59 replies to this topic

[drb]

Not all casting changes are necessarily bad (except those the Russians always surprise us with when we open our programs).  For those who enjoyed Lunkina in this winter's Stars gala, she's now with Alexandrova in the first Bright Stream (25th).  And Tsiskaridze fans - and those who have been puzzled by the nearly violent web disagreements about him - will get to see him in Pharoah (28th, 30th at 8 PM) as well as in the Bright Stream of the 26th.  Latest casting and seating info may be found by clicking the website cited above on April 30th, or the one below (Sat Mats have heavy sales, even in those severly overpriced "low-priced" seats, which doesn't bode well for the future).
http://www.metoperaf...onthyear=7-2005

[nysusan]

Somehow with the performances I've picked I've managed to miss Lunkina entirely. I'm sure I'll want to see her at least once - though I think I'll wait till they're actually here to buy that ticket!  She's scheduled for Bright Stream, Spartacus & Pharoah's daughter. Any thoughts on which one suits her best?

[Giselle05]

I am going on the 22nd to see Spartacus, with this cast:

Spartacus: Dmitri Belogolovtsev
Phrygia: Anna Antonicheva
Crassus: Alexander Volchkov
Aegina: Maria Allash


Has anyone seen Antonicheva? Thoughts welcome  

[drb]

To NYSusan and Giselle05,
Having seen Spartacus (Vasiliev days) and Lunkina at the Gala, it is hard to imagine that she won't be a melting Phrygia.  This can be a great role with the right dancer.  Clearly the Aspicia choreography in P. D. would suit her too (and with the exciting young Yatsenko as the other female lead,...).  I'll opt for B. S., just because she's with Alexandrova, the choice of choices in the "ballerina" role.  And also because one Spartacus is enough ($, and the Bolshoi has no Vasilievs now), and that has got to be Antonicheva's, the only chance to see that great ballerina.
Hopefully someone who's seen them in these roles will help us all.

[chiapuris]

Giselle05, on Jul 5 2005, 12:03 AM, said:

I am going on the 22nd to see Spartacus, with this cast:

Spartacus: Dmitri Belogolovtsev
Phrygia: Anna Antonicheva
Crassus: Alexander Volchkov
Aegina: Maria Allash


Has anyone seen Antonicheva? Thoughts welcome 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw Antonicheva last June at the Bolshoi and my notes at that time were:
"The first-act pas de deux between Antonicheva and Belogolovtsev was wonderfully modulated by the dancers so that even the acrobatic lifts looked somehow serene and musically right. Altogether, their dancing was of impressive quality, accurate and passionate, achieving a mood of calm and inevitability in a world of storm."

[Marc Haegeman]

Choices are getting harder here   .  Lunkina won't disappoint in any of the roles and Phrygia is a splendid role for Antonicheva.

[Giselle05]

Thank you!

[richard53dog]

There has been a lot of comment on the high prices for the Bolshoi engagement at the Met this month.

I bought just one ticket, thinking there's no way I'm going to buy a batch of Family Circle tickets at $45 per.

Then I was wondering about standing room. But I wasn't too hopeful, right now for ABT the Met is charging $25 for standing room (I bought one today), which is the same price as the Family Circle.

I was thinking could they price STANDING ROOM at $45????????


Not at all. Prices are now posted at the Met box office.

Standing room for all preformances are priced the same $20 for orchestra, grand tier , and dress circle. $15 for family circle.

Go figure

Richard

[carbro]

No, Richard, ABT's SR is $25 only on Saturdays.  Accustomed as I'd become to the $22 price, when I bought my first Saturday stand this year, I  suffered a real case of sticker shock!

But yeah, it is perplexing (to say the least) when you compare the more reasonable Bolshoi prices against  1) ABT's; and 2) last year's Ashton Centennial, where no standing room was sold AT ANY PRICE.

[richard53dog]

carbro, on Jul 9 2005, 11:12 PM, said:

No, Richard, ABT's SR is $25 only on Saturdays.  Accustomed as I'd become to the $22 price, when I bought my first Saturday stand this year, I  suffered a real case of sticker shock!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Once more, I never really finished my train of thought. What I meant was that ABT's standing room matched their sliding scale of seat prices Mo-Fr and then a few bucks more for Saturday, but I never finished fleshing it out.

One thing that puzzled me a bit is that Friday prices were the same as Mo-Thu rather than getting tossed in with "weekend" (i.e. Saturday) prices.

Oh well, we can be grateful for small favors. The Met Opera is happy to charge higher prices for both Friday and Saturdays

Hopefully this post doesn't have any dangling thoughts

Richard

[Thalictum]

Antonicheva dances like a dream, more classical than many of the current Kirov principals.

[drb]

For anyone still undecided about which Don Q, a preview with 12 pix of Zakharova's Kitri (July 18, 21) may be seen at
http://www.bolshoi.net/index.htm
Go to the top picture on the right [Don Q photo], click on it, an a slide show of 12 quality photos will appear.  She is very beautiful...

[carbro]

Thanks very much, drb.  

For those of us who read English but not Russian, try this: http://www.bolshoi.org/index.htm.  You can navigate the site and find photo albums of other dancers.

[Ceeszi]

OK - I decided to get myself a birthday present, so on my birthday - Monday, July 18th, I am off to see Don Quixote.  I just watched the Paris Opera Ballet version on DVD with Aurelie Dupont and Manuel Legris, so I am so, so psyched!

I am also planning on seeing The Pharaoh's Daughter, but I am not sure which night that I am going.  I promise details about Monday night's DQ.

[FauxPas]

Word up for those who were looking to save money and see more performances by buying standing room tickets.  Standing room had been announced as being $20.00 for all sections.  A little bird called me this morning and said that about 50 people showed up at the box office this morning to get standing room tickets.

They were informed out of the blue that standing room will only be sold if the house is sold out.  The Metropolitan Opera has over 4,000 seats and never sells out for ballet, particularly late in the summer and at inflated prices higher than the regular opera season.  This was not announced beforehand and seems to be a last minute gambit to force people to buy overpriced regular tickets.  This means that I won't be bothering to see two casts in most of the ballets and will skip several performances.  This is extremely vexing and the way it was handled is deeply offensive.  

A lot of people were planning to do this beforehand and would have been able to get better seats had they known that no standing room will be sold unless the house is sold out.  Meanwhile there are lots of tickets for everything except for "Pharoah's Daughter" which is selling out in the best sections...