Bolshoi Ballet production "Nureyev"

[assoluta]

8 hours ago, betterankles said:

It's really odd that Yuri Possokhov, unless I am totally wrong, who is the choreographer of this piece, is nowhere credited anywhere it talks of the cancelled production of 'Nureyev'....  

 

 

Kirill Serebrennikov is the one who was in charge, Yuri Posokhov bears little resposibility for the production (and the ensuing scandal).

[Balletomanewithoutacause]

The drama continues.  As of this writing, Zakarhova and Rodkin have apparently declined to appear in the Don Quixote performance replacing Nureyev, and it looks like Ivan Vasiliev is stepping in but who will be Kitri?

 

We are getting some idea of what Nureyev looked and sounded like via some video of the final run-through that have appeared online:

 

 

 

[Amelia]

Since the references to the ballet “Nureyev” have disappeared from the Bolshoi’s website, it will be good to record the cast of that run-through, after which the performances have been cancelled.

 

Nureyev - Vladislav Lantratov

Eric - Denis Savin

Margot - Maria Alexandrova

The first letter (a pupil) - Vyacheslav Lopatin

The second letter (a prima donna) - Ekaterina Shipulina

Auctioneer - Vernik (Act 1), Koshevoi (Act 2)

Ballerina - Anastasia Stashkevich

Edited July 9, 2017 by Amelia
Added a name.

[alison]

Wouldn't you think that if the intention were simply to postpone the production, information about it would still be on the website?  Or is that not Russian enough?

 

Not everything can simply be wiped off the internet and "disappeared".

 

The rest of the credits were:

Choreographer: Yuri Possokhov
Libretto by Kirill Serebrennikov
Director and Designer: Kirill Serebrennikov
Costume Designer: Elena Zaitseva
Music Director: Anton Grishanin
Lighting Designer: Alexander Sivaev

[Fiz]

Russia's official attitude to the LBGT community is absolutely appalling. I would bet that is what is at the bottom of this. 

[Melody]

2 hours ago, Fiz said:

Russia's official attitude to the LBGT community is absolutely appalling. I would bet that is what is at the bottom of this. 

I wonder why they let it get that far and then pulled it, rather than refusing to have anything to do with it from the start, or as soon thereafter as they figured out that the subject matter would be unacceptable to TPTB. Is this sort of highly public last-minute cancellation (erm, sorry, indefinite postponement) more of a punishment than a quiet removal early on? Seems an awful waste of resources.

Edited July 10, 2017 by Melody

[MAB]

6 hours ago, Fiz said:

Russia's official attitude to the LBGT community is absolutely appalling. I would bet that is what is at the bottom of this. 

 

Some may remember back in 2006 the Kirov brought to London a new production of The Golden Age that had a gay story line including the two men kissing on stage.  Worrying that attitudes against human rights are hardening.

[Ian Macmillan]

Ismene Brown reports on a Bolshoi Theatre Press Conference today - the Russian Culture Minister appears to have been the driving force for the 'postponement.'  Report and comment here.

[Balletomanewithoutacause]

Naked Vlad Lantratov.  I don't see a problem. 

http://tv.mk.ru/video/2017/07/10/pervyy-videofragment-repeticii-skandalnoy-sceny-spektaklya-nureev.html

Humor too:

http://tv.mk.ru/video/2017/07/10/videofragment-repeticii-skandalnoy-sceny-spektaklya-nureev.html

 

Nureyev and Bruhn?

http://tv.mk.ru/video/2017/07/10/tretiy-videofragment-repeticii-skandalnoy-sceny-spektaklya-nureev.html

Edited July 10, 2017 by Lexy

[Don Q Fan]

19 hours ago, Fiz said:

Russia's official attitude to the LBGT community is absolutely appalling. I would bet that is what is at the bottom of this. 

I heard it was postponed because of the homosexual content as well.   I believe it's "not acceptable" in Russia, like they have issues with coloured footballers when there are international football matches in Russia.  Such a shame in this day and age.   I think the Bolshoi should just premier this in London, Amsterdam or New York and never ever perform it in Russia!  

[SwissBalletFan]

I think it's about time the British got off their high horses regarding homosexual content, and or acceptability. It was 2013 only that Alan Turing was pardoned for his homosexuality after much debate, his chemical castration and suicide.

 

Although Julian Clary, Graham Norton and Michael Barrymore have removed some borders on homosexuality in the UK sportspeople are still chanted about their sexuality, and their are very few openly gay sportsmen or politicians still.

 

Russia is a conservative country where heterosexual sex scenes  are still cut from hollywood films, and nakedness even in a heterosexual dance would also be banned/discouraged.

 

I think that a ballet about Wayne Sleep showing him full naked in photographs filling the stage, and scenes of him naked dancing with lovers would also be very problematic in the UK. While also missing the point of wh he is fondly remembered.

 

So please, a little less belief that the Russians and the old soviets homosexuals were treated so badly when one of your war heroes was treated so badly, those mention Tchaikovsky may also like to equal remember the treatment of Oscar Wilde, and so many others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2017 by SwissBalletFan

[Jan McNulty]

SBF, we have hopefully moved on in the last 50 years. Please give us credit for that.

 

We cannot impose "the now" on "the then" because what happened then has been and gone.

[DrewCo]

 

The Avedon Nureyev photos were a sensation at the time. And Nureyev's sex appeal Is inextricable from his persona; his pushing of boundaries and disdain for norms are even more inextricable. A tame ballet about such an untameable figure hardly seems worth the trouble.

 

Actually I have doubted this Serebrennkov/Possokhov ballet would altogether appeal to me--partly because the bio-ballet does not appeal to me as a genre, but partly because I'm so doubtful about anyone 'playing' Nureyev (or Fonteyn or Bruhn--but Nureyev especially). Reading about these images, I'm wondering if photos of Nureyev integrated creatively--and not piously--into the production might help to remind audiences of the gap between stage image and historical person, and I kind of like the sound of that idea...As to whether it works in the theater or whether other ways of recalling Nureyev would have done as well or better, whether it's disastrous -- there is no way to say without seeing the ballet. 

Edited July 10, 2017 by DrewCo

[cavycapers]

Article on Radio 4 Front Row monday night.

[Sim]

The Oscar Wilde debacle was more than a hundred years ago.  Alan Turing 50 years ago.  Hardly relevant to today's general attitudes in the UK towards gay people, who can marry, walk down the street holding hands, have parades, festivals, clubs and pubs, be totally accepted without discrimination in the workplace, be portrayed (naked or not) openly in loving relationships via all art forms....the list goes on.  We actually have quite a few openly gay politicians, too.  Yes, there are some idiots who still chant about it from the sports terraces, but if they are caught they are thrown out.  Equal rights for gay people are now enshrined in our laws.

 

So SwissBalletFan, I suggest you get off your high horse when it comes to insulting us about our attitudes to gay people.  We are talking about an issue occurring in 2017, not 50 or 100 years ago.  If you want to cast such aspersions on the UK, I suggest you come up with some examples from this year.

[Jan McNulty]

There was a short item on BBC World News just now. It just regurgitated press items we have already seen except for a really short comment from an American professor who implied that what he had seen wasn't very good.

 

A dancer, Arsen (?) said it would have been ready if rehearsals hadn't been cancelled.

[DrewCo]

48 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

There was a short item on BBC World News just now. It just regurgitated press items we have already seen except for a really short comment from an American professor who implied that what he had seen wasn't very good.

 

A dancer, Arsen (?) said it would have been ready if rehearsals hadn't been cancelled.

 I am guesing Simon Morrison is the American professor. This is in line with remarks he made that were quoted in a New York Times article: "It looked hesitant, it was shaky, it was not there." However, the article also said that Morrison had seen some "fragments" of the ballet on video. I was quite surprised he would weigh in on such a serious and controversial matter on the basis of video fragments, and even if the fragments he saw were considerably more substantial than what has been floating around the internet.  The rest of his remarks seemed to me not untrue--he underlined the particular importance for a controversial work not to flop--but in the context of a cancellation under murky circumstances and a ballet he has never seen...it just seemed surprising that he would voice an opinion on the choreography/staging.

 

Edited to say: Morrison is the author of Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today. 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by DrewCo

[Jan McNulty]

Just see it again (BBC World News repeats every half hour). You are right DrewCo - it was Simon Morrison.

 

Judging by the dancer applause at the end of the rehearsal, it looks as though the dancers enjoyed it.

[SwissBalletFan]

On 9 July 2017 at 09:01, ninamargaret said:

Looks as though things are going back to the old Soviet days. And shades of Shostakovich 's troubles seem to be raising their ugly heads.

 

On 10 July 2017 at 01:55, Fiz said:

Russia's official attitude to the LBGT community is absolutely appalling. I would bet that is what is at the bottom of this. 

 

I posted my response referencing Turing and Wilde due to these popular comments by likes, and the general sentiment that Russia is so backward when it comes to LGBT rights referencing the 1930's, and Russia's historical issues being not so different to the UK or other countries. So before people talk about the 'dark old soviet days' the UK has its own. 

 

I don't know of an example of such nudity with a homosexual content being performed on a stage that is majority government funded such as ROH, so mentioned what I tried as the theoretical alternative....a full length ballet about Wayne Sleep showing him fully naked in photos and what is reportedly naked dancing with homosexual 'under/overtones'.

This event then would be a comparison to what is reportedly happening in Russia now.

 

Otherwise we could talk about our own beliefs about what marriage means, adoption etc etc which aren't really helpful in this context or in this forum.

 

I agree with Janet, the past is the past, and in all countries have developed in the last 50 years (including Russia) so references about the distant past are not helpful. This was the high horse I was referencing.

 

I will not comment on an LGBT issue for this year, as it will not bring the conversation any further. It seems That Mr Urin has discussed the reasons of postponement and that the ballet will be shown next year, so all is OK in the world.

[Fiz]

Just a minute, Swiss Ballet Fan. There is real gay persecution going on now in Russia. Google it if you don't believe me. It is relevant whether you like it or not.

[SwissBalletFan]

13 minutes ago, Fiz said:

Just a minute, Swiss Ballet Fan. There is real gay persecution going on now in Russia. Google it if you don't believe me. It is relevant whether you like it or not.

 

This is a different matter entirely, and I think it is not productive to discuss these at all. This thread is about the Nureyev ballet production at the Bolshoi.

 

Again, I ask what would the government say about staging the same ballet at the Royal Opera House with a gay Icon and full frontal naked imagery and dance. It is clearly controversial in Russia as it would be in the UK.

 

I have explained that my view was about the description of old soviet Russia etc etc, and that they were unfair. I accept that the views of general people in the UK are very open for LGBT rights. Any discussion of what is happening in Russia is left to another group to argue, I am not Russian nor have ties, I just made my posts for a balance in the discussion as the BBC would say.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by SwissBalletFan

[Lindsay]

Actually, British theatre, including at subsidised venues like the National has a long tradition of both male and female full frontal nudity on stage, right from Oh Calcutta! and Hair to Ian McKellen's naked Lear to the male rape scenes in The Romans in Britain (which incident by the way also saw the spectacular collapse of Mary Whitehouse's attempt to bring a civil claim to have the play taken off). Even when nudity/rape scenes might be thought gratuitous, as in the Royal Opera's William Tell, not even critics of the piece were calling for censorship, let alone state censorship.   We are long past the days of the Lord Chamberlain's decency rulings. No government in a Western European democratic state these days could simply censor a performance without an absolute outcry from its free press and from its citizens on social media.   I am not holding Britain or any other Western European country up as a utopia and of course bigoted attitudes remain amongst individuals and some newspapers, but in all of those countries free speech and LGBT rights are protected under the law.

 

The Russian government on the other hand, after signs of progression with the decriminalisation of homosexuality (although not until 1993 you might wish to note) over the past few years, has passed openly homophobic laws, imprisoned protesters for LGBT rights and can hardly be said to support freedom of speech and expression (cf a number of murdered journalists).   Anyone who protests in favour of free speech and LGBT rights in Moscow is brave indeed.

 

I had stopped posting here after some recent incidents, but this kind of sentiment, which is either ignorant, bigoted or both cannot be allowed to stand unopposed.

[SwissBalletFan]

1 hour ago, Lindsay said:

Actually, British theatre, including at subsidised venues like the National has a long tradition of both male and female full frontal nudity on stage, right from Oh Calcutta! and Hair to Ian McKellen's naked Lear to the male rape scenes in The Romans in Britain (which incident by the way also saw the spectacular collapse of Mary Whitehouse's attempt to bring a civil claim to have the play taken off). Even when nudity/rape scenes might be thought gratuitous, as in the Royal Opera's William Tell, not even critics of the piece were calling for censorship, let alone state censorship.   We are long past the days of the Lord Chamberlain's decency rulings. No government in a Western European democratic state these days could simply censor a performance without an absolute outcry from its free press and from its citizens on social media.   I am not holding Britain or any other Western European country up as a utopia and of course bigoted attitudes remain amongst individuals and some newspapers, but in all of those countries free speech and LGBT rights are protected under the law.

 

The Russian government on the other hand, after signs of progression with the decriminalisation of homosexuality (although not until 1993 you might wish to note) over the past few years, has passed openly homophobic laws, imprisoned protesters for LGBT rights and can hardly be said to support freedom of speech and expression (cf a number of murdered journalists).   Anyone who protests in favour of free speech and LGBT rights in Moscow is brave indeed.

 

I had stopped posting here after some recent incidents, but this kind of sentiment, which is either ignorant, bigoted or both cannot be allowed to stand unopposed.

'Sigh'... I have written pages in response and deleted them, I will keep it simple, thank you for your time to write and save me from my own 'ignorant and bigoted' views with words from the the UK Free Press (supplied by billionaires).  However before you wrongly think about saving the world, I think it is much better that you should concentrate on what is happening in your own country before writing about ignorance or anything you have read that is happening in other places of the world.

[alison]

Let's please keep this thread from getting overly politicised.

[Balletomanewithoutacause]

The artists attended a huge party last night to celebrate the end of the season featuring pop acts and a huge cake in the shape of the Bolshoi Theatre. The artists repeatedly thanked someone by the name of Roman Arkadievich -- perhaps he paid for the party, I don't know.  Was this intended to "make up" for the disappointment of the canceled Nureyev premier? Here are some photos of the party.  

 

https://www.instagram.com

 

https://www.instagram.com

https://www.instagram.com

 

These may not be embedding properly so I'll try again later.

[Johnpw]

1 hour ago, Lexy said:

The artists attended a huge party last night to celebrate the end of the season featuring pop acts and a huge cake in the shape of the Bolshoi Theatre. The artists repeatedly thanked someone by the name of Roman Arkadievich -- perhaps he paid for the party, I don't know....

Might that be Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich? He could pay for a big party out of the loose change in his pocket..:))

I believe he attends and supports the ballet. And I have an idea from social media that he's friendly with Chelsea-supporting Igor Tsvirko who was one of those cast as Nureyev.

[assoluta]

5 hours ago, Johnpw said:

Might that be Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich?

 

I guess so. He was reportedly in Moscow for the premiere of Nureyev. Postponement of Nureyev unexpectedly resulted in 4 feeric performances of Don Quixote. Practically all dancers gave their best, a similar feast hasn't been seen in a long time. It seems that the majority of viewers were far more happy watching, for example, Lantratov's single-hand acrobatic lifts of his girlfriend Alexandrova in DQ than contemplating the meaning of his anus stuck out at the audience in Nureyev.

Edited July 15, 2017 by assoluta

[MAB]

21 minutes ago, assoluta said:

 

I guess so. He was reportedly in Moscow for the premiere of Nureyev. Postponement of Nureyev unexpectedly resulted in 4 feeric performances of Don Quixote. Practically all dancers gave their best, a similar feast hasn't been seen in a long time. It seems that the majority of viewers were far more happy watching, for example, Lantratov's single-hand acrobatic lifts of his girlfriend Alexandrova in DQ than contemplating the meaning of his anus stuck out at the audience in Nureyev.

 

Are you saying the audience is made up of arch conservatives and homophobes?

[Jan McNulty]

A post on this thread has been hidden because it is in breach of the Forum's AUP.

[Jan McNulty]

10 hours ago, assoluta said:

 

I guess so. He was reportedly in Moscow for the premiere of Nureyev. Postponement of Nureyev unexpectedly resulted in 4 feeric performances of Don Quixote. Practically all dancers gave their best, a similar feast hasn't been seen in a long time. It seems that the majority of viewers were far more happy watching, for example, Lantratov's single-hand acrobatic lifts of his girlfriend Alexandrova in DQ than contemplating the meaning of his anus stuck out at the audience in Nureyev.

 

10 hours ago, MAB said:

 

Are you saying the audience is made up of arch conservatives and homophobes?

 

If there were 4 performances then surely most of those people wouldn't have seen the dress rehearsal of Nureyev.  I've got to admit that my personal taste would be more towards one-handed lifts than people's bits hanging out.  That doesn't make me a homophobe but perhaps it means that I am conservative in (some) of my viewing tastes.

 

I have seen plenty of nudity on stage (not only in dance) and most of it has not added anything to the performance.

[MAB]

When it comes to the choice between new work and something seen umpteen times before, my preference is always towards something new.  There is less creativity now than in all my years of ballet watching and new work keeps the art alive.  Impossible to know what merits or demerits the work has if we're not allowed to see it.

 

Censorship in the arts should ring alarm bells for everyone.

[Jan McNulty]

I don't disagree with your summation MAB but coming from Liverpool (as I do) I know that many ballet-watchers are conservative and like the tried and tested.  It doesn't make them homophobes.

 

Many years ago I remember reading a review of a Dance Umbrella performance.  The gist of it was that the reviewer's aunt was shocked because a male solo performer was dancing in his y-fronts but he solved that issue by taking them off!

Edited July 16, 2017 by Jan McNulty
edited to add a lot more words!

[MAB]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I don't disagree with your summation MAB but coming from Liverpool (as I do) I know that many ballet-watchers are conservative and like the tried and tested.  It doesn't make them homophobes.

 

 

 

It's homophobes in Moscow that concern me.  In the UK LGBT people have human rights enshrined in law, in Russia they don't and the situation is getting worse.  The Nureyev fiasco is is an example of homophobia in high places imposing censorship from above.