| | |  | Ballets & Classics | Home » » » Adam - Giselle / Kirov, Petipa, Mezentseva | | | | | | | Description: | | The 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 in Western Europe, and has only survived through the recognition of its quality and the preservation of its traditions by the Kirov Ballet. | | | 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 9 reviews |
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| $16.23 | New | | | $16.23 | New | | | $16.81 | New | | | $16.82 | New | | | $17.97 | New | | | $18.00 | New | | | $18.19 | New | | | $18.47 | New | | | $19.03 | New | | | $19.19 | New | | | $19.29 | New | | | $19.51 | New | | | $19.62 | New | | | $20.79 | New | | | $22.51 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $27.85 This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. | New | | | $33.15 | New | | | $119.99 | New | |
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| $14.97 | Used
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 9 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 WonderfulMar 15, 2007
By Georgios Xenias
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.
20 of 24 found the following review helpful:
A Wonderful, Complete Giselle With Great Choreography.Jul 09, 2006
By J. M WILINSKY
This performance from 1982 features Galina Mezentseva as Giselle and Konstantin Zaklinsky(Altynai Asylmuratova's husband) as Albrecht. You may have seen these two in a Kirov production of Swan Lake from the same period(also available on DVD from Amazon.com). They both dance quite well together and separately. This is a very complete version with all the usual solos and an entire peasant pas de deux, with every variation and very challenging choreography(such as a double prouette from a kneeling position). The Myrtha( danced by Tatyana Terekhova) variation is also complete. At the end of Myrtha's opening adagio, she walks off stage(right) and is then seen flying high in the sky across the stage; she then reappears, walking on stage(left) and continues with her variation. That was unusual. There is also a great deal of mime in this, more than I have ever seen in this ballet. As far as the quality of the dancing is concerned, this certainly is at the highest standards. I should point out that Mezentseva's personality is very quiet and demure and some of you may wonder if this is a good part for her. It is difficult to say. I usually don't like to focus on such things. Furthermore, since this production is more than 20 years old, some may not be satisfied with the quality, although I would say the image(full screen) and sound(Dolby 2.0) are very good. Is this the perfect Giselle for you? I bought it to have another performance by Mezentseva and Zaklinsky and I am very happy with it. Maybe you will be, too.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 From the Desk of a ballet IgnoramusMay 04, 2011
By drkhimxz
I know very little about ballet, have seen only a few seasons of it (Balanchine's NYC Ballet nearly half century ago) and I don't know what I like until I see it. These dancers I liked. They were disciplined, wove beautiful patterns of movement on stage, and created an atmosphere of grace and polish. Mezentseva bore well the starring role. As pointed out by many reviews, she is skinny. Most ballet dancers I have seen are skinny. I saw no difference in her than in the norm. After all, we are speaking of a discipline to which access has been denied to normally endowed women for that fact alone. What I did miss is what a Leon Bakst, Marc Chagall, Eugene Berman, David Hockney, William Kentridge, Bonnard, Picasso, and others of their kind, brought to the stage, costumes and scenery, which inspire immersion by audiences into the world that the dancers create. For my money, they might better have been performing on a bare stage in rehearsal clothes.
All-in-all, though, despite these deficiencies, and the obvious lack of room given for bravura male dancing, most who enjoy dance, without knowing the technicalities of performing, should enjoy this performance. By the way, as is customary, though not without exception, in Kultur discs, there is no additional material of any sort.
11 of 16 found the following review helpful:
The finest Giselle out there (so far)Jul 01, 2007
By S. Hutton
"Scott Hutton"
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.
17 of 25 found the following review helpful:
GALINA'S TRANSCENDENTAL AESTHETICJul 27, 2006
By Michael Fraydon
Ms. Mezentseva marks a pivotal point for the Russian Ballet. With insight she chose Integrity, Intelligence and Depth to form her First Laws of Dance. She then allowed for the Russian Vaganova Style-of-Training, which in essence is Grand, though at its pinnacle - Abstract, to merely serve her quest for Meaning in this very difficult if somewhat limited medium (clearly we see how this academic/abstract form inspired and was later developed by the Russian/American Balanchine in his early works: "Palais de Cristal", "Theme and Variations" and "Jewels").
Confident in her art - Ms. Mezentseva re-defined the Russian Gout during that turbulent period in Russian history. Away with the outdated, hollow and inflated (used to cover up, undoubtedly, for the lack of content) "grand" mannerISMS (not to be confused with the "Grand-Manner") of the self-conscious and aloof Ballerina of the 40's, 50's and 60's. Their idea of the "Style-Noble" (under Khrushchev and Brezhnev) was nothing if not ridiculous, it reflected the taste of that period: 20th century Communist peasants' impoverished imitation of pre-revolutionary Imperial Royals. They failed to see that the term "Noble" is figurative, defining a standard of Pure Form, rather than literal.
Ms. Mezentseva is one of those very rare artists who possess' the unique ability of making a role entirely her own, as Glenn Gould famously reinterpreted Bach's music in the second half of the 20th century thereby setting a new standard, so is her Giselle a Classic. Not for its conforming to tradition, which non-the less, it does, Rather for its being very personal - De Profundis - and yet of universal appeal. This is the Russian school at its most sublime. The way I like to think it was conceived: Poetry, Humility, Integrity and Vitality - Effortless Perfection.
A ballet of the romantic period by Coralli and Perrot, though dramatically revised by Petipa some sixty years later or so for the last time, it requires a synthesis of Two out of the Three Cardinal Styles in the world of classical ballet making "Giselle" one of the hardest to interpret. This is due to the fact that the Romantic Style of dancing and manner (i.e. Gestures and Body language) differ radically from the later, conceptually more abstract Style-Classique. "Giselle" is devoid of anything superficial or superfluous. It aims to convey the noblest and most profound human emotions, not merely divert. Not a single arabesque may be displaced, every step and gesture has a purpose. This exacting economy is crucial in defining this work as, arguably, the most important ballet ever created. It also tells us something about the precise elegance and minimalist refinement of its creators, in an epoch which favored excess and melodrama. "Giselle" is Monumental.
I am really happy to say, Ms. Mezentseva is an Artist capable of causing a Revelation. She is, HERSELF, throughout, to the core.
Ms. Mezentseva takes you through a voyage in time, taking care lest it should be outdated or sentimental. In the first act she IS the simple, passionate and carefree village teenager of the 19th century in love with Albrecht. In the second act she is resurrected and transformed into a timeless, otherworldly creature: A protective and compassionate SOUL. [Unlike her vengeful peers, yet(?)].
To perform this ballet in it's integrity one must do the impossible and forget about the self. Then become the incarnation of Love, Forgiving and Selflessness. But how is this to be done? By what means is the Danseuse to "transform herself" thus into something which is entirely beyond human earthly experience?
If you are looking for expressions of romantic love in the second act you will not find it here. This should not be sought after in the transcendental genre.
Ms. Mezentseva is the last and greatest ballerina to have been bestowed the prestigious title of "Prima Ballerina Assoluta" by the acadamy. She embodies what the Russians are so proud to call "The Russian Soul". It is left to be seen what Russian ballet will look like in the future, now that men of finance have taken over, leaving the artists and visionaries at their mercy (What is one to look forward to if a high ranking official of the Marinsky Theatre was quoted saying that the Russian idea of the ideal danseuse nowadays is Ms. Sylvie Guillem - The dazzling, yet thoroughly French former Etoile).
From this standpoint, the future for the Russian Ballet looks bleak and worse - Shabby. Well, this will happen when High Art "SINS" by carelessly slipping into the pit of human follies, rather than faithfully fulfilling its obligation to ITSELF. Its Raison-d'Etre, like most forms of art is, by definition, TRANSCENDENTAL.
There would really be no need for this somewhat archaic and very limited medium were it not for artists of such caliber as Ms. mezentseva. She succeeded where countless others have failed: She was able to penetrate its subtle mystery and enable a skeptic, jaded and cynical adult believe that this, insignificant, ridiculous, gothic ghost story, is REAL and ALIVE, and that it means something.
If the Principal is a great artist, "Giselle" will have reached its Transcendental Paradigm.
Ms. Tatyana Terekhova's interpretation of Myrtha is excellent: Icy, She dances with a vengeance yet are still quite contemplative and detached. She moves with much grace and command.
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