Nureyev Production and News

[pherank]

1 hour ago, Laurent said:

The Swimmer was filmed. In many companies every production is filmed, often with multiple casts. Such recordings are not released though, on the other hand the (well connected) professionals have access to them. Otherwise, your observation is spot on. The first time you see it, the Swimmer makes an impression if one is not familiar with this kind of multi-media stage productions. It is not a ballet in the proper sense, it isn't dance theater in the way we know it either. The novelty wears out, however, rather quickly on repeated viewings, especially if the dancers themselves lose their initial enthusiasm, therefore I don't expect great longevity for such works.

Yes of course there is the video capture done to archive the piece for the performing company, but I can't think of one that has really seen the light of day (so that means little to the public).

Here's the NYT review:

‘Nureyev’ Opens at Bolshoi After Delay and Much Speculation
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/arts/dance/nureyev-bolshoi-ballet.html

I have a feeling Swimmer may reappear for the 2019 SF Ballet season, so I'll definitely be thinking about whether it still holds up. But I wonder if Tomasson will be interested in having SFB perform Nureyev - the San Francisco audience will likely be interested in the ballet's themes.

[Laurent]

How many recordings of, to stay with San Francisco Ballet, did see "the light of the day", how many of any other similarly sized company? How many recordings did the Paris Opéra release in 20 years? Looking at those recordings one could think the company had for nearly 20 years just one (and a half) female principal (the "half" is for Letestu). Laetitia Pujol appearing on the Giselle DVD was a replacement for injured Aurélie Dupont.

You wrote: "I hope Noureev is being filmed for posterity, as Swimmer was not." I responded to this by saying that Swimmer was filmed. For "posterity" and for the use by authorized individuals now. The technical recordings are not necessarily "video captures", not infrequently they are better than the recordings done by people having not a clue how to record dance. Lots of great performances available on Blue-ray and DVD were ruined by those people. Nureev has been filmed too, large portions of the recordings of two general rehearsals were made available to a select body of press critics already in July. Judging from the lack of enthusiasm of the NYT critic who saw the premiere previous night and, I am sure, wanted to be able to heap lots of praise on the work, the prospects of Nureev being a masterpiece don't seem to be very high.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Laurent
added the word "critic"

[Drew]

22 hours ago, Laurent said:

. Judging from the lack of enthusiasm of the NYT critic who saw the premiere previous night and, I am sure, wanted to be able to heap lots of praise on the work, the prospects of Nureev being a masterpiece don't seem to be very high.

The Times review  was mixed, but still made it sound like a work I would find interesting even if not entirely successful. Certainly it's unlikely to be worse than some other full length works in the Bolshoi repertory . Of course, some of the latter have historical importance to the Bolshoi which I respect...perhaps Nureyev will as well. Or perhaps it will prove as great to a wider audience as Fleurdelis found it. Or none of the above. Too soon to tell. In any event the repertory of the company is full of works whose value comes largely from the opportunities they give for the dancers to cut lose with dramatic intensity. That's kind of a Bolshoi signature.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Drew

[silvermash]

13 hours ago, Laurent said:

Laetitia Pujol appearing on the Giselle DVD was a replacement for injured Aurélie Dupont.

 

I don't think so. It was decided from the beginning Laetitia would be filmed with Nicolas Le Riche. 

[pherank]

13 hours ago, Laurent said:

How many recordings of, to stay with San Francisco Ballet, did see "the light of the day", how many of any other similarly sized company? How many recordings did the Paris Opéra release in 20 years? Looking at those recordings one could think the company had for nearly 20 years just one (and a half) female principal (the "half" is for Letestu). Laetitia Pujol appearing on the Giselle DVD was a replacement for injured Aurélie Dupont.

You wrote: "I hope Noureev is being filmed for posterity, as Swimmer was not." I responded to this by saying that Swimmer was filmed. For "posterity" and for the use by authorized individuals now. The technical recordings are not necessarily "video captures", not infrequently they are better than the recordings done by people having not a clue how to record dance. Lots of great performances available on Blue-ray and DVD were ruined by those people. Nureev has been filmed too, large portions of the recordings of two general rehearsals were made available to a select body of press critics already in July. Judging from the lack of enthusiasm of the NYT critic who saw the premiere previous night and, I am sure, wanted to be able to heap lots of praise on the work, the prospects of Nureev being a masterpiece don't seem to be very high.

Sorry I was being unclear - I did mean recording the performance for public consumption. A recording that is never seen by the public is of little interest to the public, that's a given.

The views of NYT writer Roslyn Sulcas are her own. As Fleurdelis made clear though, there are going to be people who experience something quite different, or disagree with what went right or wrong. But that's why we have this forum.  ;)

[Helene]

1 hour ago, Quinten said:

Moderator, if this is not the right place for this comment I apologize. Please move it to the right place if you wouldn't mind. Thank you.

 

Other forums aren't official news and should not be linked or discussed.   Other forums are either widely known or searchable, and we assume members are reading a lot more info from a lot more sources than what they see here.

[Helene]

That's the acknowledged downside of our policy.  Unfortunately, we've learned from experience that a lot of unofficial news gets discussed here if they (and things like YouTube comments) are in the mix.

[MadameP]

Gnossie - I was interested to read your opinion, and this is just MY opinion, but honestly, I saw A Hero of our Time and HATED it - Demutsky, Possokhov and Serebrennikov to me spells triple disaster rubbish, horrible music and worse choreography  - so I have no desire whatsoever to see this triple horror's attempt at Nureyev and am not at all surprised by your review.  When I think of what could be occupying the space on the playbill, those two seem to me to be an utter waste of space.  Ditch them now.   I can't wait to see Coppelia again - at least that deserves its playbill space. 

[pherank]

2 hours ago, MadameP said:

Gnossie - I was interested to read your opinion, and this is just MY opinion, but honestly, I saw A Hero of our Time and HATED it - Demutsky, Possokhov and Serebrennikov to me spells triple disaster rubbish, horrible music and worse choreography  - so I have no desire whatsoever to see this triple horror's attempt at Nureyev and am not at all surprised by your review.  When I think of what could be occupying the space on the playbill, those two seem to me to be an utter waste of space.  Ditch them now.   I can't wait to see Coppelia again - at least that deserves its playbill space. 

Sorry, this just sounds like the old romantic art VS modern art argument - as if there couldn't be room for all manner of artistic and aesthetic investigations. For me, there would be nothing truly inspiring or life affirming about a repertoire that consisted solely of romantic-era ballet: most everything being a reference to the Petipa versions (and who else to allow?). That would leave ballet a museum dedicated to a very narrow range of artists and themes/approaches. The success or failure of the Nureyev project is entirely beside the point to me - given that the majority of new ballets are only seen for one or two seasons - it's about moving forward and endlessly trying new things. Not being afraid to take risks is an essential part of art creation.

[Quiggin]

Possokhov's work in San Francisco I'm afraid isn't anywhere close to avant garde modern art, it's warmed up 1950's this and that (Cheever, Nabokov, Salinger, Margritte).

Meanwhile in the past 40 years we've had J-L Godard, Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, Tadeusz Kantor's Krakow Theater , Richard Foreman's Onotological-Hysterical Theater really tearing up the rules book and trying to get at something new. No word of this here.

[pherank]

21 minutes ago, Quiggin said:

Possokhov's work in San Francisco I'm afraid isn't anywhere close to avant garde modern art, it's warmed up 1950's this and that (Cheever, Nabokov, Salinger, Margritte).

Meanwhile in the past 40 years we've had J-L Godard, Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, Tadeusz Kantor's Krakow Theater , Richard Foreman's Onotological-Hysterical Theater really tearing up the rules book and trying to get at something new. No word of this here.

Not that it matters, but "modern art" has become a rather large catch-all category. Isn't it beside the point to say Possokhov's work is not avant-garde (enough)? Is that what makes the ballet "a waste of space" as MadameP has stated? I don't think that was what she was thinking. And my issue is that it shouldn't matter that the ballet isn't attempting to follow the same approach, for example, as Coppelia.

Edited December 13, 2017 by pherank

[naomikage]

POB's Raymonda has not been released as a disk (although it could be viewed on Amazon Prime Video) and L'Arlésienne is not either (only TV broadcast) 

[Laurent]

La Sylphide     Dupont
Don Quichotte   Dupont
La belle au bois dormant        Dupont
Joyaux          Dupont
Sylvia          Dupont
Manon           Dupont
....            Dupont

Opéra national de Paris issued more DVD than other companies, still not enough, and not the ones that should have been filmed or issued. Of all the recordings made of La Sylphide, only the one is available, the least satisfactory at that, if one had a chance to watch Thesmar, Pontois, Maurin or, recently, Pagliero.

[silvermash]

On 13/12/2017 at 3:22 AM, Laurent said:

La Sylphide     Dupont
Don Quichotte   Dupont
La belle au bois dormant        Dupont
Joyaux          Dupont
Sylvia          Dupont
Manon           Dupont
....            Dupont

Opéra national de Paris issued more DVD than other companies, still not enough, and not the ones that should have been filmed or issued. Of all the recordings made of La Sylphide, only the one is available, the least satisfactory at that, if one had a chance to watch Thesmar, Pontois, Maurin or, recently, Pagliero.

It's a bit of topic, sorry but it's a bit more contrasted that what you wrote Laurent. I think that Dupont and Letestu arrived at their top in an era where recording and publishing videos became popular. They were both very technical ballerinas.  Also, Dupont was dancing with Legris, it may explain the choice at the time for Nureyev's ballets. So I screened all my VHS, DVD and TV recordings (perhaps I missed a couple) and made the following list. It appears that  Marie-Agnès Gillot is the winner, although maybe not in classical roles, maybe not always in title roles, but still... Abbagnato and Osto fare quite well too...

DVD
Abbagnato: Ivan the Terrible (2003), Proust (2007), Le songe de Médée (Créüse, 2004)
Dupont: Sleeping Beauty (2000), Don Quixote (2002), Sylphide (2004), Sylvia (2005), Jewels Rubis (2006), Siddharta (2009), Manon (2016)
Gilbert : The Concert (2008), lady of the Camellias (Constance, 2008), La petite danseuse de Degas (2010), Coppelia (2011)
Gillot:  Clavigo (the stranger, 1999), Don Quixote (Street dancer, 2002), Appartement (2002), Signes (2004), Le songe de Médée (2004), Young man and the death (2005), Sylvia (Diane, 2005), Giselle (Myrtha, 2006), Jewels Rubis (the tall girl, 2006)), Orpheus and Eurydike (2008), Triade (2008), En Sol (2008)  
Guérin: Bayadère (1994), Le Parc (1999), Arlésienne (1997), The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1996)
Guillem: Cinderella (1987)
Legrée: The Three cornered hat (1993)
Letestu: Jewels Diamants (2000), Swan Lake (2006), Paquita (2005), Cinderella (2007, Lady of the Camellias(2008)
Loudières: Romeo and Juliet (1995), ,
Maurin : The Blue Train (1993), La petite danseuse de Degas (the mother, 2010)
Moussin: Don Quixote (Queen of Dryads, 2002), Lady of the Camellias (Manon, 2008), In the night (2008)
Osta: Clavigo (1999), Appartement (2002), Don Quixote (Cupid, 2002), Carmen (2005), Jewels (Emeralds, 2006), La Petite danseuse de Degas (2010) 
Pietragalla: Swan Lake (1992)
Platel: Bayadère(Gamzatti, 1994))
Pujol: Giselle (2006), Jewels (Emeralds, 2006), Cinderella (sister, 2007), Triade (2008)
Renavand: Siddharta (Yasodhara, 2009), Manon (Lescaut’s mistress, 2016) 

TV/cinema Broadcasts
Abbagnato: Wuthering Heights (Isabelle, 2002)), Arlésienne (2005), Caligula (Caesonia, 2011), Sleeping Beauty (2013), Third symphony of Gustav Mahler (2013), Daphnis & Chloé (Lyceion, 2016), A Midsummer night's dream (2017), 
Albisson : Palais de Cristal (2014), Dances at a gathering (2014), Swan Lake (2016)
Ciaravola: Spectre de la rose (2009), Children of the paradise (2011), La Source (Nourreda, 2012), Rendez-vous (2013), Third symphony of Gustav Mahler (2014), 
Cozette : Après midi d’un faune (2009), Un jour ou deux (2012)
Dupont : O Zlozny/O Composite (2010), Bayadère (2012) , Roméo & Juliette Sasha Waltz (2012), Dances at a gathering (2014), Daphnis & Chloé (2016) 
Gilbert: Don Quichotte (2012), Etudes (2014)
Gillot: Raymonda (2008), Three cornered hat (2009), Wuthering Heights (2002), Verklärte Nacht (2017) 
Letestu: La symphonie fantastique (La fille aux fleurs, 1997)Prodigal son (2003)
Osta: Petrouchka (2009), Caligula (2011)
Ould Braham: Nutcracker (2008?), Sleeping Beauty (2013) 
Pagliero : La Source (2011), Bayadère (Gamzatti, 2012) Palais de Cristal (2014), Dances at a gathering (2014) 
Pujol: Psyche (2014)  
Renavand: Grosse Fuge (2016), Iolanta/Nutcracker (the mother) (2016)

 

Edited December 14, 2017 by silvermash
Sorrry, Lady of the camellias slipped under Loudières but it was of course Letestu

[Helene]

Wow, that's some list @silvermash.  I'm starting feel sorry for myself and the collective North American ballet community that, since the Balanchine "Dance in America Series" -- four programs? -- so little has trickled down to us on TV or DVD.

[pherank]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

Wow, that's some list @silvermash.  I'm starting feel sorry for myself and the collective North American ballet community that, since the Balanchine "Dance in America Series" -- four programs? -- so little has trickled down to us on TV or DVD.

The combined output of the state-sponsored companies like the POB, Mariinsky, Bolshoi and Royal Ballet towers over the slow trickle of media produced in North America. That's why it's so exciting for us to see 10 minute videos of "behind the scenes" footage or new ballet rehearsals. Kind of pathetic, but that's where we are.

[mnacenani]

Bolshoy's repertory info for "Nureyev" :

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/1025/

[volcanohunter]

Kirill Serebrennikov's house arrest has been extended into April.

“If this were a persecution, not a prosecution, his performance wouldn’t have been staged at the Bolshoi.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/theater/russian-theater-directors-house-arrest-is-extended.html

[Drew]

Well, that's depressing.

[pherank]

On 1/16/2018 at 1:11 PM, volcanohunter said:

Kirill Serebrennikov's house arrest has been extended into April.

“If this were a persecution, not a prosecution, his performance wouldn’t have been staged at the Bolshoi.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/theater/russian-theater-directors-house-arrest-is-extended.html

I wonder if this would be the persecution type of thing:

Moscow Raid on Movie Theater Closes ‘The Death of Stalin’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/27/movies/moscow-raid-on-movie-theater-closes-the-death-of-stalin.html

Perhaps the quirkiest claim against the film came from Stalin’s great-grandson, Jacob Jugashvili, who wrote on Facebook that the creators of “The Death of Stalin” are unlikely to “make a comedy called ‘TheDeath of Kim Il Sung,’” because North Korea, unlike Russia, is a strong country that will not stand for it.

Strong = totalitarian regime (presumably)

[pherank]

Nureyev did well at the 2018 Benois de la Danse awards in Moscow:

Russia's troubled Nureyev production sweeps board at ballet awards
https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-bolshoi-nureyev/russias-troubled-nureyev-production-sweeps-board-at-ballet-awards-idUSL5N1T75TF

"Among the award winners in the Prix Benois ceremony was the ballet’s original choreographer Kirill Serebrennikov, who is awaiting trial on what his supporters say are charges trumped up to punish him for challenging the Russian establishment."
Serebrennikov is not actually the choreographer (that's Possokhov) but rather, the director. But whatever.

Edited June 6, 2018 by pherank

[volcanohunter]

Kirill Serebrennikov turned 49 today. He's been under house arrest for more than a year.

[pherank]

1 hour ago, volcanohunter said:

Kirill Serebrennikov turned 49 today. He's been under house arrest for more than a year.

Happy birthday?
I wonder how many "house arrests" are currently being maintained in Russia? I presume it is considered to be a less expensive form of incarceration.

[Mashinka]

11 hours ago, pherank said:

Happy birthday?
I wonder how many "house arrests" are currently being maintained in Russia? I presume it is considered to be a less expensive form of incarceration.

They change the name of the country but nothing else changes.  Remember the Panovs?

Edited September 8, 2018 by Mashinka
typo

[Helene]

24 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

Remember the Panovs?

That was my first thought.  And the Panovs tried to train by themselves in their low-ceilinged apartment while under house arrest, which Valeri Panov described in his memoir.