| | |  | Ice Dancing | Home » » » Adam - Giselle / Kirov, Petipa, Mezentseva | | | | | | | Description: | | Adam’s romantic ballet, Giselle, first seen in 1841, was the finest of the ballets staged in Paris during the age of Romanticism. Over the years Giselle disappeared from the repertory outside Russia, and has only survived through the recognition of its quality and the preservation of its traditions by the Kirov Ballet. The role of Giselle has been compared to that of Hamlet. She is a simple peasant girl, driven from joy to madness and death through an unhappy love. She is transformed into a ghost and ordered to help destroy the man who betrayed her, while still seeking to sustain him because of her undying love. Giselle: Galina Mezentseva. Albrecht: Konstantin Zaklinsky. Bertha: Angelina Kabarova. Bathilde: Anelina Kasherina. Hilarion: Gennadi Selyutski. Wilfred: Valentin Onoshko. Orchestra of the Kirov Theatre of Opera and Ballet; Conductor Viktor Fedotov. Music: Adolphe Adam. Choreography: Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, revised by Marius Petipa. | | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Kirov Ballet, Galina Mezentseva, Gennady Selyutsky, Konstantin Zaklinsky, Angelina Kabarova | | Director:
| Preben Montell | | Format:
| Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Kultur Video | | Run Time:
| 108 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| June 27, 2006 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 8 reviews |
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11 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 All around disappointing performanceJan 14, 2008
At times one simply has to call a spade a spade, and this is one of those times. This dvd is a disappointment in every way. A shame too, because as of now it is the Kirov's only official video of the great Romantic ballet Giselle.
Where do the problems begin? For one, let's start with the technical issues. The video and sound are very poor. The video is frequently grainy and fuzzy, the sound tinny, and the stage is way too lit for the crucial Act 2, destroying the moonlit glow that is so crucial for this act to work.
Then the performances. Galina Mezentseva is a ballerina whose appeal eludes me. Other reviewers have called her a "bag of bones," and it's true, her tall, broad-shouldered, overly bony body shape is not very pleasing to look at, as is her overly gaunt face. But more importantly, she is fatally unable to convey youth, radince, and innocence in Act 1, and a supernatural gentleness/spirituality in Act 2. Her acting in Act 1 is hammy, especially the mad scene. Those are real tears, but it seems overwrought, and the closeups do not flatter her. The only part of the ballet she does very well is the crucial moment when she is made to turn as a Wili in front of Myrtha. Her spins are furious, and as is she's possessed. Otherwise her technique is good but without artistry to back it up what is there? But otherwise, I've seen so many Giselles superior to her in both technique and artistry. Alessandra Ferri. Alina Cojocaru. Diana Vishneva. Carla Fracci. Svetlana Lunkina. Galina Ulanova. Natalia Makarova. From the clips, Margot Fonteyn. Even Svetlana Zakharova, a dancer who I'm not all that fond of, performas the role with a better fluidity of movement. Unusually for someone trained in the Vaganova style, her movements have this jerkiness about them. She also has very little elevation. This doesn't stop her from shamelessly milking the applause, she actually breaks character by accepting a bouquet of flowers at the end of the "Spessivtseva" variation (that's the variation where Giselle has to hop across the stage on pointe), even though the ballet isn't over yet. One has a feeling that she is performing as though she is a Diva, and not as Giselle.
The Albrecht, Konstantin Zaklinsky, has almost zero chemistry with Mezentseva. His dancing is mediocre at best, and he runs out of steam in the marathon Act 2. His form falters. He fails to delineate Albrecht's character. Is he a cad, is he genuinely in love? Does he redeem himself? We never find out with his middling performance.
The only redeeming features of this video are the Kirov corps, which are their usually excellent selves, although even they have their sloppy moments, as they drop their flowers left and right. The second redeeming feature of the perforance is the Myrtha of Tatiana Terekhova. Fearsome, with an impeccable technique and an implacable demeanor, Terekhova is the only person who seems to understand what the ballet is all about. Altynai Asylmuratova (what a Giselle she would have been!) has a small cameo as Moyna, one of Myrtha's girls.
The Kirov production looks old and tattered. In the second act, the Wili flowers are strewn all over the stage. In other words, it's as if they decided to preserve for posterity a very mediocre performance. A shame.
As an interesting sidenote, during the curtain calls, Tatiana Terekhova receives a HUGE bouquet of flowers, much larger than Mezentseva's smaller bunch. And for a minute, you see a rather smug smirk flit across Terekhova's face.
Disappointing in every way.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
ballet company good - galina is not giselleDec 04, 2007
It is unfortunate to have to give this ballet only two stars, as the Kirov Ballet does a wonderful job and the corp is quite talented. I bought this DVD to replace a 1983 Bolshoi version that I no longer have, and I must say that I am also disappointed in Galina "eat a cracker" Mezentseva's performance. I have to agree with other reviewer that her gaunt look does distract from the role. I watched and saw that she could not carry off the youthful, joyous love of Act I and hoped that she could carry off the haunting, mysterious love of the second. And she couldn't. I also hoped that at least her technique was superior, and there again she fell short in this version - she may have been one of the best ballarinas ever but in her extensions of this performance she frequntly wobbles on her right foot, fighting for balance. I think if you watch closely, you will pick this up.
I studied the other Wilis to see if they were as thin at Galina, and saw several that were very close. I hope that the directors of the Kirov are not promoting this among their ballarinas???
There is applause and yelling from the audience throughout the performance, which was more typical of a sporting event than a ballet. Its quite distracting from the flow of the story.
To preempt the gentleman who seemed to think that negative reviewers were fed on a diet of bad american television, I can state that is not the case here, and that I have seen theatrical productions, concerts, ballets, etc... on three continents.
If you can get your hands on the 1983 Bolshoi version of this I think you will not be disappointed. The filming is what you'd expect of the early 80's, but the dancing is wonderful.
3 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 DisappointedOct 13, 2007
This version of Giselle cannot compare to the Baryshnikov Makarova ABT version available on VHS.
7 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 The finest Giselle out there (so far)Jul 01, 2007
Whoever gives this performance less than 5 stars should watch it again. And again.
The performance is historic - only one comparable springs to mind (Makarova and Baryshnikov - spelling approximate), and that exists only on vhs.
To the person who gave this only one star, I say: you've probably od'd on American television and movies - do, please, go on a cultural diet. Moments of great classic beauty have sailed by you - as a very wise bus driver once said, if you don't have it inside you can't see it outside. Mezentseva was a prima ballerina at the finest ballet company on the planet; factor that into your equations, please - it's not about butts - it's about muscle. And catch her Swan Lake. You will see beauty and genius such as comes along not very often.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
WonderfulMar 15, 2007
This is a very classical production of Giselle by the Kirov forces in the early 1980s. Sets and costumes are exactly what one would expect in this kind of production: traditional and beautiful. In the second Act there are some impressive tricks (dancers floating above the stage, etc.), which are perfectly executed and quite effective. The picture and sound quality are good. The performance was filmed live, so you get the audience's responce (which I like), as well as some thumping from the dancers' feet (which I could do without).
I believe there is no need to stress that the corps is great. Anyone who has seen Kirov performances from that era knows that they carried sort of a guarantee of excellence.
Terekhova, who dances Myrtha, the Queen of the ghosts, is pefect. The absolute control of movement combined with an icy expression, gives a spooky and at the same time fascinating feeling to the part. I wish she had more to do -I couldn't get enough of her.
Zaklinski is Albrecht, Giselle's controversial lover. I had seen him before in the Kirov's Corsaire, dancing the slave-trader, which is almost a character role. He was great there too, but what a surprise to see him here. He is an excellent noble dancer, very stylish, very handsome, and a good actor, too. Acting abilities were mandatory in this case, not only beacause of the complexity of the part, but also because he was coupled with such a Giselle!
Which brings us to Mezentseva, the Giselle. She is the main reason I'm writing this review. I've read reviews describing her as "an ancient anorexic" (in the UK Amazon) or even "a bag of bones". True, she is not pretty. She is tall, her shoulders are broad and she is VERY thin. If I were the costume designer, I'd have covered her arms and bust by all means. But a great artist does not need looks. And a great artist she is. One minute after she appears, the "look" issue was forgotten for me. Her dancing is excellent, in the best Kirov tradition. Wonderful, fluid movement, absolute control, perfect form, -everything you'd expect from a Kirov prima ballerina,- but her ACTING is what absolutely took my breath away. What a wonderful Giselle she is! Her Act I finale almost had me in tears. In fact she IS in tears, herself. You can see them streaming down her cheeks as she turns from her mother to Albrecht in despair. Her madness and death-scene are unforgetable. And how naturally she slides into the un-natural state of Giselle in the 2nd Act. She is and is not the village girl anymore. She is gentle, compassionate and detached. A spirit.
This was a very rewarding purchase for me, and, unless what you are looking for is a lovely creature dancing pirouettes, I would definitely recomend it.
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