Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake [DVD Video]

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

 

 

I was surprised to get a msg from Amazon asking me to write a review for this Swan Lake. Obviously, I must be one of the early buyers and perhaps there has not been a rush of buyers and reviewers. It puzzled me because Maya Plisetskaya is arguably the greatest dancer of our generation. Some compare her position in ballet to Maria Callas' in opera, unequaled and unchallenged in their respective spheres.

However, for people who may not be familiar with Plisetskaya, I can understand the price tag could be a "show stopper". Maybe she's not current enough for the younger ballet enthusiasts. I would suggest watching a few clips on Youtube of Plisetskaya dancing in her prime to convince them what a phenomenon Maya Plisetskaya was and still is.

I was fortunate to have seen her perform Swan Lake in San Francisco in 1959, the first time she was allowed to leave the Soviet Union to tour with the Bolshoi. She was in her early 30's by then. This DVD is a 1976 performance to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi. Maya Plisetskaya was 51. Think about it.

For the sake of comparison, I viewed her earlier version taped in late 1950's with the Bolshoi. Trying very hard to be objective, I really couldn't see she had lost anything. Unbelievable! With age, she had deepened her emotional expressiveness a great deal, especially in Act 4. You could see the Swan Queen was so wounded even physically that you couldn't withhold your emphathy. I also liked the "happy ending" that the Russians favor over the sad one. When she stepped in front of the prince to protect him from getting killed, timed perfectly to the music, it was overwhelmingly moving.

The taping of this performance was not world class as the cliche goes. There were moments I'd like to put my hands around the necks of the lighting designer, the sound technician, and a few in the audience (for some very inconsiderate coughing). What clots! But the audience (in the Kremlin Palace Theatre, not the Bolshoi) was super enthusiastic. Maya was getting flowers thrown to her feet starting at the end of the Act II curtain calls.

Yes, the corps de ballet and the principal dancers and soloists all showed up to play this evening. Also, Bogatirev dancing the prince was wonderful. Fluid, lyrical, handsome with a great body. The corps was precise, beautiful, and held their lines straight as a ruler. I had again compared them to the Swan Lake of the Royal Ballet and the recent ABT performances. I have to give edge to the Bolshoi.

No, this may not be the Swan Lake for the ages. But for the dancing and the occasion, I could not rate it less than 5 stars. Most of all, it was for Maya Plisetskaya, a teasure to last for our days.

I bought this DVD a few days ago because I had never seen Maya Plisetskaya dance and I'd read so much about her I just had to see what she was all about. I'm glad to say she is fantastic. I have a lot of Swan Lake DVD's and Maya's Odette/Odile is one that stands out. She really creates characters like I've never seen before. Beautiful dancing and drama. On the down side, the lighting of the stage was not very good. Much of the background was in darkness and only the person(s) dancing had light on them. I like to see everything on the stage so I was disappointed with the lighting. I'm still glad I have this recording of Maya Plisetskaya. Now I'll be looking for more of her on DVD.

Despite poor lighting, marginal sound, a lack of sets and mind numbing assaults on the choreography of Petipa and Ivanov by Yuri Grigorovich, Maya triumphs. By this performance, in 1976 when Maya was 51, she had performed Swan Lake over 800 times. For those of us who have followed her career, admired her art, and come to love her, this is a heart warming momento. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly at all, she still dances with the same charm and charisma that she possessed 30 years earlier. No, she does not still do Odiles 32 fouettes or some of the other more athletic variations of her earlier career. But she still exhibits the same grace, delicacy and charm. The audience must have had the same memories, as they applauded her over and over, hardly letting her finish an act without stopping the action with standing ovations. This is not a DVD to become enmeshed in the story of Swan Lake. It is a backdrop to celebrate 100 years of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi and to commemorate the contributions and fortitude of Maya. It is also a transitional piece, exhibiting many of the up and coming Bolshoi hopefuls. Of interest is that in some scenes, other ballerinas are in the background mimicking Maya's movements. Perhaps this is a bow to the role of Maya as a teacher and model for those who come after her. I thoroughly enjoyed this celebration and I am delighted to add this disc to my collection.

The VAI will be presenting a historical version of the ballet Swan Lake. Music by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Marius Petipa (First and Third Act) and Lev Ivanov (Second and Fourth Act), is one of the most popular ballet repertoire. The Russians love it, the cold war did everything to show their superiority, including the arts through ballet. The presentation, recorded in the Kremlin and not the Bolshoi, shows that the Russians have the best in dance, but fail in other areas.

The corps de ballet and soloists of the Bolshoi are of exceptional category. Dance to near perfection. Who is used to watching modern versions may notice the style of the communes, but for the time was what was best in the field of ballet.

Plisetskaya was already a star, had 51 carnivals in 1976, the year of recording. His dancing is magnificent, his actions are precise, his strength is in their hands. Float with its turns. Even with advanced age for a dancer, can make a Odete / Odile passionate and sensual. When enters the stage and took the fourth position of the Swan, the applause of the audience in the theater radiate eternal 30 seconds. The dancer does not disappoint, their pas de deux is a lesson in technique and virtuosity. Balance and delicacy in equal measure, complement the great performance of this ballet diva.

The video lose many interesting scenes and show others unnecessary. The image is poor. The light is trivial monochrome and static. The costumes are rudimentary, the simple scenarios. The 70's already had costumes and scenery are most advanced in Western opera. The sound is of poor quality, a guy coughing repeatedly throughout the second act on. Palms interrupt at any moment the function, seems to present the Brazilian public.

The Soviets could have the best corps de ballet in the world, made it through hard training and dedication too. But they could not produce a satisfactory quality video. Compared with western recordings from the same period, his work seems amateur. Why communism sank.

O selo VAI apresenta uma versão histórica do balé O Lago dos Cisnes. Musicado por Tchaikovsky e coreografado por Marius Petipa (Primeiro e Terceiro ato) e Lev Ivanov (Segundo e Quarto ato), é um dos balés mais populares do repertório. Os russos o adoram , na guerra fria fizeram de tudo para mostrar sua superioridade, nas artes inclusive, através do balé. A apresentação, gravada no Kremilin e não no bolshoi, mostra o que os russos têm de melhor em matéria de dança, mas falham em demais quesitos.

O corpo de baile e os solistas do bolshoi são de excepcional categoria. Dança que beira a perfeição. Quem está acostumado a assistir as versões modernas pode estranhar o estilo dos comunas, mas para a época era o que melhor existia em matéria de bailado.

Plisetskaya já era uma estrela, contava com 51 carnavais em 1976, ano da gravação do vídeo. Sua dança é magnífica, seus passos são precisos, sua força está nas mãos. Flutuam com seus giros. Mesmo com idade avançada para uma bailarina, consegue fazer uma Odete/Odile apaixonada e sensual. Quando adentra ao palco e assume a quarta posição do Cisne, as palmas da platéia irradiam pelo teatro por eternos 30 segundos. A bailarina não decepciona, seus pas de deux são uma aula de técnica e virtuosi. Equilíbrio e delicadeza, na medida certa, complementam o grande desempenho dessa diva do balé.

As virtudes da gravação acabam por aí. As tomadas do vídeo são infantis, perdem muitas cenas interessantes e mostram outras desnecessárias. A imagem é pobre. A luz é banal, monocromática e estática. Os figurinos são rudimentares, os cenários simples. A década de 70 já apresentava figurinos e cenários mais avançados em teatros ocidentais. O som é de péssima qualidade, um camarada tosse insistentemente todo o segundo ato em diante. As palmas interrompem a todo instante a função, até parece o público brasileiro atual.

Os soviéticos podiam ter o melhor corpo de baile do mundo, faziam isso através de treinos árduos e dedicação excessiva. Mas não conseguiam produzir um vídeo com qualidade satisfatória. Comparados com gravações ocidentais, da mesma época, seu trabalho parece amador. Por isso que o comunismo afundou.

Ali Hassan Ayache

I would have to agree with many of the previous reviews, that the quality of the photography and sometimes the sound isn't all that great, and that the lighting is not adequate to capture the performances as well as it should. That being said, it's an incredibly beautiful performance and worth putting up with the disappointments in sound, photography and lighting, to appreciate. Maya Pleitskaya is miraculous as Odette. As the white swan she is so delicately fragile; her long slender arms more evocative of the flutter of soft graceful wings, than any dancer I've ever seen. The scenes with the prince and Odette are achingly tender and beautiful, both before and after the encounter with the Black Swan. As Odille (the Black Swan) she impresses with her confidence, grace and power in subtler ways than younger dancers but its a primer for them too. It isn't necessary to hose the stage with super-powers and athletic pyrotechnics get the effect you want. Dead Solid Perfect is just as good and frequently better. The dancer who dancers the part of Prince Sigfreid more than looks the part and does brilliantly. I was really pleased to have purchased this for my collection and I think you would be too.

Amazingly, the great ballerina Maya Plisetskaya was 51 when this gala production was recorded by the Bolshoi company in Moscow's Kremlin Palace. The production was mounted to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ballet's première, and so one significant advantage this has over most other available DVD releases is that its musical edition is pure Tchaikovsky, without including the interpolations by Drigo customarily found in many other sets (such as the finely danced 1980's Kirov version with Makhalina). It's well played and conducted, with sensibly musical tempi (once again unlike that Kirov version) and includes the Russian dance in Act 3 as well as many more repeats than is usual in stage productions of the ballet.

First, I have to report that there are significant downsides to both production and picture quality. The tatty sets and basic staging around Petipa and Ivanov's classic choreography are (perhaps mercifully!) so poorly lit that the whole ballet seems to be taking place in stygian gloom, except for the spotlights on the principal dancers. The video quality is slightly fuzzy, colour definition is poor, and there are some bald edits where fragments of the performance seem to have gone missing.

Second, let me suggest that none of this matters one jot, when at the heart of the matter we have the privilege of witnessing a searing performance from one of the world's great dancers. If her sheer athleticism isn't what it had been a quarter of a century earlier, Plisetskaya more than compensates through depth and subtlety in the role of the swan-princess Odette. The way she suggests the physical discomfort of swan-into-woman, though angular hand movements, gauky and tentative steps, slightly stiff "wing-shoulders" and the rest, is mesmerising and very moving.

The contrast between this and the simulated sentiment of her "black swan" Odile is subtle but telling. A particularly opaque online review of this DVD elsewhere suggested how disappointing it was that Plisetskaya could no longer manage the traditional "32 fouettes" at the climax of the "Black Swan Pas de Deux". Alas, that reviewer was evidently oblivious to the fact that she was not dancing to the Drigo score which supports such Olympian gymnastics, but to Tchaikovsky's original music which has no space for said pyrotechnics! This isn't gymnastics, but dance drama of the highest order.

The supporting cast is led by the young Bogatirev - supple, strong and conveying noble innocence throughout - and features strong performers in all the supporting roles (not least Vladimir Abrosimov's exhilarating Jester). The audience displays overwhelming enthusiasm, with curtain calls many and long. Quite right too. This is an unforgettably powerful performance of a very full version of the ballet. Video warts and all, it still deserves the full five stars.

My next two ballet reviews are going to be about twin ballets. I call them twins because they are so similar. This ballet from the Bolshoi Ballet with Maya Plisetskaya and Alexander Bogatirev was filmed at the Kremlin Palace Theatre NOT at the Bolshoi stage. You don't have to look at the propaganda on the theater curtains when they are pulled between acts. The other twin.....Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / Mikhalchenko, Vasyuchenko, Vetrov, Zhuraitis, Bolshoi Ballet..... IS from the Bolshoi stage starring Alla Mikhalchenko and Yuri Vasyuchenko, so just don't look at the curtains when they are drawn between acts. Poor Maya had to endure the Soviet propaganda for over fifty years, but she did it bravely. Read her book, "I, Maya Plisetskaya" to learn what she went through....I, Maya Plisetskaya.

The two Swan Lakes above, are almost identical. The only differences are the characters and a few of the costumes. The stage settings are almost exactly the same. Some of the costumes are exactly the same. Both Siegfrieds have identical costumes, and some of the Princesses wear the same dresses. There are five Princesses in each Ballet. The lighting is poor in Maya's version, but you can improve the picture quality by adjusting brightness and contrast on your television. The audio is mono but good for an old film from Russia. It is filmed live and this is not the version where camera shots are taken of the audience, however there is a good deal of coughing from the audience. Sounded like one cougher had his own microphone, but to see Maya is worth some distractions.

When Maya makes her first entrance she does one leap and then assumes the famous swan pose in fourth position, she holds that pose for at least 10 seconds and the music doesn't start again until she moves. It's beautiful the way she does it. In her autobiography she tells of a time when she was not allowed to travel with the Bolshoi on their first London tour with the troupe (of which she was the principle dancer), she WAS allowed to stage a production of Swan Lake at the Bolshoi. Word got out to her loyal fans in Moscow that instead of an opera, which had been scheduled, she would be dancing Swan Lake with those who had been left behind. The ticket offices were deluged with requests for tickets. The theater was packed to overflowing. When she made her entrance, after the leap and into her swan pose she held the pose for more than a minute maybe two, while the auditorium erupted in pandemonious applause and bravos. Just one minute would have been an eternity, but two? After the first act pas de deux, she took six bows. After each variation she took four bows. You can witness some of that adoration on the Philips DVD "Essential Ballet" after Maya dances her famous "Dying Swan" at an age approching 70. It's easy to love this woman.

Another very good DVD w/Maya Plisetskaya is her "Diva of Dance"....Maya Plisetskaya - Diva of Dance.... If you buy it, watch her interviews FIRST. You will appreciate her dancing even more.......Richard.

To me, this is the gold standard of Swan Lake(s) - ultimate Swan, all Swan, Swan to die for. Makarova, Murphy, Osipova, Somova - they pale beside this masterpiece.

Unfortunately, the audio quality, photography and music on this DVD are grim. Part of the time the camera isn't focused properly or the lighting doesn't illuminate Ms. Plisetskaya when and where it is supposed to illuminate her. The microphones are ill-placed and the recording unbalanced. To suggest that the orchestra sounds like a high school marching band is to demean high school marching bands.

Nothing, however, can mitigate the glory of Maya's dancing. She is beyond miraculous, the 8th wonder of the world. She stays with the viewer for hours, days and weeks and elevates the human spirit as few artists can. In my opinion, she has no equal as a ballerina, past or present.

This 1976 DVD is the "Stalinist" Swan Lake. I prefer it to the original. Uncle Joe didn't like Patipa's tragic ending so he ordered it changed. Here, love and the white swan triumph while the black swan and her dreadful daddy are driven asunder. Some would argue that this is a triumph of Socialist Realism, as well.

Pay special attention to Tatiana Gavrilova, the "Russian Bride" in the five character dances. She is the embodiment of grace and poise.

The DVD was made in the early days of Soviet magnetic recording and sound reproduction. It is, however, the Russian crews and stage managers rather than primitive technology which I believe are responsible for the sometimes comic failings. Often enough, the failings are an offense to Ms. Plisetskaya.

In Russia, she isn't so much respected as an artist as she is worshipped as an avatar and divinity, the very apotheosis of dance.

She's alive and well, too, and married to Russia's best-known composer.

Buy this and stay up through two consecutive nights watching it, over and over, as did I. It will change you. Promise.

Bottom Line: At the top of my short-list of "Five Things To Do Before I Die" is, "Find this person and hug her. Twice" I think you will share my feelings, whatever your gender or orientation.