Coppélia

[volcanohunter]

Oops, I'm running a bit late with this one. On 20 December France 2 evening news included a story on the POB's Coppélia, featuring Nolwenn Daniel, Benjamin Pech and José Martinez. It can be accessed for the next few days under "Les éditions précédentes." Then use the menu on the right to skip down toward the end of the broadcast ("Le ballet Coppélia à l'Opéra de Paris").

http://jt.france2.fr/20h/

[Grissi]

Thank you, volcanohunter, this was very interesting.

Someone who has attended Coppélia could report the performance? I am very interested in Bart's choreography. From the excerpts I have seen in France2, I see that is very different from RB's version, much more ¿'modern'?

[volcanohunter]

I gather that Benjamin Pech has been injured, is unable to complete his run in Giselle and has been replaced by Mathieu Ganio. Which means that at the moment Ganio is scheduled to dance Coppélia on the 29th, Giselle on the 30th and Coppélia again on the 31st, with two more performances on the 2nd and 4th. Is it just me or does this sort of schedule strike anyone else as utter madness?

[Azulynn]

I agree with you, volcanohunter, it's pure nonsense. I guess the company now pays the price for having promoted to étoile dancers who are very prone to injuries, and therefore not very reliable. Benjamin Pech has often been injured (in October, and then now again). Hervé Moreau gets injured just as easily (in December and June last year, which messed up the casting of Swan Lake and Lady of the Camellias - and for Giselle again, forcing Nicolas Le Riche to step up and dance many performances). It puts a lot of strain on the other principals. Matthieu Ganio is still young and has already undergone surgery, if I recollect well - it's worrying to see what he ends up doing this month, while he was supposed to dance but a single Giselle...

[scherzo]

I notice that on the POB website, on the pages about Coppelia and Hommage a Lifar there are links to short video clips. Does this mean that these have been recorded for DVD or are they just archive recordings?

[Azulynn]

These are archive recordings, Scherzo. None of these evenings have been recorded for DVD. Proust ou Les intermittences du coeur (Petit) and Cinderella will be recorded this spring though.

[scherzo]

These are archive recordings, Scherzo. None of these evenings have been recorded for DVD. Proust ou Les intermittences du coeur (Petit) and Cinderella will be recorded this spring though.

Thankyou, I was getting a bit over-excited for a moment. Though good news about the new Cinderella and Petit! I love the POB because they put out so many DVDs. (Off-topic again: what is the Petit like?)

[sophia]

Well, I wouldn't say it seems much attractive... But I may be wrong...

Actually, I can't really imagine Proust staged or choreographed...

This is a 2 acts and 13 scenes ballet inspired by Proust's In search of lost time.

If you can read french, you'll find on the POB website a presentation of the ballet and its 13 scenes:

http://www.operadeparis.fr/Saison0607/Alire.asp?Id=996

Cast: http://www.operadeparis.fr/Saison0607/Spectacle.asp?Id=996

[carbro]

You can see Makarova and Denys Ganio in the pdd on her dvd, "Natasha."

I haven't seen a lot of Petit's choreography, but this strikes me as atypical for its simplicity. The excerpt, at least, must be among his best work.

[sophia]

Thanks, I didn't know that video. But unfortunately I think it's only available in the US.

There's a beautiful pdd entitled "La Prisonnière" often scheduled in galas (danced by Lacarra-Pierre among others). Maybe this is the one you're talking about.

[bart]

Sophia, azulynn, and carbro: thanks for the information on the Proust ballet. As someone who has loved Proust for a long time, and enjoyed Petit for almost as long, the Link to the POB website description is fascinating.

I've started a separate thread on this, hoping to learn more about it and about the future filming.

Petit's Proust Ballet