Natalia Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 I don't recall who recently asked the question, "What is the difference between attending the Mariinsky Int'l Ballet Festival & the White Nights Festival?" Well, here's your answer. Following is the initial ballet-evenings schedule of this year's festival & the prices for foreigners (not to mention the laughably pretentious names of the categories!): * May 30, Monday 18:00 Ballet - Adolphe Adam ''Giselle''(fantastic ballet in two acts) * June 01, Wednesday 19:00 Ballet - Ludwig Minkus "Don Quixote"(grand ballet in four acts, seven scenes with prologue) * June 03, Friday 19:00 Ballet - Ludwig Minkus "La Bayadere" (ballet in 3 acts) * June 04 , Saturday 19:00 Ballet - Peter Tchaikovsky "The Nutcracker" (ballet in two acts) * June 06, Monday 20:00 Ballet - Peter Tchaikovsky "Swan Lake" * June 07, Tuesday 19:00 Ballet - Peter Tchaikovsky "Sleeping Beauty" (version of soloist Sergey Vikharev) * June 09, Thursday 19:00 Ballet - Ballets of William Forsythe At the moment tickets of all seat categories are available 1а. Exclusive (Parterre 1-5 rows middle) $282 2a. VIP for Ballet (Parterre 6-8 rows middle; 13 row) $249 2b. VIP for Opera (Dress Circle 11,12 boxes) $228 3a. VIP (Parterre 1-8 rows lateral; 9-12 rows) $208 3b. VIP (Benoire 6-17 boxes; Dress Circle 7-15 boxes) $190 4a. Super Luxe (Parterre 14-18 rows) $167 4b. Super Luxe (Benoire 1-5, 18-24 boxes; Dress Circle 1-8, 16-19 boxes) $155 5a. Luxe (I circle 4-13 boxes) $115 5b. Luxe (I circle 1-3, 14-16 boxes; II circle) $98 6. Business (III circle 1 row middle) $44 7. Economy (III circle 1 row lateral, 2-3 rows) $35 8. Student (III circle 4-6 rows) $26 Source: www.mariinka.org forum Link to comment
Dale Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 I was told that the White Nights is the pet project of Gergiev, and therefore reflects his taste (and price structure). Nice to see the New/Old "Sleeping Beauty (version of soloist Sergey Vikharev)" being performed. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted April 26, 2005 Share Posted April 26, 2005 While I think that Giselle could be considered a "fantastic" ballet - i.e., one rooted in the realm of imaginary creatures and legend, I don't think Don Quixote works as a "grand ballet". "Grand ballet" is just like "grand opera", it's about nationalism. "Marco Spada" is a grand ballet, and unless you argue that Don Q is about finding an ancestral homeland for amiable wack jobs, it's not a grand ballet, no matter how grand the presentation. Link to comment
Natalia Posted April 26, 2005 Author Share Posted April 26, 2005 Mel, those are the original subtitles (descriptions) in Petipa's libretti. In the 19th C., ballets were given these florid, descriptive titles, e.g. "ballet-feeri in prologue and three acts" for Sl.Beauty. The Mariinsky has maintained those descriptive titles in their p.r. literature, including posters & playbills, to this day...whether or not they are accurate. Another thought - For $285 a seat, it had better be a "FANTASTIC ballet"! Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted April 27, 2005 Share Posted April 27, 2005 Don Q is a grand ballet? You mean it's actually ABOUT Spanish nationalism and a triumph over tyranny? You coulda fooled me. (Camacho must have been much meaner in 1869) And yes, a ballet-féerie is about enchantment, so "fantastic" is good. Link to comment
DancingGiselle Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 WOW!!! Those are some expensive seats! I hope the ballets turn out to be worth it -- I'm leaving St. Petersburg a few days before the festival starts, so I won't be able to catch any of them, but I guess I really wouldn't be able to afford good seats anyway (although I pay the regular, non-foreigner price). Link to comment
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