Showing posts with label swan lake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swan lake. Show all posts

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998) Review

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998) ReviewFinally, Matthew Bourne's innovative production of Tchaikovsky's SWAN LAKE is available on DVD. This is not a camp send-up of the balletic war horse, but a modern, freshly imagined telling of a tale of enchantment, betrayal, disenchantment, and release. What most people already know about this production is that the swans and cygnets are performed by male dancers, that the choreography emphasizes the aggressive rather than the graceful movements in swans' repertoire, and that the story is heavily freighted with Freudian implications as it shows a young prince's efforts to break free of his mother's hold (she's part Merry Widow and part Cruella deVil). The viewer who tries to analyze plot points too carefully is heading toward frustration and confusion. (For those who just can't let it alone, there's a helpful on-screen synopsis you can jump to whenever you need it.) The best way to enjoy this production is by focusing on the choreography and the dancing itself. Adam Cooper's nameless Swan is powerful, persistent, and unapologetic. He could be the prince's alter ego, his embodied desires, the id, or just about anything else you'd want to ascribe to him. He woos son and mother with equal conviction. Besides the moments when Cooper is on stage/screen, the choreographic hightlight of this production for me was the dance of the cygnets (pas de quatre). This is a moment of levity in every production of SWAN LAKE, but more so here where the mischievous antics and curiosity of the cygnets are played for all they're worth.
The other thing worth commenting on is the quality of the filming of this live performance. I have usually been disappointed by ballets on film--presentation is often static, or feet and hands get cut out of the picture, or the camera goes in for a close-up at a point when something significant is happening in the choreography. Given the trade-offs, Adventures in Motion Pictures has done an excellent job of capturing all the key choreography while creatively managing close-ups, transitions, and montages. The colors are rich and expressive (the dance of the swans by the lake is bathed in a haunting nocturnal blue). And best of all, the film is completely free of the annoying halos and bizarre shimmerings that always seem to make their way into filmed stage productions.Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998) OverviewMatthew Bourne, director and choreographer of Adventures in Motion Pictures--a maverick new modern dance company based in London--brings a new twist to an old classic with this production of "Swan Lake." Taking advantage of the public's preoccupation with the ups and downs of the royal family, Bourne has set his story in the modern era and has cast all the swans--including the Odette/Odile role--as males. Boutne's creation brings great ballet to an audience it has never before reached, and for cognoscenti offers a new view of the breadth of possibilty in Tchaikovsky's well-loved score. "Swan Lake" enjoyed a sold-out run in London and a subsequent critically acclaimed and public-adored Broadway stint.

Want to learn more information about Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake (Matthew Bourne) (1998)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005) Review

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005)? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005). Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005) ReviewAmerican Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake, as presented on PBS' Dance in America series, is a must-have for any serious ballet lover. The settings & costumes are fresh and new. The age-old story of love, betrayal, and redemption is set to Tchaikovsky's lush score with some new music and a new scene. Of course the cornerstone of any ballet is the dancing. Gillian Murphy is absolutely remarkable as Odette/Odile, soft and vulnerable as the Swan Queen in acts 2 & 4 and hard, brilliant, dazzling as Odile in act 3. Angel Corella's Prince Siegfried is a perfect match for her. He is a brilliant dancer and a good actor, although I would have liked to have seen what Ethan Stiefel could have done with the part. The chemistry between Murphy & Corella is palpable. However, I have an old VHS of Swan Lake with Natalia Markova & Ivan Nagy, and I must say there has never in my opinion been a danseur noble to compare with Nagy. He was Siegfried incarnate.
Herman Cornejo also shines in the small role of Benno, Siegfried's friend, and he and the two female dancers (whose names I confess I don't know) make the first act trio a joy to watch. Georgina Parkinson is just right as the queen mother, stern yet loving. Victor Barbee is wasted in the small role of the master of ceremonies. In his younger days, he was an outstanding Rothbart.
One very unexpected pleasure in this ballet was Marcelo Gomes, who did such a fine job in Le Corsair as the villainous pirate, as the human Rothbart. He was wisely given a dance with the four princesses in which he is so handsome and seductive that they are putty in his hands--and he has an effect on the queen as well! I give him a standing ovation. Brilliant!
Rothbart's dance and a prologue in which we see him seduce the human Odette are two welcome additions, although I wish the prologue had been a little longer.
I have two minor complaints. First of all, the princesses were generically costumed. None of them had an of the flavor of their native countries in their dress. This is, however, not really important, just something I noticed.
Secondly, however, I saw no need to have another dancer as the demon Rothbart complete with green skin and huge, curving horns. One Rothbarth would have been perfect; two is a joke.
I strongly recommend this DVD to any lover of Swan Lake. It's one you'll treasure.Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005) Overview

Want to learn more information about Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / American Ballet Theatre, Murphy, Corella (2005)?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...