Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet / Bessmertnova, Mukhamedov, Sharkov, Vetrov, Zhuraitis, Bolshoi
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DVD details
Actor: Bolshoi Opera Ballet, Irek Mukhamedov, Natalia BessmertnovaDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 136 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-10-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Arthaus Musik
DVD Reviews of Prokofiev - Romeo and Juliet / Bessmertnova, Mukhamedov, Sharkov, Vetrov, Zhuraitis, Bolshoi
DVD Review: For serious students and balletomanes only
Summary: 2 Stars
Having seen most of the available DVD versions of Romeo and Juliet, I still greatly prefer the more traditional MacMillan choreography, which sticks closely to Prokofiev's original conception in his scoring, to either Nureyev's idiosyncratic 1995 Paris National Opera, with Loudieres and Legris, or Grigorovich's radically revisionist 1988 Bolshoi, with Bessmertnova and Mukhamedov.
I'm not a dancer, and leave appraisals of technique and skill to other reviewers. For all I know, this late-Soviet-era Grigorovich Bolshoi production might be a dancer's delight, but it's performed bare-stage with dim lighting, uninspired costumes, acting which -- unless you count a lot of stern looks -- generally ranges from poor to nonexistent, little comprehensible story line, and a musical score frequently so pushed, pulled, and twisted out of shape (and at times simply badly played) that the film's middling audio quality and inattentive camera work are the least of its problems.
Of the three productions based on MacMillan that I know, the 1984 Ferri/Eagling Royal Ballet is the least desirable, but not at all bad. The 2000 Ferri/Corella La Scala is superb in all respects -- dancing, acting, 'chemistry', sets and costumes, orchestral conducting and playing, and filming -- but my personal favorite remains the 1966 Fonteyn/Nureyev Royal Ballet, despite Kultur's failure to bother with a needed remastering. Fonteyn at 46 shows some ravages of age for a 14-year-old, but she remains a strikingly beautiful woman, and she inhabits, rather than 'plays', the role of Juliet, with utter conviction. In this same 1966 production Paul Czinners' film direction is flawless, David Blair as the mocking Mercutio is the best on film, and Desmond Doyle's depiction of Tybalt's cold haughty rage, in his every stance and expression, is a wonder to behold. The entire fight scene is a major highlight of this production, putting all other versions to shame.
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