Jeannette

Indeed, Buddy. The six ladies dancing all of the River Variations (not just three, as at The Bolshoi-Lacotte version) is a real joy, the obvious geopolitical troubles aside. I especially loved seeing a long-time favorite Mariinsky soloist, Tatiana Tkachenko (whose graduation I attended…so a while ago) in the fiery Guadalquivir River solo. That’s the River music that keeps playing in my mind! 🎼 🎶

My above link of the A2 Grand Pas Classique includes a number of the Pas’ excerpts, including the Kchessinskaya variation with a dagger that’s described by Lopukhov…”Kchessinskaya’s most famous variation of the ballet, because she looks so Royal!” (My paraphrase)

THE FUN READING SEGMENT! Many of the excerpts being shown are from the famous Act II Grand Pas Classique/Pas de Six . One is this part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9kuh7zp7Ag (the introduction of the Pas.) (or a Pas de Cinq…as Fedor Lopukhov calls it, as the main male character is considered a “walk around” part.) The full translated article about this and other “Petipa Sonatas” can be read, in English, in the 2002 Univ of Wisconsin book of Lopukhov essays titled Writings on Ballet and Music, edited & with intro by Stephanie Jordan, translated by Dorinda Oxford. it’s considered a treasure of classical dance, composed for four women and two men. Unusual groupings. go to pp. 167-172 for the description of the Pas. I loved reading it after seeing the filmed excerpts… the book is on Amazon…so that you see the cover…many of you have it, I bet: https://www.amazon.com/Writings-Ballet-Music-Studies-History/dp/0299182746/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2SRLTZNLEXAAB&keywords=fedor+Lopukhov&qid=1680055736&sprefix=fedor+lopukhov%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1

Yes, I noticed fan-cam videos of three performances, on YouTube. Links above. I guess that we’re not really dipped to watch but it’s hard to ignore. My husband & I planned a trip to be there for the premiere in May 2022. Not to be. The clip with the Monkey reminds me of Balanchine, who danced this role as a student.

Yet, I see that Mr & Mrs Ratmansky are now in Vilnius, Lithuania, staging their version of Harlequinade! Not so far away!!! All in the ex-USSR. Funny world. https://m.facebook.com/search_results/?q=alexei+ratmansky

Condensed into two acts? So we modern viewers get bored by longer works? Thank goodness that Fateev doesn’t apply these rules to The Sleeping Beauty!

One of great dramatic ballerinas of the same era, in 1960s, in the USSR, was Violetta Bovt of the Stanislavsky -& a muse of Vladimir Bourmeister. One of her last staged roles was Tatiana in the final pdd of Cranko’s Onegin. I thought of her in light of Seymour’s death. Two great dramatic dancers in the same wonderful era. In the 1970s, Bovt returned to her native USA, to serve as Ballet Mistress and coach of Ballet Met in Columbus, OH.

The documentary could be the 1978 “In a Class of her Own” - also marketed on VHS tape as “Ballerina: Lynn Seymour.” In that, I especially enjoy rehearsal bits of Ashton’s Two Pigeons final pdd with Christopher Gable. To me, the most fascinating Seymour doc was filmed around 1965 for British TV that featured two artists, a pop star plus Lynn Seymour, titled “This Week: A Tale of Two Talents,” including the rape pdd from Macmillan’s The Invitation (assuming w/ Desmond Doyle; not identified). In all of the documentaries, it’s fascinating that she defied the standard look of ballerinas…different sort of face, figure, etc. Lynn Seymour overcame all obstacles. Quite a tale.

Perdziola, the set/costume designer, was in St Petersburg with Ratmansky. The sets and costumes were prepared before the war. It’s not fair to include Perdziola in this statement. Candeloro - I don’t know.

Buddy, all of the ballets listed (bolded) in the above segment of the paragraph are related to works by Lacotte. Much of Ms Salmon’s staging career has been affiliated with Lacotte.

This breaks my heart. Lynn Seymour was a beautifully unique artist. I’ll never forget her in Ashton’s A Month in the Country. May she rest in peace.

Yes, Buddy. Anne Salmon was his Assistant Choreographer.

Somewhat related, coming up - The Mariinsky programmed an all-Ratmansky-choreographed triple bill on 30 March 2023, with Seven Sonatas, Pierrot Lunaire and Concerto DSCH. The evening is titled “Ballets of the 21st Century” and no choreographer is cited. Hmmm… 🤔 https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/playbill/2023/3/31/1_1900/

PD also has a cobra’s head popping out of a standing basket. 🐍 Petipa loved to repeat certain effects.

interesting…similar to Lizi Avsadzhanishvili (now in Berlin)….tenth letter for Lizi is an “i” instead of an “a”. Different, I know. Just curious. Glad that Alina’s career is working out & moving on successfully.

Maybe in China? Not in the US or other capitalistic-economy countries, given today’s economic challenges. Thinking about the high production values - true scenery rather than projections, for starters.

Robert Perdziola worked with Ratmansky on the reconstruction of ABT’s Petipa’s Harlequinade, also seen at the Australian Ballet. It was a very traditional and luxurious production, following the original designs of 1900. Perdziola also designed the ABT Ratmansky The Seasons. I’m sure that these Pharaoh’s Daughter designs will be outstanding, just from the bits seen in the film. It would’ve been very difficult to withdraw the designs, as most were constructed before the troubles. The current situation is too bad on many fronts. I feel sad about not being able to go - or not wanting to go anytime soon. It is what it is. p.s. Unrelated but due to potential principal casting: Alina Somova seems to have gone…retired? It’s been about 20 years since her graduation. https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/ballet/soloists/

As Mr. Ratmansky understandably backed out of his Russian projects a year ago, this new reconstruction at the Mariinsky was taken over by Italian choreographer Toni Candeloro, about whom we have this short bio: https://petipamarathon.com/speakers/toni-candeloro/ I know of his Diaghilev-era ballet reconstructions but not of 19th-C work. Candeloro has staged Petipa works via the Stepanov notes, I’ve read. I guess that we’ll soon find out…or whoever will be there watching. The Bolshoi’s circa-1999 edition is mostly of new choreography by Pierre Lacotte, although there was an attempt to reconstruct the River Variations via documentation by Doug Fullington. In the end, it didn’t work out & Lacotte staged three River variations.

This is becoming a multi-year process. I hope I’m still alive when it comes out! 😉 Now scheduled to be released on 13 June 2023, as per the US Amazon site…but the price has not gone down: https://www.amazon.com/Petersburg-Noverre-Marius-Petipa-Russia/dp/1839984163/ref=m_piup_s_dr_sccl_16/144-5094400-0926954?pd_rd_w=cbNNK&content-id=amzn1.sym.659f5fbf-be3a-4043-bedb-d41d1c952847&pf_rd_p=659f5fbf-be3a-4043-bedb-d41d1c952847&pf_rd_r=0P382SV3MPF6SXEAETZ0&pd_rd_wg=XvE9r&pd_rd_r=ee7d4c45-aaf0-4a27-8be1-c4672e6e33f0&pd_rd_i=1839984163&psc=1

Emeralds, hi - just saw this. This was a year ago, when I still lived in DC. Drinks purchased at intermission were allowed inside the Kennedy Center auditoriums only if they were in a coffee cup with a lid…including leftover champagne, I saw from neighbors. I don’t know if it’s changed…if clear glasses or champagne flutes are allowed into the show. (???)

@Sebastian Thank you. I’ll forever remember the Titus document after this. Titus - Titus - Titus!!! 🤣 I just rewatched the latest PNB stream - so sharp and clear! Even compared with the Ratmansky-Bolshoi version, these PNB designs by Jerome Kaplan take my prize of the most luxurious version ever rendered. Perfection to my eyes! I’m also in admiration for PNB’s soloists - Lesley Rausch is so vivacious as Giselle; no wilting Spesivitseva she! Moore’s entrechats as Albrecht, in his final “dance to death solo” are amazing! Elle Macy is strong, yet ethereal, as Myrtha…but I especially adore the brief solo of Zulma- Madison Rayn Abeo. Oh, my goodness! I’d love to see her ethereal, long-necked Giselle, some day. Gorgeous spot-on corps, too.

Denard was a superstar at the height of the Ballet Boom era. I remember him shining in all of those Romantic PDDs by Lacotte, often partnering Ghislaine Thesmar. Gala Royalty! May he Rest In Peace. 👼

@annamicroGoecke overstrained my tolerance with his twitchy Nutcracker, LOL! Goecke used the ”goods” of his often-seen dog, Gustav…pictured in this article: https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/marco-goecke-german-ballet-director-rubs-dog-poo-on-critics-face-b1060265.html Now the ballet world’s most famous pooch?

The Giselle digital program notes/booklet can be accessed for free here (no need to purchase access to do that): https://www.pnb.org/season/giselle/ @Sebastian, Doug Fullington and Marian Smith informed AD/choreographer Peter Boal, based on known notes (Justement, Stepanov, and one other). Having watched & “made notes” of both the PNB and Bolshoi- Ratmansky productions, the main differences are what I pointed out above, in A2: Only PNB includes the “drunken villagers” scene right after Giselle joins the Wilis. Only Ratmansky includes the Wilis’ Fugue in between the death of Hilarion and the main Albrecht-Giselle pdd. Both PNB and Ratmansky-Bolshoi include the “old guys” scene at the beginning of A2, before Myrtha first appears. Both PNB and Ratmansky-Bolshoi included the “Giselle forgives” end with Bathilde coming onto the scene before the curtain goes down.

Yes, Fiona, the price is rather steep. However, as I’m retired and living on an island far from any major ballet troupe, PNB’s annual digital subscription (about $250 for 7 ballet nights) is a saving grace. Imagine what it would cost me to fly to a large US city + lodging, etc! Oddly, PNB has become my “virtual local company,” as I am their regular subscriber in the Caribbean. (If only other companies on this earth also offered full-season virtual subscriptions! I’m hoping that PNB can maintain this generosity for many years to come!) Watched Giselle yesterday. What a treasure, so gorgeously filmed in HD, with a mixture of camera angles/zooms! This was better than the single high-up camera of a 2014 performance shown during the early-COVID months…and I was darn grateful for that in May 2020. My lone complaint about the PNB recon of Giselle, compared to the 2019 Bolshoi-Ratmansky version: no Fugue des Wilis in Act II, as at the Bolshoi (or the later Ukrainian-Ratmansky version, I’ve read)…but the PNB recon includes the drunken villagers episode in the middle of Act II, before Albrecht’s entrance.