rg Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 [photo removed for possible re-posting elsewhere] the attached photocard shows anatole obukhov as gringoire from an undated photo. there seem to have been special presentations of the ballet in 1914, when it was given as a benefit for n. legat and again in 1917, when karsavina took on the title role, and again in 1918 when e.smirnova and o.spesivtseva each danced the lead. tho' obukhov was a pupil of legat's i think this may be from the later date(s) when the boyish looking obukhov was a little more mature as a performer, but i could be off here, he's clearly made up to give his face a more mature and somewhat grave character. (i had a few others cards of this role previous to t his one and it wasn't until i noticed the telltale 'poet's' beret on the table that i decided to see the dancer as gringoire, a role i note as definitely being in obukhov's maryinsky rep.) he joined the maryinsky in 1913 and danced in the repertory through 1919; he became first dancer there in 1917, if i'm reading his entry in a russian ref. book correctly. meanwhile, i assume this link may work to a series of soviet post cards showing a late 1960s production of ESMERALDA, likely based on burmeister's from the 1950s. v.burmeister apparently eliminated the character of gringoire. re: diana & acteon, this vaganova styled divertissement was given in the second act - in the ballroom sc. celebrating the betrothal of phoebus to fleur de lis - of the production shown by new jersey ballet in april, '04. it was given w/ a quartet of 'nymphs.' this staging was set by vitali akhoundov. meanwhile, a friend in japan drew my attention to a production by the japanese ballet academy - sometimes called NBA - for nippon ballet academy? - which was staged after versions by gusev and dolgushin and which does include gringoire. in this staging, diana & acteon also appears in the ballroom/celebration scene, where it is accompanyed by a sextet of nymphs. here follows a link to an 'album' of scanned postcards showing a post-burmeister version. http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p...amp;uid=1471587 Link to comment
rg Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 thanks to helene's intervention the photo i was unable to post has now found its way to its intended spot. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Gee, he used to take that pose in class, too. Minus the hair, of course. Link to comment
Solor Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 Gee, he used to take that pose in class, too. Minus the hair, of course. Great photos RG.......the 60s photos are very....60s! I thought the Diane and Acteon was from "Le Talisman"? Maybe its music was.....? Link to comment
rg Posted March 4, 2006 Author Share Posted March 4, 2006 the only precedent for Diana&Acteon i've come across over the years names TSAR KANDAVL' (or Le Roi Candaules) as the precursor, namely that ballet's pas called Les Amours de Diane - likely the pas de deux a trois featuring Diana, Endymion and a Satyr, balanchine is named on a soviet ballet poster from a concert program in 1923?, with Elsa Vill as Diana, and balanchivadze as the satyr. elsewhere, there are mentions in pavlova literature of her dancing diana in this ballet to notable acclaim. i know of no connection of diana&acteon to TALISMAN . speaking of TSAR KANDAVL' a recent performance of the grand pas classique from PAQUITA in japan, led by vishneva and kolb was said to have included, as kolb's variation, a solo originally from TSAR K. another card of obukhov as gringoire, this time a portrait. no date. [photo removed for possible re-posting elsewhere] Link to comment
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