"Harlequinade" 2018.

[fondoffouettes]

1 hour ago, rg said:

Thanks, CH

re: Petipa's first Bonne Fée in MILLIONS, Anna Petrovna Urakova, here's an undated photocard of her in an unidentified role.

 

Though I loved the costumes in general, I thought the Good Fairy's costume was a bit of a weak link, especially amongst all the whimsical, elaborate costumes worn by the rest of the cast. It was a beautiful dress, but it looked like she was heading to dinner at Downton Abbey. It didn't conjure a magical figure for me. But I see now that you posted a photo of the original costume earlier in this thread, and the ABT costume is indeed similar, so I guess they were going for authenticity.

Edited June 10, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[CharlieH]

5 hours ago, fondoffouettes said:

Though I loved the costumes in general, I thought the Good Fairy's costume was a bit of a weak link, especially amongst all the whimsical, elaborate costumes worn by the rest of the cast. It was a beautiful dress, but it looked like she was heading to dinner at Downton Abbey. It didn't conjure a magical figure for me. But I see now that you posted a photo of the original costume earlier in this thread, and the ABT costume is indeed similar, so I guess they were going for authenticity.

Ah...but she looked like the Tsarina Alexandra, whose known favorite colors were mauve (pale grayish lilac) and silver! Also, note the tones of mauve in the larks’ tutus.

[fondoffouettes]

43 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Ah...but she looked like the Tsarina Alexandra, whose known favorite colors were mauve (pale grayish lilac) and silver! Also, note the tones of mauve in the larks’ tutus.

The colors are beautiful. I don't mean to split hairs, but she's hardly differentiated from corps girls who are also wearing Empire-style dresses in Act II. (This is the best pic I could find of the costume, just left of Brandt.) The way the dress isn't really brought it under the bust makes it more shapeless than the corps girls, though. Nothing about her costume reads "good fairy" to me.

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by fondoffouettes

[cargill]

It looks like they are using the first act Bonne Fee costume now for the finale--I saw it the first two nights and she had changed for the second act into something more colorful, though I didn't think it was quite as elegant as the first act one.

[nanushka]

13 minutes ago, cargill said:

It looks like they are using the first act Bonne Fee costume now for the finale--I saw it the first two nights and she had changed for the second act into something more colorful, though I didn't think it was quite as elegant as the first act one.

I saw it the second night and I thought she was wearing in Act 2 the dress in the pic above, but I could be wrong.

[cargill]

Maybe she changed for the curtain calls!  I definitely remember a dress with colorful splotches at the beginning of Act II.

[CharlieH]

2 hours ago, cargill said:

It looks like they are using the first act Bonne Fee costume now for the finale--I saw it the first two nights and she had changed for the second act into something more colorful, though I didn't think it was quite as elegant as the first act one.

Absolutely right, Cargill. She wore the A2 dress with the bright green bodice for the final tableau and during the bows. We can see her during the bows here (50-seconds in):

 

Edited June 11, 2018 by CharlieH
added link to bows

[fondoffouettes]

2 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Absolutely right, Cargill. She wore the A2 dress with the bright green bodice for the final tableau and during the bows. We can see her during the bows here (50-seconds in):

That's interesting they scrapped that dress after the premiere. It looks like it may have some sort of whimsical decorations around the bottom (butterflies?) but I wonder if they didn't read well from the audience. I'm not crazy about the red decoration right on her crotch. The headpiece looks quite pretty -- I hope it doesn't completely go to waste!

I have no memory of the little fairy girl from the Tuesday evening performance, but I guess she must have been there. I can only picture the one or two little attendants she had in Act I.

[rg]

the second costume for La Bonne Fée was there in all 5 perfs. that i saw, unless i'm mistaken: it appears after she 'transforms' from her notary garb.

as for which costume was worn for the curtain calls each time i can't say.

the two attendant fairies in pink are there in act 1 but only one is in attendance after the transformation from notary to fairy in act 2; the roster of children numbers 33 in the house program, so perhaps by act two there aren't 2 children to spare as good fairy attendants for the final act.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Did anybody found a bit stressful how the little harlequins have to quickly gather all the money from the floor into the rug to clear the stage for the dancing to come...?

Did anybody found a bit stressful how the little harlequins have to quickly gather all the money from the floor into the rug to clear the stage for the dancing to come...?

[nanushka]

3 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Did anybody found a bit stressful how the little harlequins have to quickly gather all the money from the floor into the rug to clear the stage for the dancing to come...?

Yes! I thought/felt that very same thing!

[California]

5 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

Did anybody found a bit stressful how the little harlequins have to quickly gather all the money from the floor into the rug to clear the stage for the dancing to come...?

I was at the dress rehearsal the first Monday, day of the premiere. Originally, there was no rug and that money really was flying all over. At a break, they brought out the rug and those of us who saw this thought, well, that should help. What we don't know: was the rug planned all along and they just forgot it at first? Or did they add that at the last minute to solve the problem - which, obviously, it didn't!

[nanushka]

20 minutes ago, California said:

Or did they add that at the last minute to solve the problem - which, obviously, it didn't!

 At the performance I attended it did, actually. They got it all onto the rug in time. I was just nervous because I knew how treacherous it could be for the dancers if they didn’t.