Plisetskaya's Raymonda

[MakarovaFan]

Does anyone know when Plisetskaya stopped dancing the full-length Raymonda? It's a terible shame that a film of her dancing this, one of her signature roles, in its entirety doesn't exist; the excerpts I've seen are stunning.

[Helene]

I don't know if there's an accessible volume that has this. I don't remember if she mentions in her memoir, I, Plisetskaya. It may take one of us some time to see if it is, since the book is neither exactly linear nor indexed. (Just wanted you to know that it might take a little time.)

[Gloria]

Plisetskaya danced the complete Raymonda with the Bolshoi from the 1940's into the early 1960's.

During the 1960's, the two ballerinas that danced it most often in Moscow were Rimma Karelskaya

and Elena Riabinkina.

When the Bolshoi appeared for the last season at the Old Met in 1966, Plisetskaya danced the third act with her great partner, Nikolai Fadeyechev. It was a lesson in dance. She was brilliant. Every time I hear the music, I can only think about her.

Somewhere in the Russian Television archive there could be a complete performance of her in it.

They filmed complete live performances back then of everything.

[leonid17]

Plisetskaya danced the complete Raymonda with the Bolshoi from the 1940's into the early 1960's.

Maya Plisetskaya made her debut in Raymonda in 1945 at the Bolshoi shortly after Semeyonova had taken the leading role in a new staging (7th April 1945) by Leonid Lavrovsky (after Petipa and Gorsky). The short film extract that I have seen of Plisetskaya is taken from the later production by Lavrovsky (17th May 1960) which was premiered by Ryabinkina. I am not sure, but I think this clip was filmed while the Bolshoi were on tour and may be the New York performance you refer to.

I have never heard that the Bolshoi filmed all the productions of the era we are talking about and evidence of this would be welcome for everyone if they remain extant. I think most of the clips we see in compilations were made for cinema and TV as news items such as Londonski Konsert.

In 1963(?) BBC TV(UK) broadcast School for Ballet (Klass Konsert) choreographed by Asaf Messerer but apparently no copy of this exists in their archive.

The only old film of a Bolshoi ballet that is almost complete that I can think of is the (studio verson) of Lavrovsky Romeo Juliet course other complete film records of Bolshoi ballets have been made in the last 30 years.