The Carmen ballet

[silvy]

Hi

I have watched 2 videos of the above: one is danced by Plitseskaya and another by Alicia Alonso. As I understand that the ballet was created for Plitseskaka, I am surprised to see many choreographic changes between the versions and just wonder if anyone knows why the choreographer (Alberto Alonso) changed so many things when staging the later version for Alicia Alonso?

Alicia Alonso's version is much more "Spanish" than Maya's.

I also would like to know if this ballet is performed in the USA, or if it is only limited to the Bolshoi and the National Ballet of Cuba

Thanks so much

silvy

[Mashinka]

In addition to the Bolshoi it's danced by at least two other Russian companies: The Imperial Russian Ballet and the Moscow City Ballet. There is a video available of Nadezhda Pavlova dancing Carmen with Moscow City Co.

[stinger784]

I am a dancer with Ballet Internationale Indianapolis, and we are the only US company to perform yet another version by Alberto Alonso. We are continuously performing it throughout the US, so if you wanna see another version by Alsono, go to my website, www.ianpoulis.com and check out the schedule section to see where we are performing it next. I believe our version was set on our director Eldar Aliev as Jose'.

[zerbinetta]

This is the version making much use of chairs & the bull gets to dance, yes?

I saw it at the Met years ago. Whether it was Ballet Nacional de Cuba or one of Alonso's guest appearances with ABT, I don't remember but I do remember Martine van Hamel as The Bull.

It was somewhat more interesting than the Petit version & at least Jose & Escamillo were 2 distinct characters as opposed to Petit's having a single male dancer doing a solo as Escamillo & then morphing into Jose for the pas de deux.

[stinger784]

Yes in Ballet Interntaionale's Alsonso's version, chairs and stools are used a lot. In the tavern scene, 8 mafia men sit on stools along with two tavern girls dancing as the men clap out a rhythm. At the beginning and end of the ballet 4 girls and 8 men sit atop the bull ring and watch the story unfold below. It is quite intimidating. In the fortune telling scene, four chairs are used as Escamilio, Jose, Zuniga, Carmen and Fate (aka The Bull) dance.

The Bull does dance like I said in the Fortune Telling Scene and then again at the end of the ballet before Carmen dies as a Bull with Escamillio. A pas de quatre then happens with Bull, Jose, Escamillio and Carmen.

Hope this answers your question and you can see us in Brooklyn at the the Whitman theatre perform this ballet on April 3rd. check out www.brooklyncenter.com for more info!!!

www.IanPoulis.com

[zerbinetta]

You might consider listing this in the "Announcements" section.

It's the second topic on the Home Page.

[carbro]

I saw it at the Met years ago. Whether it was Ballet Nacional de Cuba or one of Alonso's guest appearances with ABT, I don't remember but I do remember Martine van Hamel as The Bull.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It was the latter, zerbinetta. I remember the ABT corps women singing the chorus, "L'amour . . . . . l'amour . . . l'amour . . . l'amour"

[zerbinetta]

Ah, yes, I do recall that now. You do remember all the good stuff, carbro! :-D

She also had her partners from BNdeC. Esquivel was the Jose & Jhones the Escamillo, if memory serves.

I do have the program somewhere ...

[silvy]

thanks for all the replies

could someone (Carbro?) how was Alonso like as Carmen at that performance at the Met?

Just curiosity

Silvy

[zerbinetta]

Alonso must have been in her sixties by then & she was wonderful. A bit rigid in the torso but her pointe work was still accurate & solid.

She still had plenty of fire.

I was (am) enamoured of the woman even though I never saw her live in her prime.

[carbro]

I assume there was only one filmed record of Alonso in Carmen. Although she was much younger there than in the Met performance/s, it gives a good overall impression of her interpretation of the role. Zerbinetta's description, "plenty of fire," sums it up very well.