Ukraine invasion & the arts: Gergiev fired by his agent, etc.

[Drew]

Here is an Instagram post from Macaulay about non-Russian artists choosing to work with Russian Ballet companies today--I learned from this that Duato has returned to the Mikhailovsky:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqHfcXKs2Sd/

More on the same subject and Juan Bockamp also working on Pharaoh's Daughter at the Mariinsky:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGKNBwAuQV/

Edited March 23, 2023 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

I wasn't aware that Duato had ever left. His bio seemed to be up on the Mikhailovsky site whenever I looked (which wasn't very often). Perhaps he wasn't always physically present in Saint Petersburg but is now.

[Fosca]

Duato directed Berlin State Ballet from 2014 to 2018. Then he went back to St. Petersburg.

[Drew]

I wasn't following Duato very closely and was caught by surprise--just my ignorance.  I somehow never knew he had gone back. I do view non-Russian artists who choose to work in Russia under these circumstances differently than I view Russian artists. Let's say, less charitably....

Edited March 23, 2023 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

Yes, it's one thing to work in one's own country, to leave would be the extraordinary choice. It's quite another thing for a foreigner to stay, pretend that nothing has changed, that art lives in some sort of pristine bubble and espouse the value of cultural diplomacy (when it's plain to see exactly how well that's worked out).

I also think there's a big difference between, say, Vyacheslav Samodurov, who returned to Russia more than a decade ago, and Yuri Possokhov, who has lived and worked in San Francisco for 29 years.

[California]

13 hours ago, Drew said:

Here is an Instagram post from Macaulay about non-Russian artists choosing to work with Russian Ballet companies today--I learned from this that Duato has returned to the Mikhailovsky:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqHfcXKs2Sd/

More on the same subject and Juan Bockamp also working on Pharaoh's Daughter at the Mariinsky:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGKNBwAuQV/

Wow -- powerful statement from Macaulay!  

At the United Ukrainian Ballet performances at the London Coliseum last September, he was seated with Ratmansky's party in the orchestra/stalls. 

I wonder what sort of schism will remain among artists after this awful war is over -- those who stayed in Russia, those who left. As @volcanohunterobserves, it's particularly troubling when foreigners return or stay in Russia for their "art." 

[California]

Alexei Ratmansky just posted a long statement on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/1377723438/videos/1846169425740086/

I'll paste it in for those of you not on Facebook:

Alexei Ratmansky

PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER.

This is a reconstructed variation from the famous Act II Pas d'Action, a rare example of Petipa's choreography for the men, danced here by the brilliant António Casalinho. It is part of a larger ongoing project called 'Petipa Variations', a long time dream of mine. A filmed record of the notated 19c variations done by the best dancers.

I wanted to post it on the day of PhD premiere at the Mariinsky. In the spring of 2021, after two years of preparation, I was able, together with my wife Tatiana, to stage close to two hours of reconstructed choreography and mise en scene of PhD at the Mariinsky and was going to finish the production in May 2022. We had complete runs of the material and the dancers (superb) were ready to go on stage. However when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 I left in protest and had to cancell (officially postpone) the premiere. UKraine is a home country where my family still lives, there was absolutely no other choice for me.

 

My designer Bob Perdziola who at the time when the war started did most of his job already was just informed couple of weeks ago about the new premiere date and the new 'artistic team' taking over. This team consists of Toni Candeloro and Juan Bockamp, people I knew and corresponded with, who choose to become tools of putin's propaganda. Hope they realize that the taxes they pay in Russia are spend to kill and torture Ukrainians.

 

And there is one more aspect. After seeing recent rehearsal footage I am suspicious that parts of my work might have been used. I won't make any statements until I see the film of the full production. All I can say now is that the PhD is the most painful professional experience in my life. And it does hurt.

 

 

EDITED TO ADD: Ratmansky just posted the same thing on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLB-9uAU45/

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by California
updated content

[volcanohunter]

Today I want to congratulate Alexei Ratmansky, Tatiana Ratmansky, Robert Perdziola and the Lithuanian National Ballet with the opening of Ratmansky’s staging of Harlequinade, which is being called Les millions d'Arlequin in Vilnius.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0AZN4J5TRxq6XTAbAV2WXv5cqmMDKR8TohK1qRasrvhCvsT1HUBNEhqDwsjADWZU6l

https://www.opera.lt/en/whatss-on/les-millions-darlequin-e178

Edited March 24, 2023 by volcanohunter

[volcanohunter]

On 3/21/2023 at 11:54 AM, Mashinka said:

Just tours to China then.

Yup.

[volcanohunter]

This piece about the repertoire crunch faced by Russian ballet companies appeared last week. I am not certain about the accuracy of the report; I spotted two factual errors, and there may be more.

First, the author states that "no foreign rights holders" revoked the rights to their ballets following 24 February 2022. This is not true. Jean-Christoph Maillot publicly asked the Bolshoi to stop performing The Taming of the Shrew, and Vladimir Urin publicly refused him, fearing that others would follow Maillot's example, and the Bolshoi would be left with very little to perform. As the article points out, it is running out of ballets to perform nevertheless, only at a marginally slower pace. Also, Ratmansky asked the same, was ignored and had his name erased from his ballets instead. Russians may not regard him as "foreign," but he is an American citizen and lives in the United States.

Secondly, as an example of continuing Bolshoi premieres, the author cites Yuri Possokhov's Queen of Spades, scheduled for the end of the season. Possokhov's ballet has not been canceled, but its premiere is no longer scheduled for this season. Presumably the Bolshoi would like to avoid a last-minute cancellation along the lines of Possokhov's Nureyev. That generated a lot of negative publicity about perceived incompetence within the Bolshoi.

As for expiring repertoire, the article states that in March the Bolshoi gave its final performance of Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale, and that the Stanislavsky gave its last performance of Akram Khan's Kaash. Further it lists the Bolshoi's expiring licenses, including Ratmansky's Flames of Paris (July 2023), the mixed bill Four Characters in Search of a Plot (September 2023), Possokhov's A Hero of Our Time (December 2023, but not performed since December 2020 and the most recent attempt to revive it scuttled), Christian Spuck's Orlando (March 2024), Balanchine's Jewels (May 2024), Ratmansky's production of Giselle (November 2024, but not performed since February 2021). It states that the license for the last remaining Balanchine ballet at the Mariinsky, Jewels, will expire in 2025.

The article also mentions The Pharaoh's Daughter. 

"Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky began the ambitious reconstruction, but did not carry it through to its premiere. As a result, the Mariinsky enticed Toni Candeloro, a Italian specialist in ancient ballets, to come to the rescue; for the first time he was given a chance to work with a large professional company. The premiere took place. The Mariinsky's yearning for a big premiere was so great that no debutant could spoil its will to succeed."

Quote

According to sources close to theaters, today they are forced to extend verbal agreements with foreign creators through personal contacts, remove names from posters, try to avoid sharp corners and fight their own fear of attracting the radicals of contemporary choreography. These may not fit into academic rules. They are more quickly affected by context: for several years now, Russian contemporary dance has been literally demonstrating from the stage how difficult it is to breathe.

The course toward "import substitution" already looks like a difficult path. The Bolshoi Theater, instead of the refined production of Alexei Ratmansky (his Romeo and Juliet was performed from 2017 to 2022), will restore another, very serious Romeo and Juliet by choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky, which impressed Europe in the middle of the last century.

The Mariinsky, which succeeded with The Pharaoh's Daughter, should probably prepare for questions from Alexei Ratmansky, who started the project. Of course, Ratmansky remains a world-renowned choreographer. But if the campaign to hush up authorship continues, one days posters for Swan Lake may read: "Folk libretto and music."

(Presumably a reference to Tchaikovsky's homosexuality.)

https://www.forbes.ru/forbeslife/486752-krizis-zanra-kak-rossijskij-balet-boretsa-s-nehvatkoj-repertuara

Edited April 6, 2023 by volcanohunter

[California]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:37 PM, California said:

I wonder what sort of schism will remain among artists after this awful war is over -- those who stayed in Russia, those who left. As @volcanohunterobserves, it's particularly troubling when foreigners return or stay in Russia for their "art." 

I don't want to take this too far afield, but Amazon Prime has a film called "Taking Sides," about Wilhelm Furtwängler,  conductor of the Berlin Symphony, accused of Nazi sympathies and more. Interesting discussions of those who left and those who stayed, insisting that art was separate from politics. Although acquitted of crimes, he was never allowed to conduct in the United States. Will the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ever be allowed to perform again in the UK or US?

https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Sides-Harvey-Keitel/dp/B09TFBCL1J/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260414/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/14/arts/music/wilhelm-furtwangler-classical-music.html

Edited April 5, 2023 by California

[volcanohunter]

The Berlin Philharmonic wasn't banned permanently, but Valery Gergiev probably shouldn't count on any invitations. I wouldn't rule out the return of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky in the future, after a respectable interval and certainly under new management, not sullied by the disgraceful erasure of creators' names. I think this would be a greater obstacle for the Mariinsky, because Gergiev is not going to relinquish his musical and theatrical empire readily (six [or 12] venues and counting).

Edited April 6, 2023 by volcanohunter

[Drew]

The problems for these companies are serious. But a return to the Lavrosky Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi? That's one of the best possible ideas on offer. To clarify: the article @volcanohunter cited above said the Bolshoi was going to return to the Lavrosky Romeo and Juliet now that it won't be dancing Ratmansky's. I saw them do it a little over two decades ago. (I had only just discovered Ballet Alert. Some of my earliest posts here were about attending that performance.) The cast was Stepanenko and Filin with Tsiskaridze as Mercutio. Seeing it in the theater I found it a genuinely great ballet--and, full of a richness of dramatic  layering  often lacking in Western productions.   Stunning designs as well.  And it's not as if Socialist Realism gave us a slew of great ballets.  Lavrosky's R&J  also played a huge role in the company's history and had an influence in the West. I am much happier to see the company to return to that production than to Grigorovich's.

I have only seen Ratmansky's version as a Bolshoi HD broadcast. I more or less enjoyed it as a somewhat fresh, though still fairly recognizable take on the Prokofiev score. But if ever there were a case to be made for the Bolshoi to preserve a Soviet Classic in its repertory, Lavrosky's Romeo and Juliet is it.

Re @California 's question. Well, it's just guessing about, but I tend to think  that when the war is over--(assuming it has not turned into a wider conflict in the meanwhile)--and especially if there were to be a peace treaty and not just an armistice, then some western impresarios will think it worth the risk to wrangle some Bolshoi tours. Maybe Mariinsky tours, too, but the Bolshoi is the splashier name for the general public and the Gergiev issue  has already been raised above.  On the Russian end they will likely want to support having their dancers out in the world shoring up Russian prestige. If the government leadership changes in Russia, then future tours seem especially likely. But I don't think any of these things are likely to happen soon--and I imagine that those performances would face picketers, audience protests, and controversy as well. (As indeed did some tours during the cold war.)

 

[volcanohunter]

I suppose from the writer's point of view, a revival of the Lavrovsky production looks like a retreat. The ballet is in no danger of being lost because it has a home at the Mariinsky. (Personally, I find it very static and dislike the re-arrangement of the score, though Grigorovich did more violence to it in his version.) The Bolshoi could also perform The Sleeping Beauty more often than it does. But there will be less variety going forward.

The difference between the Bolshoi now and when Grigorovich was director is that it has a second stage to fill, although if repertoire is lacking, the company may simply cut back on the number of performances it gives. And if previously the Bolshoi needed a constant influx of new repertoire to beam into cinemas, that's a moot point for now.

[Drew]

I'm aware that the Mariinsky dances the Lavrosky Romeo and Juliet. I still think it's a ballet that has a place in the Bolshoi repertory--not least because of its history with the company.

[volcanohunter]

Looking at the history of Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi, there is a sense over the past 40 years that the company wanted its own version of the ballet, distinct from the Mariinsky's, just as every other major production in its repertoire--save Legend of Love and Carmen Suite--differs from the one at the Mariinsky. Russian companies don't regard the choreography of Swan Lake as sacrosanct, much less the choreography for Romeo and Juliet. So for the Bolshoi the Lavrovsky may look like a fallback position rather than a revered classic.

1946-1980 Lavrovsky
1979-1995 Grigorovich
1995-2000 Lavrovsky (i.e., immediately after Grigorovich's ouster)
2003-2005 Poklitaru
2010-2018 Grigorovich
2017-2022 Ratmansky

P.S. Naturally I'm aware that you're aware. 

Edited April 6, 2023 by volcanohunter
postscriptum

[Drew]

5 hours ago, volcanohunter said:

Looking at the history of Romeo and Juliet at the Bolshoi, there is a sense over the past 40 years that the company wanted its own version of the ballet, distinct from the Mariinsky's, just as every other major production in its repertoire--save Legend of Love and Carmen Suite--differs from the one at the Mariinsky. Russian companies don't regard the choreography of Swan Lake as sacrosanct, much less the choreography for Romeo and Juliet. So for the Bolshoi the Lavrovsky may look like a fallback position rather than a revered classic.

1946-1980 Lavrovsky
1979-1995 Grigorovich
1995-2000 Lavrovsky (i.e., immediately after Grigorovich's ouster)
2003-2005 Poklitaru
2010-2018 Grigorovich
2017-2022 Ratmansky

P.S. Naturally I'm aware that you're aware. 

Yes, I suppose it must look like a retreat--and likely, too, feel like one on a visceral level. I think the ballet should be a revered classics, but ... uh...fans don't get a vote.  Let alone U.S. fans!

(A rather hokey artifact I used to wish the Bolshoi would revive is the Messerer Class Concert. If they lose the rights to Etudes, then I suppose that might happen now. I realize this makes me sound awfully reactionary --but the video record suggests that they were rip-roaring in that ballet.)

Edited April 6, 2023 by Drew

[volcanohunter]

The rights to Etudes have already expired, and Class Concert isn't performed now, but it had been revived under Ratmansky in 2007 (and got only 13 performances).

Frankly, they should have stuck to Messerer. The Bolshoi's Etudes were mostly dreadful, even after about 50 attempts, whereas even now they could do Class Concert in a way that Danish or French dancers could not. It's just not Vaziev's preferred aesthetic.

[Mashinka]

I've seen Etudes danced by a number of companies for getting on for sixty years.  The only company defeated by the choreography was the Maryinsky.

[California]

4 hours ago, Mashinka said:

I've seen Etudes danced by a number of companies for getting on for sixty years.  The only company defeated by the choreography was the Maryinsky.

Can you say more about how Mariinsky was "defeated" by Etudes? One of my favorite short clips on YouTube is the finale with Tereshkina, Sarafanov, Sklyarov (despite awful video quality).

PS. I adore Etudes and travelled to San Francisco in February 2020 to see SFBallet do this - one of the last things I saw in the theater before the COVID shut-down. ABT did Etudes long ago (a miniscule clip is included in The Turning Point) - wonder if they could bring it back. 

[volcanohunter]

The Bolshoi's Etudes were notoriously broadcast to the world in woefully underprepared condition. I saw some live performances in later years. Eventually, the corps began to dance in synchonization, but joylessly and mechanically. That is, until the grand allegro, when it was every man for himself. Generally, though, the tempos were slow, the batterie was fuzzy and the pirouettes could be wobbly. Every female lead was vexed by the solo variation, falling off pointe during the hops was the norm. The solo men's attempts to up the difficulty level ended with muffed finishes. In one case I left the hall the moment the curtain went down, saw Makhar Vaziev ahead of me in the corridor, and it was all I could do not to run after him, kick him in the shins and demand to know how he could permit such a shambolic display on the Bolshoi stage.

[Mashinka]

I saw Etudes danced by the Maryinsky in London and the corps couldn't mange the timing at all especially the diagonal jetes.  The soloists were okay though, but nothing special.

My first Etudes was ABT with Toni Lander and I last saw it a year ago in Budapest.  

 

[California]

3 hours ago, Mashinka said:

I saw Etudes danced by the Maryinsky in London and the corps couldn't mange the timing at all especially the diagonal jetes.  The soloists were okay though, but nothing special.

My first Etudes was ABT with Toni Lander and I last saw it a year ago in Budapest.  

 

Interesting! Too bad we won't see wonderful dancers like Kimin Kim in Etudes anytime soon, if ever. I wonder who controls the rights to Etudes, as there doesn't seem to be a Landers Trust. Anybody know?

[volcanohunter]

The rights belong to his second wife and widow, Lise Lander, who assists Johnny Eliasen in staging the ballet.

https://www.opera.hu/en/company/szemely/lise-lander/458/

https://www.sfballet.org/johnny-eliasen-repetiteur-and-lise-lander-artistic-advisor-on-etudes/ 

Edited April 16, 2023 by volcanohunter

[volcanohunter]

11 hours ago, Mashinka said:

I saw Etudes danced by the Maryinsky in London and the corps couldn't mange the timing at all especially the diagonal jetes.  The soloists were okay though, but nothing special.

The Bolshoi always made a mess of the criss-crossing diagonals as well, and POB corps members at their concours do a better job of the female variation than the Bolshoi's principals.

It's a bad fit for Russian companies, which don't hone finesse in the manner of the French, Danish or English schools.