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Gergiev Laments Lack of Talent @ Vaganova Acad!


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Here's a link to the latest Gergiev 'bombshell'. This is just one of many articles in Petersburg newspapers reporting this information.

http://www.kommersant.ru/region/spb/page.htm?Id_doc=547360

A short summary of the above Russian article, concentrating on the ballet-related portions:

Gergiev held a press conference on Monday (Feb 14) as part of the Tchaikovsky Festival. However, once the subject turned to young vocal & dancing talent (or the lack thereof), it remained the main topic. Gergiev first said, about the vocalists & musicians: "The Conservatory has long-ago ceased to be a producer of talents." Then he expanded the comment to specifically include ballet dancers: "Yes, even the Vaganova Academy fails us by not producing large choreographic gifts." He did not stop there but went on to make is worse: "We await....[big pause]...wait.....but this does not occur." He continued to state something to the effect of "We cannot rely on the Conservatory & Vaganova Academy for talent." He said, "We [at the theater] try to patch up the holes."

Could Gergiev be intimating that the Mariinsky Theater should fully manage the training of future musicians, vocalists & ballet dancers? This is what is being discussed & is presently the main subject in the Russian chat rooms & among fans on the street. Some see this as the ultimate slap on the teachers & directors of the Vaganova Academy (not to mention the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory of Music).

I won't editorialize further. You take it away!

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Another article on the Gergiev interview. More on the same + the information that the premiere of David Dowson's new ballet for the K-M, titled "Reverence," will take place during the upcoming Mariinsky Fest. No exact date for the Dowson premiere given, though. Too, this year's White Nights Festival (summer) will pay tribute to the Baltics, with stars from opera houses in the Baltic countries.

http://www.izvestia.ru/spb/article1212331

Also in the above article, Gergiev is quoted as stating "We need more young 16/17-yr-old dancers of the quality of Lopatkina." "I thought that I had solved the problem a few years ago when I appointed Altynai Assylmuratova to head the Vaganova Academy." Huh?

*****

Edited to add one more, in which Gergiev reveals that among the "opera" premieres of this year's White Nights will be "West Side Story"! Now there's something I'd love to hear in Russian! :angry2:

http://www.nv.vspb.ru/cgi-bin/pl/nv.pl?art=202240334

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Just a thought.

I wonder if the problem is the quality of the training or simply that schools like the Vaganova Academy no longer have the luxury of selecting from thousands of kids (or more???) whose parents are all perfectly happy to send them off to boarding school at age 10.

In the Soviet era, it seems to me that parents were a lot more willing to send their kids off to the special schools (for arts, sports, etc) because these schools represented real opportunities that were otherwise mostly out of reach (e.g., the opportunity to travel). Now, as the world has opened up, Russian parents may be less willing to send their kids to these types of schools.

Along the same lines, it could be that the tougher training methods of yesteryear are no longer acceptable.

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Thanks for that. It is interesting, and scary. It could merely be that Gergiev knows so littlle about ballet that he thinks a school can be reformed and start churning out stars in three years (with all the planets aligned correctly, it will still take her a decade).

But it also could be another of those shot across the bow statements he likes to make. Remember last year when he gave interviews saying Vaziev was on his way out? It may be their version of our "trial balloon" and "see how it plays in Peoria." Vaziev is still there.

There could be two "trial balloons," the second being that to "patch up" he's going to start importing dancers, and if that's the case, it's over.

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....that to "patch up" he's going to start importing dancers, and if that's the case, it's over.

I'm glad that you caught that one, Alexandra. The same thought occurred to me. There we go -- the 'globalization' of one of the last remaining homogenous, first-rate ballet troupes on earth.

Similarly, I thought: "Ah, a way to obtain even more fee$ from the parents of rich foreign students. We'll open our own Gravy Train Academy within the Mariinsky Theater. Only those who can afford to pay the tuition will be admitted." [Note: Already, there is a parallel, fee-charging, program for select (mainly Japanese) students at the Vaganova Academy.]

Koshka, Russian parents are still lining up in droves to get their little angels into the top ballet academies in Moscow, St. P, Perm, etc. Even the lowliest corps de ballet member can sustain a family on the foreign-tour earnings during a year. More importantly (less cynically), Russians still consider a profession in the art of ballet to be something very noble & prestigious.

I attended the last (June 2004) Vaganova Academy graduation concert &, believe me, the talent produced then was spectacular: Bolshakova (T. Terekhova's student), Yakovleva & Yesina (Kovaleva's students), various 'boys' trained by G. Selyutsky. The Class of '04 is one of the finest I've seen in ages. Somebody is snorting Crazy Glue. Sorry to be so blunt!

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Natalia, what is Gergiev's reputation as a conductor in St P? When he first came here (NY) with the Kirov Opera, he was a sensation & was quickly hired as resident guest conductor at the Met Opera.

After hearing him conduct less than stellar performances in the Italian, French & German repertoire, however, many of us have become disenchanted.

His conduct at last year's Parsifal dress rehearsal didn't help: he showed up 15 minutes late & missed the Prologue entirely & took the baton from his stand-in as the curtain rose.

It has been noticed in the press that he is habitually late (both arriving in town & at rehearsals & performances) & has little enthusiasm to rehearse.

Now the question is: is he just a great conductor of the Russian repertoire or is it just that the Russian works have heretofore been less familiar to us?

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Thanks for these insights, Zerbinetta.

My associations are mainly in the 'ballet world' of St. P. As a conductor of ballet, his reputation is not too positive. Energetic, bright sound but way too fast for dancers. I've attended a few operas conducted by him -- here in the US & at the K-M -- and they are mostly wonderful. Energized but...I wonder if the singers complain about the brisk tempi, as do the dancers? An 'Aida' in 1995 was outrageously fast, so that the chorus was playing catch-up in section immediately following the Triumphal March.

It would be good to get an opinion from someone who follows the 'opera world'...or had friends who closely follow opera in St. P. Soory, that's not me.

Russians *do* acknowledge the marketing genius of Gergiev. He's put their theater on the map & brought in the dollars & EUROs. But with comments like those read today, is it possible to consider the bashing of his city's music & dancing academies as good p.r.? There goes the "marketing genius", IMO.

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Also in the above article, Gergiev is quoted as stating "We need more young 16/17-yr-old dancers of the quality of Lopatkina." 

I am not sure what your "huh" was about, but mine "huh" goes something like this: 16 and 17 year olds where? And wouldn't everybody like more dancers of the quality of Lopatkina? And how many more do you want? Identical army size? Or a few more to fill in upcoming retirements size?

All this in addition to the ultimate "huh?" which is "The Vagonova Academy has no talent? Are you on crack?"

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All this in addition to the ultimate "huh?" which is "The Vagonova Academy has no talent? Are you on crack?"

Yes, there's that :angry2: Another mistake Management makes these days: the dancers come out of school fully finished artists. Plop them in any ballet with any partner and any rehearsal master/mistress, give them no rehearsals or overcoach them, give them one performance a month or 15 a week, cast them in anything and everything (if they can d the steps they can do the role, right?) -- hey, it doesn't matter.

Or, it may not be the training, Mr. G.

Natalia, we can only pray.

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Thanks, Natalia. I do follow the opera world here & have heard Maestro G in NY (both at the Met & the Philharmonic) & in San Francisco (a truly bizarre Herodiade), but what I was really curious about was his reputation in St. P.

The problems with his ballet conducting hold true for his opera conducting: erratic tempi; varying tempi radically from performance to performance. He can go into slow mo as well as speed demon mode.

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I am not sure what your "huh" was about

My 'huh?' related to Gergiev's comment on Altynai Assylmuratov's running of the Vaganova Academy. I thought: "Huh? Is he humiliating her as a prelude to sacking her?" Hope not. Altynai is doing a splendid job, IMO.

Like Alexandra said, premature casting of novice dancers in leading roles is not the academy's fault.

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Gergiev may know nothing about ballet, but let's remember something, he saw what went onstage at the"Spectaculars" in Washington, he knows what the cast of this week's Tchaikovsky Festival is, and he may have just blown his top.

I know the literal translation of the school's title is "Choreographic Institute" even though it teaches dancing, but could it be that Gergiev is really referring this time to the lack of new choreographers and taking a shot across Grigorovich's bow, since G just moved in as adjunct prof. of choreograhy? Gergiev has already complained to the Washington Post and the Dancing Times about the lack of new choreographic talent being fostered by the company.

Wait a minute, I just read Gergiev's comment about 16-1/2 students. Ridiculous.

Re: the school: the problem is not the quality of students produced by the school --although some of the men's classes could be more vigorous -- but the foolish and exploitative way they are cast at the Kirov. Alexandra, you are so right!

When, as in Four Temperaments, one relay of infants is disastrously out of their depth, the company simply washes in another crew of whelps, and it makes sure that the experienced dancers don't get to do the roles they should, because experienced dancers have EMOTION, they have their own IDEAS, they are INDEPENDENT, and do more than simply what the coaches command. One character dancer I interviewed told me that he told an authority figure, "I don't dance for you, I dance for the audience!" The comment was not appreciated.

I am going to have to write for publication an assessment of the way the Kirov is currently under-performing in Balanchine, because it is outrageous, but no more so than what's going on in the rest of the repertory. Yet Balanchine was treated by them with somewhat more respect in the past.

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When, as in Four Temperaments, one relay of infants is disastrously out of their depth, the company simply washes in another crew of whelps, and it makes sure that the experienced dancers who know how to do Balanchine don't get to the roles they should, because experienced dancers have EMOTION, they have their own IDEAS, they are INDEPENDENT, and do more than simply what the coaches command.

Who is selecting and coaching the dancers for the Balanchine rep? Are the Balanchine ballets still being staged and taught by Balanchine Foundation people? Or are these revivals, which are cast and taught by Mariinski staff?

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I thought that Yuri Fateyev had some sort of supervisory position, but given the state of Four Temperaments, for which Fateyev is listed as the sole coach, either something has gone awry with his taste or he is simply deferring to Vasiev etc. and casting court favorites. Stupnikov in the Dancing Times has also mentioned that Fateyev is a possible choice for director, so who knows what games are being played. As in the past, the casting preferences of the Balanchine people are frequently ignored. I am waiting for the Trust to step in.

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John Clifford set 'La Valse' & one of the two other April 2004 Balanchine premieres (either 'Imperial' or 'Four TTs') on the company. He was to have had a hand in selecting the premiere's casts. After the premiere, 'caretaking' is in the hands of Yuri Fateev.

My understanding is that John Clifford is a very fine member of the Balanchine Trust team.

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I am not sure what your "huh" was about

". . .premature casting of novice dancers in leading roles is not the academy's fault."

Someone once said, 'When the chickens come home to roost, they don't go anywhere else but to your house.' Whenever Gergiev comes here to Los Angeles, he's always late. For me, his one epiphany was Tchaikovsky's 5th with the Vienna. Back to topic. The problem isn't the Academy. The problem never was the Academy, or the Conservatory. The problems have always been house policy, favoritism and backstage politics. Based on what has happened onstage in recent months and weeks, I'm not surprised. Gergiev should have discussed this and dealt with this in his weekly staff meetings - not at a press conference. Now the fit has hit the shan. How, pray tell, does he propose to improve the company's condition since it will be living out of its trunks, and at 'home' in a foreign venue for the next few years? Just a thought :) .

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But it also could be another of those shot across the bow statements he likes to make.  Remember last year when he gave interviews saying Vaziev was on his way out?  It may be their version of our "trial balloon" and "see how it plays in Peoria."  Vaziev is still there. 

There could be two "trial balloons," the second being that to "patch up" he's going to start importing dancers, and if that's the case, it's over.

Statements like these are clearly meant to indicate that Asylmuratova and Vasiev aren't delivering the goodies as Gergiev defines goodies. He's weakening their position so that at some point they'll just have to say goodbye to their technical standards and accept his.

In this strategy of attritition it actually comes in handy that the company will be homeless for two years now. This period won't do them any good, and Gergiev could use this against them, in a "I gave you a chance, didn't I?" way.

About Gergiev status as a conductor: he's been chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic for 15 or more years now, and it has just been announced he's quitting in 2008. Of course this is quite a long period of tenure, but the joke is, he's hardly ever around. And the only good concerts I have heard were the ones in which he took along the Kirov orchestra (or I should say a Kirov orchestra) and performed some music from the regular repertoire. His ventures in Germanic repertoire have generally been unlistenable to me.

But people love him. Even his cancelling and late entry shenanigans all add to the hype. By now people are just so excited to see him climb on the podium (usually 20 minutes late) they don't even care what the concert sounds like. I posted about his deciding not to conduct the Firebird etc at the recent International Diaghilev Festival, of which he was supposed to be the presiding figure, but at the last mo he decided he'd rather go to the Davos Economic Conference, and hobnob with Bono. The Firebird the Kirov performed was one of the worst shows in the festival. Everybody who had any sense of ballet was bummed out.

So I would say it's over already. The Kirov is no longer a hors concours company. It's been saved financially, and it's been wrecked artistically. It's a very common business model.

The reported reason why he's quitting from the Rotterdam post is he wants to spend more time with his family.

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Although my post above was obviously facetious, at bottom it was a serious question. Just because an individual is a gifted conductor doesn't make him/her necessarily a better administrator for ballet, or a judge of its performance and training. One of the funniest recordings of ballet music I ever heard was a suite selected from Sleeping Beauty by Leopold Stokowski. Everybody remembers that Stokie had some very different ideas about how some music should be played. Everything in the "Rose Adagio" was proceeding nicely, and there were some neat ideas about dynamics and phrasing that really appealed to me. Then they hit a certain point in the music, and -- off to the races! The tempo zoomed from adagio to vivace, and I could only imagine the hysteria onstage! I think this was the recording that inspired the gag in Bye Bye Birdie where they slip the ballet conductor some "speed".

The big problem here is that Gergiev is in a position to affect things for good or for ill, and he doesn't even seem to have a firm grip on his own professional discipline, let alone how any other art is running. During the Imperial Era, the bureaucrat Ivan Vsevolozhsky was selected from the War Department to be the Director of Imperial Theaters. The idea was that he was a conservative, with no KNOWN knowledge of ballet, and therefore unlikely to make any expensive changes. The actual result was that he turned out to be an arts administration genius, and enacted far-reaching reforms that reach out to us worldwide, even today.

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The big problem here is that Gergiev is in a position to affect things for good or for ill, and he doesn't even seem to have a firm grip on his own professional discipline, let alone how any other art is running.  During the Imperial Era, the bureaucrat Ivan Vsevolozhsky was selected from the War Department to be the Director of Imperial Theaters.  The idea was that he was a conservative, with no KNOWN knowledge of ballet, and therefore unlikely to make any expensive changes.  The actual result was that he turned out to be an arts administration genius, and enacted far-reaching reforms that reach out to us worldwide, even today.

Mel,

I agree, this is the problem too here is NYC at the Met Opera. He has an official position (I think Assistant Principal Conductor, something like that anyway) and it's a bit unnerving to think he might have influence there. There already have been some signs of his touch in casting.

Richard

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Couple of things...

During the Imperial Era, the bureaucrat Ivan Vsevolozhsky was selected from the War Department to be the Director of Imperial Theaters.  The idea was that he was a conservative, with no KNOWN knowledge of ballet, and therefore unlikely to make any expensive changes.  The actual result was that he turned out to be an arts administration genius, and enacted far-reaching reforms that reach out to us worldwide, even today

Leaving aside the question of whether Gergiev is a great artist, being a great artist (or, for that matter, technician in other fields) does not necessarily translate into being a great administrator, and, conversely, a great administrator need not be a great artist (technician). Heck, it doesn't even translate into being a good teacher.

Natalia, it is interesting (and heartening) to hear that Russian parents are still eager for their children to become artists. Do you have any read on whether this is among those whose children live in the cities of the great schools and could thus be day students, or among those who would have to send their children to board at a relatively tender age? And is the situation with boys in dance less difficult there than here?

Last, at some level Gergiev's talk reminds me of the (in)famous Romanian gymnastics coach Octavian Belu, who is often quoted before major competitions to the effect that his team is lazy, out of shape, etc etc. They usually go on to win or at least make a very respectable showing...

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I have yet to see an opera conducted by VG (in Russia or elsewhere), but to everyone I've met in St. Petersburg, he is an absolute genius. "You haven't listened to an opera until you've listened to one conducted by VG," they tell me.

LOL! Does that mean the end of Khaikin, Golovanov, Kondrashin, Rozhdestvensky, Svetlanov, and the likes?

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I spoke to a russian friend last night and he told me that his friends in Petersburg mainly complain about the lack of different personalities on stage. "All they think nowadays is to get their legs up high" he quoted a friend of his saying.

But this said: I saw the performances "Gala 230 years Bolshoi school" and was amazed. Not just so many wonderful peformances. They had the '"grand ballerina" "the balanchine dancer" all sorts of different personalities were on stage and it made me happy for the future. There were even different shapes and sizes amongst the dancers.

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