Stravinsky et les Ballets Russes

Stravinsky is an example of a composer whose style has grown on me over time, if more a style highly appreciated than loved.

'The Firebird', even though the choreography for the Firebird has its difficulties with the jumps and the sheer athleticism it requires, is not just perhaps the most accessible of his ballets, especially musically with the finale and the "Princess' Round Dance" being two of Stravinsky's most famous themes, but also one of his most accessible works overall. There may be some bias, as it was my first introduction to Stravinsky.

'Rite of Spring' was not a favourite admittedly for a long time, but has won me over overtime. It is a fascinating, exciting and wonderfully weird at times work, as well as daring, but it's easy to see why it had one of the most scandalous premieres in classical music history. Despite being a success in concert afterwards, the music style was unlike any music heard before with constant irregular rhythms and frequent changes in metre, so the musicians must have had the shocks of their lives seeing the music for the first time. But what really was scandalous was the choreography, audiences most likely not expecting moves so bold, ahead of their time and un-traditional, it is also a near-impossible nightmare for the dancers and it is hardly surprising that when first performed people were shouting out the beats from the wings.

It was a brave move taking on both ballets (regardless of how the performance actually turns out, anybody even attempting 'Rite of Spring' deserves a medal), and re-creating how they were first performed, due to the difficulty of the music ('Rite of Spring' as said is an absolute pig) and taking into account the performance history. And both productions of both ballets, as well as being interesting on a historical basis, are highly successful, with very little to criticise about either, 'The Firebird' coming off slightly better.

What wasn't so good was the camera work which is quite awful a lot of the time, especially in 'Rite of Spring'. In 'The Firebird', there could have been less close ups of faces and more focus on whole bodies and more expansive use of the stage, as well as less of Gergiev and more acknowledgment of the orchestra. The camera work in 'Rite of Spring' is so chaotic and far too busy that it does spoil the impact of the dancing in places, especially in "Sacrificial Dance", a shame really because that scene had some of the production's most atmospheric and cleverest choreography.

Both productions are very easy on the eye, with 'The Firebird' being very tasteful and enchanting and 'Rite of Spring' filled with appropriately satanic and wonderfully strange atmosphere. The choreography is some of the best on DVD for both ballets, 'The Firebird' full of grace and passion and 'Rite of Spring' deliciously bold and an example of different done very well, though you can understand totally why it caused such a sensation.

Musically, both productions are exceptional. While the orchestra give a very dynamic and atmospherically complex account of 'The Firebird' they pull out all the stops in an often hair-raising 'Rite of Spring', "Sacrificial Dance" almost demonic in its intensity. Another standout was the very high and exposed bassoon solo, which is much more daunting than it sounds. Valery Gergiev shows yet again why he is often unequalled conducting Russian music today, there is not one questionable tempo even in 'Rite of Spring' where precision is key, not easy for a score so rhythmically complex and there is so much passion and dynamic drive where you feel so many emotions throughout.

Dancing-wise, there is so much to recommend. Only Marianna Pavlova's charmless Princess in 'The Firebird' disappoints. Alexandra Iosifidi scintillates when it comes to the dancing as The Chosen One, and while she has been criticised for not being terrified enough to me she had the emotion down pat. In terms of performances, 'The Firebird' is more consistent, with Ekaterina Kondaurova as close to perfect a Firebird as one can imagine, dancing with impeccable grace, enchantment and humour with beautiful hands and there has not been a better Prince Ivan on DVD than Ilya Kuznetsov. Vladimir Ponomarev is also frightening as Kastchei.

All in all, very good and historically interesting productions of both ballets that deserved far better camera work. 8/10 Bethany Cox