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Mariinsky in DC


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I'm contemplating a visit to DC in Jan, to see family and the Mariinksy... I haven't been able to find casting, but I'm assuming it's not up anywhere yet. They are doing Don Q... does anyone have recommendations of casts to look out for? I've not seen the company for a while. I so wish they were doing Jewels instead!

And... I guess anyone up for a meet-up? I think I most likely would be at one of the Sat or Sun performances, although this is at the most preliminary stages of planning....

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Casting was announced a couple of weeks ago on the Kenn Cen website:

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/ind...=BJBSD#schedule

CASTING

Tue., Jan. 13 & Sat., Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Diana Vishneva

Bazil: Evgeny Ivanchenko

Wed., Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Olesya Novikova

Bazil: Leonid Sarafanov

Thu., Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Viktoria Tereshkina

Bazil: Andrian Fadeyev

Fri., Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Alina Somova

Bazil: Anton Korsakov

Sat., Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m.

Kitri: Evgenya Obraztsova

Bazil: Vladimir Shklyarov

Sun., Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m.

Kitri: Viktoria Tereshkina

Bazil: Leonid Sarafanov

This was posted earlier on another thread about the Mariinsky's production of Don Q (general topic) but not on this official thread for the Kennedy Center run.

It now appears that Vishneva's website has been updated to show that she is indeed scheduled for the two DC appearances. :)

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If you were to choose between Tereshkina, Vishneva, and Obraztsova in Kitri (the only days I can go, since I have to work on the weekdays) which would you choose? I admit I have seen none of these lovely ballerinas in this role. I saw Vishneva do the Act 3 pdd at the City Center run and she was a bit shaky.

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Canbelto, there's no doubt in my mind -- go for Obraztsova/Shklyarov on Saturday afternoon then, if you can stay, Vishneva at night (it's just too bad that she has the somewhat lumbering Ivanchenko as her Basil). Obraztsova is the perfect Kitri and has a gorgeous face to boot. :( She was a huge hit in Japan when she debuted the role and is also a hit at home. Her partner-in-life and on stage, Shklyarov, will be the icing on the cake. I look to Obraztsova/Shklyarov to do to DC audiences what Osipova/Vasiliev did two seasons ago when the Bolshoi performed Don Q here -- Rock Da House!!!

Kitri should be perky, short n' sassy, IMO. Obraztsova is PERFECTA....as was Vishneva 14 yrs ago, at the start of her career. After Obraztsova, Novikova is my #2 among the current Kirov Kitris (although not dancing on the weekend). Vishneva now performs the role on 'autopilot' but can still be quite effective. Tereshkina is the technical power-lady but she just doesn't do it for me, for some odd reason -- to be admired and cheered, like Lubov Kunakova in an earlier era, but not-quite-the-star like Vishneva and Obraztsova. A huge plus for the Tereshkina Sunday matinee performance should be her Basil -- Sarafanov, who dances with his perfect partner, Novikova, earlier on in the week. As for Somova -- long and gangly is definitely NOT Kitri...but I'll see her as I plan to be at each and every performance. Also, Somova's Basil, Korsakov, can be a delight when he is "on".

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........but I'll see her as I plan to be at each and every performance. Also, Somova's Basil, Korsakov, can be a delight when he is "on".

+100 to Natalia's opinion (though i prefered Tereshkina DQ at City Center to Vishneva's. big time)

I am looking forward to Obraztsova+Shklyarov.

Natalia, I "envy" you, going to every performance ;-)) (though i will do my 5, definitely skipping Somova ;-)) hope they'd keep the announced cast)..... will the forum readers do as they did at City Center? meeting to "put the faces to the forum names"? Susan are you heading down to DC?

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I have posted, on another thread about recent promotions, that Somova has just been made Principal Ballerina. So there will be three Principal Ballerina Kitris on this tour: Vishneva, Tereshkina and Somova. Novikova and Obraztsova remain First Soloists.

Somova in the same league as Lopatkina, Vishneva, Pavlenko et al? What a joke! Natalia , thanks for the news, no matter how bizarre... at least I can hold out hope to see Ayupova live someday before she really retires

Susan are you heading down to DC?

I already have my tickets for Sat mat & eve & Sun eve – and I'm PRAYING that the announced casting holds. Some advice for anyone who's planning a trip to DC for this engagement – if you can find a reasonably priced hotel book it now – with the inauguration on 1/20 hotel rates are ridiculous

Susan

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Ride home wanted:

My friend Sheila is seeking a ride back to Manhattan after the Saturday evening performance. Willing, of course, to pick up a share of expenses.

I can vouch for her honesty and for the pleasure of her companionship. :D

Please contact her directly: [address removed, as no longer necessary].

Edited by carbro
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Ride home wanted:

My friend Sheila is seeking a ride back to Manhattan after the Saturday evening performance. Willing, of course, to pick up a share of expenses.

I can vouch for her honesty and for the pleasure of her companionship. :clapping:

Please contact her directly: [address removed, as no longer necessary] .

Ok, i'd suggest it only because (me-crazy) i did that and will do it again. I'd take a chinese bus back to Manhattan. $20 - one way, $35 round trip. I did it several times going to openning nights, then hopping on a bus, there are 3 or 4 companies with departures from 11:30 to 11:45pm and going to work next morning ;-)) Chinatown DC is not scary, and I always like a nice brisk walk throug the GW university campus, then by the White House and to the Chinatown (30-40 min).

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Wow, thanks, YID! I looked for Chinatown-type buses when I was down there recently, but there were so many bus lines, I never did find one with a suitable departure time. Do you remember any company by name? Greatly appreciated!

As for walking from KC to Chinatown, I'd likely opt for the Metro, which shuts down for the night well after the performance is over.

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Wow, thanks, YID! I looked for Chinatown-type buses when I was down there recently, but there were so many bus lines, I never did find one with a suitable departure time. Do you remember any company by name? Greatly appreciated!

As for walking from KC to Chinatown, I'd likely opt for the Metro, which shuts down for the night well after the performance is over.

www. gotobus. com

Todays leaves at 11:18pm

www. 2000coach. com/schedules.html - leaves at 11:30pm.... and I am the walker ;-)) (unless the weather forbids ;-))

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Hi there -

Just wanted to add that you may also want to try the Megabus service. It was a low-cost Scottish carrier, but I guess they have a branch in the US. The company operates all over the Midwest and Northeast (I go to Chicago from Urbana on the service sometimes).

They have a service running from 11th St NW and G St NW to Penn Station everyday, with the last one leaving at 11:15 pm (it gets in at 3:45 AM).

You can order these tickets online, and if you order them ahead of time (you can do so for three months ahead), often you can find tickets for under ten dollars. Looking at it right now, a 11:15 PM bus for DC-NY on 11 January (the last date available) is 5 dollars.

emi

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Hi there -

Just wanted to add that you may also want to try the Megabus service. emi

OMG... thank you EMI...... i might just take a chance and buy $1 or $5 tickets to go to DC - omg, so cheap.... thank you.

.... and sorry for turning the thread into a low-cost bus options - sorry about it...

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Just a note: I checked the Kennedy Center website and there is some reshuffling in terms of casting. Vishneva/Ivanchenko are now scheduled for opening night and then Friday Jan 16, while Somova/Sarafanov have been moved to the Saturday Jan 17 evening performance.

Damn, I had a feeling that perfect weekend casting wouldn't hold! I'll be happy if they at least keep Obraztsova & Tereshkina on the matinees.

Thanks for the update!

Susan

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I hope I am not breaking any rules, but I have one ticket for the Washington D.C. Don Q opening night on January 13th that unfortunately I won't be able to use. It's an excellent seat in the center section of the Orchestra (row L) that was purchased at subscribers' price of $86 before the tickets went on sale to the general public. Diana Vishneva is scheduled to perform one of her most famous roles of Kitri. If interested, please contact me here or by email: clockxxi@aol.com. We can do PayPal for your protection and I'll mail the ticket for free anywhere in the world.

UPD: Ticket sold.

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KennCen website update:

Olesya Novikova is out and, in her place -- drumroll! -- Alina Somova! That means that, so far, I have pulled Wonka's Golden Ticket twice, not counting appearances as Dryad Queen in additional performances. :D

In other sad news: Leonid Sarafanov is out; instead, Shklyarov -- excellent newcomer -- dances two Basils, including one of the Somovas.

The good news: Obraztsova/Shklyarov are still 'on' for the Saturday matinee (whew!). If Shklyarov now has to partner Somova, then that almost ensures that his wife (Obraztsova) remains on the tour's roster. :)

REVISED CASTING, updated 1/8

Tue., Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Diana Vishneva

Bazil: Evgeny Ivanchenko

Wed., Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Alina Somova (casting updated on 1/8)

Bazil: Vladimir Shklyarov (casting updated on 1/8)

Thu., Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Viktoria Tereshkina

Bazil: Andrian Fadeyev

Fri., Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Diana Vishneva

Bazil: Evgeny Ivanchenko

Sat., Jan. 17 at 1:30 p.m.

Kitri: Evgenya Obraztsova

Bazil: Vladimir Shklyarov

Sat. Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Kitri: Alina Somova

Bazil: Evgeny Ivanchenko (casting updated on 1/8)

Sun., Jan. 18 at 1:30 p.m.

Kitri: Viktoria Tereshkina

Bazil: Andrian Fadeyev

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Opening Night DON QUIXOTE

Mariinsky Theater Ballet, Yuri Fateev - Acting Director of the Ballet Company (as per Playbill)

January 13, 2009

Kennedy Center Opera House

A fabulous, rousing performance opens the run. However, before the review, here's what everybody wants to know: Which dancers are in town & slated for solos? Fun Hint: They've brought the new sensation of the most recent Vaganova Graduation Class -- Anastasia Nikitina -- for the Act 4 Solo Bridesmaid Variation at two perfs, including the opener.

Corrected Casting, as per insert to the playbill, which has casting for all perfs:

Kitri - Diana Vishneva - Gorgeous! It was a 'Diana is On' night! Overcame an off-balance moment near the start of the 32 fouettes...but Diana is all about the total artist...and she sizzles! How nice to see her maturation in this, her very first role as a 15-yr-old sensation on the stage of the Mariinsky, in Jan 1994.

Basil - Yevgeni Ivanchenko - solid, sleek partner

Flower Seller Girls - Yana Selina and Xenia Dubrovina, the latter replacing N. Gonchar (Selina/Gonchar were scheduled for all performances, so perhaps it will be Selina/Dubrovina for all?)

Espada - Konstantin Sverev *male sensation of the night and one of the troupe's superb up-and-coming guys (class of 05 or thereabouts)! (also on Wed, Fri, Sat eve; role danced by A. Sergeev on Thurs, Ioanissian on Sat mat & Baimuradov on Sun)

Street Dancer - Alexandra Iosifidi replacing Kondaurova, who replaced Somova as Dryad Queen (Iosifidi repeats at all perfs, with exception of Tkachenko at Sat mat and Kondaurova at Sat eve)

Gypsy Lead female - Ryu Ji-Yeon *gorgeous & flexible, replacing Polina Rassadina (Ryu repeats on Thurs & Sat; also danced by Bazhenova & Smirnova-Slivkina)

Gypsy Lead male - Islom Baimuradov... a Human Spark Plug. Huge audience fave! (role also to be danced by Mussin & Murashov, later this week)

Dryad Queen - 'Big Red' Ekaterina Kondaurova, replacing Alina Somova - extraordinarily beautiful, majestic, perfect! What jetes across the stage in the coda! (Kondaurova repeats this role at most perfs, except Somova on Sunday...if Somova shows)

Amour - Valeria Martinyuk - pert, adorable, also impressive in jetes (at most perfs, sharing the role with Elena Yushkovskaya-Vasyukovich)

Mercedes (the tavern girl in red) - Elena Bazhenova, terrific, who knows how to 'milk' this role better than anyone, if not possessing the deepest of backbends we've seen from Bolshoi ladies (scheduled for most perfs, except for Rassadina on Wed, Fri & Sat eve)

Act 4 Fandango Leads - Yulia Smirnova-Slivkina & Karen Ioanissian, both sharp and precise (at all perfs, with exception of Bazhenova on Sat eve)

Act 4 Bridesmaid Variation - Anastasia Nikitina *the new coltish sensation, straight out of the Vaganova Academy. Nice. Soloist possibilities. Bit of a frozen grin...but this was her US debut, so she was understandably nervous. Not as jarring as Somova; a heck of a lot more musical. Again - nice possibilities. (Nikitina repeats this only at the Sat mat; Tatyana Tkachenko will dance this most other perfs (all but Sat mat and Sun); Kondaurova is listed for Sunday)

Don Q - Vladimir Ponomaryev (at all performances)

Sancho - Stanislav Burov (at all perfs.)

Lorenzo, Kitri's father - Igor Petrov (at all perfs)

Gamache - Soslan Kulaev (at all perfs)

Corps de Ballet - not the sharpest in the Kirov-Mariinsky annals, yet the ladies were quite beautiful in the Dream Scene -- and much more poetic than the Bolshoi could ever hope to produce. They've brought a bunch of raw recruits/recent grads, with a sprinkling of vets, such as Androssova, Vasilieva, Luvkovskaya. Interesting that Maria Shirinkina and Daria Vasnetsova -- both of whom have danced leading roles at home and abroad recently...Vasnetsova just debuted as Odette/Odile, in fact -- are here only for corps work.

As expected on tours, the troupe did not perform 100% of its DON Q as it does in St. Petersburg. The Gypsy Camp scene lasted about 10 minutes, without the charming little mime episode of the 'doll theater.' There were no children/Little Cupids at all, altering the patterns of the Dream Scene. No Oriental Dance in the Tavern Scene, even though the Playbill credits Anisimova as the choreographer of that piece. There were only two intermissions, with Act IV-The Wedding immediately following Act III-Tavern, so Kitri and Basil were not able to dance in the group number that closes Act III. All in all, 90 minutes of performance time + two 30-minute intermissions.

Blooper Moment: This being the opening night, there were a few technical kinks with the movement of scenery, e.g., there was a very long pause of about 3-4 minutes between Don Q falling from the windmill and the start of the Dream Scene...with lots of laughter and Russian chattering from the corps, who had to stand in place for a while until the previous scenery was moved, all of this with the curtain up but the lights down.

A Mariinsky conductor -- Pavel Bubelnikov, wearing his famous black pajamas-- led the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, which was sluggish at times. I noticed how Vishneva tried hard to brighten their pace with her castanets, during her Act I solo.

According to the Playbill, Olesya Novikova will dance today, after all...but we may get another 'corrections insert' tonight. So will it be Novikova or Somova as Kitri this evening?

Natalia Nabatova

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Generally, a very good performance. Vishneva is an excellent Kitri, able to pull out all the technical stops but also funny, charming, and spirited, with a big smile that reads right up to the last row of the second tier (where I was sitting). Ivanchenko is not the Basilio 'type', but he has a long, strong, beautiful line, and he complemented Vishneva well. The real highlights of this ballet (Dream Sequence and classical principals aside) are the character dances, and those were all performed excellently. Some of the classical dancing felt a bit perfunctory, for example the Flower Sellers and Street dancer in Act I, and unfortunately, the audience around me did not seem to respond to Vishneva or to the comedy and silliness of this beautifully detailed production. Admittedly, it seems a good 3/4 of the mime has been removed, so the dancers are left only with rather vague gestures at times, which to their credit they perform beautifully.

It was unfortunate that the gypsy camp scene had to be cut short because there were no children--it would have been nice if the synopsis had been edited so that the audience did not expect a play and a giant spider, &c. Instead, Don Quixote just runs to the windmill and attaches a hilariously fake-looking mannequin to it.

In the Dream Sequence, the corps looked pretty rough by Mariinsky standards. Their famous precision was just not there at all, but individually, they all looked beautiful. Amor was light and fleet-footed, although with a very loose quality in the legs and ankles, and Kondaurova as Dryad Queen was lovely and grand, but her plié was extremely brittle, which meant that each jump in her variation landed with a thud. Still, I'm glad to see someone at the Mariinsky can still do entrechat-six de volé; I really miss the beats when Dryad Queen just does assemblé simple. Vishneva grinned out at us at the beginning of this scene, but her variation was delicate and ethereal, with very smooth ballonnés on pointe across the stage (not ronds de jambe for some reason), a light jump, and some lovely balances. However, her grands jetés in the coda were upstaged by those of Kondaurova, who just floated into the air effortlessly (I guess she took a moment to go and get her plié out of her dance bag :thumbsup: ).

The entrée to the grand pas de deux was performed by dancers wearing incredibly huge tutus in clashing colors--it was like nothing else in the production, but it was well danced. Nikitina, in the bridesmaid solo, has nice port de bras and was not overly stretched in this performance, but unfortunately she does not have secure placement, and this caused problems with her pirouettes.

In the pas de deux itself, everything was there. 'Spanish' fire to spare, along with all the expected lifts, jumps, and pirouettes. Vishneva, as Natalia wrote, overcame a slight stumble during her fouettés, and did the last sixteen with her open fan raised over her head--a triumphant finish.

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