Ilya

I would be appalled if a choreographer today were to create such a character, but this is a reconstruction, and I think it's important to keep it as close as possible to the original. Would I have felt uncomfortable, maybe even offended, to see it? Most likely. But I would not want this historical reconstruction to be sanitized to suit some modern sensibilities, even though I recognize the danger of reinforcing certain bigotries. Ah but there is no "THE original." Petipa himself made several versions, and none fully survived. Even the available notation is impossible to unambiguously interpret. Case in point: as far as I understand, the choreography used for the pdd is mostly by Vaganova and Chabukiani (who, by the way, are not acknowledged in the booklet). I always thought that good chunks of the pas d'esclave are also due to Chabukiani. (Please correct me if I'm wrong!) As has been discussed on this thread, other big chunks of the ballet---such as the pas des eventails that was omitted on tour---are newly choreographed. So, given all these huge liberties taken, why stick to the antisemitism both in the ballet and in the online program booklet? And, if historical accuracy is so important, why edit it out of the program booklet especially for the tour?

Unfortunately, all forms of religious and ethnic intolerance, including antisemitism, have long been and still are part of life in Russia. Byron's poem that the names of the four main characters are taken from does not have any slave traders, Jews, or slave markets. The names "Isaac Lanquedem," "Lankedem," and "Lankendem" are all misspelled versions of the main protagonist from Alexandre Dumas' novel "Isaac Laquedem," based on the legend of the Wondering Jew---however, the actual character in the ballet has nothing in common with Dumas' character, either, as far as I know. I'd be curious to know who it was that introduced this character into the ballet, and when. However, given the virulent antisemitism of the tsarist Russia, it is no surprise to me that the character took root. Clearly, nothing much has changed since then, as the following quote from the Bolshoi's official Corsaire synopsis shows: "Medora begs Seyd-Pasha to grant her her freedom but, seeing that he is unrelenting, complains of cruel treatment by her guardian; Seyd-Pasha orders the eunuch to send the Jew packing." (See http://bolshoi.ru/en/season/ballet/reperto...nact26=art#dyn) Miraculously, this was edited in the Kennedy Center program booklet and replaced with: "Medora begs Seyd-Pasha to grant her her freedom but, seeing that he is unrelenting, complains of cruel treatment by her guardian. Pasha Seyd orders Isaac to leave." (In fact, before he orders Isaac to leave, he has him whipped.) Was it necessary to give Lanquedem a huge fake nose? Apparently so, because it was clearly intended to drive home the point that he is Jewish. Could the Bolshoi have come up with a more repulsive collection of antisemitic stereotypes? Isaac is greedy to the point of selling his young ward, cowardly, weak, repulsive, and rich. I wish I could say that I was shocked by all this, but I am not. In Russia, racism is business as usual.

Thank you for the explanation, Mikhail. I think if they had provided this three-sentence explanation, they would have won a lot of sympathy and understanding from the audience. On the other hand, I must point out that Kennedy Center's performance manager told me that the Kennedy Center management only found out about the ambulance, the hospital, and the substitution at 12:30 on Sunday afternoon, i.e., one hour before the performance! If this was known the day before, the Bolshoi management should have let the Kennedy Center know immediately, so that the update could have been posted online. This would have saved many of us an out-of-town trip, and would have allowed others who had already seen Shipulina and Skvortsov to donate their tickets. All this is just common sense, good manners, and good business practice of keeping loyal customers happy. I would also like to point out that, IMHO, having no reserve troops at the end of a long and demanding tour is unwise, as is having a dancer perform with a high fever, especially as difficult a role as Medora. As to the lack of rehearsal time, again, I believe the blame lies squarely with the management, since Osipova's ABT engagement was arranged and announced a very, very long time ago. Finally, I would like to express thanks and admiration to all the dancers involved, especially Ms Shipulina and Mr Skvortsov for their heroics in stepping in at the last moment despite having danced the night before, and Ms Osipova for her heroics in performing while ill.

While I understand that injuries and illnesses happen, it matters a lot how they are handled by the management. Listing a bunch of names over the loudspeaker ten seconds before the beginning of the performance, with no explanations or apologies, is certainly the typical Bolshoi/Mariinsky way. This is how it happened this afternoon. I think the spectators deserve to be treated better, especially considering the fact that many of us came from out of town to see the advertised cast. It was quite astonishing to me that Mr. Burlaka did not have the good manners to come out and say something like "X has suddenly taken ill and is in the hospital. We are in a bind because this is the last performance of the run and part of the company has already departed. Ms. Shipulina and Mr. Skvortsov have graciously agreed to substitute at a very short notice, despite the fact that they danced the previous evening's performance." (If this is in fact what happened.) Perhaps some of the Bolshoi insiders who read this board might explain this lack of basic civility towards the audience?

I may be wrong, but I think that particular gesture meant to explain to James how much she loved living in the air---i.e., in effect, that she cannot live without her wings. I do not think that "But I thought you loved me!" would have been appropriate or logical at that point, given James's overt horror at what was happening to her. James would have needed to behave differently in order for "But I thought you loved me!" to make any sense in that scene. I thought the entire death scene was very beautifully, touchingly, and convincingly acted.

It's Jared Matthews as Gurn, Gemma Bond as Effie, and Victor Barbee as Madge. There was neither blindness nor loss of consciousness, as far as I understand. As a creature who lives in the air, the Sylph is not used to being grounded. I believe Ms. Osipova depicted her helplessness when trying to walk, with no wings---trying to feel her way with her hands and feet---and, IMHO, depicted it in a very beautiful and touching way.

I was at the Monday performance, and know exactly what you mean. However, I went back on Wednesday, and this time she did it with astonishing speed and elevation. The audience went wild. (There was another similar moment in the second act, in that there was also quite a bit of a difference between Monday and Wednesday.) My guess is that, for Monday's performance, she decided to tone things down a bit, knowing that it was going to be reviewed. (I doubt those huge jetes are really part of Bournonville style.) Wednesday no review, so a bit flashier. To me, it still seemed in good taste though. I enjoyed both performances immensely.

Does anybody have any further info on Wed night? On ABT page, it's "Osipova and TBA," whereas on MET page, it's "Osipova and Cornejo."

http://www.russiatoday.com/Art_and_Fun/200...dies_at_70.html Two more articles in Russian: http://gazeta.ru/culture/2009/04/28/a_2980218.shtml http://www.izvestia.ru/culture/article3127965/

My translation of an excerpt from Svetlana Naborshchikova's interview with the Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Yuri Burlaka, published in "Izvestia." The excerpt deals with the Osipova-ABT saga. Not cool. Q: Persistent rumors are circulating that you suppress talented young dancers. For example, you did not allow Natalia Osipova to debut in the main role in "La Bayadere," gave her a small role of Cinderella in the fairy tale divertissement in "The Sleeping Beauty" that is inadequate to her standing, and, to crown all the persecutions, thwarted her engagement with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). A: I heard that I am a villain who hampers young people, even though I do nothing of the sort, and I appreciate the very Natasha Osipova as a dancer with incredible energy. For the ballet gala which is planned for the end of the season, I prepared for her and Vanya Vasiliev a suite from the ballet "Laurencia." I think they will ideally inhabit these characters... Natasha did not dance "La Bayadere" due to a confluence of circumstances. She will definitely dance this role during the next season. Giving her the role of Cinderella is not an attempt to punish Natasha but rather a desire to present the divertissement from "The Sleeping Beauty" in all its glory. It is known that Petipa used to give this role to dancers occupying a high level in the ballet hierarchy. As to ABT, its management did not contact me in a timely manner with an official letter requesting Osipova's release. Natasha's first place of work is the Bolshoi Theater, and so ABT must adjust to our schedule. Q: Does this mean that the American Ballet Theatre will not see our soloist? A: Why? After ABT's management sent me a letter with explanations and apologies, the issue was settled. They moved some of their dates; we got Osipova's two performances in "Le Corsaire", ABT got her "La Sylphide" and "Giselle." In addition, ABT's management assured me that in the future they will discuss all invitations with me. Q: Are you establishing serfdom? A: I will never encumber artists' invitations to dance at other theaters. I used to dance myself and understand that this is sacred. Masha Aleksandrova, for example, brilliantly performed in "Raymonda" at the Paris Opera. Recently, Katya Krysanova danced "Le Corsaire" in Munich... But, I repeat, the leaders of other theaters must not forget about the fact that the artists who they invite are, first and foremost, the dancers of the Bolshoi Theater.

Does this mean they will actually attend the performance?

Two friends of mine had to cancel their trip to Paris and therefore have to get rid of their two tickets for Onegin on May 14. Are there any French websites they might try to sell the tickets?

I watched three casts: Gilbert/Duquenne/Paquette, Letestu/Bullion/Paquette and Gillot/Martinez/Le Riche (the latter on one of the dates that was filmed for the DVD). While Gillot was definitely miscast, I am truly glad they did this, and glad that this performance will come out on a DVD. What a remarkable ballerina! She was able to take a role that does not naturally suit her and make it very interesting and exciting to watch. I would not mind having the other two casts on DVD as well because I thoroughly enjoyed all three performances. All three ballerinas had very different, individual interpretations. I was also impressed with how meticulously small details were worked out: e.g., the interactions between Raymonda and Abderam in the second act were completely different in the three performances. Paquette's boorish Abderam faced an uninterested Raymonda in Gilbert, and a curious and a bit flirtatious Raymonda in Letestu. A more suave and refined Abderam of Le Riche interacted with a friendly and sympathetic Gillot's Raymonda. Overall, the Gillot/Martinez/Le Riche cast was preferable to me because of the superior technique of the male leads and their larger-than-life personalities, especially Le Riche. Of course, it was also quite impressive that Henriette and Constance were danced by Gilbert and Cozette, respectively, in that performance.

Cygneblanc, thank you very much for the information!

I will be in Paris in December and I'm trying to decide whether to go to one (or both) of the Demonstrations de l'Ecole on December 7. Could anyone please describe to me what these are like? Are these essentially classes done on stage, or are they more performance-like? There is hardly any description on the Opera website. Also, will the oldest students (graduating class) be in the 10:30am or the 2:30pm performance or both?

I suspect this, and many other Soviet ballet clips from before 1980s, look very fast because the original material was probably shot at 24 frames per second (which is the film standard) and then, much later (during 1980s or 1990s) transferred to the 25-frame-per-second video (25 frames per second is used, I believe, in PAL and SECAM video standards). If this is indeed the case, one would expect each second of the original material to flash by in only 0.96 seconds in the videos---a speedup of 4%. The pitch of the sound would be correspondingly higher, as well: by slightly less than one half-tone---a small but quite noticeable difference.

Does anyone have any news regarding Vishneva's chances of actually performing in Giselle on July 11? After what happened with Don Quixote, I am hesitant to buy Giselle tickets until I know that she has fully recovered from her injury.

The first half fell flat for me, with the exception of Diana Vishneva's "Dying Swan." I didn't particularly care for the choreography in "The Merry Widow" (Ronald Hynd), "Swan Lake" excerpt (Kevin McKenzie) and "Splendid Isolation" (Jessica Lang). The latter's choreography was particularly unimaginative. I kept worrying that Irina Dvorovenko would be tripped up by her dress, but she prevailed in the struggle and earned my applause for that feat. Mahler's music is very difficult to perform well. Entrusting a ballet orchestra with it is both unfair and unwise. Both variations were inexplicably omitted from the Don Quixote pas de deux, and so the coda immediately followed the adagio. Thirty-two fouettes were nowhere to be found in the coda---something that I can forgive in a full-length performance but not in a gala. As a result, I was puzzled as to why this piece was included in the gala, in this form, and with these dancers (Ethan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy.) Things definitely picked up with "The Dying Swan" which concluded the first half. Vishneva's portrayal was one of the highlights of the evening for me. The two most memorable performances, however, came after the intermission. One was Act II pdd from "Giselle," performed by Nina Ananiashvili and Angel Corella with great precision, musicality and fluidity, perfectly conveying the poignancy and ethereal quality of the piece. Another brilliant performance came from Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes in the conclusion of "Onegin." A truly impressive storytelling through great dancing. I was really glad to have had strong binoculars which allowed me to see the subtleties of their facial expressions, as both acquitted themselves as fantastic actors, all the while getting through all the technical challenges with ease. "Corsaire" pdd was very competently done (I especially liked Xiomara Reyes); however, this performance suffered from the inevitable---and unflattering---comparison with Tereshkina and Sarafanov who performed this pdd in New York just last month. "Judgment of Paris" was quite amusing and interesting to watch. "Etudes" excerpts left me cold. The principals were very good in them (although here I cannot compare to the Mariinsky since that was the one program in their New York season that I skipped). I am not convinced, however, that any great dancers can save that choreography and music.

By the way, does anyone know if Chopiniana+Spectre+Swan was also conducted by Gergiev Sunday afternoon, or did he do Sheherazade only? I had a mezzanine seat with no view of the orchestra.

The overture to Chopiniana is Chopin's Polonaise in A major, op. 40 no. 1, "Militaire"

I saw the April 1 performance and subscribe to everything that has been said here. For me, the highlight of the evening was Sarafanov's performance: incredible elevation, stage-devouring jetes, dizzying turns, solid partnering. After Lopatkina and Vishneva, I thought the third act could only be downhill (and it was in certain aspects amply described above) but I was very pleasantly surprised by Sarafanov.

I didn't know about Pujol's maternity leave and didn't realize that she was scheduled for two days in a row. I clearly didn't see her at her best then. I'm glad to hear that the 21st wasn't the only performance that was filmed, and I'm looking forward to the DVD.

I ended up seeing Dupont and Legris on the 16th, Letestu and Martinez on the 17th and 25th, and Pujol and Le Riche on the 21st. (The original plan was to see Hurel and Ganio on the 17th but with all the injuries and resulting casting changes, I ended up missing them. Also, unfortunately I ran out of time and budget and was not able to see Osta and Pech.) Letestu was the best Giselle among the three, and the only one who was able to convince and move me in the first act. She is one of the greatest Giselles I have ever seen. A restrained, understated, and therefore very touching "mad" scene, fluidity of movement, beautiful arms, and "sculpted" stances in the second act. Definitely the only one with a "hint of the princess in her peasant." In the second act, both she and Dupont were very impressive. Pujol was my least favorite of the three, not only because of her technical problems in the first act (unfortunately, I attended the performance that was filmed), but mostly because in the second act she somewhat lacked the lightness and fluidity I have come to expect from the best Giselles. All three men were fantastic, and each had an interesting and different interpretation for their character. It was a great treat to see yet another inspired performance from Manuel Legris and admire the fact that at 42, he still has flawless technique and a soaring, soft jump. Martinez's was the most sympathetic Albrecht while Le Riche's was the most detached. Le Riche was the only one of the three who did the seemingly endless series of entrechats in the second act a la Nureev, an instance where added technical brilliance was dramatically logical. Overall, I enjoyed Letestu and Martinez the most because theirs was the most perfect partnership throughout the entire ballet (as on every previous occasion when I had watched them perform). Because they are such wonderful technicians, I think sometimes their great artistry and acting skills tend to be overlooked. The corps were somewhat uneven. The crossing of the Wilis was slightly off the music, for my taste. Since it was exactly the same during all four performances, I conclude that it was not the dancers' fault, but rather this productions' "feature." In addition, this particular bit was just a little too rough and did not have the feeling that they swim accross each other---the feeling which always causes applause when the Mariinsky corps perform this scene. Many parts of the second act lacked the smoothness, fluidity, softness, and lightness that I would have liked to see and that the best Mariinsky performances always have. I already mentioned Pujol's interpretation above. The same goes for Myrthas in three out of four performances, including Gillot on the 21st and especially Abbagnato on the 16th. Stephanie Romberg on the 25th was Myrtha that I liked the best. I was also disappointed in certain minor incongruences of the production (although these are not unique to this particular production). (1) It is an odd piece of timing for Giselle's mother to be removing Giselle's hairpins when she collapses in the first act. (2) The two peasants dance to thank Bathilde for Giselle's necklace, insead of Giselle herself. (3) In some of the performances, Giselle's mother is shorter and younger than Giselle. (4) German aristocrats from a few hundred years ago wear Asian-looking headdress. (5) Why have the dice players in the second act? (Incidentally, the lighting is such that from the family circle there is no way to tell what they are doing so to a large portion of the audience this scene is a complete mystery.) (6) First, the wilis appear and scare these players and Hilarion, and only afterwards Myrtha orders the wilis to rise from their graves. Finally, I wholeheartedly join in the praise for Mathias Heymann given both in this thread and in the thread on the annual competition. He was in the peasant pdd as a coryphee on the 17th and as a sujet on the 25th, and is nothing short of spectacular. Minor unsteadiness in his partnering will be corrected soon, I'm sure. Hopefully he is a future etoile.

Thanks!!!

Azulynn, a million thanks!!! Now I can plan my trip. Just for the future reference: is there any way to get to these pages by following links from the main POB pages such as "calendar" or "season 2006-2007"?