CharlieH Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 9 hours ago, NAOTMAA said: I hope I'm wrong but I have a sad feeling in my gut that tells me no Gergiev conducting equals no filming The casting of the Tereshkina/Shklyarov performance, with Kondaurova as Lilac and Kolb as Carabosse, on the 8th, seems to have been made with filming in mind so who knows. When do people usually find out if a performance is being filmed or not? I feel like with a week to go we would have already found out. They performed it this ballet 10 years and then dropped it without ever releasing a DVD/Blu-ray (other popular ballets still performed have one!). Now with it being revived for the bicentennial (and likely to be dropped again once its over) this will be the very last chance of capturing the whole ballet on celluloid. I really hope they don't throw the chance away otherwise I'd assume their personal hatred for it clouds their judgement. But as I'm sure you know in the "Sacred Stage" documentary they have parts of the Prologue and Rose Adagio (with Zhanna Ayupova) professionally filmed. They also have the whole vision scene (with Zhanna and Anton Korsakov) as a DVD bonus. I've always wondered if that whole performance was actually filmed, for the documentary producers to pick and choose clips with permission, and its now lying somewhere in the Mariinsky vaults gathering dust. You’re absolutely correct, NAOTMAA...and I love your name & understand it. (Wink) The one hope — and apologies for sounding a bit crass — is that, now, the majority of coaches (ex-stars) of the Soviet ballet, who were so inflamed by Vikharev’s reconstruction, have either retired or passed away. Fewer angry voices may mean a chance that the new-old Sleeping Beauty may be filmed professionally for posterity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 3 hours ago, CharlieH said: You’re absolutely correct, NAOTMAA...and I love your name & understand it. (Wink) The one hope — and apologies for sounding a bit crass — is that, now, the majority of coaches (ex-stars) of the Soviet ballet, who were so inflamed by Vikharev’s reconstruction, have either retired or passed away. Fewer angry voices may mean a chance that the new-old Sleeping Beauty may be filmed professionally for posterity? Unfortunately as Tim Scholl said as long as Gregiev is sill in change with yes men, like Yuri Fateyev, around things will only continue to decline. Their the ones who let all the "older generation haters" have their way. And the ones who stop any chance of progress. He told me he has more faith in the people at the Bolshoi. They're more liberal and open minded (as much as one can be in Russia) then those in charge at the Mariinsky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 (edited) It’s amazingly refreshing that one very powerful voice in St Petersburg belongs to someone who champions the Imperial past and Petipa: Nikolai Tsiskaridze, rector of the АРБ. What a tough, willful character he has turned out to be! And he isn’t afraid to open his mouth and take political stands. Have you seen his latest TV spot in favor of Putin for the upcoming presidential elections? My wife & I were laughing our heads off, not out of disrespect but...Since when has a ballet dancer been so vocal on TV in politics? I’ll see if the ad is on YouTube and, if so, post it here. It didn’t take long to find it: The Academy is not the same as the Mariinsky Theater but, still, the momentum is with a return to honoring the past, no matter how hard the old pro-Soviet biddies kick and scream. Edited March 2, 2018 by CharlieH added NT political clip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 (edited) I'm very much looking forward to the Vaganova Petipa tribute gala in June. I'm sure Tsiskaridze and crew won't disappoint. But I hope it makes it's way on YouTube as I won't be able to access the channel it's airing on here As for the Vaganova school, it's wonderful their embracing the imperial past when the Mariinsky won't. Rejecting the imperial past is like rejecting Petipa. Which is sad because the Mariinsky and Petipa (who symbolizes everything that is imperial in ballet) are suppose to be bonded and forever linked. But it will be okay as long as somewhere in Russia their upholding the grand traditions that made it the worlds ballet capital. The Bolshoi is definitely benefiting from it. Edited March 2, 2018 by NAOTMAA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, CharlieH said: It’s amazingly refreshing that one very powerful voice in St Petersburg belongs to someone who champions the Imperial past and Petipa: Nikolai Tsiskaridze, rector of the АРБ. What a tough, willful character he has turned out to be! And he isn’t afraid to open his mouth and take political stands. Have you seen his latest TV spot in favor of Putin for the upcoming presidential elections? My wife & I were laughing our heads off, not out of disrespect but...Since when has a ballet dancer been so vocal on TV in politics? I’ll see if the ad is on YouTube and, if so, post it here. It didn’t take long to find it: The Academy is not the same as the Mariinsky Theater but, still, the momentum is with a return to honoring the past, no matter how hard the old pro-Soviet biddies kick and scream. Svetlana Zahkharov was a Duma deputy for a term (2008-2012). I don't hold it against Russian artists that they support Putin, but I confess it doesn't make me laugh either. I kind of doubt Serebrennikov is laughing much about fellow artists, including fellow film-makers, supporting this regime. (I'm rather a Russophile and sometimes dream of going to live in St. Petersburg for a time. But if the Imperial Past of Russia takes in a world of qualities that were wonderful, others were....not so wonderful. One doesn't have to be pro-Soviet to think so.) Edited March 3, 2018 by Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mashinka Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 As it happens, the most virulently anti-Putin Russian person I know is also a dancer. I am trying to be charitable here but perhaps Tsiskaridze is supporting the status quo because there is currently no viable opposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I watched this morning’s rally on Russian TV. Valeri Gergiev delivered an impassioned pro-Putin speech. Putin made his grand entrance into Luzhniki Stadium surrounded by the gold-medal winning hockey team and the female figure skaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamer Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 22 hours ago, CharlieH said: ...Since when has a ballet dancer been so vocal on TV in politics? Baryshnikov made his anti-Trump position clear and endorsed Clinton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 14 minutes ago, Dreamer said: Baryshnikov made his anti-Trump position clear and endorsed Clinton. He made a powerful endorsement video for YouTube: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 (edited) Ugh, I detest mixing these politics with art and sport. But I suppose they are unavoidable in Russia when so much funding is from the state. Edited March 3, 2018 by Jayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamer Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I have mixed feelings about the instances when politics gets brought into the art. On the one hand, I support anyone’s right to express their political views. On the other hand, I loathe when protesters disrupts performances. Especially when they chose the wrong target (one example springs to my mind is when Poosy Riot’s supporters mistook Temirkanov for Gergiev). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Moscow’s Stanislavsky Ballet holds its own Petipa-200th B’day gala on April 24: https://stanmus.ru/event/441139 ...includes last act of Paquita, the Jardin Anime of Corsaire, and John Neumeier’s version of The Seasons (Glazunov). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) The Vaganova Academy’s web has made available the catalogue and detailed program of its 3-day Petipa Symposium (March 10-12, 2018). Scroll to the bottom and click on the cover of the brochure. Includes synopses of all presentations (Russian and French), photos and short bios of all presenters, etc. http://vaganovaacademy.ru/nauchnaya/seminari/hommage-a-petipa-iv.html Edited March 4, 2018 by CharlieH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 April 2. Alexandrinsky Theater. St Petersburg’s annual Dance Open Festival presents the Ekaterinburg Ballet in Sergei Vikharev’s reconstruction of Petipa's La Fille Mal Gardee http://www.danceopen.com/en/?option=com_content&view=article&id=2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnacenani Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 38 minutes ago, CharlieH said: Moscow’s Stanislavsky Ballet holds its own Petipa-200th B’day gala on April 24: Я знаю - у меня есть билет Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnacenani Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, CharlieH said: St Petersburg’s annual Dance Open Festival presents the Ekaterinburg Ballet in Sergei Vikharev’s reconstruction of Petipa's La Fille Mal Gardee Saw this in March 2016 when it was performed at the Bolshoy as part of the "Zalataya Maska" festival. As usual tix were not sold by Bolshoy but by ZM and I could not get a ticket online, so I referred the matter to the concierge team, asking for a ticket for "FMG". They called ZM and were told there is no FMG being performed ! It later transpired that in Russia FMG is called "Tshetnaya Predostorojnost" ...... a direct translation of "La Precaution Inutile" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rg Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 the English translation long used for the Russian language title of La Fille Mal Gardée is VAIN PRECAUTIONS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpFrog Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 3 hours ago, rg said: the English translation long used for the Russian language title of La Fille Mal Gardée is VAIN PRECAUTIONS. I did not know this. Made me truly "lol". Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnacenani Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 3 hours ago, rg said: the English translation long used for the Russian language title of La Fille Mal Gardée is VAIN PRECAUTIONS again the English translation of "La Precaution Inutile" (original title of work) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Gnossie said: The answer to that is a resounding YES. If you love ballet, if you love Tsarist grandeur, if you love authentic Petipa then you, balletomanes of the world, should NOT miss the opportunity to see this. The lovely Ekaterinburg staff takes better care of their Fille recon than the Mariinsky does with theirs, God knows what will the Soviet old guard do to the Flora and Beauty reconstructions now that Vikharev is no longer with us. 😭 Ugh, why film it only to keep it locked away in the vaults? Especially since audiences have been denied the possibility of seeing it live and many really want to I'd love to have a full performance of Ayupova's Aurora. In the Sacred Stage documentary Rose Adagio clips she was so serene and regal How many reconstructions have been released on a DVD/Blu-ray? The only one I know is the La Scala Raymonda with Novikova. I'm not sure if one would count Pharaoh's Daughter since Lacotte seem to play a bit fast and loose with the choreography but I guess that's another. With so many being performed and redone I would like to think in the next year or two we'll get an overflow of them. I really do wonder what the new/old Beauty will look like on Thursday and Friday considering the fact that apparently nobody who worked with Vikharev on it originally is involved this time around. I also noticed on the cast playbill and dancer biographies that many of the dancers danced their parts in the Sergeyev version. Only a very few of them have ever danced the Vikharev. So is it simply going to look more like the Sergeyev with the Tsarist era costumes and sets or are they going to make an effort and not spit on Vikharev's grave? Also Mr. Scholl said the Mariinsky isn't very good at preservation so I hope the costumes and sets got a good cleaning and refreshing up before they're presented to an audience. I'd hate for all that grandeur to look all sad. All the same could be said for Flora too! Edited March 5, 2018 by NAOTMAA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Flora has quite the Imperial history. It was first performed at the Peterhof palace in honor of Tsar Alexander III's daughter, Grand Duchess Xenia, and her marriage to Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich. It likely was the last ballet performance the Tsar saw before he died. And then it transferred, with the same cast, to the Mariinsky. It was the farewell benefit for Maria Anderson, the original white cat in Sleeping Beauty, who was forced into retirement after a tragic burn accident during Cinderella rehearsals. And of course the first Flora was Mathilde Kschessinska, Nicholas II's famous mistress. It really is a beautiful ballet and its too bad outside of Russia people barely know it. Has the Mariinsky ever performed it on tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) If the reconstructed Beauty was filmed, in full, in the mid-2000s, is there any reason why it was never released as a DVD/Blu-ray or even broadcast on cinema/TV? It seems such a waste to film it and then let it rot on the vault shelves Compare to the Bolshoi the Mariinsky seem pretty poor when it comes to releasing its stuff Edited March 5, 2018 by NAOTMAA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I just find it weird because unless I'm miss reading things, or reading the wrong press completely, it seems these days Putin likes to wink and nod towards the Tsarist past (he seems to think of himself as a Tsar) more then the Soviet one. Wouldn't those who follow the regime line, like Gergiev, follow suite? Wouldn't embracing the reconstructed Beauty be the theater's way of doing that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAOTMAA Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) Yeah I know Gergiev only cares about opera and Fateyev is a "yes man" but I hoped against the odds that Putin going in the Tsarist direction would make them too even if their hearts weren't in it. Mariinsky will NEVER be an opera powerhouse no matter how hard Gergiev tries. The ballet will always be its bread and butter, claim to fame and prestige. It takes some character (not in a good way) to keep ignoring that for over twenty years The sooner he gets overthrown the better because surely at some point that's got to happen. The state of the ballet has declined so much so fast and the opera certainly isn't making up for it. All that history of the glorious theatre just crumbling. It's shockingly dreadful to see all the top Vaganova graduates going anywhere but the Mariinsky Just imagine how amazing all the Petipa tributes would have been had they continued the path of the late 90s/mid 2000s Edited March 5, 2018 by NAOTMAA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieH Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Update on the March 11, Petipa 200 Gala to be telecast throughout the Mezzo channel’s viewing area. The Mariinsky now shows details about the gala offerings. Alas, Flora’s Awakening was removed from the schedule, replaced by A3 of Sleeping Beauty (which was already filmed for a New Year’s DVD a few years ago). We still get the new The Seasons world premiere and A2 of Balanchine’s Dream. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2018/3/11/1_2000 Last that I checked, Mezzo had not yet updated its site to reflect this change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts