Swan Lake

Maya Plisetskaya was the prima ballerina assoluta of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre from 1960 until her retirement in 1990. After a longstanding travel ban was lifted by Nikita Khrushchev in 1959, she also toured widely outside the U.S.S.R.—becoming the one Soviet ballet superstar who never defected to the West (despite an independent streak that often put her at odds with Bolshoi administrators)—where she received rapturous acclaim for both her unconventional style and her electrifying stage presence. The dual role of the white and black swans of Tchaikovsky's fantasy ballet was a specialty of Plisetskaya's from the moment she first assumed the roles in 1947. This 1976 performance featuring Yuri Grigorovich's early choreography of the work—filmed at the Kremlin Palace for Soviet television—is a precious document of her artistry. Although she was 51 at the time, Plisetskaya's dancing remains extraordinarily supple and evocative, with a remarkable degree of differentiation between the fragile Odette and the menacing Odile. The viewer has to discern her unique gifts, however, through images that are often murky and poorly-lit, while the vanilla stereo sound is poor, with the orchestra (conducted by Algis Zhyuraitis) thin and distant and the audience applause intrusive. Still, Plisetskaya is a marvel, and she is well partnered with both Alexander Bogatyrev as Prince Siegfried, who is enchanted by Odette but seduced by Odile, and Boris Efimov as the evil sorcerer Rothbart. While hardly a first choice for Swan Lake, this would likely be appreciated by any lover of great dancing. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)