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thursday.
Based on the novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas fils, set to music that is all-Chopin, so even if the ballet isn’t to your taste, just close your eyes and be transported to another plane, it is without a doubt my favourite ballet of all time.
When I started taking an interest in ballet back in 2010 (a story for another time, I feel), it was one of the first DVD’s I purchased. A performance by the Paris Opera Ballet from 2008 with Agnès Letestu as Marguerite Gautier, Stephane Bullion as Armand Duval, Dorthée Gilbert as Prudence Duvernoy and Karl Paquette as Gaston Rieux. José Martinez was Des Grieux and… I can never remember the name of the dancer who did Manon, ironically, considering my writing project right now. Anyway, it’s a stellar all-star cast and although there are other versions available, I still think this is the best one and definitely the one to begin one’s introduction to Neumeier’s work with.
I’m leaving it here:
Incidentally, one of the first seasons I followed the Royal Danish Ballet, they staged this ballet with my favourite ballerina, Susanne Grinder, as Marguerite and I got to see it twice that season, then three times two seasons later when they staged it again with an extra cast. That was in 2014 and I spent a week living at a hotel in Copenhagen to be able to go to three performances of the ballet, to be able to see all three casts. I still think of this as the height of my balletomane career. Not only because I got to meet Susanne after her show, but because I got to feel the energy of the theatre so thoroughly and really got to dive into the ballet as a piece of art. It’s very close to my heart for that very reason.
Right before covid hit, the Royal Danish Ballet staged The Lady of the Camellias again, this time with their star ballerina, Ida Praetorius, as Marguerite in first cast (I saw her debut the role in 2014) and one of my other favourite ballerinas, Kizzy Mastiakis, in second cast. This would come to be Kizzy’s final big role before retiring during the covid epidemic at its height. My girlfriend invited me along for two of Kizzy’s performances and she has come to really define the role for me, however much I love Susanne. A trailer starring her can be seen here.
The ballet is primarily centred around three main pas de deux between Marguerite and Armand, the purple one in the first act (here with the RDB’s Alban Lendorf and Susanne Grinder), the white in the second act (here with POB’s Karl Paquette and Isabelle Ciaravola) and the black in the third act (here with POB’s Eleonora Abbagnato and Stephane Bullion).
Of full-length recordings, two more are available on YouTube. Originally, The Lady of the Camellias was made in the 1970s for the Stuttgart Ballet, back when Neumeier was AD there. In 1989, he had a film made over the ballet starring the first Marguerite he ever cast, Marcia Haydée, and Ivan Liska as Armand. This recording is really elegant and beautiful, although it is evident that Marcia was almost in her 50s when she danced it! I recommend this for when you’ve watched the POB version and if you liked that, this is the next natural step to take to get to know the ballet. I link it here:
Finally, more recently, the Bolshoi Ballet took The Lady of the Camellias into their repertory and staged it with their star ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova as first cast and also the one in the cinema relay. I’ve watched it once and it is good, but I think the other two are better, so this is only linked for further research, should you become as enamoured with this as me.
Another Royal Danish ballerina, Gudrun Bojesen, won an award for her portrayal of Marguerite and all three of the main pdd in her versions have been put on YouTube. I link them here: purple, white & black. She isn’t my personal favourite, but she is an amazingly talented dancer and technician, so it’s definitely worth a watch!
Finally, the same story that Neumeier’s ballet is based on can be found in the ballet titled, Marguerite and Armand by Frederick Ashton, set to music by Liszt. It’s a shorter work and I don’t find it as engaging, but it’s definitely worth a shot, if you like the novel! Here.
That’s it. Now you know me! Welcome to my world.
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I'll probably make a post about it later today or tomorrow, depending on how much energy I have. It's a very personal story and, I feel, also very hopeful.
Thank you for your comment!