Cheap Swan Lake (Vienna State Opera Ballet) (DVD) (Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn) (Truck Branss) Price

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Customer Reviews of Swan Lake (Vienna State Opera Ballet)

Nureyev's Own Staging of "Swan Lake"
Throughout his incredible career, Rudolf Nureyev staged the entire classical repretoire throughout the world. In his native Russia, the ballets of the old world Imperial Ballet (his parent company: The Kirov) were performed in the old traditions, among these being the ballerina being placed as the focal point of an entire ballet. Nureyev felt that the male should be just as equally prominent as the ballerina. He made sure that when he staged his versions of the great classical repretoire, he did them his way, with the male alongside the ballerina. At times, he would loose the ballerina and end up dominating the entire performance (not with Margot Fonteyn of course).

But no matter, his "Swan Lake" for the Vienna State Opera Ballet is quite well done. Most people in their reviews scream about it because it is so different from the traditional version (see the Kirov version for an example). I myself am not a fan of people tinkering with "Swan Lake", but Nureyev's version is great dispite its differences. His performance is excellent, though he cannot surpass his longtime partner, the late great Dame Margot Fonteyn. Her performance is as divine as she herself was.

Nureyev does a good job salvaging the music not usually used in traditional performance in his re-organizing of Tchaikovsky's score. I will not spoil the details of the changes but they are quite good, if at times a little over the top. But c'mon its Nureyev! Get this video!

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A Mixed Review
This Rudolf Nureyev production of "Swan Lake" was first staged for the Vienna State Opera Ballet in 1964. It was made into a film in 1967, and it is now available on video. On page 225 of the biography "Perpetual Motion: The Public and Private Lives of Rudolf Nureyev" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995), Otis Stuart describes this Nureyev production as "dense, psychologically complicated" and also as "unilaterally despised by the local critics and public." Generally speaking, I like Nureyev's dancing. I really enjoy Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn together in The Royal Ballet's "Romeo and Juliet" (1966). Nureyev's character came off very credible to me. In Nureyev's private life, I'm aware that he lived an alternate lifestyle. That would not be my choice, but it does not necessarily preclude me from enjoying a ballet that he dances in. Nevertheless, I have trouble in seeing the value behind Nureyev's outrageously effeminate portrayal of Prince Siegfried in this production. I suspect that might be a big part of why this performance did not achieve critical and public acclaim in the sixties.

There is, however, some merit to be found in Nureyev's choreography. Many of the swan formations are interesting. There is some good detail in the dancing when Prince Siegfried first meets Odette. When Odile does her famous 32 fouttes in Act III, the camera changes angles a couple of times to give you different views. I've learned not to take things like that for granted, as I've seen other quality productions who will just stay with the one view for the entire time. A libretto is provided, in case you do not already know the story. The video run time is 112 minutes, whereas a Kirov production is 144 minutes long. That means that Nureyev had to edit out some of the lessor known dances. Nureyev did not like the Joker in the Kirov version, because he felt it was not in keeping with the overall character of the ballet. So, he edited it out along with Prince Siegfried's friend Benno. He also changed the name of the evil sorcerer from von Rotbart to Redbeard.

The ballet music was written by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The score is beautiful, but the performance by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra is mediocre compared to other performances I've seen by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Also, it is important to consider the fact that this was recorded in 1967. The recording technology back then is not what it is today.

I am afraid that many people will buy this video because of the name attraction of Fonteyn and Nureyev. Quite frankly, I think that they are making a mistake, especially if this is to be the only "Swan Lake" in their collection. If you desire to own all of the available "Swan Lake" editions, then by all means buy this one. But, remember that Dame Margot Fonteyn was born in 1919, and her technical skills in 1967 are not up to par with today's dancers. Furthermore, there are a number of dances that are not done by the principal dancers, and the Vienna corps is simply not all that great. For instance, during the dance of the four Cygnets, you can see that their heads are not in sync. I invite a comparison with The Kirov Ballet.

One good thing about this production is that the ending is more true to the actual story than a typical Kirov version. This is because the Tsar did not allow for certain types of endings in his theater. The Soviets also maintained that tradition. Nureyev was known to have despised the Kirov ending, and therefore he discarded it. His ending is also quite theatrical and involves stage props. That might not sit well with some purist types. Also, the sorcerer Redbeard is primarily an actor. He doesn't even wear ballet slippers because he doesn't dance. He just goes around appearing menacing and stirring up the swans and casting spells and such. By comparison, the Kirov version features a dancing von Rotbart. The actual name of the sorcerer, and whether he is theatrical or not, doesn't matter all that much to me. But, you can make your own decisions as to what you value in a performance, so I'm just letting you know.

Out of the five "Swan Lake" versions that I have seen (to date), my favorite is a Peter Martins after George Balanchine after Petipa & Ivanov production from the "Live From Lincoln Center" public television series. It features innovative choreography, great dancing and an absolutely stunning ending! Peter Martin's production is my idea of a five-star "Swan Lake." Unfortunately, it is not available commercially. As an alternative, I recommend the Kirov "Swan Lake" production (ASIN 6304185529 by Kultur Video) as a reasonable, quality substitute that can be purchased through Amazon.com. In any case, please be sure to fully research the other "Swan Lake" productions available to you before buying this one. You might be disappointed by this one. I was.

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What about Margot?
There were a lot of closeups of Nureyev. obviously he played a big part in the production of this video. Margot Fonteyn just kinda disappeared into the background. Their dancing was impeccable nonetheless. The corps was lamentable, and the orchestra was utterly disappointing. Nureyev's hoggishness evident in all the focus that was put upon his performance was discouraging as well. But Margot's dancing in this particular performance was worthy of all the praise she has received in her career and after. Her performance is what really saved this dvd from being considered a flop. For Margot, 4 stars.