Tchaikovsky ballets

[marvinbrown]

Who would you recommend for each of Tchaikovsky's ballets?

I have:

Nutcracker - Gergiev/Kirov Orchestra

Swan Lake - Sawallisch/Philadelphia

Sleeping Beauty - None (but currently downloading the Rozhdestvensky/BBCSO recording)

For suites, I have:

Ansermet/Orchestre Suisse Romande

Rostropovich/Berlin Phil.

I'm very interested in acquiring Dorati's recordings, would other members advocate getting these? Or do you have a strong preference for other versions?

  Whatever you decide to do Peregrine,  DON'T buy this:

 

  That Sleeping Beauty has got to be the most uninspired recording of this ballet I have ever seen.  I would have had more fun watching paint dry!

  On the other hand I love this:

 

  This Swan Lake is a real treat  !!

  marvin

[Que]

It isnt a complete one is it?

Howard

Product information on Amazon:
Recorded live in St. Petersburg, this is the 2-CD recording of the complete score. International star conductor Valery Gergiev brings to these performances his vast experience of the Russian symphonic repertoire, heightening the dramatic impact of Tchaikovsky's most deeply felt stage score. A DVD version of this production as well as a highlights CD will follow this release in November 2007.

Strangely enough Decca gives quite another view on the issue, and their description indicates a studio recording for the CD's instead of a live recording:
The definitive score of the world's favourite ballet in a brand new studio recording, with Valery Gergiev conducting the work for the first time on CD...The rarely recorded 1895 version, including the Black Swan Pas de Deux, as heard in most modern productions.

N.B. The CD performance was recorded separately and is not the soundtrack of the DVD (074 3216).

That "rarely recorded 1895 version" is in fact the dreaded version by Riccardo Drigo, who cut and altered the score. That definitely flunks this recording for me!

Q

[karlhenning]

Who would you recommend for each of Tchaikovsky's ballets?

. . . in Opera and Vocal?

[Que]

. . . in Opera and Vocal?

All is revealed here.

Q

[Drasko]

That "rarely recorded 1895 version" is in fact the dreaded version by Riccardo Drigo, who cut and altered the score. That definitely flunks this recording for me!

The review in Guardian also says that it is Drigo which does indeed flunk the CD but not the DVD, as far as I know full score never actually gets used in staging.

[Peregrine]

Just ordered Sleeping Beauty/Svetlanov for £5.42!!! Still some copies left...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001Q5WV0/203-3801006-9151904

[Marcel]

That "rarely recorded 1895 version" is in fact the dreaded version by Riccardo Drigo, who cut and altered the score. That definitely flunks this recording for me! Shocked

Right!

The Gergiev's new recording of Swan Lake is certainly not the complete version; though it depends on your approach to this work.

The review on ClassicsToday site:

Unfortunately the score used in this recording, a revision prepared by the composer's brother Modest and the conductor Ricardo Drigo, waters down much that was novel and distinctive in Tchaikovsky's original. First of all, about a third of the music has been cut, leaving a playing time of around 110 minutes, instead of the usual two and one-half hours.

See it all> http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11250

[Drasko]

Just ordered Sleeping Beauty/Svetlanov for £5.42!!! Still some copies left...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001Q5WV0/203-3801006-9151904

Most tempting! Thanks for the heads up!

[Marcel]

Not mentioned yet, but what's your opinions on Sleeping Beauty with Gergiev/Kirov Orchestra? Can someone compare it with Dorati's or other recordings?

[Lethevich]

Another argument for putting ballet in this forum was to bring more traffic into the Opera/Vocal forum.

This forum has become much, much more active recently (although not much to do with ballet, which is almost never mentioned here) - a year or so ago there was a point where this section was lucky to get a couple of posts per day, but now it's getting many new topics every week. It's brilliant

[Marcel]

I have just found this website: http://christianm.org/ ; go to DOWNLOADS/ Dance Recordings /Resources  section when you can download .pdf files with some useful informations about Tchaikovsky's ballets recordings.

[Drasko]

Uliana Lopatkina floating through 32 fouettes at III act Pas de Deux Coda of Swan Lake (act I Pas de Deux Coda for those with full score, audio only, preferences).
Youtube doesn't say but I believe this is from Gergiev conducted DVD

http://www.youtube.com/v/liX1exuIkks

[Bogey]

Is the above decent?  Or are there others that are better to start with?  Thanks!

[karlhenning]

Havn't heard [most of] the Ozawa/BSO recording, Bill. I'm partial at the moment to Dorati/Minnesota

[Bogey]

Havn't heard [most of] the Ozawa/BSO recording, Bill. I'm partial at the moment to Dorati/Minnesota

Dorati may just work Karl.  I have his Sleeping Beauty effort with the Concertgebouw and love it. 

[DavidRoss]

Slatkin/St. Louis is nice.  However, I loved the ABT broadcast a couple of years ago:

Ms Murphy was delightful.

[Iago]

Is the above decent?  Or are there others that are better to start with?  Thanks!

For that performance, Ozawa  must have been possessed of demons.
That is his absolutely FINEST performance on records. The Boston Symphony plays  with the self assurance for which it is famous + the utter suavity of the Vienna Philharmonic.    The recording is also absolutely first rate. As far as I know I am the most virulent Ozawa basher alive. But NOT THIS TIME. This performance is superb in every way possible.   

[Bogey]

Dorati?!  Slatkin?!  Ozawa?!  I have recordings by all these conductors that I enjoy.  Tell me I do not need three recordings.  Time to sample and let the battle of the swans begin:

[Drasko]

Time to sample and let the battle of the swans begin:

Add USSR State SO / Svetlanov to the bunch.
This is Melodiya's current release:

http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=44307&genreid=

Unfortunately that page doesn't have samples but the one with previous release does - click on Preview/Прослушать and should be able to listen to whole Act I online (maybe even the whole ballet).
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=15526&genreid=

[MDL]

I picked up Previn's EMI LSO recordings of all three ballets. What do our Tchaikovsky experts think of Previn's Swan Lake?