A new production of The Pharaoh's Daughter

[Jeannette]

8 hours ago, Buddy said:

 

Thanks, Jeannette. Also, someone has just posted a brief video clip of a favourite of ours, the young Anastasia Plotnikova. She performs the Neva River Dance. It’s the first I’ve seen of her in a long time. I hope to see much more. She’s lovely here.

 

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! 🎼 🎶 

[Buddy]

8 hours ago, Jeannette said:

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! 🎼 🎶 

 

A lot of these video clips have now been removed because of copyright issues so I didn’t get to see Tatiana Tkachenko’s dance along with other things. I did once get to see her performing Odette/Odile (Swan Lake) at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, which she never did at the Mariinsky. She did very well. She also may have been the first ballerina from Russia that I ever saw. She performed Nikiya (La Bayadere) in Detroit about 20 years ago.

 

I continue to like Maria Iliushkina’s interpretation very much. She manages to adapt to the difference in dance styles very well while maintaining all her usual loveliness. The mime being made part of the actual dancing impresses me throughout many of the performances. It adds a new dimension of expression that I think can be used in future productions of the classical works to further enrich their interest and beauty.

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Buddy
typo correction

[Jeannette]

Most early clips were removed.

 

An interesting TV-news report with new clips of the mummy’s-awakening scene, another look at The Monkey (with bees), The Lion, live camels & horsedrawn chariot in the Hunting scene, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyPUxcWOMi8

 

i hope that the geopolitical situation is solved so that anybody in the West might someday see this production live and in person. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by Jeannette

[Angela]

This is a long, extensive review in Russian which also mentions Ratmansky and dancers who talk about the differences between Ratmansky's and Candeloro's versions:

https://muzlifemagazine.ru/vopros-doveriya/

 

Google Translation

[Jeannette]

Hats off to Pierre Lacotte, who achieved his 1999 version at the Bolshoi via old-fashioned “foot-to-foot” research. What he achieved is amazing. I just watched the full Bolshoi DVD, as well as the 1999 films of Ananiashvili/Filin and Gracheva/Tsiskaridze. The only negatives are the exclusion of three River solos (Bolshoi is missing Tiber, Rhine and Thames…Bolshoi has the Neva, Guadalquivir and “Congo”-to the Yellow River solo’s music used at the Mariinsky).  

 

Today marks Lacotte’s birthday- joyeux anniversaire!  What a great job he did!!! We are so blessed for his treasures. 💕 

[Sebastian]

Just noticed this short passage from that lovely book Borzoi by Igor Schwezoff (beloved of a certain generation of balletomane). Perhaps of interest:

 

[Sebastian]

Here is a recent article from the New York Times about, among other things, Ratmansky’s reaction to the recent production:
 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/dance/alexei-ratmansky-mariinsky-pharaohs-daughter.html

 

This article is behind a paywall but that is usually not too difficult to deal with. The article is headed “The Star Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky on Russia’s Cultural War”. 

[alison]

In before Jan or Ian points out that it was in the Links a while ago

[Benjamin]

14 minutes ago, Sebastian said:

Here is a recent article from the New York Times about, among other things, Ratmansky’s reaction to the recent production:
 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/dance/alexei-ratmansky-mariinsky-pharaohs-daughter.html

 

This article is behind a paywall but that is usually not too difficult to deal with. The article is headed “The Star Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky on Russia’s Cultural War”. 

Quite sad that some of the choreography and staging was stolen from him for this production, as he wasn’t able to complete his own production. I’m not surprised but disappointed.

[FionaM]

I understood it was a restaging from the original notation … in that case whoever produces it, it should look like the original.
 

And therefore it MUST have sections that are EXACTLY the same as the original notation.  Whether resurrected by Ratmansky or another.  

Edited April 30, 2023 by FionaE

[FionaM]

The NY Times article may be misleading … the embedded video IS of Ratmansky’s work at Mariinsky on this ballet.  It was recorded in 2021 BEFORE the revised production became necessary.  Uploaded in October 2021 and features Ratmansky running rehearsals.  

 

The Mariinsky could have removed it from their channel. I find it interesting that they have not.  
 

 

[SheilaC]

The link that Amelia so kindly posted of excerpts of ballets recreated by Pierre Lacotte contains several clips of the very young Osipova dancing The Pharoah's Daughter.

[Sebastian]

1 hour ago, SheilaC said:

The link that Amelia so kindly posted of excerpts of ballets recreated by Pierre Lacotte contains several clips of the very young Osipova dancing The Pharoah's Daughter.

…including the last one in the compilation (which I nearly missed as it is separated from the others).
 

Here is the Forum link, plenty to study here:

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27359-pierre-lacotte-1932-2023/?do=findComment&comment=403808

 

[Amelia]

More videos from the new production of "The Pharaoh's Daughter":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MJfvwa7ww4 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRjvzNqcILA