| | |  | Ballets & Classics | Home » » » Gayane Ballet | | | | | | | Description: | | All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. | | | Product Details: | | | Format:
| Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Video Artists Int'l | | Run Time:
| 81 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| June 26, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 9 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 9 customer reviews )
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35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
 A Great Ballet Classic Available At Last On DVD!Sep 16, 2007
By J. M WILINSKY
The Armenian born, Soviet composer, Aram Khachaturian, created music for the ballet, Gayne(also transliterated as Gayane and Gayaneh, taken from the Armenian, a female name meaning lovely and elegant--it is pronounced guy-yah-NEH, with the stess on the last syllable) in the first half of the twentieth century. He actually created two versions: a long version and a shorter one. The performance on this DVD is actually the shorter one, but it is still 81 minutes long(this DVD also includes 47 minutes of extras, so don't worry, you'll get your money's worth!). Gayne has only been seen rarely in the West, but is very popular in Russia and the rest of the former Soviet Union. One scene from Gayne actually is well known everywhere, and that is the famous Sabre Dance. Yes, the Sabre Dance is from Gayne! The importance of this ballet in the history of ballet makes this DVD all the more welcome.
This version is choreographed by Boris Eifman and performed by the Latvian Opera And Ballet Company. The choreography is wonderfully intense and impressive, danced to perfection by this Latvian company. In the typical style of Soviet ballet in the twentieth century, Gayne contains an abundance of male dancing, perhaps even more than female, but there is plenty of female dancing, mostly on pointe.
This performance was recorded live, in 1980, at the Bolshoi Theatre(yes, companies other than the Bolshoi perform at the Bolshoi Theatre, even the Kirov Ballet!). The image quality is not as good as today's, but it is quite good, nevertheless, and in color. The sound is in mono, but of good quality.
The lighting is also typically Russian, with a rather dark, colorful background and spotlights on individual dancers and dancer combinations.
All the curtain calls are included, and they have prepared a little choreography for some of them, which is rather charming.
Surprisingly(actually, VAI, the studio that produces this DVD, is often generous with their extras!), 47 minutes of extras are included. The first one is an older, black and white segment, with remarkably excellent mono sound, of the entire last act of the longer version of Gayne(yet another version of the Sabre Dance is in this segment--this version has the Sabre Dance in the last act, whereas the Latvian performance has it in the second act, which seems to make more sense in terms of the story), performed by the Bolshoi Ballet and conducted by Khachaturian, himself. There is yet another extra from an older Gayne, and also two segments from the Spartacus ballet(also by Khachaturian), all performed by the Bolshoi Ballet, and all in black and white, except for the last one of Spartacus, which is in color.
With all this DVD has to offer, this really deserves to be in any serious ballet video collection.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Exciting and lovelyFeb 11, 2008
By Ian Mackay
I found this performance a little gem - I almost withheld the fifth star, because the picture is not quite as crisp as one would like - but the fact that we HAVE it on DVD at all, and so well danced, with the music so thoroughly and powerfully Armenian, forced me to give all five. THE DANCERS: all the principals move well and have remarkable steps which they execute with consumate grace and skill; Tuisova is lovely as Gayne - vulnerable and very beautiful - her surprisingly slender legs and loins give her an extraordinary air of youthful freshness - utterly loveable; Gorbanev as Armen is magnificent - explosive and graceful both at once, with Rumyantsev as Giko only very slightly behind; Machak, angry, angular and ugly, and well danced by Maris Koristyn, brings in all the tension expected from him. The villagers perform with great energy - this is especially effective in the Sabre Dance. I am very happy I bought this production - I like it more each time I watch it. A good performance to have at hand - heartily recommended.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 Disappointing in every aspectJun 27, 2010
By J. Shaver
I waited for years to get a recording of the entire ballet on CD and finally was able to order one from Europe. Therefore I was delighted to see the ballet finally on DVD. Of course no one would want to see the original version celebrating life on a collective farm, but the version here is certainly not inspired. I saw a different version in Denmark many years ago in which a young officer was captured by a hill tribe and taken back to their camp where he fell in love with the chieftain's daughter who eventually freed him. That was much more imaginative than this version. The choreography is often downright silly. In addition it looks as though we are watching everything through gauze or out of focus as the picture is fuzzy. Then there is the sound! Not only is the sound poorly recorded, it is also poorly played. As a result, my disappointment is immense. I will stick to my CDs until such time as Gergiev or some other conductor records it with a new choreographer and some spectacular dancers.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 may be your only chance to see this balletMar 20, 2009
By John A. Smith
"smitty"
Everyone knows the music from this ballet but few have seen it. This production is good BUT the photography is often fuzzy and the music recording is muddy. The orchestra playing is mediocre. The dancers are fine. For dedicated ballet buffs only!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
There's More Here Than Meets The Eye!Apr 06, 2011
By David Bower
To explain the title I think it important to realize that in addition to the performance of Gayne by the Latvian Opera and Ballet Company one also has available as Bonus Selections some rather special performances by exceptional dancers and most particularly a performance from the Final Act of Gayne danced by the Bolshoi and conducted by Khachaturian himself; for me that alone was worth the price of the disc.
In 1964 a Tribute to Aram Khachaturian concert celebration took place during which Khachaturian conducted the music from the final act of Gayne which is included in the Bonus section of this DVD. Although this performance is in black and white the energy and excitement generated by Khachaturian and the Bolshoi Ballet more than compensates for any audio/video deficiencies.
It was also fascinating to me to watch the differences in choreography between the Latvian Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet. The performance by the Latvian Ballet played up the character dancing aspect of the ballet with a more restrained use of classical ballet. The Bolshoi choreography on the other hand used character dancing but a great deal more classical ballet. Although the Bolshoi performance was made in 1964 as opposed to the Latvian Ballet performance which was made in 1980, the sound from the Bolshoi seems better.
It has been pointed out that the original story focused on a collective farm; having been first performed during the Second World War it is easy to understand the Soviets interest in promoting patriotism. By 1957 however, the plot had been rewritten to become a story about the full range of human emotions of the young people of Soviet Armenia.
Gayne was originally choreographed by Nina Aleksandrovna Anisimova who felt that character dancing should hold a place in ballet with classical dancing; the performance by the Latvian Ballet picks up on this extensively.
The other three bonus selections include a Gayne Adagio from 1958, an Act II Adagio from Spartacus, and a marvelous Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia performed beautifully by Natalia Bessmertnova and Yuri Vladimirov. Historically they are all significant.
The Gayne performance by the Latvian Ballet has marginal sound and video but it is the best available and I did enjoy it. The ballet was captivating to me in that I could finally see someone dancing to music I had known for years. There is a lot of character dancing and somewhat less pure ballet but the overall effect seems to fit the music.
There is some dancing that is highly emotional and very moving; in particular the duet at the end of Scene 3, Act II danced by Larisa Tuisova and Alexander Rumyantsev is particularly powerful in its portrayal of love between a man and a woman. The audience at the Bolshoi seemed to appreciate it as they honored the dancers with the rhythmic applause which one occasionally hears from Russian audiences.
As frequently experienced with ballet, different companies and choreographers take liberties with which dances to include or exclude. This particular performance is on the short side and runs only 81 minutes whereas the full ballet runs around 142 minutes which is about an hour longer.
Having said all that I'm still very glad I have the DVD; finally I can see the dancing with the music. I join with others in hoping the Bolshoi or the Kirov will produce a full length version of the ballet in high definition with surround sound. That may be dream world but it doesn't cost extra to dream does it?
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