Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: Cinderella

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I was surprised when Amazon asked me to be the first to review this ballet but, here goes.
Back about 5 years ago I went to the Kennedy Center to see the Kirov's newly redone version of Cinderella and loved it. Set in modern times with minimal scenery, Cinderella in leg warmers, the Fairy Godmother a bag lady and the four seasons variations being performed by men, I thought it was terrific. I have wished ever since that the Kirov would film and release this version.
I like the Royal Ballet version also - for different reasons but it's been a long time since it was made and I think newer performances are much needed. Being a composer of our time, I think Prokofiev's music does adapt to a version which is set in more modern times.
I have always loved Nureyev's choreography. It's clever, intricate and, I'm sure, not so easy for dancers to do. In most cases the ballets he worked on were all some of his work added to that of previous choreographers of years gone by. So, if you like Nureyev's work there's the really big reason to get this performance because this is entirely his work and I think it's fun and unique.
The basic story is the same but is set in Hollywood at a similar time to "Singing In The Rain" when movies were in their early days. The Fairy Godmother is the Movie Producer, the Prince is the Film Star and movie sets provide opportunities for a lot of great dancing. Nureyev's wicked Stepmother (as in Ashton's Royal Ballet version) is played by a man.
A very good additon to this DVD is an extra disc with a movie about the creation of the ballet and it's story. It provides great insight into Nureyev's creative process and I think it alone is worth the price.
The performances are all just what you'd expect from the Paris Opera Ballet and it was filmed in front of an audience. Again if you're a fan of the company this is worth having.
Just one very small thing. In 1987 this ballet was filmed in a French studio for television (the BBC, I think). It was released by NVC and stars Sylvie Guillem as Cinderella, Charles Jude as the Film Star, Nureyev himself as the Film Producer and Isabelle Guerin as one of the sisters. It was produced and directed by Nureyev with Colin Nears directing for TV and I actually like this version better. Possibly because it was filmed in a studio which allows for more close-ups to show expression, the performance is a little more low key than the newer version.
I hope that whoever is responsible for making these decisions will release the 1987 version on DVD and if/when they do that performance is also worth having

Rudolf Nureyev created his own version of "Cinderella" for the Paris Opera Ballet with one ballerina in mind: the phenom Sylvia Guillem, whose sky-high extensions, glamorous looks, and daring style galvanized the ballet world in the 1980s. His "Cinderella" is set in the 1920s, and Cinderella dreams of being a Hollywood star. The "fairy godmother" is in this case a movie producer, played originally by Nureyev himself. There exists a film of the original cast -- Sylvie Guillem, Charles Jude, Rudolf Nureyev, and Isabel Guerin and Monique Loudieres as the stepsisters.

The dancer critic Arlene Croce once called Nureyev a choreographer of "staggering incompetence" and in some cases, I do agree. He tended to create overlong interpolated solos for the male dancers, and loved to fill his ballets with a whole bunch of "little steps" that aren't so much impressive as they are just "busy dance." But I find "Cinderella" to be one of his less offensive creations. It's a lot of fun, it has its humor and charm, and I like the Hollywoodesque adaptation of the fairy tale. The costumes and sets are great.

But back when Nureyev created this Cinderella the POB was perhaps the best it had ever been, and ever would be. Nureyev was good at discovering young talent, and the video from the 1980s shows the top-down strength of the company. Even the smaller roles were cast with future etoiles. While Guillem was never exactly vulnerable as Cinderella, she did inject the role with her own star quality. The video is not great ballet, but great fun.

Unfortunately that video was never released onto DVD. Now we have a live performance with the newer generation of POB etoiles. Agnes Letetsu and Jose Martinez are the leads. They are beautiful-looking dancers who dance impeccably. But Letetsu is one of the coldest, most remote of the POB etoiles. Not for a second does she exhibit any warmth or vulnerability. (To see how a Cinderella can be totally heart-warming, watch the old videos of Margot Fonteyn or Antoinette Sibley in Frederick Ashton's version.) Her facial expressions tend to be stony, and she in general holds herself like a statue. She has a wonderfully austere classical line. Maybe for some of the more classical ballets this is appropriate, but for Cinderella it seems so very wrong. Jose Martinez is good-looking but has a vacant, vapid expression that I find irritating.

The supporting roles are also not as strongly cast as in the earlier video. By 1987 Nureyev's body was wracked by AIDS, and his attempts to dance in the classical roles were painful to watch. But in this kind of mostly mime character role, he could still turn on the charm and magic. The stepsisters Guerin and Loudieres in the earlier film are also stronger dancers than Laeticia Pujol and Stephanie Romberg.

This Cinderella is a somewhat sobering reminder that the company as a whole nowadays is not as strong of a company as it was during Nureyev's era. Nureyev's tenure at the Paris Opera Ballet was filled with acrimony and tension, but he knew how to spot stars and develop them. Recent videos from the Paris Opera Ballet show a company with a corps de ballet as strong as ever, productions that are beautiful, but indifferent casting from the leads. A shame.