Raymonda: all three acts?

[stucha]

The run of the POB Raymonda in 2008 was generally considered somewhat lacklustre to say the least, enlivened only by the guest appearances of Maria Alexandrovna and Alexander Volchov as Raymonda and Jean de Brienne towards the end of December.  They actually took the trouble to learn the Nureyev choreography rather than reproducing the Bolshoi version.

 

I enjoyed the livestream of the Vienna Raymonda. The first cast danced and were very good. The set was scaled back for the smaller Vienna stage.

Edited January 8, 2017 by stucha

[assoluta]

I would like to say Naomi M provided in her post an excellent report on the state of recorded Raymonda's. I agree with every point she makes. Bessmertnova was a great "tragic" ballerina, whose Giselle was bringing tears to my eyes, but her 1989 recording of Raymonda came too late, unfortunately, in her career to show the greatness of that unique artist. Several years ago I saw Grigorovich's version with Alexandrova and I wouldn't say I liked it. It wasn't regal enough, and somehow lacked finesse and brilliance, I found the sets too drab. Remarkably, and rather unexpectedly, its recent return onto the historic stage of Bolshoi felt like a discovery of a lost gem and convinced me that Raymonda really belongs to grand ole' ballets, with five variations by Raymonda being as memorable and unique as almost every great piece of ballerina's craft. So much depends in them not just on perfect execution of steps and notes of the choreographic text but also on ballerina's ability to create and project an unforgettable and true image. As much as I value both Guillem and Zakharova, their recorded interpretations of the famous final variation I find disappointingly misreading its purpose to be a profound meditation of Raymonda on her fate rather than a shallow display of narcissism. This may be, unfortunately, a reigning paradigm at Bolshoi, since Yulia Stepanova debuting in the role of Raymonda, was also showing signs of the same misreading in the final variation. Her portrayal of Raymonda, however, was imbued throughout three acts with remarkable degree of profound sentiment and nuanced nobility while her poetic and hyper-musical Third variation was for me one of the high points of the pre-New Year season.

 

Recordings of Raymonda are so rare, every one must be treasured. To the list of those discussed by Naomi, I would add a recording of October 22, 1988, performance in Paris, with Florence Clerc, Charles Jude, Laurent Hilaire, Karin Averty, Clotilde Vayer, Gérard Claudel and Wilfried Romoli.

[stucha]

Here is the link. Hosted by N Tsitskaridze.

 

However the version Assoluta mentioned above is here:  

 

An earlier POB extract is here:

 

Enjoy.

Edited January 9, 2017 by stucha

[Amelia]

On 08/01/2017 at 05:18, assoluta said:

... Recordings of Raymonda are so rare, every one must be treasured. To the list of those discussed by Naomi, I would add a recording of October 22, 1988, performance in Paris, with Florence Clerc, Charles Jude, Laurent Hilaire, Karin Averty, Clotilde Vayer, Gérard Claudel and Wilfried Romoli.

 

Before the Grigorovich's production (1984), for almost 40 years Bolshoi was performing "Raymonda" by Leonid Lavrovsky. I remember the remarkable Alexei Yermolaev as Abderahman. In the link below we can find several recordings of that "Raymonda", some done in a studio. There are variations there danced by Maya Plisetskaya and various scenes, including Grand Pas, with Nikolai Fadeyechev:

 

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNQi5DqWkSSYopyOiw7m4te_a5MGjQ%3A1572018403333&source=hp&ei=4xizXaXbEcPVkwWNtIvAAg&q=потсецкая+раймонда&oq=потсецкая+раймонда&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i19.13695.20620..21693...0.0..0.113.1577.14j4......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i131j0j35i39j0i10j0i10i203j0i13i30i19j0i13i5i30i19j0i8i13i30i19.r4bw---LAgw&ved=0ahUKEwjl2Ij04LflAhXD6qQKHQ3aAigQ4dUDCAs&uact=5

Edited October 25, 2019 by Amelia
added the description of the recordings

[Jeannette]

On 07/01/2017 at 19:09, stucha said:

If you are prepared to look on the usual video search sites you will find the full length POB Raymonda with Gillot, Martinez and LeRiche as Abderam.  This is the recording mentioned above.  Good luck!

 

Yes, I found this among streaming options. Also, the Vienna troupe recently streamed the full Nureyev...two casts (one year apart). Of course, there’s the extraordinary La Scala recon by Vikharev, long available on DVD. Both the Mariinsky (Terioshkina) and Bolshoi (Alexandrova) have live-streamed or cinecast their respective versions (and another Bolshoi cinecast is coming on Sunday)....not to mention the two 1980s films of the Grigorovich...or the 1978 Kolpakova-led Kirov film.  Tokyo’s New National Theatre Ballet issued its version on DVD a few years ago (Asami Maki, based on the Kirov).

 

So there are options out there.

 

For the true Russian Imperial Petipa experience, go with La Scala!

 

Hope that the present triple bill at the ROH - soon to be cinemascast- will become commercially available so everyone can experience Nureyev’s full Act III, quite different from his later Act III in the full POB edition.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Jeannette

[San Perregrino]

Paris Opera Ballet are presenting Raymonda in December 2019. Looking forward to watching it. 

[Jeannette]

13 hours ago, prs59 said:

Paris Opera Ballet are presenting Raymonda in December 2019. Looking forward to watching it. 

Do you know if it is slated to be webcast or cinecast? Somehow, I can’t find the list of This season’s opera or ballet webcast offerings, as in past years...such as last year’s delightful Robbins tribute program.

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, Jeannette said:

Do you know if it is slated to be webcast or cinecast? Somehow, I can’t find the list of This season’s opera or ballet webcast offerings, as in past years...such as last year’s delightful Robbins tribute program.

Sorry I don’t know of any upcoming broadcasts and like you can’t find any information on the website. 

[Jeannette]

19 minutes ago, prs59 said:

Sorry I don’t know of any upcoming broadcasts and like you can’t find any information on the website. 

So odd. I hope that this doesn’t mean that there’ll not be a series of tele/webcasts from POB this season. Now back to the RB’s Ray Act III... I compared what I saw last night against my recollections of Sarasota...the designs appear to be the same (Barry Kay’s) with two big exceptions:

 

1. London’s are noticeably paler (more muted beiges; less dark brown or red highlights...and brighter lighting)

 

2. In London - No patterned floor covering...just the clear light flooring. Although fussy, I missed that tile effect.

 

The choreography & sequence of numbers are exactly the same...with the possible slight alteration of Raymonda’s clapping solo, somewhat simplified in London, particular in the final diagonal...not as expansive but this may have been Sarah Lamb’s choice of a “soft touch” interpretation...a sweeter, less kick-ass Raymonda!

Edited October 27, 2019 by Jeannette

[capybara]

3 minutes ago, Jeannette said:

2. In London - No patterned floor covering...just the clear light flooring. Although fussy, I missed that tile effect.

 

I think that the floor is patterned with the RB, at least it looks that way from where I've been sitting.

Now to see the whole of the Bolshoi's Raymonda this afternoon.

[Jeannette]

1 minute ago, capybara said:

 

I think that the floor is patterned with the RB, at least it looks that way from where I've been sitting.

Now to see the whole of the Bolshoi's Raymonda this afternoon.

It was plain beige from stalls circle. Not at all the bold checkered “carpeting” so apparent at Sarasota. 

[Duck]

31 minutes ago, prs59 said:

Sorry I don’t know of any upcoming broadcasts and like you can’t find any information on the website. 

 

It's not listed by Frapod on their web site for this season, so I don't presume it will be shown in cinemas this time.

 

https://www.fraprod.fr/offres_cinema.php

 

[capybara]

2 minutes ago, Jeannette said:

It was plain beige from stalls circle. Not at all the bold checkered “carpeting” so apparent at Sarasota. 

 

They must have changed it then since the General Rehearsal and the First Night!

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, Jeannette said:

It was plain beige from stalls circle. Not at all the bold checkered “carpeting” so apparent at Sarasota. 

 

I think that the lighting must affect the view from the Stalls Circle.  The patterned flooring is definitely visible from the amphitheatre

 

Edited to add that if you look carefully at the photo of Vadim Muntagirov in Jann Parry's Dancetabs review, you can just about see the patterns.

https://dancetabs.com/2019/10/royal-ballet-concerto-enigma-variations-raymonda-act-iii-london/

 

 

Edited October 27, 2019 by Bluebird

[Jeannette]

1 hour ago, Bluebird said:

 

I think that the lighting must affect the view from the Stalls Circle.  The patterned flooring is definitely visible from the amphitheatre

 

Edited to add that if you look carefully at the photo of Vadim Muntagirov in Jann Parry's Dancetabs review, you can just about see the patterns.

https://dancetabs.com/2019/10/royal-ballet-concerto-enigma-variations-raymonda-act-iii-london/

 

 

THANKS for the link to the article & pics...a lovely souvenir.

 

Ok, Fair enough. That floor looked totally bare to me, yet was so pronounced from orchestra (stalls) in Sarasota.  

Edited October 27, 2019 by Jeannette