Search - Paul Czinner: The Bolshoi Ballet [DVD Video] on DVD

Priceless snapshot of Bolshoi in 1956

Ivy Lin | NY NY | 08/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1956, the Bolshoi Ballet company toured the West for the first time, and they created a storm. Conspicuously absent from the tour was the Bolshoi's prima ballerina, Maya Plisetskaya, whose difficult relationship with management prevented her from touring in the company until 1959. But Paul Czinner, who had already made several films of staged performances, decided to capture the Bolshoi for posterity, and what a relief that he did.

The video is broken up into two main parts. The first is a pastiche of smaller ballets, danced by the Bolshoi's rising stars. My own personal favorite is the Walpurgisnacht from Faust, danced by Raisa Struchkova. But the second half of the video is devoted to Galina Ulanova, who was named prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi Ballet. (After she retired, Maya Plisetskaya was given the title.) Ulanova in many ways was an unusual dancer. She was born in St. Petersburg, and was a pupil of the famed teacher Agrippina Vaganova. For the first half of her career she danced at the Mariinsky Theatre. Stalin liked her dancing he essentially forced her to transfer to Moscow. Ulanova created the role of Juliet in Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. Even in her youth, she was known more for her unique lyrical elegance than technical aplomb. Flashy roles, such as Kitri or Odile, were never in her repertoire. But she was unrivalled in ballets such as Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, and, most famously, Giselle.

By the time Ulanova's Giselle was filmed, she was 46, and, presumably, past her technical prime. The extremely exposed developpes in Act II (Margot Fonteyn said they were the most terrifying moment for her in all of ballet) are 'handled' by a quick cutaway, but it's clear that Ulanova's developpes are no longer comfortable. I would say her Giselle was a snapshot of the past, except her Giselle is unlike the Giselles of her own day. It's a unique interpretation. Ulanova's Giselle has an artless simplicity -- she is not dance-crazed, or neurotic. Just a simple peasant girl who fell in love with the wrong man. Thus her heartbreak when she is betrayed is all the more touching.

In the second act, Ulanova is not an otherwordly weeping spirit. Her somewhat wholesome looks and chubby (for ballet standards) figure prevented her from looking otherwordly. But Ulanova's Wili Giselle also doesn't have the feverish intensity associated with the role. She is more of a gentle balm, there to save the man she loves. For this reason, many modern viewers might find her interpretation unusual. Tamara Karsavina, herself a legendary Giselle, said that Giselle should be given to a ballerina with "great elevation," presumably because of the many huge leaps and jumps of Act II. But Ulanova's jumps are quiet and understated. Overall, Ulanova's Giselle has no 'wow' moments but the sum total of her performance is greater than the parts.

There are limitations to the film. It is 'slightly abridged' but with cuts here and there, the Giselle is only about an hour long. Many of the cuts are at the most difficult parts, dance-wise, for Giselle. The "Spessivtseva solo" with the hops on pointe and the fast turns Giselle makes when she first enters as a Wili is gone, as is the beautiful first duet between Giselle and Albrecht. One supposes these cuts were made to accomodate Ulanova or in the interests of time, but it is a loss. The Albrecht, Nikolai Fadeyechev, is serviceable but not memorable. There is little passion and chemistry between the Giselle and Albrecht. Also, in order to film the performance, Czinner had to add an enormous amount of lighting to the stage, and in Act II, this becomes a real distraction, as the whole act works better when danced in a moonlit glow. Also, Ulanova is 46, and, as I said, somewhat shaky technically in the extremely exposed choreography of Act II.

I forgot to add that the film also has Ulanova's Dying Swan, the brief vignette choreographed for Anna Pavlova, but a favorite showcase for countless ballerinas. Again, Ulanova's Dying Swan accepts her death with a gentle, lyrical grace. Unlike Plisetskaya or even Pavlova, who stir and shake furiously before they fold up and die, Ulanova simply folds up serenely and dies.

In a company known for fiery athletics, Ulanova was a gentle, lyrical spirit, and this film is a tribute to this unique, unforgettable dancer."