Natalia Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Between seeing the Farrell Troupe here in DC & keeping up with the competition in Moscow, I've hardly had time to keep tabs on what's happening in St. Petersburg. Today I received a happy phonecall from my sister-in-law, who lives in St P, reporting on some wonderful happenings of late. * June 21 - EXCELLENT 'Swan Lake' debut of young, tall & gorgeous Yulia Bolshakova, partnered by Yevgeni Ivanchenko. Unlike other premature 'baby Odettes' of late (Somova & Vostrotina), my sister-in-law says that Bolshakova is "the real thing" and was highly praised by the local balletomanes. "The best Odette-Odile debut since that of Lopatkina," she said. Well...perhaps something to look forward to in London? I've seen Bolshakova only in her Vaganova Academy Nikiya, last year, and in a few corps roles during the most recent Mariinsky Festival (as she's been injured most of the 04/05 season); she certainly was promising in what I saw her perform last year. Glad to hear that she's on the mend & moving ahead! * June 22 - Uliana Lopatkina's 'White Nights' Gala - A million-dollar night, especially Paquita (with solo variations by Somova, Kondaurova, Dumchenko & Amosova. Dumchenko was particularly stuning in the celeste variation. 'In the Night' featured the following three pairings: Sologub/Baranov, Dumchenko/Ivanchenko and Lopatkina/Kuznetsov. Another highlight of the evening was the return to the Kirov rep. of Balanchine's Symphony in C, with: 1st - Gumerova/Kolb, 2nd - Lopatkina/Kuznetsov, 3rd - Novikova (a debut)/Korsakov, and 4th - Dumchenko/Scherbakov. [Notice that Dumchenko was featured in each ballet of the evening, in addition to Lopatkina. Good for Maya Dumchenko!] * June 26 (last night) - MAGICAL Giselle with Maya Dumchenko, partnered by Anton Korsakov, who made his "usual" odd changes in the traditional choreography, changing one of Albrecht's famous diagonals! Dumchenko was spot-on, though. Finally fulfilling the promise of a lovely young Giselle at the Met, seemingly so many years ago. What a great year this has turned out to be for Maya Dumchenko! Natalia Nabatova Link to comment
Cygnet Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 I'm glad to hear Dumchenko is doing so well! If I were a Londoner, I'd wish that Bolshakova and Lopatkina could split the SLs between them. Link to comment
Thalictum Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 If I were a Londoner, I'd wish that the Kirov would for once try to display its real depth of talent, and give each of the four performances to a different Odette/Odile. I might even go to London to see that. Link to comment
koshka Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 A bit off-topic, but is there any news on when / where the Kirov will be performing in the fall? Will they be touring the whole time, or will they be at the Mariinsky, or will their stint in Helsinki already be underway? Link to comment
Natalia Posted June 28, 2005 Author Share Posted June 28, 2005 A bit off-topic, but is there any news on when / where the Kirov will be performing in the fall? Will they be touring the whole time, or will they be at the Mariinsky, or will their stint in Helsinki already be underway? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Koshka, the Mariinsky Theater does not close for renovations/expansion until the end of the 2005/2006 season. During the course of the next season they will do 'just' their normal touring, which can be extensive enough. For example, next season's touring plans include an autumn tour of the USA (California and Midwest), with the 1952 (Soviet-traditional) Sleeping Beauty as the main ballet on tap. Here is a link to the schedule for that tour, including preliminary casting (Olesya Novikova's Aurora and --especially -- Olga Yesina's Lilac Fairy being special not-to-be-missed delights): http://www.ardani.com/kirovballettour.htm Helsinki is but one of several foreign opera houses that will host the nomadic troupe during the two or three seasons when the Mariinsky Theater will be closed. No St. Petersburg-based theater has been named to serve as a temporary home for the troupe. This remains a major challenge. Natalia Nabatova Link to comment
Azulynn Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 A bit off-topic, but is there any news on when / where the Kirov will be performing in the fall? Will they be touring the whole time, or will they be at the Mariinsky, or will their stint in Helsinki already be underway? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The Kirov will also be on tour in Paris (at the Théâtre du Châtelet) from November 23th to December 5th. They are bringing Swan Lake (Lopatnika and Samova get Odette/Odile so far), the Nutcracker, the Forsythe triple bill & the Balanchine triple bill. If anyone wants more details about the dates and so on, just ask ! ;) Link to comment
ami1436 Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 As a quasi-Londoner, I just wish that all the casting for their season here would finally be officially announced (knowing full-well that it would nonetheless change an infinite number of times thereafter....) Link to comment
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