancers.htm I had heard rumors of the move earlier in the summer but was unable to find any confirmation. This looks like a promotion for both of them; as a fan I couldn't be happier for their success, though they'll be missed here in San Francisco. RBF performs a mixture of classical and contemporary works, much like SFB. Here's hoping both dancers have a chance to shine, especially Wright, who sometimes performed soloist roles with technical assurance and great charm. Congratulations to both.

Has anyone seen reviews for Bouder's Giselle? I've been Googling "Bouder" "Giselle" without any luck (lots of hits but nothing about her August performance in Italy). Peggy

I found this article in the on-line edition of the British newspaper, The Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml...bfpowell130.xml Can't believe I've never heard about it before, although I'm sure someone here has: a film about Pavlova by Michael Powell (of "The Red Shoes" fame). According to the article, the original was meant to be a five hour television mini-series, was edited down to a two hour 10 minute film, but now has been restored to its original length. And I must say, it's too bad Jack Nicholson and Robert de Niro didn't make it into the movie as originally intended! IMDb lists this as being titled 'Anna Pavlova', released in 1983 (the Telegraph article says 1985). I found a photo on the internet of Balyayeva and Kinnear, but the film is called 'Divine Anna': http://visualrian.com/images/item/10046. Hope this turns up on PBS soon. Peggy

Some of my favorite childhood memories were of my parents reading to me. My father liked to tell about the time he walked past my bedroom and saw my mother happily reading "The Wind in the Willows" out loud long after I had fallen asleep. And when my mother was in the nursing home during her final illness, I often read aloud to her; in fact, I usually ended up with an audience when other residents came by and listened in. For me, it isn't really a matter of 'preferring' one over the other - paper or audio. I enjoy both, although I mostly listen to nineteenth century classics. Favorites include Anna Massey's 'Persuasion', Juliet Stevenson's 'Sense and Sensibility', and Andrew Sachs' 'Silas Marner'. I still read the books, but a good narrator can bring an extra dimension. Listening to Andrew Sachs (Manuel -'He's from Barcelona' - from Fawlty Towers) with his extraordinary command of voices and accents, you'd swear it was a full-cast recording, not one reader. I guess I've never understood the 'Listening to an audiobook isn't really reading' point of view.

I hope that Tiit knows how much those videos are appreciated. Somehow, I just can’t bring myself to log onto YouTube and post a response along the lines of “OMG dude, she is like so totally awesome!!!!!” to express my admiration for Molly’s artistry. Peggy

Now there's the best idea yet. She's got the dramatic ability, she can be screamingly funny, she's beautiful, and I don't think she's much older than Hepburn was in the original. Do you think Hollywood might respond to pressure from Ballettalk? Plus, of course, she's English.

Marga: You're very right about that. It's especially interesting to see how mature she seems. Dancers at that age, no matter how gifted, often look slightly uncoordinated, as if all the body parts haven't quite learned how to work together yet. Little of that here; makes me even sorrier not to have seen her last season. Peggy

You may be right about her being off the roster last year, although she was listed in the booklets that are given out at performances as a principal who joined in 2006. Also, she danced with her husband during the New Works Festival in Caniparoli's Ibsen's House. There used to be some YouTube video of her in, I believe, Sleeping Beauty. Just a brief clip, but she looked like an interesting dancer. I'm sorry not to have seen her. Peggy

The discussions here about My Fair Lady and Pygmalion got me interested enough to do a little research. Here are some other versions of Pygmalion, some with 'interesting' casting choices (except as noted, all information from IMDb; accuracy not confirmed): 1963 - no production credits listed, but apparently made for U.S. TV James Donald (Higgins) Julie Harris (Eliza) Gladys Cooper (Mrs. Higgins) Cooper played Mrs. Higgins again in the 1964 MFL. 1981 - produced by Yorkshire Television: Robert Powell (Henry Higgins) Twiggy (Eliza) Ronald Fraser (Pickering) Mona Washbourne (Mrs. Higgins) Arthur English (Alfred Doolittle) Fraser and Washbourne both appeared in the 1981 Brideshead Revisited. Washbourne played Mrs. Pearce in the 1964 MFL. English was a well-known stage comedian and later, a regular in Are You Being Served. 1983 - co-produced by Margot Kidder: Peter O'Toole (Higgins) Margot Kidder (Eliza) There are also TV productions listed from 1948 (BBC with Margaret Lockwood as Eliza); 1968 (Swedish TV with the great Harriet Andersson as Eliza), 1974 (the Netherlands), 1980 (West Germany). I've ordered a dvd from Netflix with credits as follows (this one doesn't show up on IMDb): 1985 production: James Villiers (Higgins) Lynn Redgrave (Eliza) Ronald Fraser (Pickering)