Diaghilev, Cocteau - Picasso and Dance / Paris Opera Ballet
by Didier Baussy, Yvon Gérault
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Actor: Elisabeth Maurin, Fabrice Bourgeois, Françoise Legrée, Kader Belarbi, Nicholas La RicheDirector: Didier Baussy, Yvon Gérault
Brand: Kultur
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 81 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-12-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
DVD Reviews of Diaghilev, Cocteau - Picasso and Dance / Paris Opera Ballet
DVD Review: These ballets aren't seen much anymore, and I kind of know why ...
Summary: 3 Stars
When people think of Serge Diaghilev's "Ballet Russes," they primarily think of two choreographers: Mikhail Fokine and George Balanchine. Fokine choreographed at the inception of the Ballet Russes, and his ballets -- Les Sylphides, Firebird, Petrushka, Spectre a la Rose -- are still danced by companies around the world. George Balanchine joined the company during its final years before Diaghilev's death in 1929, and the rest, as we say, is history.
However Diaghilev had many other choreographers, and this video by the POB highlights two of Diaghilev's less famous choreographers: Bronislava Nijinsky, the sister of the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky, and Leonid Massine, one of Diaghilev's lovers/dancers. The two ballets in the video are Le Train Bleu and Le Tricorne. Both had set designs by none other than Pablo Picasso, whose involvement in the Ballet Russes (he was married to one of its dancers, Olga Koklova) is explained in the documentary preceeding the performance.
The two works could not be any different. Le Train Bleu, premiered in 1924 and it really celebrates the freewheeling "flapper" era. The ballet seems to take place at a sporting resort. The "corps de ballet" consists of men and women in swimsuits. The two main characters are two young, beautiful swimmers (Elisabeth Maurin and Nicholas Riche) who flirt and fall in love. There's also a tennis champion (Clothilde Vayer) and a golfer (Laurent Queval). It is not really a classical ballet at all -- no one is on pointe, the men dance barefoot, and the role for the male swimmer is full of athletic strutting. The female swimmer has to pirouette and leap, but she also often has her feet flexed upwards, unturned out, toes unpointed. At one point the male swimmer flexes his biceps. Does all this sound terribly silly? Well, it is ... except that it's also consistently enjoyable and entertaining. The score by Darius Milhaud is bright and tuneful. And best of all, it's short. This is a ballet whose premise could easily have become tedious and ridiculous, but it's over before we think, "Oh, what a bore." Maurin, petite and bubbly, is charming in the lead role. LeRiche is also appropriately energetic, muscular, and, well ... studly.
More "serious" is Le Tricorne ("The Three Cornered Hat") which was inspired by the Ballet Russes' tour of Spain. The score is by Hector deFalla. The ballet is 40 minutes long, but it seems like 400. The storyline is supposedly that of a miller (Kader Belarbi) and his lovely wife (a wonderful Francoise Legree), but I admit that unless one read the notes on the back of the dvd, it would be hard to understand anything about the ballet, because the ballet really isn't much more than strutting and dancing, Spanish style. The abstract sets by Picasso don't help. Not much happens, in terms of storyline, until a silly old magistrate makes a pass at the wife. Of course the husband gets jealous, but even then, the story goes nowhere. I think Le Tricorne is one of those ballets that wastes a lot of time. A ballet does not need a storyline, but it does need cohesiveness. The repetitiveness of the choreography, especially in the beginning of the ballet, makes the mind wander. What could have been a charming slice of Spanish life becomes boring. And this ballet attempts to have a storyline, but, as I said, 99% of the ballet is the miller and his wife and the locals dancing, Spanish-style. And, as I said, the choreography is way too repetitive and stereotypical to be of much interest after about 10 minutes. Surely there is more to Spanish dancing than a woman constantly sashaying her skirt and a man stomping his feet.
Overall, I admire ballet companies when they try to dig out forgotten works, instead of simply dancing Swan Lake a million times. However, these two works I think are forgotten, for good reason. Le Train Bleu is a charming bit of fluff, but that's all it is, fluff. I do like the lovely, lilting score though. Le Tricorne is repetitive and unoriginal. One understands why almost 100 years later, ballet companies are still dancing Petrushka and the Firebird. And why they are not dancing Le Train Bleu and Le Tricorne.
Description of Diaghilev, Cocteau - Picasso and Dance / Paris Opera Ballet
Between 1917 and 1962, Picasso was involved in creating the designs for nine ballets including Parade, Pulcinella and L'Après-midi d'un Faune, in collaboration with such artists as Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Léonide Massine and Vaslav Nijinsky. Le Train Bleu dates from 1924 and Le Tricorne from 1919. These two historic ballets, created originally by Sergei Diaghilev, have been revived by the Paris Opera Ballet. Le Train Bleu (The Blue Train): Scenario by Jean Cocteau, Music by Darius Milhaud. Perlouse: Élisabeth Maurin, The Handsome Youth: Nicholas Le Riche, The Tennis Champion: Clotilde Vayer, The Golfer: Laurent Quéval. Le Train Bleu is an operetta dansé of a chic and flippant society. Jean Cocteau, who wrote the scenario, mockingly celebrates the cult of open air life, fine bodies and sport. The dances are inspired by golf, tennis, swimming and acrobatics. Le Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat): Libretto by Gregorio Martinez Sierra, Music by Manuel De Falla, Choreography by Léonide Massine, Stage Curtain, Sets & Costumes by Pablo Picasso. The Miller: Kader Belarbi, The Miller?s Wife: Françoise Legrée, Magistrate: Fabrice Bourgeois. Le Tricorne is Spanish from start to finish. Picasso, a native of Andalusia, created sets, costumes, and a stage curtain, which evokes the atmosphere of the ballet by means of a typically Spanish scene. The story, told with humour and warmth, is of a miller's wife, her jealous husband and a senile magistrate by whom she is pursued. An accompanying documentary, The Story of a Marriage, traces the story of Picasso's involvement with designs for ballet. Orchestre Des Concerts Lamoureux, Conducted By David Coleman. Special Feature: Directed by Yvon Gerault, The Story Of A Marriage, A film by Didier Baussy-Oulianoff, produced and narrated by Robin Scott. With rare photographs and archive footage, this documentary traces the story of Picasso?s collaboration with, among others, Diaghilev, Cocteau and Massine, and of his designs for the ballet, from 1917 to 1924, inspired by his Russian wife, Olga Koklova. Program language English, with subtitles in English / French / German / Italian / Portuguese / Spanish / Japanese.Classical Music CDs
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