volcanohunter

Even the august Paris Opera Ballet does it now. I suspect the National Ballet of Canada does it (once annually) to attract new audiences. Tickets to its shows can cost up to $279 CAD. In comparison $10 to watch company class on stage is a steal. Frankly, I get the impression that the dancers are used to it already. Inevitably a couple of the men will get into a batterie-off, but for the most part nobody seems to be "performing" or especially distressed about falling out of a pirouette.

I apologize if someone has already mentioned it elsewhere, but David McAllister's production of Swan Lake for the Finnish National Ballet can be viewed on demand until 17 November 2023. The stream is free of charge but requires creating a free account with the theater. Hanako Matsune is Odette, Violetta Keller is Odile, Michal Krčmář is Siegfried in Acts 1, 2 and 4, and Jun Xia is Siegfried in Act 3. Henry Gray is Rothbart. The designs are by Gabriela Týlešová. () https://oopperabaletti.fi/en/stage24/video/swan-lake-recording/

The Bavarian State Ballet will livestream Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on Sunday, October 15, at 19:30 CEST or 1:30 pm Eastern. The stream will then be available on demand for 24 hours starting on Saturday, October 28, at 10:00 CEST (4:00 am Eastern). https://www.staatsoper.de/en/tv The ballet is scheduled to star Madison Young as Alice, Jakob Feyferlik as Jack, Shale Wagman as the White Rabbit, Elvina Ibraimova as the Queen of Hearts and António Casalinho as the Mad Hatter. https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productions/alices-adventures-in-wonderland/2023-10-15-1930-13958

A little tribute video from the company before Amber Scott's final performance on Saturday.

On Monday, October 2, there will be a discussion about the book with Ratmansky, Harss and Sara Mearns at the 92nd Street Y, including an online option. https://www.92ny.org/event/alexei-ratmansky-and-marina-harss

@SandyMcKean had already established this, but today PNB sent out an email stating: "PETITE MORT starts streaming Thursday October 5, and subscribing to the full Digital Season is the only way to enjoy this (and other) performances. Single-ticket access to digital performances is not available for all 2023/24 season programming. Subscribe to the digital season today and don’t miss a moment!" https://pnb.prospect2.com/index.php?action=social&chash=44c4c17332cace2124a1a836d9fc4b6f.608&nosocial=1

I guess this goes to context, but I was gobsmacked when in an interview Stéphane Bullion juxtaposed his cancer treatment early in his career with Millepied's tenure. "I had other bad moments in my life, I had a terrible year when I had cancer in my 20s, but even then I kept dancing. Millepied’s direction, on the other hand, did hurt me as I felt lost, I even felt I missed a kind of connection with my body. Confidence is very fragile, it is built step by step, but it can be destroyed very quickly and going on stage without confidence can become very difficult. I did not like what my relationship with Millepied made me become – I was sad, I was a constantly angry, revolted man, and that was not me." https://www.danceforyou-magazine.com/stephane-bullion-be-proud-of-me-2/ It goes without saying that Bullion's cancer treatment was an ordeal: https://www.oncovia.com/blog/en/stephane-bullion-professional-ballet-dancer-at-the-paris-opera-living-normaly-for-me-meant-dancing/

There is footage of that rehearsal, but ultimately Cozette didn't perform in that run, or in any subsequent run of Swan Lake.

Indeed. I am always sorry when a career is thwarted like that and doesn't realize its potential. I was not a great admirer of Cozette's dancing, but it was distressing to see her become something of a ghost within the company over so many years.

If memory serves, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Sarasota Ballet and the Dutch National Ballet were some of the companies which tried, but later abandoned, digital seasons. I'm still kicking myself over not being aware of everything that was on offer. It's one of the reasons I'm really torn about PNB's all-or-nothing approach. When it comes to streams, it's use it or lose it. P.S. I find it difficult understand why San Francisco Ballet would restrict access to its digital season, after going through the trouble and expense of recording and streaming the ballets. Was it a rights issue?

This strikes me as somewhat unusual, but Émilie Cozette bid farewell to the POB not in a ballet, but by walking in the opening-night défilé. I saw her perform more than most POB étoiles, but that was 10-15 years ago. I always had a tough time warming to her dancing. I do remember, though, that when the company performed Pina Bausch's Orpheus and Eurydice in New York in 2012, Cozette performed not Eurydice or even Amour, but in the corps, standing close to the end of the row during the bows. Obviously, she really wanted to take part in the ballet in any capacity, and I really respected that.

I understand completely what you mean. This is why I can't help thinking that the digital package is geared to PNB regulars, while the price will probably scare off most others, who don't have the same sort of devotion to the company, and it could result in lower viewership overall. But perhaps the number-crunchers saw that the vast majority viewers were locals, who were renting every or nearly every stream. Still, over the past 20 years or so I think most of us have gotten used to flexibility in our subscriptions. (For example, I typically opt out of Nutcrackers, because I hate the local production, and the performances are a bit of a zoo.) Yes. In 2022 the charge was 25 AUD for 48 hours of on-demand viewing. At the time this was equivalent to about $17 US. The additional $4 the company began charging in 2023 for two weeks of access is totally worth it.

@SandyMcKean If the streams come via French television, they are often geoblocked, the same way that PBS videos can't be streamed outside the United States. I used to have a VPN subscription and was able to watch by keeping a browser dedicated exclusively for French sites. Because as soon as French television detected that a browser had been in a different geographic zone, it would shut me out, VPN notwithstanding. However Paris Opera Play is designed to be a global platform, and I have been able to watch everything, including programs that originally aired on French television. Presumably because I've paid for it. (I had been willing to pay for the privilege of watching ballet on French television also, but the mechanism didn't exist.) https://play.operadeparis.fr/en

I'm not thrilled about it either. And having been decidedly underwhelmed by the Australian stream of "Diamonds" a few months ago, I'll pass on the same pair in Swan Lake. But I am also the worst possible indicator of the vox populi.

The Royal Ballet did a combination of cinema presentations and stream rentals during the 2021-22 season before settling on subscriptions for library access. The first version of the Paris Opera streaming platform also offered one-off rentals of livestreams and archived videos before settling on a subscription system. So would I. More than a decade ago a New York Times article mentioned that when the ex-State was renovated, a media suite was installed, but never put to use. By now the equipment is probably obsolete. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/arts/dance/media-suite-at-david-h-koch-theater-goes-unused.html

It's paydirt for Swan Lake fans this season.

It's already being discussed on a different thread, but apparently Pacific Northwest Ballet's digital season will be presented as an all-inclusive package of seven streams for $300. The dates haven't yet been announced, but each stream will be released once live performances have finished and will be available on demand for 5 days. 1. Jiří Kylián: Petite Mort and Sechs Tänze; Alexander Ekman: Cacti 2. Donald Byrd: Love and Loss; Alexei Ratmansky: Wartime Elegy; new ballet by Danielle Rowe 3. George Balanchine: The Nutcracker 4. Kent Stowell after Petipa, Ivanov: Swan Lake 5. Alejandro Cerrudo: One Thousand PIeces; Matthew Neenan: Bacchus 6. Twyla Tharp: Sweet Fields; Jessica Lang: The Calling; Crystal Pite: The Season's Canon 7. George Balanchine: Coppelia https://order.pnb.org/packages/fixed/1098

On Friday, September 29, at 7:15 pm AEST (5:15 am Eastern), the Australian Ballet will livestream its new-old production of Anne Woolliams' Swan Lake. It's scheduled to star Benedicte Bemet as Odette-Odile, Joseph Caley as Siegfried and Jarryd Madden as Rothbart. The stream costs 29 AUD (about $19), and will be available on demand for 14 days. https://my.australianballet.com.au/17994/17997

On Tuesday Wednesday, September 26 27, at 19:45 CET (1:45 pm Eastern), La Scala will livestream the Nureyev production of Swan Lake. It's scheduled to star Maria Celeste Losa as Odette-Odile, Navrin Turnbull as Siegfried and Emanuele Cazzato as Rothbart. The price is €9.90 for HD and €11.90 for UHD 4K. The program will be available for seven days after that, but each rental has a 72-hour viewing window from the moment you hit play. https://lascala.tv/en/show/94e62f3f-ab0a-4f88-b22c-30795401177e

For comparison, the Australian Ballet has been offering individual livestreams for four programs each season. They cost 29 AUD (about $19) and are available on demand for 14 days. I don't know what 2024 will bring.

It isn't exactly the same, but from the point of view of the consumer, it's a question of spending $300 vs. $125. Personally, I'm not particularly concerned about the live or almost live aspect. My only expectation from ROH Stream is that insomuch as its cinema offerings are not available at any North American multiplex, as far as I can tell, I will nevertheless be able to watch the performances online eventually. I would be even happier if the ROH followed the example of the Met and made the live cinemacasts available as pay-per-view livestreams for those who do not live in close proximity to a cinema screening. (I'd say an ocean between me and a cinema would qualify.) As for the livestreams from the Paris Opera, they are available for seven days on demand following the performance. Shortly thereafter they are transferred to the library. Available titles are taken out of rotation periodically, with advance warning. My only exposure to PNB is through the streams. I don't know the dancers especially well, and I have no emotional investment in their careers. So for someone like me, $300 for seven streams is a tough sell.

I understand that the company has to cover costs, but I find it hard to believe that an all-or-nothing approach will bring in more money. Not when an annual subscription to Royal Opera House Stream costs about $125 and the same at Paris Opera Play costs about $107, including livestreams.

Whelan notes that the video was made by Susie Londoner, and it's obvious how others responded to her enthusiasm in running across the front of the stage to make it. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxbaivrgpXK/

The United Ukrainian Ballet has posted this link to the complete program. https://app.frame.io/presentations/f7844f7b-78f5-406d-b4bb-9c9a9a825bc0

Natascha Mair has abruptly left English National Ballet. She joined the company in 2020, when Martin Schläpfer became director of the Vienna State Ballet. Now she has left ENB two months into Aaron Watkin's tenure. This also leaves the company with an empty principal (vs. lead principal) rank.