La Scala reconstruction of Raymonda

[Birdsall]

What does everyone think of the La Scala reconstruction of Raymonda? I just watched the entire thing on YouTube and found it interesting to compare with how the Bolshoi and Mariinsky stages this. If this La Scala reconstruction is the definitive "original" production, It seems like the Mariinsky sticks more to the original version than Bolshoi does, although Mariinsky omits the White Lady.

Also, Brienne's variation in the last act seems to be more like the Bolshoi, but I may be mistaken (will have to rewatch all of them again).

It was nice to see the original sets and the story made more sense by following this original. The Bolshoi has Jean de Brienne show up in the first act and then leave which is confusing. The Mariinsky version has Abderakhman show up in the first scene of the first act (earlier than La Scala's reconstruction).

Despite these differences the overall story remains the same and much of the dancing looks to be close to what I remember in the other versions with minor differences.

Novikova seems to be a more down-to-earth Raymonda compared to Ulyana Lopatkina. I absolutely adore Lopatkina in the role. She is so ethereal as Raymonda, which I guess might not be what everyone wants in the role, but I love it that way. Novikova was good, but she seems like a more normal young woman, which probably is a good interpretation since Raymonda is a young woman caught between two men. I liked her, but I thought the final clapping variation needed a little more oomph somehow!

I am thrilled the La Scala version is already available on YouTube. I didn't have to fly to Milan! LOL Would love to know what others thought about this. If you haven't seen it, go watch it on YouTube!