Balanchine-Stravinsky (1983 TV) Agon, Variations + Persephone

A broadcast of "Dance In America" from 1983:

"Balanchine Celebrates Stravinsky" with members of the New York City Ballet.

Choreography: George Balanchine.
Music: Igor Stravinsky.

In tribute to the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky's birth, the New York City Ballet presents 'Agon,' 'Variations' and 'Persephone.'

this program starts with "Agon":

danced by Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson in principal roles,
with Daniel Duell, Maria Calegari, Renee Estopinal, Victor Castelli, Catherine Morris, Helene Alexopoulos, Carole Divet, Linda Homek, Peter Frame, Wilhelmina Frankfurt.


then 'Variations' (Aldous Huxley in memoriam): danced by Suzanne Farrell


the program concludes with 'Persephone':

introductory discussion by Vera Zorina;
staging assisted by John Taras and Zorina;
text: André Gide;
scenery and costumes: Kermit Love.
Cast: Vera Zorina (Persephone),
Joseph Evans (Eumolphus),
Karin Von Aroldingen (spirit of Persephone),
Mel Tomlinson (Pluto),
Gen Horiuchi (Mercury),
with other members of the New York City Ballet.


Balanchine celebrates Stravinsky 1983.
90 min. : sd. color
A Great Performances/Dance in America program first broadcast on February 14, 1983 on PBS. Videotaped at the New York State Theater, New York during the Stravinsky Centennial Celebration in June 1982. Producer: Judy Kinberg. Director: Emile Ardolino.
Choreography: George Balanchine. Music: Igor Stravinsky. Lighting: Ronald Bates. Danced by members of the New York City Ballet.

also in this torrent is a tribute/rememberance of Balanchine from "The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour"


review:

TV: 'PERSEPHONE,' BALLET
Published: New York Times, February 14, 1983

by Jennifer Dunning

ONE of the most ambitious undertakings of the New York City Ballet's 1982 Stravinsky festival was ''Persephone,'' which will be seen tonight on Channel 13 in ''Balanchine Celebrates Stravinsky,'' in the ''Great Performances'' ''Dance in America'' series. Created by Igor Stravinsky in 1933, ''Persephone'' is a blend of dance, music and declamation that has seldom been presented in anything but concert form. To tell the ancient myth of the abduction of Persephone by Pluto, ruler of the underworld, and of her subsequent return to earth as the personification of spring, the work requires a tenor, mixed chorus, boys' choir, dancers and orchestra. It also demands a performer who can move and recite verse.

In this new staging by George Balanchine, John Taras and Vera Zorina, ''Persephone'' has found an ideal central figure in Miss Zorina, a noted interpreter of the role. The dance element is muted here. In the production's two most animated moments of dance, Mercury looks as if he may bound into a cartwheel at any moment, and a duet for Pluto and the spirit of Persephone is pretty undistinguished stuff.

But Miss Zorina, a former ballet, film and Broadway dancer and actress, fills the stage with her serene presence. She moves lyrically and speaks Andre Gide's verse in clear, beautifully cadenced French, particularly in Persephone's poignant awakening in the underworld. No translation is needed, though the subtitles for the narration by Eumolpus are helpful in advancing the plot.

Joseph Evans was the strong, dignified Eumolpus, and Mel Tomlinson was a glittering Pluto, reptilian and regal, a suitable escort to Karin von Aroldingen as the spirit Persephone. Gen Horiuchi was the fleet-footed Mercury. As designed by Kermit Love, this ''Persephone'' is a ritual that suggests the rites of Russia and of Greece. It is also a spectacle that benefits from the focus and framing of the camera eye.

Mr. Balanchine's ''Agon,'' which opens the program, does not. Here the camera cuts away the open space so necessary to the ballet and distorts its scale. It does provide closeups of fine performances by Heather Watts and Mel Tomlinson, in the ballet's signature pas de deux, and by Maria Calegari, Daniel Duell, Wilhelmina Frankfurt, Renee Estopinal, Victor Castelli and Peter Frame.

Even more rewarding, ''Balanchine Celebrates Stravinsky'' records the genius of Suzanne Farrell, as once more she gives herself up with utter generosity to Mr. Balanchine's choreography, here the knotty, haunting ''Variations.''