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Vaslav Nijinsky in the title role of Petrouchka

Paris Opera Ballet production of Petrushka recorded for television, aired December 27, 1976.

Rudolf Nureyev, Noëlla Pontois, Charles Jude, and Serge Peretti in Fokine's Petrushka. Staging by Nijinska and Golovine. Music by Igor Stravinsky.

#dance #ballet #vaslav nijinsky #petrushka #petrouchka #photography #sepia #portrait photography #rudolf nureyev #noëlla pontois #charles jude #serge peretti #paris opera ballet #1976

Romeo and Juliet (1965) choreography by Kenneth MacMillan

Romeo and Juliet (1968) directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Romeo and Juliet (1995) directed by Alexandre Tarta original 1977 choreography by Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev famously danced the part of Romeo in Kenneth MacMillan's 1965 ballet adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The set design for MacMillan's production, done by Nicholas Georgiadis, was heavily inspired by Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuously Mediterranean 1960 theatrical Romeo and Juliet which had been staged at the Old Vic. In 1968, Zeffirelli directed a film adaptation of the play-- the success of which was largely due to its leads primarily cast as actors in their teens and twenties. I think that when Nureyev choreographed his own ballet adaption in 1977 he was influenced by Zeffirelli's interpretations of the characters-- particularly regarding Tybalt and Mercutio.

Most productions of Romeo and Juliet typically portray Tybalt as an irredeemably hostile aggressor. However the Tybalt of the 1968 film, played by Michael York, has a warmth and softness to the character. The duel between Tybalt and Mercutio is turned into a playful competition that culminates in a fatal accident. While Juliet and Tybalt have no shared dialogue in Shakespeare's script, in Nureyev's ballet the two interact in a dance that is made up of children's games allowing Tybalt a chance to, however briefly, be a playful young person.

In Zeffirelli's film Mercutio, played by John McEnery, steals the Nurse's white veil while harassing her. Mercutio then molds the veil against his chest, mockingly transforming it into a pair of breasts. This Mercutio also plays with a white handkerchief throughout the film and uses it as a prop for his jests, turning it into needlework and laundry as he imitates traditionally feminine tasks. Nureyev's Mercutio steals part of the Nurse's white veil and turns it into his own veil. The most direct similarity between the Zeffirelli's film and Nureyev's ballet is in Mercutio's death. In both adaptations, he is hoisted up onto people's shoulders immediately after being wounded, and no one recognizes that he has been seriously hurt until after he has died.