Vikharov Coppelia

[Drew]

I love this production--and was eager for Mr. Drew to see it. I'm kind of sad I will be traveling the day of broadcast (not unhappy about my trip, just the way the dates worked out). I hope the company posts the broadcast on their website for a couple of days as they did with the Ratmansky Romeo and Juliet.  

[mnacenani]

11 minutes ago, Drew said:

I hope the company posts the broadcast on their website for a couple of days as they did with the Ratmansky Romeo and Juliet.

Dear Drew the video will be available from 1-2 hours after performance ends till early afternoon the next day. Only live cinecasts are streamed and posted on website.

[Drew]

23 minutes ago, mnacenani said:

Dear Drew the video will be available from 1-2 hours after performance ends till early afternoon the next day. Only live cinecasts are streamed and posted on website.

Thank you...I wish they would keep it up a little longer on the website, but for some mysterious reason the Bolshoi does not organize itself according to my personal scheduling needs .

The main thing is -- this is a wonderful production!

[sandik]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

Thank you...I wish they would keep it up a little longer on the website, but for some mysterious reason the Bolshoi does not organize itself according to my personal scheduling needs .

I've noticed this as well, in my own community.  If they would only ask me first...

[mnacenani]

8 hours ago, Drew said:

The main thing is -- this is a wonderful production!

Re Bolshoy Vikharev Coppelia : I am a bit confused after reading the production history on the website : https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/3333/details/

What I knew was that the Vikharev recons was first staged at Bolshoy in 2009 and was not revived until this season. But there is a reference to another staging in Novosibirsk in 2001 .... these dates don't tally. Can anyone put this right ??

[Drew]

8 minutes ago, mnacenani said:

Re Bolshoy Vikharev Coppelia : I am a bit confused after reading the production history on the website : https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/3333/details/

What I knew was that the Vikharev recons was first staged at Bolshoy in 2009 and was not revived until this season. But there is a reference to another staging in Novosibirsk in 2001 .... these dates don't tally. Can anyone put this right ??

From Kuznetsova's obituary for Vikharev as translated by Ismene Brown-- Gnossie may know more:

"The years of [Vikharev's] leadership (1999-2005) were the Novosibirsk Ballet’s golden age: the company danced as they never had before, balletomanes from all Russia travelled to see Vikharev’s productions there. The Novosibirsk reconstruction of the old Coppélia was acknowledged as the new standard, winning a Golden Mask. The Bolshoi Theatre requested a copy of the production from Vikharev, and, receiving it from the hand of the balletmaster himself, was transformed - the Bolshoi company danced with elegance, grace, subtlety and accuracy."

http://ismeneb.com/blogs-list/170608-magician-vikharev-is-gone.html

[mnacenani]

56 minutes ago, Drew said:

"The years of [Vikharev's] leadership (1999-2005) were the Novosibirsk Ballet’s golden age:

This settles it - thank you. I had read Ismene's blog at the time but Vikharev's stint at Novosibirsk evidently did not register. So the Coppelia reconstruction was not premiered at the Bolshoy.

Edited April 7, 2018 by mnacenani

[CharlieH]

I’ve seen both stagings of Coppelia by Vikharev. The Novosibirsk version contains all of the steps but very simple designs, not at all like the Tsarist-era magnificence of the Bolshoi version. It’s the same reason why, for some of us, Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty, with ABT’s cheap-looking costumes, can’t hold a candle to the Mariinsky-Vikharev experience, with the full 1890 Tsarist-era designs, even if the Ratmansky steps (demipointe, low passes, etc.) may be more correct to the era. 

[sandik]

7 hours ago, CharlieH said:

I’ve seen both stagings of Coppelia by Vikharev. The Novosibirsk version contains all of the steps but very simple designs, not at all like the Tsarist-era magnificence of the Bolshoi version. It’s the same reason why, for some of us, Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty, with ABT’s cheap-looking costumes, can’t hold a candle to the Mariinsky-Vikharev experience, with the full 1890 Tsarist-era designs, even if the Ratmansky steps (demipointe, low passes, etc.) may be more correct to the era. 

Several of my friends are having a long-term conversation about authenticity (mostly having to do with a Greek cup that may or may not be able to be dated), and this is one of the points of view they've been discussing -- how something makes you feel rather than what you are able to prove about it.  Your preference for the Vikharev production, possibly as an evocation of the original audience experience rather than an accurate reconstruction of the actual choreography, is very interesting in this light.

[mnacenani]

9 hours ago, Gnossie said:

It is the very same production just that the Bolshoi is the "complete" reconstruction because it also has the original sets and costumes

Thank you very much - good for me to know the production history.

[mnacenani]

On 4/7/2018 at 11:22 PM, Gnossie said:

The reconstruction of the Tsarist Coppelia premiered in Novosibirsk in 2001, everything was reconstructed except the Tsarist costumes and sets (which are maaaaany and very expensive) when the Reconstruction was performed at the Bolshoi, it included the Tsarist sets and costumes because the Bolshoi -just of course- could afford them. It is the very same production just that the Bolshoi is the "complete" reconstruction because it also has the original sets and costumes

Am having some problems with ... err ... my account so wanted to transfer my Bolshoy Vikharev Coppelia report here since a discussion had already started under this thread.  I saw the first three casts of "Koppeliya" on 20-21 March : saw Krysanova-Lapatin (repl. Chudin) on Fri eve and Hahlova-Belyakov and Stashkevich-Lapatin on Sat mat and eve respectively. Returned to my hotel rather late Friday with the intention of posting "AMAZING KATYA ..... once again !" but dozed off without being able to ..... maybe an act of God preventing me from having to backtrack later. Katya was amazing for sure - what an ARTIST she is : came to see her Juliet with questions in my mind re whether she was too old to look the part and whether she could become Juliet and she amazed me with her performance. Again I flew in on Friday with exactly the same issues in mind and lo and behold : Katya is Coppelia too ! She has become the character in every role I have seen her in so far, excellent actress-cum-dancer at highest level. Please don't write back saying her PdB is not this and that, and she has hard hands etc - don't care one bit. For me ballet is danced drama and I care about the total effect, characterisation first and foremost.

Come Saturday matinee comes a bigger amazement : sweet cute Dasha Hahlova who I have seen in secondary roles and galas so far writes herself into the cast sheet for the June 10th live cinecast !! Wish someone else from our forum was also at this performance to corroborate or contest my take. Dasha and her husband Belyakov, in that order, put on an amazing show. No use trying to describe what I have seen, one has to be there as you all know. Saturday evening was danced by Stash and Lapatin. Good enough but I had still not recovered from the shock of the matinee. Could not stay for Shrainer and Soares on Sunday, friends who saw it said Shreiner was sick but performed anyway and made a couple of mistakes here and there.

The storyline of this staging is no different from what we all know as Coppelia - to make sure I watched the RB (de Valois-Dowell 2000) and POB (Lacotte-Bessy 2001) stagings from dvd upon my return to base. I had previously seen the Arte telecast of above mentioned POB staging, and also seen it live in Paris in 2006 (MOB-Paquette). The POB staging is two acts while the RB staging in three acts matches the Vikharev reconstruction closely. The Vikharev reconstruction premiered (as discussed above) in Novosibirsk in 2001 and upon winning a Golden Mask was acquired by the Bolshoy where it premiered in 2009 and the current revival is the first since then (recapping for the benefit of any further novichoks besides myself). I know I will draw flak again for saying this but once one has seen this Vikharev/Bolshoy staging there will be no going back for anything else anywhere : the sets, the costumes, the perfection (to my amateur eye) of the CdB, the pas-de-huit by Swanilda's friends in the first act, the full complement of all 24 "hours" on stage in the third act ..... the dancers really "looking their parts" (imho Benjamin-Acosta looks strange after seeing this), the automatons and their dances so rich in detail ....... really no going back, for me at least. Anyway, the June 10th live cinecast is coming up and I really urge any and all members who can see it to go see it ...... curse the novichok if it doesn't turn out to be as I led you to believe. And if Hahlova appears in the cinecast I will give myself a big pat in the back - I know nobody else will !  (mind you - regrettably a great part of the detail will be lost since the cinecast crew will zoom in all the time leaving out of the frame much of the stage. I have come to believe that classic ballet loses much of the detail including critical characterisation detail when seen on tv one way or another). TBC

Edited April 25, 2018 by mnacenani

[mnacenani]

Bolshoy Vikharev Coppelia continued :  of the three Swanildas I saw I chose Hahlova as the best in terms of characterisation (incl "looking the part") with Katya K very close behind. Re execution (as far as I can judge) I thought Hahlova tied with KK or maybe was just a whisker behind. Stashkevich wasn't bad at all but one does get affected when you have seen two great performances to start with.

Frantz :  Chudin was supposed to partner Krysanova but dropped out for some reason and was replaced by Lapatin, who I saw twice as he also danced his casting with Stashkevich. I warmed to Belyakov more as Frantz, thought he had a slight edge both in cha and exe, but this is a very subjective opinion.

Coppelius :  saw Loparevich, Ostrovsky and Yanin in that order. All were excellent, but for this role I thought Yuriy Ostrovsky who I didn't know at all had the edge (I was so mesmerised by Hahlova as Coppelia that it might have rubbed on Ostrovsky too). Now Loparevich I have seen multiple times as the Rajah in Bayaderka .... and as the Pasha in Korsar ..... hard to believe it's the same person doing Coppelius, have to pinch yourself. And Yanin ..... that incomparable Lankedem in Korsar (Corsaire) ...... can it be him doing this portrayal of Coppelius ???  My wife (who takes a dim view of my love of Russian classical ballet) says "don't blow it up - they are character actors after all aren't they ??  Yes sure but they are ACTORS in capitals !!

Now the music :  do excuse me but this wins hands down compared with Sylvia .... again my vulgar tastes could be in effect. NOBODY can make me believe Chaikovskiy said he would not have composed SL if he had heard Sylvia first ...... if he did say it he must have been drunk or deeply depressed at the time. This composition imho is wonderful, instantly memorable lovable tunes, melody, harmony, even the tuba bass line ..... I love it. I am certain the music only must have been issued many times on CD. I don't have a bad ear, studied piano for years in my teens and after, but all I can call up from Slyvia at this moment is the "Pizzicato".

Edited April 25, 2018 by mnacenani

[mnacenani]

So my one-liner for Koppeliya (Coppelia) is :  "Habemus Koppeliyam ...... Dariya Hahlova" or in Russki : "У нас есть адна Коппелия ...... Даша Хохлова" 

PS :  am going to scan and post the cast sheets tomorrow just in case any members might be interested

Edited April 25, 2018 by mnacenani

[volcanohunter]

1 hour ago, mnacenani said:

or in Russki : "У нас есть адна Коппелия

"...одна Коппелия". "Адна" is Belarusian. Just sayin'.

[Guest]

Oy vey, this spelling!  Halvah? Isn't that a type of candy? I can't even.....

[mnacenani]

5 hours ago, Quinten said:

Oy vey, this spelling!  Halvah? Isn't that a type of candy? I can't even.....

Yes indeed ..... Hahlova was really as sweet as halvah ..... С фисташками !