balletmama Posted December 24, 2002 Share Posted December 24, 2002 For those of you who can never get enough of Nut, The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker will be televised tonight on PBS, 8 pm in the NY area (on 13). Alina Cojocaru is Clara. For more info go to www.pbs.org. Link to comment
Maxi3D Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 Thanks BalletMaMa: My VCR is set and ready to go. I wonder how recent is this production of the Nuts? It looks like this was filmed before Anthony Dowell retired. Link to comment
Victoria Leigh Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 Yes, it was directed by Dowell, and he plays Drosselmeyer, but it was produced after the renovation of the Opera House, so it's not very old. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 Re-alert! This program rebroadcasts at 1:30 PM Eastern today for those of us who had Christmas Eve things to do! Link to comment
sylvia Posted December 25, 2002 Share Posted December 25, 2002 I think it was filmed in 2000 so not very long ago at all. It also has Ivan Putrov as Hans Peter who's one of the RB's newly promoted principals. I hope you enjoy it. And Merry Christmas! Link to comment
rkoretzky Posted December 26, 2002 Share Posted December 26, 2002 Sylvia, I loved this production! I am the first to admit that I am almost completely NYCB/Balanchine oriented in terms of Nut. Every production that I have seen in recent memory has either been NYCB or has borrowed heavily from Balanchine's choreography. So it took me a little while to get over the initial "this looks all wrong". I tuned in a bit late and so missed most of the party scene, which is fine with me. It was nice to see a truly Russian variation, not to take anything away from Tom Gold and the young hoops. I was somewhat disconcerted by men in Flowers though. I will run, not walk, to the Met Opera House to see Alina Cojocaru. She is exquisite. I was captivated by the Grand Pas de Deux--that was Miyako Yochida and Jonathan Cope--do I have that right? I have become so obsessed with those magnificent dancers that I am trying to figure out how to go to London to see the Royal. I have seen the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden once, actually. It was Coppelia and it left me lukewarm. But in looking at their website there are some magnificent programs in the late winter and spring. I just may show up. Perhaps this belongs on the Royal Ballet thread--are you aware of the possibility that Darcy Bussell is considering retirement next year? If so, that seals the deal. London here I come. And Happy Boxing Day. Link to comment
sylvia Posted December 26, 2002 Share Posted December 26, 2002 rkoretzky, it was a pleasure to read your post. I'm glad you enjoyed the Nutcracker so much! I don't care for the party scene much either but I love this production so much and Alina Cojocaru really makes the first act for me. I adore the pdd between Clara and Hans Peter. I'm quite sad though that Cojocaru probably won't dance this role anymore - when she became a principal last year she danced only first night and now I don't think she's cast at all. Well anyway I'm looking forward to her Sugarplum Fairy next week. Will you see her when she guests with ABT in Bayadere? I think she'll be dancing in an ABT gala as well with her regular partner Johan Kobborg. Yep, it's Miyako Yoshida and Jonathan Cope in the grande pdd. Miyako's so wonderful in this I wasn't disappointed when she replaced Darcey Bussell for first night last week. As for Darcey I think she's only 33 or 34 and dancing better now than she ever has if you go by the critics so I'm sure she has several years left in her. But I guess you never know. I was so freaked out about losing some of my favourite dancers in the last few seasons I'm booking as many casts as I can for everything so I don't miss anyone. Hope you make it across the pond. Happy Boxing day everyone! Link to comment
rkoretzky Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 I did notice that the tempi for almost every variation are noticably slower in the RB production than at NYCB. NYCB certainly has always been noted for speed. Does anyone know anything about the original tempo markings that Tchaikovsky intended? Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted December 27, 2002 Share Posted December 27, 2002 The Ballet Russe production, which served as the Grandfather of the NYCB Nut was also remarkably speedy. Not quite as fast as the Balanchine, especially in the Overture Miniature, and Waltz of the Flowers especially, but fast! I don't have a score anymore, it having disappeared in a surge of helpfulness when I "lent" it to somebody else, and then they moved away, but Tchaikovsky's markings were not as slow as this production took them. The utter worst is the Bolshoi/Grigorovitch production. Absolutely sepulchral! Link to comment
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