Yesterday I saw a ballet performance of Stravinsky's THE RITE OF SPRING, given by "Moscow Classical Ballet' in a double bill with THE FIREBIRD.
The productions claim to be 'inspired' by the original productions (in the first decade of the C20th, a hundred years ago) of these ballets - and in the design ethic of Diaghilev's 'Mir Isskustev' ('World Of Art') artistic group.
I'm afraid I hated Firebird - too crude for my liking. But perhaps because I had got used to this extremely simplistic staging approach by the second half of the program, I was more interested in RITE OF SPRING.
There has been much discussion on the internet about producers and directors 'updating' works. Even works which are not 'updated' are nowadays seen very differently to the way they first appeared - due to modern lighting systems, modern dress fabrics, and other technological improvements of the modern age.
What do members think? Is there a place for "authentic" productions of stage works... "authentic" to the degree of what nowadays looks like barely adequate lighting (with almost no changes in the light scheme, except for a red light for the Firebird, etc) and rather gloomy costumes?
The orchestra of Moscow Novaya Opera was rather deftly conducted by Valery Kritskov, who gave the heavy brass their head in The Rite.