Petipa Gala

[mnacenani]

Just in from MockBa :  Bolshoy Petipa Gala 31 May & 1 June Program :

 

 

[mnacenani]

I can't believe it - looks too good to be true !!!  1) Diamonds : Kovalyova Tissi  2) Korsar Odalisques PdT : Turazashvili Chapikina Marchenkova   3)  SB Bluebird/Florine : Hahlova/Denisova Belyakov   4) Margot-Rudolf PdD from Nureyev : Kretova Ovcharenko   5) Le Parc PdD : Kondaurova Smikalov   6) Talisman PdD : Stashkevich Lapatin   7) Mirror PdD Onegin Act 1 : Vogel Smirnova   8. Swan Lake Act 2 Adagio :  Lacarra Dino   9)  PdD from Qutb (Cherkaoui) : Osipova Kittelberger  10) Les Rendezvous (Petit) PdD :  Legris Guerin  11)  Don Kixot Grand Pas :  Pagliero Heymann     ....... I caaaaan't believe it !!!  (TBC)

Edited May 15, 2018 by mnacenani

[mnacenani]

Second Part :  1)  Balanchine PdD :  Teryoshkina Shklyarov   2) Spiral Twist (Maliphant) : Lacarra Dino  3)  PdD from After the Rain (Wheeldon) :  FERRI Gomes   4) Diana & Acteon :  Krysanova Tsvirko   5)  PdD from SB : Novikova Sarafanov   6)  Grand Pas Classique :  Marchand Park    7)  Farewell Waltz :  Legris Guerin   8/  PdD From Manon (June 1 only) :  Osipova Shklyarov   9) Tristan & Isolde PdD :  Zaharova Labukhin   10) Raymonda Grand Pas :  Smirnova Chudin + CdB

I can't believe it ...... after the pseudo-gala at Mariinsky in February ...... Mariinsky eat your heart out !!

Edited May 15, 2018 by mnacenani

[Drew]

Well it sounds like a fun gala, but the lack of interest in organizing it around Petipa in a more concerted way does rather strike me. It would be a bore to just have chestnut pas de deux—DonQ, Black Swan, Corsair (and more ‘after Petipa’ than Petipa)—but surely a gala could be organized in a way that truly put Petipa and his heritage more at the center—including some rarities or corps set pieces and/or character dances. 

Macmillan? Cherkaoui? Wheeldon? Preljocaj? Cranko? Perhaps the idea is that Petipa is the motherload, but I am dubious. Again, fun gala, and I hope everyone who attends has a great time. I sure would. But I think it’s indicative of something—not sure what, but perhaps something equivocal—that the truly Petipa-centric gala at Bolshoi theater involves gatherings of students from top schools, as if Petipa was high class training material, but when you bring out the professionals suddenly it’s a generic gala. They could be celebrating anything...

(Mariinsky has scheduled another gala for Petipa that is somewhat less eclectic that this one. I can’t do links as I have lost internet connection on my computer and am now dependent on phone.)

Edited May 16, 2018 by Drew
spelling error

[Helene]

I agree, Drew:  there are so many beautiful pieces that show the symmetry and beauty of Petipa's choreography, particularly the crown jewel of Jardin Anime. 

[mnacenani]

3 minutes ago, Drew said:

but surely a gala could be organized in a way that truly put Petipa and his heritage more at the center—including some rarities or corps set pieces and/or character dances. 

Dear Drew I couldn't agree with you more - I for one with limited knowledge of heritage choreography would love to see what you suggest. The snag is probably that the names and CdB would not be rehearsed in rare pieces off repertory and it would take an enormous amount of time to come up to standard. For the Petipa season Mariinsky were trying to stage the Ratmansky Swan Lake but had to drop it in February when they couldn't surmount rehearsal problems. But this is so much more exciting than the dud Mariinsky "gala" I saw in February.

[volcanohunter]

It just ain't a Petipa gala without Russell Maliphant, Patrick de Bana and Krzysztof Pastor.  The Bolshoi's attitude to the anniversary year has been a disgrace, such as shortening the June run of Coppelia in order to accommodate additional performances of Carmen Suite.  I would tell Makhar Vaziev that he ought to be ashamed of himself, but I'm way past that point.

[mnacenani]

Just now, volcanohunter said:

It just ain't a Petipa gala without Russell Maliphant, Patrick de Bana and Krzysztof Pastor

  However, dear Volcano, it was no different at the Mariinsky Gala, but leaving aside the suitability of the program, this is more interesting. At least Bolshoy hasn't officially named it "Petipa Gala", they have called it World Ballet Stars. I saw the "Petipa Gala" at Stasik too and that left much to be desired in terms of Petipa.

[Mashinka]

At least they are paying lip service to Petipa, in Britain - zilch.

[mnacenani]

8 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

At least they are paying lip service to Petipa, in Britain - zilch.

If you'll excuse me : Paris has gone completely off the classical tracks, at least London is trying to stay on.

[volcanohunter]

It would be ironic if the Royal Ballet's new production of Swan Lake were to ditch most of the Petipa.

The Bolshoi's gala on May 31 and June 1 was originally advertised as "Marius Petipa: In Commemoration of the Bicentenary. World Ballet Stars Gala Concert." Says so in the 242nd season booklet. I guess they're hoping audiences will have forgotten about that, or won't care as long as Zakharova appears, not dancing Petipa.

[mnacenani]

2 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

I guess they're hoping audiences will have forgotten about that, or won't care as long as Zakharova appears, not dancing Petipa.

I for one am happy, wasn't expecting this much. Seeing Legris, Guerin, Lacarra, Ferri will be wonderful for me, and Osipova.

[mnacenani]

2 minutes ago, Gnossie said:

I'm also already cringing at Kondaurova and Smekalov destroying Le Parc

I hope they will destroy it beyond any chance of repair - I already wrote that if this is ballet I am Apollo !!

Re program and dancers :  wonderful, beyond my expectations, so much so that I just applied for a ticket for the second night too. Hope to write how I found it in due time, not that my opinion is of any importance for anyone.

[Drew]

3 hours ago, mnacenani said:

Dear Drew I couldn't agree with you more - I for one with limited knowledge of heritage choreography would love to see what you suggest. The snag is probably that the names and CdB would not be rehearsed in rare pieces off repertory and it would take an enormous amount of time to come up to standard. 

If these companies —Bolshoi and the Mariinsky which you referred to as well—made it a priority (and already in the season planning stages) they could surely find ways to organize rehearsal time. And, at the Bolshoi, something like Jardin Anime is danced as part of the regular repertory in any case...I don’t doubt that such a Petipa gala would still pose challenges. The question is: does the company leadership care enough to meet the challenges. They staged Nureyev against the odds —and if a Petipa celebration is impossibly hard for Bolshoi ballet masters/mistresses, pedagogues and coaches to put together then the Bolshoi has bigger problems than I could ever have imagined. It is not like the centenary was sprung on them by surprise.  It has been know for some time when Petipa was born (cough).

But I don’t believe the Bolshoi couldn’t have done something that was more of a genuine Petipa celebration even if the end result wasn’t altogether pious about pure Petipa. I think the leadership (or the leadership that controls decisions) was not that interested. And to me that seems a shame.

But certainly I hope you have a great time at the gala. 

Edited May 15, 2018 by Drew

[Guest]

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Edited January 24, 2019 by Guest

[volcanohunter]

1 hour ago, Quinten said:

Jardin Anime is certainly ready to go -- it's being performed in Beijing next week.  

That's the problem, in all likelihood. It may not be possible to get the backdrop and set back to Moscow in time. They're too big to be flown. My guess is they're being trucked to China and back.

[Drew]

Well yes...NOW it can’t be thrown together for May 31st. Who would imagine that it could be? But the season certainly could have been planned with room for something that resembled an actual Petipa gala at some point in the schedule. That is, it could have been done, if it was judged important. I find it puzzling that it wasn’t, but I don’t make the decisions -or write the checks.

I do understand Petipa ballets (in various post Petipa productions) are put on all the time in Russia especially at the Bolshoi—well, Robbins and Balanchine are not rarities in New York, but they get special celebrations from time to time as has Bournonville in Copenhagen. Seriously, what country has a greater claim to Petipa’s overall career than Russia? 

If such a gala celebration doesn’t interest the Bolshoi leadership, then it doesn’t interest them.  It is their company and remains a great one. But if their Petipa gala is not exactly Petipa-centric, it is not because the company is on tour in Beijing or can’t work out a rehearsal schedule etc. etc.  It’s because they decided not to go that route—or, perhaps, it never occurred to them to consider that route in the first place. (When the calendar was still being worked out in some fashion.) And I still think that seems a shame.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

1 hour ago, Drew said:

And I still think that seems a shame

It is. A crying shame. For Grigorovich's 90th birthday, the Bolshoi presented a two-month festival during which it performed only his ballets and after-Petipa productions. That it couldn't manage at least as much for Petipa's bicentenary is disgraceful.

[mnacenani]

8 hours ago, Quinten said:

It looks like the June 19th Vaganova Petipa gala in Moscow will be all Petipa.  Many of Bolshoi's Vaganova dancers (Zakharova, Smirnova, Stepanova, Lobukhin and more) will be performing Paquita with the students.  That's the ticket I'd want if I were able to travel to Moscow!

Totally agree, but with the football world cup kicking off on June 14th I am sure Moscow will be overcrowded and have ruled out visiting Russia during the world cup. I find both Moscow and Piter unbearable during the summer without any world cup.

[Drew]

It has occurred to me that I should have remembered that when the season was first publicized there were plans to celebrate Petipa announced that seem to have fallen through. An evening of reconstructions by Ratmansky, Burlaka, and Vikharev.  Vikharev’s death made that original plan unworkable but again, it should have been possible for the Bolshoi of all companies to revise the plans and still have a historic Petipa evening...Closer Bolshoi watchers than I may know exactly what happened or is happening with that program. I will be happy to eat crow if I have been unjust, but the program Mnacenani posted as what was originally announced as a Petipa gala rather raised my hackles...

Edited May 16, 2018 by Drew

[mnacenani]

6 hours ago, Drew said:

But if their Petipa gala is not exactly Petipa-centric, it is not because the company is on tour in Beijing or can’t work out a rehearsal schedule etc. etc

Dear Drew it may be more problematic than we think to allocate necessary rehearsal time to any ballet which has been off repertory for considerable time. I saw two out of three recent Coppelias with a friend who is a Moscow Academy graduate and former dancer and current ballet writer and lecturer, and she said the CdB looked under-rehearsed, which wasn't visible to my eye. I saw the matinee alone where coaches were sign-directing the CdB and leads from behind the proscenium and when I reported this some members commented that this is what happens when the production has been under-rehearsed.

[CharlieH]

15 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

It would be ironic if the Royal Ballet's new production of Swan Lake were to ditch most of the Petipa.

The Bolshoi's gala on May 31 and June 1 was originally advertised as "Marius Petipa: In Commemoration of the Bicentenary. World Ballet Stars Gala Concert." Says so in the 242nd season booklet. I guess they're hoping audiences will have forgotten about that, or won't care as long as Zakharova appears, not dancing Petipa.

The more I read about the so-called Petipa Galas/Tributes in Russia, the more I think that the grandest tribute of all is happening right here in the USA with Ratmansky’s reconstruction of Harlequinade at ABT. No bull - 100% Petipa.

[Drew]

1 hour ago, mnacenani said:

Dear Drew it may be more problematic than we think to allocate necessary rehearsal time to any ballet which has been off repertory for considerable time. I saw two out of three recent Coppelias with a friend who is a Moscow Academy graduate and former dancer and current ballet writer and lecturer, and she said the CdB looked under-rehearsed, which wasn't visible to my eye. I saw the matinee alone where coaches were sign-directing the CdB and leads from behind the proscenium and when I reported this some members commented that this is what happens when the production has been under-rehearsed.

Planning is the responsibility of the leadership of the company. Of course you are right that it must be difficult or “problematic”  to put together the company’s schedule—and, in particular, difficult  to produce special events, but is the Bolshoi one of the world’s great companies or isn’t it? Capable of deciding programming priorities or not? 

Exactly who makes what decisions I don’t know. I assume Laurent is correct that Vaziev does not have carte blanche...But one way or another, the Petipa “bicentennial” might I think have been handled differently. The Bolshoi ran into an unexpected  tragedy with Vikharev’s death. They also seem to have made some decisions that were not forced on them.

I remain a huge admirer of the company and am plotting ways to see them in London next year. And I hope they bring the Vikharev Coppelia with them—uh...properly rehearsed.

Edited May 16, 2018 by Drew

[nanushka]

1 hour ago, Gnossie said:

...because you know, there are people who don't go around "reconstructing" ballets that have already been reconstructed... 

Because a reconstruction is a definitive act that cannot be redone, differently and perhaps better, by another?

There are people who don't go around doing lots of things, but that doesn't necessarily mean that others shouldn't do those things.

A reconstruction is based on research, which, even if exhaustive, still ultimately involves working with imperfect or incomplete sources. It is therefore an interpretive act and no one reconstruction of a ballet could be considered, in my opinion, final.

[nanushka]

1 hour ago, Gnossie said:

I've never said that, just that I find amusing that Ratmansky only reconstructs things that have already been reconstructed (with only one exception)

I took your quotation marks ("reconstructing") to suggest that, in Ratmansky's case, the work of reconstruction was not actually being done — or perhaps could not, since it had been done already. Apologies if I misunderstood. The reason I phrased my initial response as a question was to determine if that's what you meant.