32 replies to this topic

[Natalia]

The Mariinsky website has updated castings through May. Lots of surprises here!  [Leigh - Take your 'no-doz' tablets & get thee to the theater on the day of your arrival...see below, May 23...Lopatkina! Makhalina! Somova! all in one night!]

Highlights:

May 3 & 5 - ONDINE, each night - first with Obraztsova/Sarafanov, then with Novikova/Shklyarov. This confirms our fears that Vishneva would not be dancing Ondine at all this season...and there goes the possibility of a DVD, this year, at any rate. [The one remaining Ondine of the season is in June, while Vishneva is in NYC.]

7 - Giselle - Vishneva/Kolb (last Giselle before the production travels to DC; so Vishneva is in town & healthy, yet not dancing one of the two Ondines, a couple of days earlier??? Hmmm...)

12 - Swan Lake - Pavlenko/Korsuntsev (Pavlenko is definitely BACK, if she is dancing this role. Great news!)

13 - Shostakovich Evening of three Ballets (of which only the last one will go to London in July):
Overcoat
Lady & the Hooligan (rare starring role for Svetlana Ivanova!)
Leningrad Symphony (Lopatkina, Zelensky)...London, take note!

16 - Swan Lake - Vostrotina/Zelensky...Vostrotina's first starring role in a long time..since she danced Odette/Odile in summer 2004 (when I last saw her?) Take note!  She is actually quite good as Odette; lots better than Somova, for ex.

19 - Sleeping Beauty 1890 - Novikova/Fadeev

21 - Swan Lake - Yesina/Ivanchenko...Yesina's debut in the role at home...nominated for Benois Prize for this very role's debut in Germany, so maybe this will be her 'Victory Homecoming Dance'?

23 - Balanchine Evening:
Serenade - Yulia Makhalina et al!!!!
La Valse - Lopatkina/Kuznetsov
Ballet Imperial - Somova/Golub/Ivanchenko

25 - Don Q - Tarasova/Batalov   VERY RARE appearance for both dancers. Wish I were there!

26 - Bayadere (Soviet version) - Terioshkina/Golub/RUZIMATOV (perhaps his farewell to the role of Solor?)

27 - Nutcracker (Chemiakin version) - Obraztsova/Shklyarov...the Golden Couple of the moment - fabulous pairing!

28 - Magic Nut - Dumchenko/Kondaurova/Merkuriev

29 - Swan Lake - Somova/Kolb

[Leigh Witchel]

Wait!  Has the schedule changed AGAIN?

It was Symphony in C on the 25th.

And alas. . .the plane lands at  16:10.  I just don't think I can make it through customs, into the city, check into my hotel and get to the theater in less than three hours.

[Natalia]

Yup, it's 'Fortepianii contsert nomer 2' a.k.a. Ballet Imperial.

Well, assuming your plane gets in on time, you could do it. Immigration is usually fast & you can zip through green line ("Nothing to Declare") of customs after you collect your luggage. Driver meets you outside customs at around 16:45. You'll be at your hotel by 17:30 (sometimes sooner). Spend an hour at the hotel...five-minute cab to Mariinsky. Curtain at 19:00/passes handed out about 10-15 minutes before curtain... I see what you mean.  But if you're really, REALLY energized...  

One's health is important, of course.

[canbelto]

Interesting. Vishneva not dancing Ondine AGAIN? And Vishneva didn't appear in the Rubies filming. But she is dancing Giselle (but NOT according to her website) and also Romeo and Juliet in April? And she danced Swan Lake in January That is strange ...   I sense a desire to perhaps switch emploi?

[Natalia]

Canbelto - My sister attended last night's 'Romeo & Juliet' by Vishneva/Kuznetsov & said that it was spectacular..."the best" Juliet that she's ever seen from Vishneva. The public went crazy, with curtain calls continuing for 15 minutes after the main curtain had been lowered. She also reported that Vishneva appeared with a brand-new set of costumes, specially designed for this occasion, quite different from those that go with the production. Shades of Mathilde Kchessinskaya, who was fined by the theater for refusing to wear the normal costume in Petipa's 'Camargo' ca 1900.  I hope that Vasiyev will not fine Vishneva for wearing her own costumes as Juliet!

[Solor]

Natalia, on Apr 20 2006, 07:32 AM, said:

This confirms our fears that Vishneva would not be dancing Ondine at all this season...and there goes the possibility of a DVD, this year, at any rate. [The one remaining Ondine of the season is in June, while Vishneva is in NYC.

26 - Bayadere (Soviet version) - Terioshkina/Golub/RUZIMATOV (perhaps his farewell to the role of Solor?)

So were there conditions that 'Ondine' would only be filmed is Vishneva was dancing the lead?

Is Ruzimatov retiring?

[vrsfanatic]

Quote

Canbelto - My sister attended last night's 'Romeo & Juliet' by Vishneva/Kuznetsov & said that it was spectacular..."the best" Juliet that she's ever seen from Vishneva.

Natalia, you know my interest in I. Kuznetsov. I happen to appreciate him in this role.    Any reports on how he performed? Funny, I just cannot imagine them dancing together, but if it works...GREAT!

Thank you in advance for any news!

[Natalia]

Solor, on Apr 20 2006, 06:55 PM, said:

So were there conditions that 'Ondine' would only be filmed is Vishneva was dancing the lead?

Is Ruzimatov retiring?

As I mentioned on another thread (Kirov DVD projects), the DVD revolves around DV.  The word I've heard is that the 'Vishneva Ondine DVD project' was part of the 'deal' struck between the Gergiev-Vishneva-Lacotte camp and the Vasiyev-Chenchikova group, so that 'Ondine' be allowed to premiere (be put back on schedule).

Ruzimatov isn't retiring but he has slowly been easing out of his more taxing roles (no longer dances Ali in Corsaire, for ex.). He hasn't danced Solor in ages, so the May 2006 performance looks like one last hurrah for him in the role. Just my speculation.

[Natalia]

vrsfanatic - She just said that Kuznetsov, Lobukhin, Selina and Andrei Ivanov were all fantastic, beside Vishneva. She wrote me mainly about Vishneva & her fashions!  If I hear any IK specifics, I'll get back to you.  As you see from my 'Ilya Appreciation Thread' elsewhere, he is dancing more & more these days.

[canbelto]

Well I am happy to hear that despite any tensions (???) between Vishneva and Vaziev, that the MT audience still adores her. IMO the management would be foolish not to please Vishneva. Of the principals she is probably the most diverse -- Lopatkina only seems to dance the grand tragedienne roles (except for Jewels), Ayupova, Nioradze, and Makhalina are in the twilights of their career, and Pavlenko doesnt seem to dance much at all.

[Natalia]

Canbelto - Even in Jewels/Diamonds, Lopatkina's role has a certain tragic-melancholic air in the pas de deux section.  

Pavlenko has been seen rarely in the last 2-3 years but it appears that she has a spurt of major performances coming up, both at home & in DC.

[canbelto]

And am I right in guessing that Lopatkina dances the 2nd movement of Symphony in C?  

[Dale]

Lopatkina dances the 2nd movement of Symphony in C.  I remember it being very lovely when she did it in New York in 1999.  One of her best roles was as the favorite harem girl in Fountain - she was fun and sexy early on, but devastating when she sees she no longer has the ruler's heart.

[Marc Haegeman]

canbelto, on Apr 21 2006, 02:40 PM, said:

Well I am happy to hear that despite any tensions (???) between Vishneva and Vaziev, that the MT audience still adores her. IMO the management would be foolish not to please Vishneva. Of the principals she is probably the most diverse -- Lopatkina only seems to dance the grand tragedienne roles (except for Jewels), Ayupova, Nioradze, and Makhalina are in the twilights of their career, and Pavlenko doesnt seem to dance much at all.

Just for the record, part of the reason why Pavlenko hasn't been dancing much, and not at all in the last months, is that she has been plagued by a serious knee injury - at least since 2002.  Frankly, I don't see why Vishneva is still called a "diverse" ballerina - it's not because one tries a number of diverse styles and emplois that we can speak of a diverse artist.

[canbelto]

Quote

Frankly, I don't see why Vishneva is still called a "diverse" ballerina - it's not because one tries a number of diverse styles and emplois that we can speak of a diverse artist.

It's because she has danced a great many ballets, all different styles, and has had successes in all of them. From Balanchine to Forsythe to Petit to most of the classical roles. Aurora, Giselle, Nikya, Romeo and Juliet, now Swan Lake. That's my definition of a diverse ballerina.