Search - Shchedrin - Carmen Suite / Maya Plistetskaya on DVD

Absolutely stunning and sensual

D. Duck | Chicago, IL USA | 08/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maya Plisetskaya's performance in the Carmen Suite is simply amazing. I lose track of time watching this DVD , it takes my breath away. As a physicist I can honestly say that her moves appear to defy the laws of physics. She will move from a fast spinning pirouette to an arabesque, where did her angular momentum go? Ballet performed at the level of Plisetskaya is easily comparable to the transcendent qualities of the music. Mere words fail to adequately encompass the beauty, grace, athleticism, sensuality, and exquisite control of Maya Plisetskaya."

A common man's point of view.

Richard Rawls | Dublin Ga USA | 12/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Carmen Suite",,,,,Did you know that this ballet was censured in Russia after it's premiere at the Bolshoi? The production you see on this DVD was not allowed to be shown at the Bolshoi for quite a while. When the Canadians invited the Bolshoi to perform it at Expo 67 the Ministry of Culture in Moscow refused to allow it to be shown in Canada. The prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, for whom the ballet was created, refused to go to Expo 67 with out the ballet, so the Canadians did not get to see it. Funny thing is, the sets for the ballet did get to go to Canada. What was all the fuss about? It was considered too sexually explicit. When you see the ballet you will wonder how anyone could have come to that conclusion, but Ekaterina Alexeyevna Furtseva, the cultural Minister, accused Maya of turning, "a heroine of the Spanish people into a whore." I have always thought of Carmen as a woman of loose morals to begin with, seducing several men and fighting amongst her co-workers, etc,..... So how could a ballerina further degrade her reputation, no matter how sensual the dancing is? Bizet is the one who made Carmen a "loose woman".



The dancing in this ballet IS sensual. Maya's movements ARE sensual, but not so much so that your impressionable kids can't watch it. The music is basically Bizet's, rearranged by Maya's husband and composer Rodion Shchedrin, specifically for HER ballet. Only strings and five percussionists, but WOW what music. It works perfectly for this ballet. Maya had to work hard for this ballet, and after the uproar, she paid for it with bad health for a while, but she won. Maya has danced the ballet about 350 times in it's present form, 132 times on the stage from which it was banned, the Bolshoi. Since the choreographer was Cuban Alberto Alonso, brother of the famous ballerina Alicia Alonso, it is very popular in Cuba. Read Maya's autobiography....I, Maya Plisetskaya....to learn more about her courage and determination, and you will see how this "muse" of the Bolshoi stage could still dance on her eightieth birthday.



Also included on this DVD are The Dying Swan, exerpts from Raymonda, and Prelude by J S Bach. The format is full screen, sound Dolby 2.0, good color, good resolution (but not perfect).

I've enjoyed this DVD, and believe you will too....Richard.



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Shchedrin - Carmen Suite/Maya Plietskaya

Zymoyan | Adelaide South Australia | 04/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fantastic DVD the quality of sound and picture is excellent. I have seen these ballet pieces in person and watching them again allows me to relive the experience over and over in the comfort of my recliner, nice glass of Brut and a few num nums."