Tchaikovsky ballets

[Opus106]

*BUMP*!

That's very kind of you.

[karlhenning]

Well bumped, Ray!

[Gurn Blanston]

Hadn't gone back before the bump and seen what's there, but just last week I was in receipt of this little gem:



I'm hoping that it will live up to my expectations. My annual Nutcracker spectacular, which in past years was RCG/Dorati has been supplemented this year by Ansermet, and this one here by Mackerras:



so I should have a different perspective on it, I imagine. In any case, the Ansermet is well stocked with new music for me, including my first complete "Sleeping Beauty". 

[Brahmsian]

Hadn't gone back before the bump and seen what's there, but just last week I was in receipt of this little gem:

This must be the one Erato was referring to, Gurn.  Let us know how you like Sleeping Beauty.  I've yet to hear it in the 'complete' form, only in suite.

[Gurn Blanston]

This must be the one Erato was referring to, Gurn.  Let us know how you like Sleeping Beauty.  I've yet to hear it in the 'complete' form, only in suite.

Will do. The same is true for me, had the suite for years, never the entire.

[Scion7]

             click to enlarge



I had read about this in some "upcoming" news somewhere.  Didn't really think it was out, but while visiting Charlotte, NC I
found it out at one of the malls in an upstairs store that I don't remember now.  Surprise!  So I grabbed it.   Overall, the best
version I've ever heard.  Of course, every other critic has his own favorite.  Beautifully recorded and one of the finest Philips pkg's I've ever seen, including an 8-pg insert.
Unfortunately, the CD issue is somewhat abridged.    Also, the CD cover is very bland in comparison with the beautiful 3LP box.

            from Classical CD Review
Another favorite in Amsterdam was Antal Dorati. The Hungarian conductor made many superb recordings with the Concertgebouw.  . . . In 1975 Dorati and the Concertgebouw made their glorious recording of Tchaikovsky's complete Nutcracker, and from 1979-81 recorded, one act each year, the same composer's Sleeping Beauty.    ~R.E.B.

                from MusicWeb
But as a collector I would want complete to be complete. Previn's direct competitor in the double disc bargain stakes is Antal Dorati on Phillips with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Again this is a superb version but to fit onto the 2 discs the Entr'acte No.18 is omitted (so missing one of the gorgeous violin solos that Previn's John Brown does so beautifully) which is a greater loss musically than Previn's. The decision for a collector is clear – for an absolutely full version a third disc is necessary. Andrew Mogrelia on Naxos is at bargain price but I've never been able to share the enthusiasm of some for this version – in comparison to Previn or Dorati the quality of playing and engineering is nowhere close. I have a particular affection for Svetlanov's complete version on Melodiya which has more fire and brimstone in it than a fire and brimstone factory working double time but with subtlety left at the door on the way in.
If forced to choose between the two disc versions I would have to go for Dorati though it would pain me to be without the many glories of Previn and his all-star orchestra. EMI, if you do insist on regularly re-releasing this performance I do feel a spruced up re-mastering is what it richly deserves.    ~Nick Barnard

         from Gramophone November 1981
TCHAIKOVSKY. The Sleeping Beauty—ballet, Op. 66. Theo Olof OM); Jean Decroos (vIc); Concertgebouw Orchestra / Antal Dorati. Philips (1 6769 036 (three records, nas); 7699 125.

Dorati takes a much gentler view of the work than either of his colleagues. The opening is less vehement than Rozhdestvensky's memorably savage attack, though when Carabosse yields to the Lilac Fairy Dorati gives the music a charming elegance that never—either here or in her other appearances— deteriorates into the saccharine. Dorati also has an agreeable pliability of rhythm in the waltz of the pages and young girls; and with this goes a scrupulous feeling for the score's symphonic qualities, much mistrusted by the ballet's first audiences but an essential part of Tchaikovsky's genius.
Dorati is good at sensing the different characters of the waltzes in the work, including the most famous of them—but more could be made of the 5/4 movement for the Sapphire Fairy (5/4 for no better reason than that Petipa marked "pentahedral" in his notes, believing that to be a chracteristic of sapphires: of such odd stimuli can an inventive artist make something memorable). ... Dorati is very expert at the score, let it be emphasized—what seems to me one of his very rare eccentricities of tempo is his fast speed for the Panorama, marked Andantino—and his best qualities emerge in the longer instrumental sections, such as the Entr'acte symphonique ("Le Sommeil") and in the opening scene of Act 1 (the Introduction act is less certainly developed). Nevertheless, the colour and vividness of this incomparable score can seem at times rather muted .... The recording is good, with due care for all Tchaikovsky's subtleties of instrumental colour, especially in the woodwind, and for his powerful orchestral climaxes; only once did I notice a bass that seemed to thump rather hard.     ~J.W.

[czgirb]

Is there somebody who are willing to recommend a complete DVD for Tchaikovsky three famous ballet:
* Nutcracker,
* Swan Lake, and
* Sleeping Beauty
Thank you

[Que]

Is there somebody who are willing to recommend a complete DVD for Tchaikovsky three famous ballet:
* Nutcracker,
* Swan Lake, and
* Sleeping Beauty
Thank you

Svetlanov (Melodiya)
Svetlanov (Melodiya)
Svetlanov (Melodiya)



And there are some excerpts by Mravinsky of the Nutcracker that are mandatory, really. Also on Melodiya BTW.

EDIT: ouch! I somehow missed that you were asking for DVDs!   Sorry about that... Well, just in case you'd like some CDs.

Q

[Drasko]

Is there somebody who are willing to recommend a complete DVD for Tchaikovsky three famous ballet:
* Nutcracker,
* Swan Lake, and
* Sleeping Beauty
Thank you

Sleeping Beauty

[asin]B001B223UG[/asin]
My definite first choice
or
[asin]B000FII2B6[/asin]
for slightly differently tweaked Nureyev choreography

Swan Lake is really difficult to recommend. Each production seems to have its good and bad sides. You could perhaps try one of these:

[asin]B000UVLJKO[/asin]
probably best all-around performance, Russian happy-ending choreography
[asin]B00008AOR4[/asin]
Makarova is incredibly touching, maybe slightly passed her prime and ensemble is not exactly on Kirov/Bolshoi level.
[asin]B000G1ALF2[/asin]
Excellent, Makhlina is touch young, and being filmed without audience feels bit canned.

Nutcracker is not among my favorite ballets, somehow I much prefer to listen to it rather than watch it. I guess Barishnikov/Kirkland or Maximova/Vasilyev could do the trick.

[Herman]

Gillian Murphy here:

edited to remove broken flash

Gillian Murphy is not in the same class as Lopatkina.

I would broadly agree with Drasko.

The Swan Lake dvd I like best is Royal Ballet with Makarova and Dowell.

Watching Lopatkina is always a breathtaking experience.

Sleeping Beauty is tough. The Paris Opera version has the best dancing, but Nurejev tampered with the choreography (notably a crazy self-indulgent solo for the Prince in advance of his meeting with the Princess in the forest), so: Royal Ballet.

The Bolshoi's Nutcracker from the eighties is wonderful, with Maximova and Vasiliev; alas the picture quality is not too hopping.

I'll throw in another Tchaikovsky ballet:

Balanchine's Jewels ends with Diamonds, set on symphony nr 3 (minus the first mvt): Paris Opera Ballet and the NYCB on Dance in America, Nonesuch (in a rather compromised set)

[Octave]

I'd like to solicit opinions on the Gergiev/Mariinsky recordings recently gathered in this box:

[asin]B008F5FWK0[/asin]
Tchaikovsky: THE COMPLETE BALLETS (Decca, 6cd, 2012)
Valery Gergiev w/Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

[mc ukrneal]

I'd like to solicit opinions on the Gergiev/Mariinsky recordings recently gathered in this box:

[asin]B008F5FWK0[/asin]
Tchaikovsky: THE COMPLETE BALLETS (Decca, 6cd, 2012)
Valery Gergiev w/Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

It really depends. Sleeping Beauty is pretty good. Swan Lake is a mixed lot. But the key, I think, is how you like your Nutcracker. DO you want it fast and furious so that it fits on one disc? Or do you want something danceable and like you would hear in the theater. If the former, then you might like this. If the latter, I'd look elsewere.

[Karl Henning]

That's weird that he should do that with The Nutcracker, Neal — since he started out as the Mariinsky Theatre's chief conductor . . . .

[Florestan]

But the key, I think, is how you like your Nutcracker. DO you want it fast and furious so that it fits on one disc?

That's weird that he should do that with The Nutcracker, Neal — since he started out as the Mariinsky Theatre's chief conductor . . . .

My thoughts exactly, Karl: a fast and furious Nutcracker is the last thing in the world I'd like to hear... 

[mc ukrneal]

My thoughts exactly, Karl: a fast and furious Nutcracker is the last thing in the world I'd like to hear... 

Well, he did a recording that is on youtube (from 2008) that takes 85-87 minutes. This recording is 81 minutes (just for comparison). I have to admit it can be terribly exciting. A good example is the trepak (and you can here what I mean even on the short Amazon clip). It's FAST! But it is also exciting if you don't worry too much that it is a ballet. It is really a matter of preferance.

[Herman]

That's weird that he should do that with The Nutcracker, Neal — since he started out as the Mariinsky Theatre's chief conductor . . . .

They have a whole raft of conductors who do the ballets. I don't think Gergiev ever conducted ballet performances much.

[Florestan]

Well, he did a recording that is on youtube (from 2008) that takes 85-87 minutes. This recording is 81 minutes (just for comparison). I have to admit it can be terribly exciting. A good example is the trepak (and you can here what I mean even on the short Amazon clip). It's FAST! But it is also exciting if you don't worry too much that it is a ballet. It is really a matter of preferance.

Oh, I don't mind a fast and furious Trepak. I just object to the whole ballet being treated like that. 

[mc ukrneal]

Oh, I don't mind a fast and furious Trepak. I just object to the whole ballet being treated like that. 

I can't say it is every track, but here are a few comparisons (the three timings are Mackerras, Ashkenazy and Gergiev in that order):

March (track 3): 2:31, 2:41, 2:13
Waltz of the Flowers: 6:38, 7:12, 6:24
Scene 8 (pine tree/forest): 4:04, 4:14, 3:32
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: 2;18, 3:38, 2:05
Final Waltz and Apotheosis: 5:11, 5:35, 4:58

Some of these don't look like big differences (and of course, one cannot see the whole picture from the general timings), but I find that as a whole the impression is a driving one and this may be attractive to someone that finds Tchaikovsky too sugary for their tastes.

[Karl Henning]

They have a whole raft of conductors who do the ballets. I don't think Gergiev ever conducted ballet performances much.

Excellent point.

[Que]

I'd like to solicit opinions on the Gergiev/Mariinsky recordings recently gathered in this box:

[asin]B008F5FWK0[/asin]
Tchaikovsky: THE COMPLETE BALLETS (Decca, 6cd, 2012)
Valery Gergiev w/Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

I wouldn't. I got Gergiev's Nutcracker and I can only echo the previous comments: it is simply relentless, lacks any charm and has nothing to do whatsoever with ballet anymore, or with the spirit of Tchaikovsky's music for that matter - at least to me.

I've done a search for years for perfect performances of the ballets - notably Swan Lake - Dutoit, Pletnev, Dorati, Fedoseyev, Previn, you name it. (Didn't hear Ansermet btw)
Unfortunately Mravrinsky never did any of the ballets -but his Nutcracker selection is mandatory IMO.

Guess what? Svetlanov is my man - in all three ballets. Stupendous! I think several members here concur.
Funny thing is, I tried his recordings of the symphonies after and those are way to relaxed and sweet-toothed. But in the ballets he is right on the money.

Coincidentally a nice box set has just been reissued (though the US Amazon price looks a bit steep)

[asin]B005P3N0Y0[/asin]

Q