The Kirov Ballet - Swan Lake - Kirov Ballet (NTSC)

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-02 rating:
maybe better at the Bolshoi
A feast to delight the most critical amongst us,the sets, the corps,the costumes and the principle dancers,all beautiful,but maybe just missing that little sparkle which would have made this great.The orchestra though was superb under the baton of Viktor Fedetov.
Rothbart(Eldar Aliyev)was an inspired choice,who could give the evil stare as required,played his part admirably as did court jester (Yuri Fateyev),but the star of the show Yulia Makhalina only seemed to me to come alive as Odile,and never mastered the birdlike movements required as shall we say can Alla Mikhalchenco.I cant fault Igor Zelensky as I found him to be a very good Siegfried.
Sadly this production did not include the Russian dance,one of the undoubted highlights of Swan Lake.Would I say this is a great production? ~No~but it is good one and as an added bonus it is not done in front of an audience and therefore does not keep stopping for the now compulsory clapping so often found in modern ballets even when not deserved,Should you buy it?,YES its lavish and very entertaining...

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review by: date: 2008-08-04 rating:
This pushed ALL my buttons!
I was knocked out of the ring by this production! I've seen many versions, but this one comes first by a long way. Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky were amazing in their precision, energy, grace &c., &c., &c. Yuri Fateyev, however, as the jester was the special ingredient that made this an absolute masterpiece for me, instead of just a glorious success - he makes it worthy of 6 stars instead of 5. Eldar Aliyev as Rothbart was far and away the best I've seen. Most of all though, the Kirov Theatre Orchestra's performance was what won my heart and stirred my blood (7 stars instead of 6!!). Under Victor Fedotov the music had all the pathos the score demands, and more, but it also had extraordinary crispness and punch when the action needed it (tympani and trombones, especially, at their wondrous best in the climax to the second act). WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T MISS THIS. Although Zelensky might not at first seem handsome enough to be a credible Prince Siegfried, he grows on you, if you give him a chance. At least that's what happened to me.

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review by: date: 2008-04-01 rating:
An excellent Kirov Ballet version
Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1990, this is the current Kirov Ballet version, choreographed by Konstantin Sergeyev in 1950 after the original by Petipa and Ivanov. It is a very stylish and classical version.

The two main roles are danced by then rising stars of the Kirov Ballet. Yulia Makhalina (Odette/Odile) - then 22 years old - had just been promoted to a principal in the previous year. Igor Zelensky - then 21 years old - was promoted to a principal in the following year. They look fresh and display impeccable Russian schooling. Makhalina, slim and lanky, is a very good Odette and Odile: her dancing is stylish and lyrical. She is particulalry good as Odile in the ballroom scene in Act 2, although she is a little cool in the lakeside scenes in Acts 1 and 3.

The role of Prince Siegfried suits Zelensky: he is a danseur noble. He is very good in both technique and style.

The supporting soloists, notably Larissa Lezhnina and Veronika Ivanova as Ziegfried's friends in Act 1, are excellent. Another important factor supporting this performance is the superb corps de ballet in the lakeside scenes. They are very well drilled and the synchronization is remarkable. They all obviously feel the pulse of the music and breathe together.

The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre performs the music beautifully under the sensitive direction of Victor Fedotov. The recording - both picture and sound - is first-rate. My only minor reservation is that this is not a live recording so that the viewer does not hear any response from the audience. It would have been better if they had made a live recording as the viewer will be able to feel the atmosphere of the famous theatre.

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review by: date: 2007-03-31 rating:
Great production, but...
This is a lavish Kirov production of the Tchaikovsky ballet. Wonderful sets, fabulous costumes, a great corps-de-ballet, a magnificent orchestra, plus very good cinematography and recorded sound... It could have been a dream-Swan-Lake-come-true, if it weren't for the two stars. Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky are two excellent dancers, with very solid classic technique and, unfortunately, rather blunt personalities.
Zelensky does some astonishing jetes (jumps), but his interpretation seemed quite detached and cold to me.
Makhalina is more expressive, but she lacks the personality that would make her portrayal of Odette-Odile truly memorable. Her White Swan (Odette) is classical, not in the Ulanova way (regal and tormented), but more in the porcelain ballerina tradition. Her first turns, taken at a verrry slow pace, impressed me, as they were keeping perfect tempo with the orchestra. Later on, though, it seemed like she just was a rather slow turner.
Her Odile was pretty and smiled a lot. Never would it cross my mind that this was a dangerous, villainous, or even particularly sexy, creature. She did perform all her movements, plus the infamous 32 fouetes, without any excitement.
It's a pity, really. With such a high level of production this might have been a "definitive" version of Swan Lake.


review by: date: 2006-07-21 rating:
Brilliant
I first saw the Kirov perform this in Edinburgh and was amazed. Pure classical ballet. If the amazing Andre Ivanov was jester then 105% but he wasn't with them at the time. For some reason they filmed this with no audience in St Petersburgh. Does anyone know why not live? Better atmosphere. But just amazing with close ups done at all right times. If you just buy one version I would say it has to be this.

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