Drew Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 I don’t closely follow the programming of most European companies and only just today saw that La Scala’s upcoming season includes a new Coppelia from Ratmansky premiering in December. I did not see any further information about the production or his approach. (I love both Balanchine’s production at NYCB and Burlaka’s historical reconstruction at the Bolshoi.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirac Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Thanks, Drew. I couldn't find anything more about it, either. I expect we'll hear more soon. Marina Harss is probably already on the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingham Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 I hope it would be a Co production with ABT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 (edited) In the most recent City Ballet podcast Ratmansky mentioned that his Coppélia will be original choreography, not a reconstruction. https://podcast.nycballet.com/episode-95-new-combinations-alexei-ratmansky Edited September 12, 2023 by volcanohunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
California Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 On 7/30/2023 at 3:22 PM, bingham said: I hope it would be a Co production with ABT. I did some serious googling, but Ratmansky's new Coppelia doesn't appear to be a co-production with anybody. ABT seems more interested in pursuing contemporary art works, like Woolf Works and Like Water for Chocolate. Coppelia (especially by Ratmansky) would be appreciated by serious balletomanes, but probably not the audience ABT seems to be trying to reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiggin Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 (edited) Medici.tv just put up a nice 2 1/2 minute clip of Ratmansky's Coppelia. Roslyn Sulcas in today's NY Times says Ratmansky "infuses the ballet with new life," but the Danilova-Balanchine version always seemed pretty lively, at least the SF Ballet production did. Comparisons anyone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rluXtSgu3a8 Edited December 22, 2023 by Quiggin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted December 22, 2023 Author Share Posted December 22, 2023 (edited) 22 hours ago, Quiggin said: Medici.tv just put up a nice 2 1/2 minute clip of Ratmansky's Coppelia. Roslyn Sulcas in today's NY Times says Ratmansky "infuses the ballet with new life," but the Danilova-Balanchine version always seemed pretty lively, at least the SF Ballet production did. Comparisons anyone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rluXtSgu3a8 The Ratmansky sounds terrific --I watched the clip, but I don't subscribe to Medici TV so I can't say more than that. I can think of two genuinely spectacular--and spectacularly lively--productions that I have seen in the theater and with multiple casts: the Bolshoi's reconstruction (Burlaka Vikharev) is fantastic as is, in a different vein Balanchine and Danilova's production. Even the traditional Coppelia De Valois staged for the Royal (which I know from video of a very recent revival) looks plenty delightful. I'll add that The Royal Danish Ballet has a very distinctive take on the ballet that Croce wrote about back in the day. Don't know if they still do it, but it was plenty full of life when I saw it with Heidi Ryom. (And, in any traditional production, Swanilda is more than "pouty" because she saves the day. So that remark had me puzzled too.) Basically there are some great Coppelias out there--it's not like Swan Lake where one is hard put to think of one.... Edited December 23, 2023 by Drew To include correct name of stager of Bolshoi production (mentioned by @volcanohunter below). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcanohunter Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 I subscribe to Medici TV, but not to the New York Times, so I watched the stream, but didn't read the review. I adore Coppélia and have always thought it pretty much perfect, certainly not lacking in life. Ratmansky's first act is very athletic, and there is more choreography for men than is typical. In fact, at one point early on, when Franz was carried by his friends, I even had a brief Nureyev-horror moment. And of course the rhythms are very intricate. I posted my immediate reaction on this thread: Where productions usually differ for me is in how well the national dances are performed in the first act. In this regard the Royal Ballet usually comes up short in my eyes, whereas Ratmansky definitely found a way to make them work for La Scala's dancers. My personal favorite production is Peggy Van Praagh's for the Australian Ballet, which I have seen only on video and at the cinema. The telecast from around 1990 is stupendous, marred only by the solo violist in the adagio of the wedding pas de deux. The workshop scene is particularly atmospheric. At the risk of going off on a tangent, my response to the Vikharev production depended on who was performing the leads, but I found the second act too neat and sterile, and I never saw a steady Prayer variation (except on a bootleg recording of the premiere in 2009). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiggin Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 (edited) Thanks for the descriptions. Sound like all Coppelias have something to recommend them. Yes, Swanilda does save the day and Franz is a bit of a dolt. (In ETA Hoffmann's original stories, which share characters and themes with the Nutcracker, the Franz/Nathanael character has something of a psychotic break, at least as I remember the wayward plots – and which are all well worth rereading.) I'm almost embarrassed sometimes how much I love the uncomplicated music – even hearing a few bars brings up memories of the ballet. Edited December 22, 2023 by Quiggin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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