Search - Adam: Giselle [DVD Video] on DVD

Reconstructed Video With Poor Overall Image, But Worth The P

J. M WILINSKY | teaneck, NJ United States | 03/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD is not for the casual ballet viewer! This is a reconstruction of a televised performance that took place in Havana on October 31, 1980. Almost half of the recording was accidentally erased, so it was pieced together from private collections and dress rehearsal footage. What is the result? Well, it came out better than you might imagine. The overall image is certainly on the poor side, but it is very viewable(if one is sufficiently motivated!) and everything can be discerned easily. The synchronization is perfect, so it actually doesn't really look like it is from different pieces at all. The color is also rather good. There are moments where the image quality is actually good. The sound has a little distortion here and there, but is not bad at all and it does not suffer the same problems as the image. I can certainly understand that someone who buys this DVD without knowing these facts would be very upset, but the outside of the DVD package explains this clearly, so it depends on how it is advertised. The DVD actually goes into this explanation in five languages! But the great thing about this DVD is the performance itself. This is one of the most spirited and stylistic Giselles on DVD! By 1980, the National Ballet of Cuba had become a world class ballet company, and the guest appearance of Vladimir Vasiliev, one of the greatest danseurs to ever come out of Russia, was, in part, a celebration of this success, injecting great emotion into the occasion. The great success of the Cuban ballet is all from the hard work and dedication of Alicia Alonso, and she is very much adored in Cuba and beyond. This is one reason why Alonso, continued to dance on stage well into her seventies!(Another reason is that she just loved to be on stage!) Here, she is just several weeks shy of her sixtieth birthday!(She was born on December 21, 1920.) What she lacked in youthful athleticism, she made up for in style. Her performance is very interesting and unique, but quite different from the norm. Vasiliev is amazing in this! He inserts new choreography all over the place and even dances onto the stage in his first appearance in the beginning of the first act. Throughout the ballet, he uses some of the most intricate steps where traditionally Albrecht just walked(although he does walk where necessary). He certainly earns his pay! I'll leave it to you to decide whether it is just showing off, but how often do you get to decide such an issue in a Giselle performance? The entire cast, including the corps de ballet, dances to perfection. I have never seen the act two solos danced better!(Although, I have seen more technically impressive ballerinas portraying Giselle.) Furthermore, this is a very complete Giselle, with all the parts that we like to see. The peasant pas de deux is danced by six couples with a very interesting choreography that Alonso favors(by this point in history, the male dancers are all virtuosos in the Cuban ballet, but they show off a little at the expense of dancing in unison--a minor flaw). All the second act solos are included as well. We even have the scene where Giselle's mother tells of her dream of the wilis. There is also included a documentary on the making of this ballet, showing some of the rehearsals and performance footage(this has a slightly better image quality). All in all, if you are willing to filter your way through the distractions of the image quality, and you want to see a very interesting and historic Giselle performance, you will enjoy this DVD!"

Reconstruction of history...that is the point.

Juan E. Mauriz Gomez | Miami, Florida, USA | 03/12/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It is true that it is a reconstruction of a televised performance in Havana, in 1980, but at the same time you can buy it and have it, as a piece of art history, because this is history of the National Adam: Giselle [DVD Video]Cuban Ballet, and one of the best "Giselle" ever danced."

What a Disappointment

R. Brodsky | Ft. Collins, CO, USA | 02/24/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"What performance of "Giselle" could be better than that danced by Alonso and Vasiliev? That's what I thought when I put this ballet performance on my Wish List.

Received this "Giselle" DVD as part of an 80th birthday gift. Couldn't wait to play it.

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!! THIS PRODUCT IS ONE DISTORTED LONG BLUR. You cannot see any part of the ballet clearly. You know there's dancing, but you can't be sure who is dancing -- except for the wild applause for Alonso and, sometimes, for Vasiliev.

Unless you're a snob who wants to name-drop and claim possession of this miserable DVD, don't buy it.

I rated this as one star -- simply because I had to give it some rating. If I had a real choice, it would not receive even one star!!!!"

The Greatest Giselle of all Times Even At The Age Of 60!!

Violeta | 06/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"" You had the first perfect production i have seen in my long career."
Arnold Haskell (british ballet writer) June 4th 1944

" Alicia Alonso was acclaimed deliriously by the Roman Public when she appeared in Giselle , regarding her as the best of her time... She reached the summit of poetry when dancing" Il Tempo Rome 1953


" She was Born so that Giselle didn't die" Fernanado Emery 1949.


"Thankyou my dear , dear Alicia, for creating once again that epoch of the Romantic Ballet" Anton Dolin 1967


Alicia Alonso was and always will be the greatest Giselle of our times
She is the only one who had danced Giselle for fifty years!!!

The Critics have coincided in an irrefutable truth : Alicia Alonso is the Greatest Giselle of our times , and the Cuban version of the homonymous ballet is the most rigorous that can be seen today in the entire world.It its own right , this version has turned out to be part of the most important ballet companies in the world , among them, The Paris Opera Ballet , conforming a magic circle with almost a century and a half of evolution.

In this video you can see the miracle that is Alicia Alonso
she endow the character with humanity , and at the same time respecting the ROMANTIC STYLE with her flawless technique even at the age of 60!

If you really want to see how the romantic style and Giselle should be danced buy this DVD , If you want to see Alicia Alonso at her technicall and artistical peak buy the Giselle VHS with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

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