Chopin: La Dame aux Camelias

O Balé da Ópera de Paris quer exibir seu lado moderno em La Dame aux Camélias. Cansaram da Giselle e do Lago dos Cisnes. A trupe quer se mostrar antenada com a atualidade. Fazer coisas diferentes, fugir do clássico. Para isso, não precisou cair na dança abstrata, onde o público assiste a tudo e não entende nada. Acharam um grande compositor (Chopin) e tentaram casar sua música com uma conhecida história (A Dama das Camélias) . O resultado é um balé desigual, com momentos mágicos e algumas futilidades. Produziram um balé novo, moderno. Saíram da mesmice. A história ficou popular com o sucesso do livro homônino e com a ópera La Traviata, de Verdi. Os parisienses resolveram fazer dessa afamada história um balé: pegaram várias músicas de Chopin, principalmente de piano e tentaram adaptá-las, fazê-las ficarem dançantes e o principal, se encaixarem na história da cortesã. O resultado é estranho, algumas vezes interessante , outras cafona e de gosto duvidoso.A qualidade da dança do balé da Ópera de Paris é inquestionável: 300 anos de história fazem seus bailarinos estarem em alto nível. Agnés Letestu é bailarina étoile (grau máximo do balé francês), de grande técnica, dramaticidade plena e forte carisma. Conheci seus passos no Lago dos Cisnes, de Tchaikovsky, me apaixonei pela guria. Não é raquítica, tem muita bailarina anoréxica por aí, parecendo doente de tão magra. Dança com a leveza inerente às bailarinas francesas. Faz uma Violeta (no vídeo eles mudam os nomes dos personagens, sei lá por que) frágil e apaixonada. Brilha nos pas de deux com seu par romântico Stéphane Bullion, (esse é premier danseur, um nível abaixo de étoile), longos , cansativos (para os bailarinos), sensuais, apaixonantes. São o ponto alto do espetáculo. Demonstram toda a técnica dos bailarinos, uma aula de balé.John Neumeier transita entre o clássico e o moderno em sua coreografia. Criativo, mistura passos simples com outros de alta dificuldade técnica. O palco cênico carece de cenários, conta sua história apenas pela dança. Obriga os bailarinos a atuarem, embute no meio da história trechos do balé Manon Lescaut, entrelaçando a vida das duas personagens. Idéia criativa. Temos nessa hora um par de grandes dançarinos: Delphine Moussin (étoile) e José Martinez (étoile) arrasam nesse pequeno papel. Mostram as facetas desesperadas de seus personagens.Tudo é passado em La Dame aux Camélias, a história é contada pela memória dos que a vivenciaram. Violeta está morta, todos tem lembranças dela e vão contando sua versão. A coreografia peca nas danças rápidas. A música escolhida fica superficial, sem profundidade.Piano nem sempre combina com dança. Os cenários são quase inexistentes, o palco limpo se alia a figurinos sóbrios, de época, que transmitem a idéia de século XIX.O DVD possuí um longo documentário, com entrevistas legendadas dos bailarinos e produtores. A imagem é de excelente qualidade. A direção de vídeo capta com destreza os momentos cruciais da obra, e, com recursos atuais, poderiam ser mais ousados, aproximar mais o espectador do palco.O balé da Ópera de Paris prova que é possível fazer balé moderno contando grandes histórias. Não é necessário abrir mão da técnica, da dança, da beleza e da magia do balé para tal feito. Não caem na tentação de fazer coreografias sem nexo, muitas vezes de técnica capenga, para se mostrarem modernos ou descolados. La Dame aux Camélias é um balé moderno com elementos clássicos em sua concepção; pode ter momentos decepcionantes, mas no geral sua coreografia é de bom nível. Que isso sirva de exemplo para outras companhias do mundo.Ali Hassan Ayache

The most intense beautifully danced and acted story ballet and narrative I've ever seen live or taped. Multi year balletomane US based we don't see this over here. I'll let 17th C poet John Donne speak first from his aptly named poem the Ecstasy:Our hands were firmly cementedWith a fast balm, which thence did spring;Oue eye-beams twisted, and did threadOur eyes upon one double string;So to intergraft our hands as yetWas all the means to make us one...The choeography followsthe above poem exactly. The leads bely more than mere chemistry-their souls' yearnings pierce each other at first sight and the naked palpable desire of fetching and boyishly handsome Bullion's Armand contrasts immediately with the jaded yet kind and curious Marguerite of Letestu. She thinks with her enticing smile and come hither eyes she can toy with this pup...but he will have none of that and his ardor and her reciprocity electrifies and transforms them forever toward their bittersweet tragic end. Letestu is profound and sadly beautiful; her character has seen and known all yet rediscovers depths she didn't know she had. More like Garbo's Camille or Verdi's Violetta than an ingenue her beautiful austere face lends gravitas to the impetuous and gorgeous Armand of Bullion. All this acting plus and bravura dancing too by all the stellar cast is superb. I particular like sparkling Dorothee Gilbert's Prudence. The Neumeier tour de force of wrapping two tragic courtesan tales as foreshadowing is brilliant; he offers excellent commentary in the bonus documentary. Flawless dancing and tear-inducing acting deliver a poignant yet sumptuous and colorful visual and aural feast...Chopin romantic music is feverishly perfect. I've seen all ballets and operas of Camille and Manon and this will be seen over and over; it will entice and entrance you! Bravo Paris Opera Ballet, Neumeier and especially soul searing astounding leads Letestu and Bullion!💞💕💔💖

The music is sublime, the choreography explicit and beautifully stylish and the performances by the two principals almost faultless. This ballet is pretty unique in making huge demands on the male lead, which is a delight to see; in so many classical ballets, the male role is more to 'show-off' and support the female lead, but in La Dame aux Camelias, the male roles are every bit as demanding as the female roles. Interestingly we had just seen the ballet performed by the Bolshoi so purchasing this Paris Opera production was a bit of a gamble, but, if anything, the Paris production was as good as or better than the Bolshoi. A lovely production in every way and one that we will watch many times. First class recording with fabulous sound and picture quality on blu-ray.

I think it would be true to say that La Dame aux Camelias is the ballet version of La Traviata, both based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, but with a different ending, which is even sadder than the operatic one because, in the ballet, the leading lady dies all alone. The music of Frederic Chopin, largely piano throughout, is ideal for reflecting the deep emotions involved in this tragic tale in which, like Chopin, Marguerite Gautier (Agnes Letestu) eventually dies of tuberculosis. Let us be clear straight away that here we have an all time great production of this ballet choreographed by the great John Neumeier.Throughout the performance the coordination between music and movement is as near perfect as its ever likely to get as it tellingly expresses the inter-action of human relationships and emotions and the performances of all the dancers is top quality throughout. with the costumes evocative of the period in question. The two disc box set includes a very helpful booklet, the reading of which further enhances the enjoyment of the work. The list of performers helpfully explains the status of each dancer with tags such as 'etoile' and 'premier danseur'. Agnes Letestu and Stephane Bullion dance the lead roles and all the performers are equally good.Although I could list all the performers here along with the quality of their performances, because it's sufficient to know that this is such a wonderful performance that it's difficult to imagine that any ballet lover will not be enthralled by it. It's as good as that. I could discern nothing wrong with the sound or picture quality of this Blu-Ray recording. It came across as of the highest quality on my apparatus, if that's the correct word to use for what I use to play it on. All told, it's the kind of quality performance that many ballet lovers will enjoy watching over and over again.

Acclaimed John Neumeier had created this ballet (premiered in November 1978)for the Stuttgarter Ballet and his friend Marcia Haydée who danced the first Margerite. He followed Dumas'novel closely and chose Chopin's music as score to his choreography (one of the two composers suggested by conductor Gerhard Markson - either Chopin or Berlioz, or both). In fact, Chopin's music proved to be essential to the drama, the polish composer having been a contemporary of Dumas Fils and Marie(Alphonsine)Duplessis whose real three-year love affair the writer himself immortalised first in a novel(1848)and later in a play (1852).Curiously, Chopin had also died of tuberculosis, like Marie - Marguerite Gautier in the novel.Chopin's exalted music thus underlines truthfully the whole ballet contributing to its great romantic dimention.Neumeier chose to paralell the story of Armand and Marguerite to Abbé's Des Grieux and Manon whose passion also meets death in the end.The ominous performance of Manon Lescault in the theater where they first meet will follow their own destinies,Neumeir ingeniously creating a drama within a drama.Étoiles José Martinez and Delphine Moussin are Des Grieux and Manon:they dance beautifully, bestowing their solid technique as well as Dorothée Gilbert(Prudence Duvernoy) and Karl Paquette(Gaston Rieux).A chance to watch again Michaël Denard(a retired étoile who dances, along with Nureyev and Thesmar,Lacotte's Marco Spada - Rome,1982 - on a DVD released last year)playing Armand Duval's father.What about Marguerite er Armand? In fact, in my humble opinion, Agnès Letestu is undoubtedly unforgettable as a dancer and as an actress.Her beauty and her superior technique have the companionship of her acting which overwhelms you.If the close-up reveals not a 23 year-old Marguerite but a mature woman, on the other side it gives the viewer the chance to feel Letestu's immense, pathetic sadness (Marguerite knows death is approaching), her eyes filled with passion and despair, each gesture crying out her misery.Stéphane Bouillon(certainly a future étoile) offers a passionate Armand, executing Neumeier's difficult steps with brilliance,responding accurately to Letestu's chemistry.A special reference to the pianists(F.Vaysse-Knitter and E.Strosser)who play Chopin's music warmly.The costumes are superb(Jürgen Rose), Schmidtsdorf's conducting excellent.Absolutely not to loose.Last but not the least, the blu-ray offers a stunningly perfect image.

I bought this as a DVD and, after getting a blu-ray player, purchased the blu-ray disc. This is one of my favourite ballets. The story line is heart rending and I cannot watch it dry eyed. John Neumeier's choreography shows his ability to create powerful scenes of love and loss, and here he is at his best. The piano music of Chopin complements the subject matter beautifully. Agnes Letestu shows more emotion (to my mind) in this than in anything else in which I have seen her. Stephane Bullion as the lover whom she must give up is superb. In fact, all the characters convey their characters and emotions remarkably. Dorothee Gilbert is, as always, a delight (my favourite French danseuse; I am biased). The plot is fairly complicated because of the way in which another plot is interwoven with the story. I would recommend that you watch "Manon", or at least know the plot of "Manon" before you watch "La dame aux camelias" because the life of Marguerite Gautier (Agnes Letestu) mirrors, to an extent, the life of Manon Lescaut and Manon features throughout as an almost ghost like figure, an impression emphasized by her clothing from the previous century. If you enjoy a powerful story ballet with an intensely sad plot, I do not see how you could not love this.

This is a brilliant performance. The music is haunting, the costumes beautiful, and above all the drama of the events wonderfully portrayed by all the dancers. Neumeier certainly brings out the poignancy of the story by allowing the camera to pause on the dancers' facial expressions. The documentary afterwards was interesting, too, especially the comments about the organzina dress being so fragile it had to be mended after each performance. A truly splendid ballet.