volcanohunter

It seems to be working right now, at least on my computer. I have a feeling the old system kicks in when the new interface is overloaded.

Until August 20 you can watch the new Paris Opera production of Karol Szymanowski's Król Roger, starring Mariusz Kwiecien, Olga Pasichnyk and Eric Cutler, on the Internet at no charge. If you're expecting Byzantine opulence, the production is disappointing, but the music, of course, is gorgeous. http://www.operadeparis.fr/cns11/live/onp/...ION=SELECT_NEWS Since the opera is shown without subtitles, those unfamiliar with it may find the following background information and synopsis helpful. http://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_revie...anguage=English This is the second complete opera I've watched on the net from the Paris Opera. I wonder whether we'll ever get a chance to watch the POB this way.

Decca will be releasing MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, starring Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta, on DVD and Blu-ray on August 25. Amazon is taking pre-orders. Juliet - Tamara Rojo Romeo - Carlos Acosta Mercutio - José Martín Tybalt - Thiago Soares Benvolio - Yohei Sasaki Paris - David Pickering Lord Capulet - Christopher Saunders Lady Capulet - Elizabeth McGorian Escalus - Gary Avis Rosaline - Christina Arestis Nurse - Sandra Conley Friar Laurence - Alastair Marriott Lord Montague - Alastair Marriott Lady Montague - Francesca Filpi Harlots - Laura Morera, Isabel McMeekan, Sian Murphy Mandolin Dance - Steven McRae Well, it's about time. Decca has been sitting on this for quite a while. http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=27035

Funny, I never thought of "good feet" as being particularly related to aesthetics. I always thought of certain dancers being able to achieve a level of technical mastery, particularly in jumps, because they had good feet, that is, feet that work efficiently, inevitably in combination with a well-aligned skeleton. Sometimes these feet also happen to be beautiful, but not necessarily. If a dancer has aesthetically pleasing feet, but he or she is not able to land jumps quietly, I wouldn't describe those feet as "good."

Surely you don't mean that the POB is loaded with foreign virtuosos. The company is still overwhelmingly French, and even foreign nationals like José Martinez and Eleonora Abbagnato were trained in France. In the top ranks only Alessio Carbone could be identified as a "foreign virtuoso."

I'd be curious to know exactly what this means. As far as I can tell, at least 60 cinemas in Canada will be screening it in two waves of tape delays to accommodate multiple time zones. http://www.cineplex.com/Movies/MovieDetail...efinition_.aspx Here are the participating cinemas in the U.S. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/47486/ve...ted-states.html As bart mentioned, the trailer promises that this is to be the first in a series. http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ntlive In Canada, ballets are shown in cinemas as part of the Royal Opera/Opus Arte series, but these are taped far in advance. ABT would be a logical candidate to broadcast live since the Met is already equipped for live transmission and evening-length narrative ballets are probably an easier sell than mixed bills of plotless works. I assume ABT hasn't done so already because movie houses are reluctant to cede screens to arty-farty programming on Saturday afternoons during the summer blockbuster season.

I'm sure you're right, but I wonder whether the Met doesn't think of potential DVD releases when choosing what to broadcast in HD, and the Chéreau production is already available on DVD. Of course by that reasoning they shouldn't have bothered with the Laurent Pelly production of La Fille du régiment or the Caurier/Leiser production of Hamlet, but maybe different rules apply when Natalie Dessay is involved.

Natalia had previously reported that a DVD of the Mariinsky's Firebird and (apparently rather pallid) Rite of Spring is available in Europe. I haven't yet seen it on Amazon.com, but the DVD is available for pre-order on Canadian Amazon, and the release date is listed as July 21. http://www.amazon.ca/Stravinsky-and-the-Ba...s/dp/B0023T9ZR0 These are the same performances that are presently showing at cinemas around the U.S., though for some reason the DVD doesn't include Les Noces. http://www.emergingpictures.com/stravinsky...lets_russes.htm http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=29419

I agree. I found Michael Popkin's analysis exceedingly silly. Sometimes a ballet romance is just a ballet romance. Even when its protagonists are not terribly sympathetic.

My feelings were more mixed about the performance. I agree that Saveliev was magnificent, both in his dancing and his mime. But I couldn't squeeze out any applause for Murphy. I'm not a fan, and yesterday reminded me why I avoid her performances. I understand her wanting to make a strong contrast with Giselle, but her movements are abrupt to the point of being herky-jerky. This is supposed to be an incorporeal being? I would have been much happier with Isabella Boylston in the role. Gomes is commanding, but overbearing and certainly not aristocratic. His dancing is powerful, but lacking in romanticism. His broad-chested bravura might work well for Conrad, and it worked last week in On the Dnieper, but not for Albrecht. I don't think the corps of wilis deserved quite the raptuous reception they received. I've seen better, even on the Met stage. Ananiashvili, on the other hand, deserved every last cheer she got. Her second act was stupendous--boneless, weightless, pure poetry. Definitely go see her while you still have the chance.

Natalia, if you type 'Don Quixote' into the Amazon search box and narrow the results to the 46 DVDs with that title, it should pop up. I just tried it and the DVD turns up in 13th position, in other words, the first title on the second page of results. The ASIN is B00274SIA6, but apparently plugging this number into the box won't give BT a commission, so better to search by title.

The DVD can now be pre-ordered at Amazon.com. http://www.deccaclassics.com/music/dvd/0743235.htm

After watching New York City Ballet's Romeo and Juliet debacle, I'd vote for Rudi van Dantzig's version. Among other things, Toer van Schayk's uniset design is much more successful. Photos of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet production http://www.rwb.org/whats_on/wpg3_gallery.html

Scroll down to 1985/86. http://www.ballet.ca/thecompany/archives/1981-1990.php It was also filmed by the CBC, but never released commercially. If I'm not mistaken, the cast consisted of Kimberly Glasco as Young Alice, Karen Kain as Alice Hargreaves, Rex Harrington as Lewis Carroll, Peter Ottmann as Reginald Hargreaves and Owen Montague as the White Rabbit. [Edited to add:] I found an old program note.

I'm tempted to steal that one.

Especially when it was her sister, Olivia de Haviland. People always confuse the two.

I've certainly walked out of ballets I thought were terrible, though never demonstratively; I wait for a pause or intermission to make my escape. And if I watch a ballet and find it to be a waste of time, I don't go back for seconds. Where I live now, I have relatively few opportunities to see live ballet, so I hate to do it, but there's only so much frustration I can stand. I suppose I am intending to boycott a work my local company is planning for next season because I think the music and subject matter are unworthy, and because I disliked a similar project undertaken by the same choreographer a few years ago. As Jack Reed put it, it's a matter of protecting myself. As for the Romeo + Juliet broadcast, I did watch it, but took the unusual step, for me, of not recording it. As it turns out, I was correct in predicting that I wouldn't have the slightest desire to watch it again.

The DVD and Blu-Ray can now be pre-ordered at Amazon. The American release date is June 30.

If you haven't seen it yet and are dying to see it on the big screen, Spartacus will be screened at five UltraStar locations in California and Arizona on May 27 and 28. Wednesday, May 27 at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, May 28 at 7:00 p.m. The participating cinemas are located in San Diego, CA; Carlsbad, CA; Apple Valley, CA; Surprise, AZ; and Lake Havasu City, AZ. http://centralsystem.digiscreen.ca/ShowPag...p;date=05272009

A brilliantly succinct review.

There's no reason not to continue the thread. I'm sure everyone who read it the first time around would be very interested in learning about filming subsidies, DVD sales and the like.

Thanks to the back cover of the DVD version I finally know that they were Emmanuel Strosser and Frédéric Vaysse-Knitter. At the screening their names had flitted past too quickly.

The American release date is June 30, and the ballet can now be pre-ordered at Amazon in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. Search for 'La Dame aux camelias'.

BTers have ripped their hair out over this issue, for example, on this thread, which would certainly benefit from your input as a producer. Most of us can only speculate about how ballet comes to be filmed. http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=28457 For example, I'd be interested to know whether Dutch television has any sort of quota for ballet programming. DVDs of the Netherlands Opera seem to turn up fairly regularly, but there aren't nearly enough videos of the Dutch National Ballet for my taste.

I'm glad to hear about this. I had begun to despair of seeing any new ballet releases from Kultur, so this is welcome news.