Romeo & Juliet by Prokofiev - DVD

[dancer'sheart]

I refer to the DVD Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev with dancers Angel Corella and Alessandra Ferri.

I like the performance, the costumes and the stage set.

But the presentation lacks contrast of colors in the costumes and in the stage set. If you consider the range of colors, the colors chosen are from gold to brown and shades thereof. Thus, the dancers do not stand out against the stage set. They are absorbed by the background.

Moreover, there is no variation in the lighting on the dancers and on the stage set.

The whole stage has the same degree of light intensity for the backdrop and for the performers. There is a noticeable absence of spotlighting.

A last point is the distracting and unnecessary movements of those in the background while a dance is being performed. Those not involved in the dance must stand or sit "frozen."

May I have your expert opinion?

[Amy'sMom]

A last point is the distracting and unnecessary movements of those in the background while a dance is being performed. Those not involved in the dance must stand or sit "frozen."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I must disagree with this point. In a story ballet it is customary for those in the background to act naturally. They are often instructed to move about, pretend to talk with others, etc. In saying this though, their movemnts should enhance the overall feel of the main action, not distract from it.

I have the Romeo and Juliet DVD to which you refer, and I have not found the background players to be distracting.

[Helene]

I think the issue may be contrasting requirements of live performance and video. What feels natural when watching something onstage is distracting on video, where the eye is being focused for you and the background is disproportionately important.

Having seen several operas in the past two months where the chorus froze onstage to focus on the principals, my impression was extreme artifice (and unsuccessful at that). (A similar technique during the Carmen/Toreador duet in Act IV of Carmen was the only thing that marred the Corsaro Spanish Civil War production at NYCO for me.) Ironically, in one of the operas, in the scene before, the director made the opposite choice, and elected to have controlled and soft movement for the chorus during the second verse of "Casta Diva" and it was magical.

[bart]

I've seen a number of Bolshoi videos (Raymonda and others) where the upstage setting and action are blacked out and all but disappear during (for instance) a pas de deux. This includes performances before a live audience.

I've always assumed this was done specifically to avoid the videotaping problems that dancer'sheart refers to. It seems like a good solution to me. What do others think of it?

[dancer'sheart]

Thank you very much for your remarks on movements of actors in a story ballet.

I hope there will be comments too on the colors of costumes and of the stage set and on the lighting.

[Helene]

It's possible that the same issues apply to the sets and costumes -- that in a live production with stage lights, the contrasts are vivid, but when taped, they turn into mud. Has anyone seen this production live to be able to comment on what it was like in the theater?