Customer Reviews

The Kirov Celebrates Nijinsky / Sheherazade, La Spectre de la Rose, The Polovtsian Dances, The Firebird

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Vaslav Nijinsky's dance career was short and troubled, but his effect on dance profound. His elevation was legendary, as well as his androgyny. After Nijinsky, male dancers were no longer expected to be stiff "attendants" but virtuosos in their own right.
Nijinsky, as well as his main choreographer Michael Fokine, and his partner Tamara Karsavina, all started their careers at the Imperial Ballet (now the Kirov Ballet). So it's fitting that the Kirov releases a program devoted to Nijinsky pieces.
Scherherazade is a bit of a fluff piece -- Rimsky Korsakov's score is very familiar, and the story is basically a preview of the Arabian Nights. A sultan finds out his wife is having an affair, slaughters her lover, and the wife kills herself. Svetlana Zakharova's incredible plasticity and sensuality of movement are in itself a joy to watch. Emotionally, she's a bit too overtly sexy and cold for my taste -- I would have liked someone who was more mysterious and exotic. Farukh Ruzimatov as Scherherazade's lover was fantastic. His sinewy, almost feline grace are a fitting tribute to Nijinsky.
Spectre a la Rose was well-danced by Igor Kolb and Zhanna Ayupova. Ayupova is properly dreamy, although she doesnt remember to keep her eyes closed. Kolb was a great Spectre, until the famous leap out the window. Kolb sets himself a bit too carefully, and ruins the magic spell of the spectre. A disappointing ending to a very well-danced ballet.
Polovtsian Dances was IMO choreographically the most disappointing. Borodin's music is lovely, but the ballet as a whole failed to become a single coherent vision. (Not surprisingm, as it's an extract from the opera Prince Igor).
Finally, the Firebird, with Diana Vishneva and Andrey Yakovlev. For me, just this Firebird is worth buying the entire dvd. Diana Vishneva is the ballerina that puts the "Fire" in "firebird." It'd be hard to imagine a better performance today. She seems born to play the part -- with her glamorous, bird-like features, and even slightly crooked legs. With a flick of her wing (to suggest fire) or a kick of her long legs, Diana owns the stage. I also have a performance by Nina Ananiashvilli, and Ananiashvilli is more lyrical, less dangerous. But Diana is a STAR -- like all stars, she demands attention even if shes not actually dancing. And when she dances! The sheer enthusiasm of her dancing is a joy to behold. Diana's portrayal is also a bit unorthodox. Most Firebirds portray the ferocious FEAR they have at being captured by the Prince. Diana's Firebird is way too self-possessed for naked fear. She portrays a kind of nuisance annoyance, as one would feel for a persistent fly. When he refuses to release her, you can actually see her switch gears and seduce him. Never has Stravinsky's adagio music sounded so sensuous and langorous. When Diana finally reaches back to give the Prince her feather, you know that she is the conquerer rather than the conquered.
The staging for the Firebird is surprisingly fussy, but I guess this is keeping within the spirit of the Russian folktale. Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, after all, werefamous for their expensive, painstaking sets.
It would have been interesting if the Kirov had tried to replicate some of Nijinsky's more controversial works like The Afternoon of the Faun but overall with 110 minutes of dancing and a budget price this dvd is a must-get! As usual, Kultur breaks down the chapters into large chunks, which makes it inconvenient to replay individual parts of each ballet.

It is ironic to watch the Kirov Ballet perform works that were not seen in Russia at the time of their original creation. [The exception is the Polovtsian Dances] All are well presented and performed.
The gem of the DVD is the production of Sheherazade -- the Bakst decor and costumes are ravishing. The performances chew the scenery without having it actually fall down! I enjoyed Svetlana Zakharova's aloofness because it symbolized,for me, her position as the favorite wife. There was an intentity underlying her coolness, which made her final moments even more effective. I think Fokine would have liked her performace for its dignity & restraint. As performed by Zakharova & Farukh Ruzimatov, the central duet between Zobeide and the Golden Slave sizzles, perhaps a bit more "hands on" than in the first performances of 1910 :)
The downside of the DVD is the lead performance of Firebird. Compared to the old [currently unavailable, alas] Royal Ballet version with Margot Fonteyn [who was coached by the original Firebird, Tamara Karsavina] the Firebird of Diana Vishneva is pale. Her performance was more ballerina than bird. You didn't see her desperation or struggle in her attempts to escape the Prince's clutches. The steps are all there, but as danced by Vishneva they don't make dramatic sense.

The four ballets presented by the Kirov are all based on the original designs for Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, and the jewel-like colors leap off the screen. (The costumes for Sheherezade and The Firebird especially seem to be inspired by the jeweled eggs of Faberge.) The dancing is indeed technically accomplished -- perhaps too much so, since the bodies that Michael Fokine had to work with were probably not quite this flexible (just a theory). I've read the posted reviews on this site, and they had valuable things to say: I find myself wavering somewhere in between.

Scheherezade seems to be the least choreographically accomplished, taking a while before the dancing really kicks in, and when it does, the moves seem quite repetitive at times, especially in the long central pas de deux. (Sometimes it seems like there are long stretches of filler material.) Still, I've only read about it up to now, so it was good to see it.

Le Spectre de la Rose is a mood piece more than anythng else, and the performance here is quite good. So what if Zhanna Ayupova forgets to close her eyes: other famous theatrical sleepwalkers keep their eyes open as well, notably Shakespeare's Scottish Lady in the play and in Verdi's opera. Otherwise, how would she know where she was going? (And don't forget Balanchine's sleepwalker in La Sonnambula.) This sleepwalker gets the romantic mood right, and that's what matters. Igor Kolb as The Spectre is appropriately androgynous, and although I found his leaps graceful, they didn't seem quite effortless.

I saw a production of Prince Igor in New York some years ago, and the ballet was the best part. The choreography then was by Balanchine; the Fokine original presented here is very exciting and captures the exotic and barbaric energy of the score perfectly. Too bad the sopranos in the chorus were too far away from the microphones -- they get most of the tunes; and because the altos are right on top of the amplification, they do not sound beautiful.

I bought this DVD for The Firebird: I think it's the only really traditional one available (?). Visually, it is stunning to see.
I did find Diana Vishneva's performance more concerned with choreography than drama: her attempts at escape from Prince Ivan just seemed to be an ordinary set of lifts. As Ivan, Andrei Yakovlev doesn't get much to do besides partnering and postering, but he does it well and presents a real character. I don't recall Kotschei being quite so reptilian: Vladimir Ponomarev's performance - and his costume - is delightfully hideous.

The Mariinski Theater orchestra under Mikhail Agrest performs the various scores well, but they fall asleep for a moment in the apotheosis section of The Firebird. All in all, this is a very entertaining DVD, and deserves repeated viewings.

The Kirov dancers not only have formidable technique, they know how to use it. The dancers are all beautiful but sincere and dance honestly. Especially notable is their joy of folk dancing in this DVD. It captures the true spirit of dance, which is joy. I can watch this over and over and never tire of the beautiful dancing of the Russians. To me, the two jewels of this recording are the Firebird and Spectre de la Rose. I imagine what Nijinsky must have looked like as the spirit of the rose. The Russian man has amazing flexibility, which is only seen in male dances who start training young enough to develop it. The choreography of this is brilliant, as is the choreography in the Firebird. The firebird is a true animal spirit, which Nijinsky has captured in his ballet. A very entertaining DVD.

This is a very good video for people who are interested in getting ballet on video. It includes four short ballets, each in a different style and by a different composer, and all excellently performed. Unfortunately, it does not have the story of any of the ballets, which makes it hard to follow the action for anyone who is not already familiar with these ballets. If they had included a synopsis I would have rated it 5 stars.

This is one of the best purchases I ever made! The music, the dancing, and the selection of pieces all complement each other to provide for a true beautiful performance. My favorites at this point are Sheherezade and La Spectre de la Rose. I really like to wake up and whenever I can watch them because they have so much positive energy and beauty about them. Highly recommend it!

The quality of the taping was superb....sound, picture clarity. I've seen some recording of live ballets that were pretty awful in sound and picture. As for the perfomances themsevles.....it was good, not great. The Kirov is considered to have the best Chore in the industry, yet they were hardly on stage. All in all, it's not a bad purchases if you are a ballet enthusiast.

If you only ordered this DVD to get "Firebird", you would get your money's worth. However, the other three ballets are bonuses worthy of your time and money also. The ballets on this disc, in the order they appear in the program are: Sheherazade,w/music of Rimsky-Korsakov, Le Spectre de La Rose w/music of Carl Maria Von Weber, Polovtsian Dances, w/music of Alexander Borodin, and Firebird, w/music of Igor Stravinsky. All of the music is spectacular, but Firebird is a cut above.

Diana Vishneva is a fabulous Firebird, with great jumping and turning ability, typical of the Russian ballerinas, and her partner Andrei Yakovlev, is very good also, but his dancing is limited to supporting his partner. Besides, he would have had trouble dancing in the costume they had him in. I think that if he had grasped a real bird by the tail-feathers as he did his Firebird, she would have just pulled out her tail-feathers as she struggled to get away. I caught a little bird once on my enclosed porch, (I was afraid it would break it's neck flying into the windows), so I held it by it's tail-feathers as I was trying to release it, and it pulled ALL it's tail-feathers out as it struggled to get away. It was able to fly w/o It's tail-feathers, however. Our Firebird did not pull out her tail-feathers until she was ready to give one to her captor in exchange for her release. A very magical feather it is too, for when our hero is about to be turned into stone by the magic of the evil sorcerer Kotchei (sometimes spelled Kashchey), he uses it to call the Firebird to his rescue. Some of you have never seen this ballet, (I had not when I first bought it) so, take the plunge and get it to view over and over. If you really love FIREBIRD, for heavens sake, get the Royal Ballet version also, w/Leanne Benjamin....Stravinsky - The Firebird & Les Noces / Royal Ballet....It's even better than this one (IMO). Read my review on it.

The best thing about Sheherazade is it's music. The story concerns an orgy, plain and simple. Of course, this is an orgy your children can watch. An Arabian Sultan, Shakhriar, has a harem, and I suppose his favorite concubine is Zabeida, whom he suspects is unfaithful to him. So, he fakes a hunting trip and goes off leaving his harem to the safe keeping of a comical eunuch, who is tricked into giving up the keys of the harem to the concubines, who in turn unlock the doors to allow their lovers inside to.....well you know what. The Sultan returns to find the orgy, and kills everyone. But, to hear the beautiful music you have to put up with a 20 to 30 murders, and one suicide. Not too much to ask, is it?

Le Spectre de La Rose is the story of a girl who dreams. She falls asleep with a rose in her hand, and dreams of a ghost who enters through a window looking all rose colored, and dances with her until she awakens, then he jumps through the window through which he entered. The music is Von Weber's, "Invitation to the Dance", which is his claim to fame. The story is believable, because remember, the only entertainment in years past was dancing and other musical galas, so she could have gone to a dance and dreamed about it later. It's a very nice short ballet.

Polovtsian Dances includes a vocal by a Russian speaking chorus of very good voices. Of course a ballet is the main feature, with music by Borodin. The beautiful music inspired the once popular song "Stranger in Paradise", back when songs used to make sense. This is also a short ballet worth having. For pure listening pleasure, this is as good as music gets. It's right up there with Tchaikovsky for me.

Hey, would you be interested in hearing another fabulous Russian chorus? Buy the opera SADKO by Rimsky-Korsakov. It has an aria by a tenor that is so utterly beautiful you might cry when you hear it. It's called THE SONG OF INDIA sung by "the indian guest". The dancing girls he brings with him aren't hard to look at either.....Rimsky-Korsakov - Sadko / Vladimir Galouzine, Gegam Grigorian, Sergei Alexashkin, Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Putilin, Valery Gergiev, Kirov Opera

I purchased this DVD with excitement to see Svetlana Zakharova's performance as I am a loyal and devoted fan, and this video does not disappoint! Svetlana is truly amazing. I must admit though, (and I truly hate to admit this) i think the costume choice for her was a bad one. I found myself focused on her ribs showcasing themselves every time she moved, as she is one of our more delicate beauties of ballet. "Le Spectre De La Rose is a little dull in my opinion, but the celebration glo's with talent in the other performances. Vishneva is a lovely "Firebird". I would've liked more emotion from her, but her beautiful extensions, and striking beauty more than make up for it. This DVD is a ruby to add to any collection of gems!!!

Sheherazade is the sort of ballet that influenced fashion at Pre World War I in that era.It was extremely popular then in all the most fashionable cities in europe at the time even the aristocracy was facinated by this ballet and the fashions that "came out" of it for women then.I enjoyed all of the ballets that are on this cd a great deal including the fire bird.The movments,the way that everything was done .I'm not an expert at this sort of thing but I enjoyed it thoroughly!