cubanmiamiboy

7 hours ago, maps said:

Hard Nut doesn't bring the magic of the music for me - see waltz of the flowers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX1Hm5kzc6s

 

That makes me want to vomit. What an absolute travesty....

I saw their "Tchaikovsky"-(can't remember if in Russia or NYC)- and got bored. They play with recorded music, which is a downer.

I've never seen the Mariinsky's  Jewels, but I saw the Bolshoi on it, and didn't like it too much. The tempi was EXCRUCIATINGLY slow, particularly in Diamonds. I think they have a tendency to over do Diamonds, with the mold of Lopatkina in a sort of "Odettesque" feeling in the pdd. I know Khoreva is not very much liked here, but I did like her in Paquita. She certainly doesn't fit the elongated, aloof ice princess so favored by many, but she could be interesting in this role, in an atypical way. Please report back.

On 10/20/2019 at 8:45 AM, canbelto said:

I found this CNB version of Apollo.

There are some interesting choreographic differences between the version that Balanchine later staged for NYCB. For instance in the Apollo Terpischore pas de deux Terp doesn't dance on her heels but on pointe. I always thought dancing flat-footed on her heels was an iconic part of the choreography. Can anyone shed some insight into the differences in choreography?

A comparison:

 

That's the Apollo I ever knew until I came to the US in 2001. Never saw the white tights/no birth/no Parnassus/no headdresses version ever, not even on video. You can imagine my surprise when I first saw the 70's version in NYC. It looked to me like a rehearsal with no finale. Very bare. Very odd. 

This is how Alonso danced it with Eglevsky, as she has said. The staging was/is unauthorized by the Trust-(as it is CNB's T&V). I'm sure many of this productions will change or dissapear now that Alonso is dead, but I'm glad I saw it all. It is like watching POB's Le Palais de Cristal vs Symphony in C. A glimpse of the past . 

On 10/4/2019 at 9:41 AM, Fleurfairy said:

I'm wondering if Swan lake is beyond her abilities now, considering Lane had to fill in as Odile this past Met season. 

Odile has always been beyond her abilities.

3 hours ago, Syzygy said:

I've been curious too. The only "review" I could find didn't cover her show. 

Did anyone here attend? cubanmiamiboy?

I attended only one performance of the program, and she wasn't on it. Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Slaughter on 10th Ave and Mercuric Tidings 

15 hours ago, MadameP said:

So many people lining the route.  Yes, very touching.

Let's not forget this are officially prepared ceremonies. People are pulled out of work, students are pulled out of classes and participation is mandatory.  Alonso was indeed much celebrated , but also much condemned , politically speaking. Of course, only the laurels will be shown.

Coppelia, USA. 1957

Giselle. Russia 1958.

Grand Pas de Quatre. US 1960.

Swan Lake. La Habana 1961.

1 hour ago, canbelto said:

I went to Havana in the summer of 2018 and went on one of those tours with a dude in a horse and buggy. He took us past the CNB theatre and spoke about Alicia Alonso. It's obvious how much she meant to the Cuban people.

And also ... one of my former co-workers and a friend of mine is actually related to her. They are all painters, so the artistic gene in the Alonso family lives on.

Well... yeah. I guess she's seen as a National monument. Although I sort of agree with atm11, who long time ago wrote that she was considered back then an American ballerina, a BT product. When she went to Russia in 58-59 she did so as a western ballet ambassador, considered back then "the first American ballerina to dance in Russia". Cuba had seen her only sporadically during her 20 years in NYC, and they really got a hold of her once she negotiated with Castro the conditions for her return in 1960.

14 hours ago, canbelto said:

So as I spend another Friday at home resting an ankle that somehow is healing on its own time (that is to say, verrry slowly), I decided to find some Edwin Denby and Arlene Croce accounts of her dancing and compare it to Alicia Alonso videos. Hope you guys enjoy it.

https://humbledandoverwhelmed.blogspot.com/2019/10/alicia-alonso-written-word-vs-video.html

Thank you for those, canbelto, and a speedy recovery for you. 

There is a museum of ballet in Havana, which of course is dedicated to her. I have a friend that told me that there is a private videography of her that has films from the 50's, including a full T&V. I believe that was the base for subsequent -( Balanchine trust non approved, non licensed)- stagings there when she wasn't reliable anymore due to her blindness and old age. 

My formative ballet years I spent watching Alonso's way into her company.  The dual, always controversial way she was perceived by both her audience and her peers.  I saw the self imposed enclosure she placed on the troupe during the cold war era, the closed doors she buil in front of her most talented dancers,...the way the almost extinguished word "defection" was, and is, still in used when in reference to Cuban dancers wanting to break free from the company and the country.   I saw how many of the dancers were blessed by her politically powerful hand-(Carreno, Acosta)- and how others were virtually erased from the history of the company-(the Feijoo sisters, the Sarabia brothers).  And I saw how bitter she could get if the 'Most Beloved and Most Capable Prima" title was was being jeopardized from her hands-(which it was, by means of the great Rosario Suarez, whom Alonso made sure would not succeed on the attempt).

And i saw wonderful productions and ballets...rarities I now know were and are there because of her absolutism in regards with repertoire.  The mantra was "It will be danced as I danced in in 1950 at BT".  End of the story.  And well, that way I could see Les Sylphides, staged by her and Alberto Alonso by means of their recollections of the mid century stagings they both had danced in in BT and BRdMC, staged by Fokine himself.  And the same with  many other ballets, imported carbon copy of how they were being danced under their still around choreographers. Among them.

Graduation Ball. Lichine.

Les Sylphides. Fokine.

Petroushka. Fokine.

Nutcracker. Fedorova.

Grand Pas de Quatre. Dolin.

Giselle. Dolin.

Apollo. Balanchine.

T&V. balanchine.

Le Combat. William Dollar

Fall River Legend. Tudor.

Jardin aux Lilacs. Tudor

R&J. Tudor.

La Fille Mal Gardee. Nijinska/Hertel.

Three Virgins and a Devil. de Mille

Swan Lake. Mary Skeaping

And some others, either complete on on fragments that she was able to stage from memory, as with Balanchine's Waltz Academy and Massine's Aleko.

Now, after she's gone...I really wonder what fate will this stagings take.  It is not a secret that many perceived this unmovable versions as part of the iron hand she directed the company with, and would very much get rid of them.  I only hope it doesn't happen.

Alonso was very controversial.  She was both at the investment ceremony of General Batista in 1953, and her company was subsidized by him up until it wasn't anymore.  She then dissolved it and didn't come back to Cuba until 1960, when she made sure she was going to be subsidized again.  And she was...and the rest we all know very well.  She became one of the most recognizable faces of Castrism.  Online opinions on her likeness and worthlessness are primarily divided in between Castro followers and Miami exiles. 

RIP nonetheless.

Mixed feelings here. But I really hope she can rest "in peace". 

So I echo that. RIP.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155000689829191&id=647664190

52 minutes ago, abatt said:

Except for the scene where Xander stood too close to Batoeva to support her in a spin or turn and her leg smacked right into him and caused her to stop mid-spin.  Mr. Abatt turned to me and noted that we've been attending ballet for about 25 years and have never seen that  error.  It was egregious.     All in all, however, it was a wonderful weekend of ballet from the Mariinsky.

That's  exactly the same sequence done in the DQ Adagio. Very tricky, given that the dancer has to quickly get into the ballerina's space while she's doing a double pirouette a la seconde to get her into a deep penchee. I have always thought "what if the guy's timing is not the sharpest and he hits her on pirouette"...Well, I finally saw it, and HEARD it-( the hitting was loud).😶

One thing I noticed was that the Mariinsky omits the final number -("Finale")- that the POB uses after the final tableaux of the grand pas, which is like a grand ballabile in a "jota aragonesa" form. 

@ 1:36:02

It is so interesting to see how whole assessments of the ending gravitate around what we believe to be a "happy" ending versus a "tragic" one. What some might consider "tragic"-(the double suicide)- didn't have to be so necessarily in Petipa's or Tchaikovsky's minds. The fact that the music changes to a major key to a triumphant tune to the souls of the two lovers reunited in heaven-(ABT)- is more than enough to be seen as happy by many, particularly those with religious beliefs. The whole happy=human form/stay on earth idea was Soviet, although I can see how many in the audience who don't share such religious beliefs see it as the only "happy" possibility. 

I myself have always considered the original ending, as ABT does it, perfectly happy. Evil Rothbart is defeated by the power of love and faith. The kingdom is restituted and the two lovers are reunited in a place where only goodness exist. 

Which is exactly the same in La Bayadere.

Fair enough.

8 minutes ago, MadameP said:

I looked through my 2017 Paquita programme, which  was lavishly illustrated and had many interviews, and there was an interview with Yuri Burlaka about his staging of the grand pas.  He was specifically asked about the male variation, as follows:

Petipa didn't include a male variation in his Grand pas, will you?

I will, using the music by Drigo, once written for the ballet The Vestal Virgin featuring Enrico Cecchetti.  This particular variation was staged by Vladimir Ponomarev and shown to me by my teacher Pyotr Pestov who, in turn, learnt it from his teacher Nikolai Tarasov.  I already used this variation in one of Esmeralda productions, because extant male variations are quite scarce in the end.  The variation I used for the Bolshoi version of the Grand pas was created by Leonid Lavrovsky.  

 

 

Ooh..so now I might understand what Smekalov was trying to tell me about "50% original, 50 % mine". He kept telling me how HE had tried to add military hints to this variation, but that it was "based in the original". The original being what Burlaka learned from his teacher. So the variation was not notated, but rather passed down since La Vestale, although probably not used in a full length ballet ever since. Then Burlaka used it for Esmeralda, and years later Smekalov twisted it a bit for this Paquita. 

I will echo Drew's assessment of Khoreva. I saw her the three times she danced, and if on the first performance she looked disengaged during the acting/miming scenes, she made up more than enough with her great fouettes.  Sharp, leg in perfect a la seconde in beautiful ronde de jambe-( unlike the very favored by Russians kick in the front , much used by Somova). Her fouettes were the best among the three ballerinas. Tereshkina is definitely a diva already at the Mariinsky. Her dramatic skills are over the top, and she's not shy at showing them. But....I have a problem with those uber accents she does with her mouth and head whenever there is a big "boom !" variation finishing. Almost as if saying "YEAH!!!" to elicit more reactions from the audience. I have seen many dancers do this, and never been too much of a fan. Khoreva looks definitely shyer-( although not insecure)- onstage, but her "lack" of big drama faces didn't really bothered me. 

Batoeva had the unfortunate event of getting Parish on her way while he tried to catch her on her double turn a la seconde . Her leg hit him hard, and she looked pissed for a second. 

Last night I watched Lacotte's production. It is definitely superior, libretto, sets and costumes wise, although he goes by Petipa's original 88 staging with only one variation for Paquita in the Grand Pas.

I echo Mashinka's opinion. Too short if it's only Carmen. It is an enjoyable piece, but sans orchestra...?? Nah.

4 hours ago, MadameP said:

Vladimir Shklyarov has just announced on Instagram that his wife, Maria Shirinkina, has just been promoted to First Soloist!!!  I am so happy for this lovely, lyrical, expressive ballerina!  

Well....I was in all performances, and it looks to me she danced every day! I could be wrong ..but the woman danced A LOT. Quite a trouper  

Some thoughts on this Paquita.

1- I retract my words on the libretto. I read the whole synopsis of Cervantes' La Gitanilla, and Smekalov really followed through. Andres indeed desserts his post, becomes a gypsy, learns how to steal, kills another officer and then gets re instated and marries Paquita.

2- The secretary variation for Act I doesn't seem necessary. This character is way bigger on the novella, but here is way simplified, and his appearance doesn't really adds that much . He could had been just a mime character 

3- The maid carrying the basket with the silver in act II was, from Tuesday to Saturday matinee, an honest servant who felt ashamed about being part of Carducha's plot. She hesitates , tries to stop her and then runs away in shame. Then on Saturday evening she becomes a conspirator, helping Carducha hide the goods in the cart and looking very eager to blame the gypsies. I wonder why.

3- The moment when Paquita and Andres are in shackles, the black curtain comes down for a change of scenery happens sans music...in an akward dragging of the culprits by officers that lasts for too long, while one can hear the noisy background of scenery change .

4- The cross handled by the priest over the lovers, which happens just for a sit of a split of a second, but still feels very significative, considering the times we're living.

5- The horrible sets of the Grand Pas. All that pink folliage, and the tacky two jardinieres with flowers on the top...and the hanging portraits from previous acts. Too much, and lacking elegance .

And I would pick Paquita any time over Le Corsaire .

If only for the Mazurka des Enfants I take Paquita anytime over any Corsaire, Esmeralda or even Sylvia. Seeing this beautiful kids onstage so proper, the boys as miniature cavaliers showing the type of chivalry  quite extinct from today's world so full of vulgar behaviors always gets me. I truly get emotional at seeing the gallantry from the little gentlemen, and the responsive curtsies  from the lady-like elegant girls...something that's basically non existent anymore, even in the adults world. I know it is a fantasy setting, but it still puts me in a better place for an instant.  Bravo to the Vaganova kids!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗

4 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

The music for the mysterious Andres variation in A3 of the current full-length Mariinsky PAQUITA is a mazurka that's sounds a lot like other Drigo mazurkas...very rich Italianate orchestration, a great melody. I know that Burlaka (& Ratmansky) worked with Drigo's score for THE ENCHANTED FOREST while crafting their 2007 LE CORSAIRE for the Bolshoi. So maybe Burlaka found this mysterious mazurka back then? It's very Drigoesque. 

Well....I went in a different direction today, and approached the orchestra pit. Then I asked a group of three musicians from the strings section, and asked them. Once again ...they didn't know. The music on their paper doesn't state individual authors for each variation. It just notes what we all know. That there's a mix in between Deldevez, Minkus and Drigo.

12 minutes ago, Birdsall said:

Choreographer Yuri Smekalov is working on a new three-act ballet using his own libretto based on the plot of the novella La gitanilla by Cervantes.

I will have to go and find if Cervantes actually backs up this messy libretto. If it does, then I keep my mouth shut. One doesn't argue with the Spanish Shakespeare.

My biggest problem with Smekalov's "Paquita", again, is the twisting-( as I prefer to call it instead of changing)- of the libretto. The way Paquita was conceived, with the whole political background and how the original librettist placed the story, makes complete sense vs what Smekalov proposes. My biggest points of complaint being:

- Andres is a proud officer who comes to Madrid's plaza in the company of his four officer friends.

- Then officer Andres decides to dessert the army and run away with the gypsies. No shame or regrets-( oh...Carmen)

- ex officer, now gypsy Andres is introduced in the art of goods looting-(he's not good at stealing techniques, as we can see in one scene)

- Gypsy Andres kills one of his ex fellow officers during the fight at the inn. His ex officer friends are there, and somehow they don't recognize him, even if he's not trying to disguise himself.

- For all of this gypsy Andres is reinstated as officer Andres and given Paquita's hand in marriage. He's again a proud uniformed officer at the wedding, with his four officer friends in attendance. Someone with an army background, no matter the time in history, would laugh at this.

Why re invent something that doesn't need re invention...? Why adding, varnishing, twisting-( as in a masterpiece painting)- just to have to reverse the whole process at some point in history to be able to see the beautiful original....?  Isn't that enough that many people believe that La Bayadere's Grand Pas happens in some invented betrothal scene or that Odette turns into a human...or that Raymonda is just in the middle of a triangle, where two cavaliers are competing for her love..?-( ABT's)

This is not a good thing for the holiest of holy stages.

8 hours ago, naomikage said:

 

At least Smekalov is not an unknown choreographer.

So let me rephrase my earlier statement into "...by an unknown-(to me)- choreographer".🤗

I keep thinking that Paquita didn't need a "re imagined" libretto. So officer Andres deserts to become a gypsy. Then he kills one of his own fellow officers, only to be re instated as an officer to marry Paquita. Oh...and the quartet of uniformed men he comes with in Act I don't recognize him later on when he's with the gypsies. Non sense. 

The original libretto with the French officer is way more logical. I will try to read "La Gitanilla" and see if all this absurd business can be validated.