Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. No other ballet partnership is as legendary -- the fiery Russian defector and the graceful, aging English ballerina formed a bond on and off the stage that for several years practically defined romantic ballet. Thus, for this very reason, hardcore balletomanes should get this dvd. Many of us (including me) were too young to have seen Nureyev and Fonteyn live, so these videos are the only example to dissect the legendary partnership. However, caveat emptor: this is NOT a "typical" Swan Lake by any means. You can argue that there is no "typical" Swan Lake -- the original production in 1877 was a failure. Some of the music went missing. After Tchaikovksy's death, the choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov restaged Swan Lake, and that version more or less is the Swan Lake audiences know today. There's lots of music, so most versions of Swan Lake
use the "traditional" pieces.

Nevertheless, there are some different traditions of Swan Lake. In the Russian productions, the outcome is usually "happy" -- Rothbart is killed, and Siegfried and Odette are alive. In the productions used "everywhere else," Odette and Siegfried leap into the lake, and are reunited in the otherworld. I prefer the second ending personally, because I think it better matches both the story (the happy ending was enforced by the Tsar, and seems tacked on), and the music as well.

Rudolf Nureyev's 1966 film, however, is unlike any other Swan Lake I've ever seen. First of all, from the opening closeup (of Siegfried in blue eyeshadow and red lipstick) you realize this film is not going to follow Balanchine (and classical ballet's) creed of "ballet is woman." The first act is redesigned to incorporate a lot of solos and dance opportunities for Siegfried (Nureyev). The first act usually ends with Siegfried picking up his bow and arrow and going hunting with Benno. In this film, there is a long elegiac solo for Siegfried (using music that's usually used in act 2). Since this solo has since become rather common in Swan Lake productions, it doesn't bother me that much. Actually, in this version of Swan Lake, there is no Benno, so one of the things missing from this Swan Lake is the first act Pas de Trois.

More bothersome is Act 2. Nureyev dares to tinker with the famous Act II choreography by Lev Ivanov. In the famous Odette/Siegfried Adagio, the melody is repeated with the cello, but this repeat is rather abruptly interrupted by a solo for Siegfried. Most of the famous "Love Duet" is there but I don't like the sudden switch to a solo for Siegfried. I prefer the "traditional" ending to the pas de deux.

And one also notices that Fonteyn, as graceful and lovely as she is, is at times unable to cope with the famously demanding Odette/Odile role. For instance, Odette's solo in Act II usually ends with a series of turns and then Odette stands on pointe and holds a balance before going into the wings. Fonteyn doesn't attempt the feat, but ends the series of turns in first position -- flat on her feet. Another example is Odette's entrance -- it usually is accompanied by a large grande jete. Fonteyn's jump is much smaller. Her balances are somewhat shaky. She is in general somewhat careful and slow throughout the ballet. Fonteyn also refused to have any closeups, a choice which might have hidden her wrinkles but has a distancing effect on the viewer. Fonteyn's Odette/Odile was legendary, but I don't think this video caught Fonteyn in her finest hour.

Act III's music choreography is pretty standard, but the musical arrangements (and choreography) for the Black Swan Pas de deux are different. Nureyev uses music that Tchaikovsky later composed for the Black Swan pdd, and ballet lovers will recognize it immediately as the music to Balanchine's crowdpleasing "Tchaikovsky pas de deux." Bourmeister's version of Swan Lake also uses this music. Fonteyn actually churns out the fouettes very well, confirming something I've long suspected: that everyone looks at the fouettes, but Odette/Odile's real challenges are the balances, footwork, and leaps, and this is where you can see Fonteyn suffer.

Strangely, Act IV (the act that is usually cut to shreds) is the most intact. And it's the best-danced act: it;s the reconciliation scene between Odette and Siegfried that one can catch glimmers of the genuine bond that existed between these dancers. Elsewhere, the technical limitations of Fonteyn by this time and Nureyev's reworking of Swan Lake as a solo showpiece for Siegfried distracted me from simply enjoying their partnership. I particularly loved when Siegfried runs all over the stage, turning up the head of each swan, to find his Odette, and when he finally finds Margot's head, it's a truly beautiful moment. The ending of Nureyev's version is also unorthodox, and not the "usual" endings of the Swan Boat to heaven. It is, however, in many ways very similar to the Bourmeister ending. One wonders if Nureyev got the inspiration for his ending from the Bourmeister version (which can be seen in a new video with Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle).

On a technical level, there are problems. The ballet was filmed on a soundstage, and seems way too small to fit a whole cpmpany corps. As a result, the dancers often look haplessly cramped and as if they'll bump into each other. The close bunching also detracted from the natural geometric shapes that are so much a
part of classical ballet. The Vienna State Ballet also looks woefully underreheased. Either that or they're just bad. Their legs are terribly uneven in arabesques, their arms are a mess, and they simply look like a corps that hasnt danced Swan Lake enough. The sets are also deliberately artificial and the costuming, espeically for Nureyev and in the "color" acts, is garish. The lighting is inadequate, especially in the "White Swan" acts. Rothbart (Redbeard here) is a non-dancing role, unlike in most productions when he's a smooth pimp-type in Act III.

For a traditional Swan Lake with a more modern Odette/Odile, I'd suggest the Makarova/Dowell dvd with the Royal Ballet. Makarova was 41 at the time of filming, but her long extensions, boneless arms, exquisite balances, and still impressive technique make her Odette/Odile treasurable. This Swan Lake is of great historical value, and Fonteyn is undeniably lovely, but overall I admit I wanted a more traditional Swan Lake, and I certainly wouldnt recommend this dvd as anyone's first Swan Lake. Its just too unorthodox.

This filmed performance was styled by Nureyev, who choreographed and danced this performance - retaining and only mildly revising the traditional "white acts" choreography. Nureyev's aim was to give a lot more dancing and character to Prince Siegfried. Apart from his over-the-top makeup, Nureyev's realization of the Prince was, in addition to being the perfection of perfection, profoundly moving - the Prince can act!

But there's more. Margot Fonteyn was one of the greatest ballerinas ever. In 1961, when Nureyev famously leapt to the West, a partnership began that many have described as miraculous. Fonteyn's age was fairly transparent here. Certainly the technique maintained a high level of purity and style. Even though the roll was trimmed to accomadate the way of all flesh (Fonteyn was 47 when this was filmed!) and she probably was even more breathtaking at her peak, this performance will not dissapoint anyone but a moron.

Sadly, the corps here is weak and the orchestra disappointing. This is why it lost a star from me. Because the corps is so vital to this ballet, and Tchaikovsky's music so fine, you'll probably want another Swan Lake if you can only have one. But if you're a seeker for heart-melting beauty, you'll have to get it if only for Nureyev.

I first saw Fonteyn in a live performance in 1968. Of course I had seen her on television but was not prepared for the impact of a theatre experience.I was stunned. She was dancing in Giselle with Nureyev. Their performance was sublime.

Nureyev had transformed the role of the male dancer, but it was Fonteyn in my opinion who held the essence of ballet. So of course I bought this video as a record of her art.

At first viewing I found the close up Nureyev a little narcisstic but this did not detract from the quality of the first act.

I was overwhelemed with the dancing in act two and the rapport between Odette and Siegfried has never been matched. Fonteyn's dancing is simple, precise, and without affectation. There is no over extension which one sees today and which I find rather more suitable to the gymnasium then the stage. Her placement is extraordinary, the poise of her head and lovely port de bras that has even tho this day no equal. As an example see her in Les Sylphides in the Prelude solo (An Evening with the Royal Ballet) when just running her arms move as though there are no bones!

Her first entrance captures the whole essence of the ballet. A swan queen who has been tranformed into a graceful young maiden. One is not aware of technique so wll absorbed is it into the whole performance; wonderful arabesques and balances culminating in the great pas de deux which should be mandatory viewing for any aspiring Odette. Not to be copied but as an inspiration for elegiac dancing.

In the third act Fonteyn subtley portrays the role of Odile-with flashing eyes and and a different poise of her head. After all Siegfried has to be able to recognise that this must be Odette, the woman to whom he has sworn undying love in act two. So Odile cannot be the complete opposite in character. This Fontyen shows as no other. Her solo dancing has just the right amount of speed and attack coupled with wonderful turns and balances.

In the final act we see the renunion of Odette and Siegfried and the glorious dancing and emotion builds to the tragic ending of Siegfired drowning in the lake and the hopelessness of Odette as she realises that all is lost.

This version of the ballet is a complete blending of dance and dramatic interpretation of a timeless story and not to be missed by anyone who loves the magic of dance.

Francis J. Farrar

This version of Swan Lake, staged by Nureyev for the Vienna State Opera Ballet in 1964, was an historic and artistic blockbuster. In contrast to Balanchine's view that "ballet is woman" Nureyev focused on the male dancer's role and in showcasing his own talents arrived at a breakthrough in emphasis on the male dancer in ballet.

Makarova's 1988 version derived from Petipa and Ashton, and mounted for the London Festival Ballet, offers the standard Prince who poses, prances, and rarely dances, and is such a pathetic fellow that one cannot imagine dying for him. Nureyev complained, "The Prince sits on his ass for thirty-five minutes and then has to walk," (instead of dance). Discerning a deeply sinister mood in Tchaikovsky's music Nureyev added psychological depth to Swan Lake by introducing an unhappy ending in which Seigfried drowns in his struggle to be reunited with Odette. The Prince's obsession with the Queen Of Swans, the ideal woman, destroys him. Thus the emphasis of the drama is on Seigfried rather than Odette, and for him to be seen as a tragic figure rather than a mere pawn demanded the first rate character portrayal that Nureyev brought to his dancing.

Totally recasting the brooding passive Seigfried into an active character Nureyev introduced the Prince into the first act birthday entertainment normally danced by two girls and a boy. Nureyev recast this for two girls, two boys, and himself, dancing with them separately, together, and with energetic outgoing solos for himself. Having described the Prince as "an unusual man ready for unusual things to happen to him" he inserted the Danse Du Prince before the Coda, an unheard of solo for himself conveying Seigfried's sense of romantic anticipation and pursuit of the ideal.

In the second act lakeside scene with the swans Odette's charms are usually displayed for Seigfried by his hunting companion, Bonno. Nureyev dispensed with Bonno entirely and took all the steps for himself. The result is a perfect bonding between the Prince and Odette. His coupling with Fonteyn was sublime, and in a ballet traditionally reserved for the display of the ballerina's technique the inspiration that he brought to his role created a synergism of ever more dramatic expression between them.

Nureyev left act three essentially unchanged since the danser's role is so prominent although he added steps as bravura as Odile's including a series of whipping turns to match her famous 32 fouettes. Fonteyn's Odile was more sweetly flirtatious than coldly dazzling and cunning. In Makarova's version Evelynn Hart very effectively projected the pride, arrogancce, and disdain underneath Odile's seductiveness.

For act four Nureyev created an elegiac pas de deux following his frantic discovery of Odette. It is one of the most beautiful dances of the ballet, perfectly conveying the poignancy of the coming separation. The conventional happy ending with Prince Seigfried and Odette reunited in death is incomprehensible at the end of the ballet unless one has read the narrative. Nureyev's unhappy ending seems more in keeping with the action and Tchaikovsky's musical mood of storm swept tragedy, abandoned romanticism, and brooding melancholy.

At first Fonteyn was so upset with Nureyev's changes that he ended up kicking her out of a rehearsal, but they soon reconciled and went on as if nothing had happened. Over the orchestra's strong objections Nureyev insisted that the tempi be slowed so he could bring out the nuances of emotion he was seeking. His version of Swan Lake was a smashing success with the public. At the last performance of the premier in Vienna he and Fonteyn received 89 curtain calls, the most ever taken.

In this film of the ballet restrained camerawork and intelligent editing have defined the essential choreography and dramatic effects. The camera angles and close-ups capture rather than destroy the patterns and enchainments as is so often the case when "creative film-making" makes a hash of the choreography. As other reviewers have noted this DVD may not be entirely up the technically achievable standard but it is so far superior to anything available on VHS, and brings such clarity and presence to the performance, that its few flaws can be forgiven. Nureyev's Swan Lake belongs in every ballet lover's collection, and it is fervently to be hoped that this DVD is but the first in an avalanche of these great ballets on perfect DVD's.

Having seen Swan Lake perfomed many times and having seen Fonteyn and Nureyev perform this ballet live many moons ago - I am a little biased. It is wonderful to have a copy of this DVD in my collection - it is a little grainey due to the age of the performance no doubt, but the dancing is sublime. Fonteyn is wonderful as Odette/Odile, such grace is rarely seen and Nureyev is in his prime - Nureyev always danced with passion and the pair always danced as if they were meant for each other. There may well be better productions, but there are none to compare to Nureyev and Fonteyn as partners. I actually preferred the ending of the Anthony Dowell Covent Garden performance - but Anthony Dowell was wooden and no Nureyev. For the sake of seeing these dancers together in a classically danced ballet - I would highly recommend this. It is also a joy to see Fonteyn again and not the anorexic dancers we tend to see today.

Nureyev had a wonderfully keen practical and artistic sense of how to produce the classical ballets. Among other things, he realized the merits of enlarging the role of the male dancer, as did Balanchine, his quote to the contrary notwithstanding!(Male dancers who danced for him that I have trained with, tell me that when he said ballet is all about women, he was mostly referring to the concept of partnering, where the woman is prominently displayed; he enjoyed working with male dancers very much, as we can see in his choreography.) In this version, both principal dancers are given a great deal of choreography and, as one would expect from one of the world's most famous ballet duos, they dance magnificently! Margot Fonteyn was always the quintessential ballerina, both on stage and off. She was also a great balletic actress and did not like to be disturbed backstage during a ballet because she would stay in character. She always peformed at her best, right up to the end of her very long career.
Some people have been surprised at the closeup of Nureyev in this at the begining of the first act; it shows the starkness of his makeup. Actually, this type of makeup is often used for this role, but we usually don't see it in closeup! It looks good at a distance. It is all part of the fantasy aspect of Swan Lake.
Especially noteworthy is the adagio Nureyev dances at the end of act one. Many dancers have bought this version just to see and study this! It is one of the greatest moments in classical ballet!
Nureyev's handling of the corps de ballet is also fantastic. I loved the geometric patterns he sets for them. The corps also dances with great precision and passion.
The only subdued aspect of this version is that of the Rothbart character. He is reduced to just a character role here. Nureyev liked to have important character, non-dancing , roles in his ballets for balance, no doubt.
This recent transfer by DG is marvelous, both visually and acoustically. I highly recommend this classic performance as a traditional Swan Lake.

If you are collecting ballet, this production is highly recommended. If you are a fan of Nureyev and Fonteyne, especially Nureyev, this must be added to your collection. I can only post my honest opinion since I am only starting to be exposed to the great art that is ballet.

The costumes and stage settings are on a grand scale, top notch. The color theme is very earthy, except for the prince and the swans. The various guests at the prince's birthday celebrations all dress elaborately and those who study costume design, I must recommend this to you.

The way the story is told is mainly from the prince's point of view, and there are a lot of Nureyev's solos. Great solos they are too. So strong and graceful. His high jumps and fierce spinning will catch anyone's breath. However, there was so much of his solo and not Fonteyne's. I felt that this was a little unfair. From beginning to the very end of the death scene, the story focuses mainly on the tragedy of the prince. I must also add, that death scene is one of the coolest thing I have ever seen done on stage!!! I get chills every time.

The first appearance of Fonteyne is also a sight to behold. She truly embodies the tragic swan princess. Their Pas De Duexs are not to be missed. Corps de Ballet is also a highlight of this DVD. The swans enter the stage endlessly, and dance like they were one soul. My favorite is the four swans dancing, hand in hand...I'm sorry, I am still studying and I do not know what this is called.

This is not a recording of a live production, and therefore, there are no applause between the scenes. This also allows camera angles that would not be allowed otherwise.

Classic ballet it is. Swan Lake a ballet lover must have. This one has Nureyev written all over it.

The ballet duo of Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn is something of a legend, and I'm pleased that a film was made of one of their performances and that it's available on DVD. The production is traditional and sumptuous. A voice-over narrates the story. I'm not well informed about the particulars of ballet and dance, but it seems to be a fine performance. Nureyev looks to have had special tights made to accentuate his behind; it's hilariously prominent. The film is old and rather faded, but its appearance suits the overall atmosphere and the ebbing memories of that time. The DVD, by the way, has no extra materials, but nevertheless I highly recommend it.

This is definitely a great performance and should be in every ballet lover's collection while we patiently await the day it can be restored and digitally remastered. Maybe someone else that knows could comment, but my guess is that the master for this was a video, since there are dust marks on the credits screens but not seen anywhere in the performance. To the credit of those making the recording, it also appears that a special stage performance was made for the benefit of the recording, since it was appropriately lit for cameras and shot from multiple cameras with competent choices of camera angles, close-ups, pans and wide shots.

Although I share his enthusiasm for this performance, I have to disagree with Mr. Crotty's overstatement that this release "exploits all the advanced technology of DVD. The September 1999 viewer from Texas is completely accurate in his comments about the visual and audio flaws. The next version should address these flaws and do a restoration to remove the videotape scan line artefacts. It should have full DTS stereo digitally remastered from an original professional audio tape and not the videotape's audio track. The quality would then be up to the minimum level that customers expect from DVDs.

Even considering basic DVD capabilities, there is little to complement since almost none are used other than chapter indexing of all scenes. This is decent, with 39 points in the ballet that can be selected. But unlike Kultur's other excellent Nureyev DVD of Romeo and Juliet, there are no annotations of any kind- no biographies or story synopsis except that which is embedded in the film itself rather than on a DVD screen or subtitle. At bare minimum, the synopsis for each act should be translated into the major European languages as well as (judging from Amazon's statement of its popularity in Taiwan) non European languages such as Chinese. Besides the bare bones features in Romeo and Juliet, a ballet commentary as a separate audio track would be especially welcome. These sorts of things are common on great films by Hitchcock or Bergman and could be done cheaply. Either of these features would enrich the experience of audiences who are interested in gathering a fuller appreciation of this art form, and would pay the producers back since it would extend their market into larger audiences.

Additional Credits (copied from back of box): Ballet members of the Wiener Staatsopernballett, Music performed by Wiener Symphoniker conducted by John Lanchbery. Directed by Truck Branss and Art Direction Ton Friesen, with all choreography by Nureyev.

i hv own this swan lake dvd for three yrs, but never thought about writing a review until now, why?
after i bought the dvd ( margot/rudof ), and watching it almost a dozen times either by myself or introduce it to a female friend, it ALWAYS made me cry at the end of act IV, never fail.
so,last week, i spent 40,000 of my precious united award miles, flew almost 12 hrs ( two stops, delayed 2 and 3 hrs here and there,etc)from california to new york to see ABT's ( american ballet theatre ) swan lake procuction at lincoln center.
boy, I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!
why? as usual:
act I's folk dance, i can tolerate it like everyone else,
act II ,III i wasn't very happy with it already,but, i still have hope for the final act,but then when it comes to
act IV, the production has cut it almost into half !
what a shame.
hence, i recommand margot/rudof 's "swan lake" to anyone who is interested in purchasing a good dvd,never an " ABT " swan lake :)