Adam - Giselle / Nureyev, Seymour, Mason, Bavarian State Ballet Review

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Adam - Giselle / Nureyev, Seymour, Mason, Bavarian State Ballet ReviewFirst things first: I would not recommend this as anyone's first Giselle. The simple reason being that at this point in her career, the role of Giselle was simply beyond Lynn Seymour's technique and physique. Giselle in the second act is supposed to be ghostlike, almost floating through the air. Lynn Seymour was famous for her excellent dramatic abilities (she was Kenneth MacMillan's favorite ballerina) but throughout her career she struggled with weight issues and injury and repeated pregnancies. By 1978 (when this film was made) she is frankly out of shape. The many overheard lifts, so crucial to Giselle, have to be modified. Yet look hard enough, and you'll see the traces of a great Giselle. Lynn Seymour's Giselle is perhaps the most naturally peasant-like. In her first act dances she conveys a bubbly wholesomeness that is endearing. Not really a classical ballerina in the tradition of, say, Margot Fonteyn, Seymour dances with her whole body. In the Mad Scene, she lunges wildly, she cackles, she clings desperately to Albrecht, and she truly TUMBLES to the ground. She also has lovely feet and an enchanting smile.
The main reason to get this Giselle is as a document of Rudolf Nureyev's Albrecht. It was maybe a bit late in his career and he was past his best but you can tell why he was so famous in this role. Albrecht was the role that made him famous both at the Kirov and then at the Royal Ballet. It's hard to make Albrecht look like anything other than a manipulative, selfish jerk, and Nureyev understands the transformation Albrecht must make between Acts. In Act 1 Nureyev is arrogant, callous, and also, really in lust. Watch the way he feels Seymour's arm when they first meet. Or the haughty way he treats his sidekick in the beginning of the ballet. But Nureyev's Albrect is not without a conscience. In the Mad Scene he doesn't just stand there, slack-jawed. Remorse fills his face, and he hugs Giselle tightly. In Act 2, Nureyev's Albrecht is man haunted by remorse. For one, he truly PRAYS to Myrtha for forgiveness; you can understand, for once, why Giselle wants to save him. Technically Nureyev is also very impressive: in Act 2 he does a beautiful series of entrechat-sixes. His pirouettes are as ever erratic, and he clearly has trouble lifting Seymour, but like most Soviet-trained dancers has a powerful leap. Mostly, he really makes Giselle a story of a young man's redemption. There is almost something spiritual in his frenzied humility in Act 2.
The production is typical of ballet films of the time: small sound stage, paper trees, but at least the director doesnt try anything fancy (unlike the 1969 ABT film, which constantly cuts away and films at odd angles). Another reason to get this dvd is the Myrtha of Monica Mason. She is one scary, sinister Myrtha.Adam - Giselle / Nureyev, Seymour, Mason, Bavarian State Ballet Overview

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