77 replies to this topic

[Natalia]

-This thread is for PRE-FESTIVAL chat, predictions, casting updates, and such -

Just in from the Mariinsky Th. press office, with which I've been in contact. At least three of the foreign guests will be from American companies this year! Well, well, well...Ashley Bouder's Kitri should be Da Bomb -- and opposite Sarafanov, no less.  I am truly looking forward to this one.

Ninth INTERNATIONAL MARIINSKY BALLET FESTIVAL
March 14 - 22, 2009

(subject to change - as of 12-10-08)


14 MARCH - “Little Hunched-back Horse” (premiere) , 1st cast
music Rodion Schedrin
choreography Alexey Ratmansky

15 March - “Little Hunched-back Horse” repeat, 2nd cast

16 March   to-be-determined

17 March - “Don-Quixote”
Ashley Bouder (NYCB)
Leonid Sarafanov (Mariinsky Theatre)

18 March - “Swan Lake”
David Halberg (ABT)
Victoria Tereshkina (Mariinsky Theatre)

19 March - “Sleeping Beauty”
Matthieu Ganio (Paris Opera)
Olesya Novikova (Mariinsky Theatre)

20 March - Uliana Lopatkina Gala

21 March - "Don-Quixote"
Diana Vishneva (Mariinsky Theatre)
and Marcelo Gomes (ABT)

22 March ALL STARS BALLET GALA

[Sacto1654]

I have a really interesting question to ask: who's going to play what role in the new Ratmansky production of Little Hunched-back Horse? The role of Ivan is almost tailor-made for one Vladimir Shklyarov, especially since the pictures from the book of the poem published in the USSR in 1964 show Ivan with almost the exact hair color as Shklyarov.

[chiapuris]

Thanks Natalia for your Festival post!

I just hope that Pavlenko dances (in anything) during the festival.
And that the 16th's program is......Raymonda.

[Natalia]

chiapuris, on Dec 29 2008, 09:58 AM, said:

Thanks Natalia for your Festival post!

I just hope that Pavlenko dances (in anything) during the festival.
And that the 16th's program is......Raymonda.

Wouldn't it be great, chiap?  For some reason, I keep thinking that there will be a Balanchine triple-bill somewhere in the mix, given the huge number of Balanchines that were recently revived AND new AD Fateev's preferences...but perhaps the Balanchines will be shown during the Lopatkina Gala and/or the final Gala Concert? I definitely vote for a Raymonda and for Daria Pavlenko in anything.

Sacto, I'd love to see Schklyarov but, in the past, Ivan has usually gone to not-too-tall demi-caractere dancers, rather than Noble Prince types, like Shklyarov. I am almost betting on Leonid Sarafanov and/or Andrei Ivanov sharing the role, although Andrian Fadeev has a wonderful 'comic persona' as we've seen in his Lankedem/Corsaire. Actually - I will bet $100 that Sarafanov will be in the mix of Ivans! As for the Tsar Maiden, I can bet that it will go to the newest Primas, Alina Somova and/or Viktoria Tereshkina, although that is just my gut feeling on where the chips are falling nowadays. This being a Ratmansky work, though, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Diana Vishneva may be involved, in which case it may be Vishneva/Fadeev for the opener.

[Sacto1654]

Natalia, on Dec 29 2008, 07:40 AM, said:

Sacto, I'd love to see Schklyarov but, in the past, Ivan has usually gone to not-too-tall demi-caractere dancers, rather than Noble Prince types, like Shklyarov. I am almost betting on Leonid Sarafanov and/or Andrei Ivanov sharing the role, although Andrian Fadeev has a wonderful 'comic persona' as we've seen in his Lankedem/Corsaire.

From looking the pages of the 1964 book published in the USSR of this long poem, which you can see here:

http://az.lib.ru/e/e...text_0020.shtml

I think both Leonid Sarafanov and Andrian Fadeyev could play the role of Ivan, given they'll be perfect for this role if the Mariinsky troupe wants to closely match the drawings in this book. But since the poem's Ivan is pretty young character, I wouldn't put it above Shklyarov playing Ivan too.

[Marc Haegeman]

Natalia, on Dec 29 2008, 04:40 PM, said:

chiapuris, on Dec 29 2008, 09:58 AM, said:

Thanks Natalia for your Festival post!

I just hope that Pavlenko dances (in anything) during the festival.
And that the 16th's program is......Raymonda.

Wouldn't it be great, chiap?  For some reason, I keep thinking that there will be a Balanchine triple-bill somewhere in the mix, given the huge number of Balanchines that were recently revived AND new AD Fateev's preferences...but perhaps the Balanchines will be shown during the Lopatkina Gala and/or the final Gala Concert? I definitely vote for a Raymonda and for Daria Pavlenko in anything.

Sacto, I'd love to see Schklyarov but, in the past, Ivan has usually gone to not-too-tall demi-caractere dancers, rather than Noble Prince types, like Shklyarov. I am almost betting on Leonid Sarafanov and/or Andrei Ivanov sharing the role, although Andrian Fadeev has a wonderful 'comic persona' as we've seen in his Lankedem/Corsaire. Actually - I will bet $100 that Sarafanov will be in the mix of Ivans! As for the Tsar Maiden, I can bet that it will go to the newest Primas, Alina Somova and/or Viktoria Tereshkina, although that is just my gut feeling on where the chips are falling nowadays. This being a Ratmansky work, though, it's not outside the realm of possibility that Diana Vishneva may be involved, in which case it may be Vishneva/Fadeev for the opener.

Tsar Maiden? Lopatkina, of course   And how about Lobukhin or Sergeyev for the male role?

[Natalia]

Thanks, Marc. Actually, I was also thinking Sergeev, who can certainly do demi-caractere, as per his Espada. To be honest, I did not think of Lopatkina at all as she has not taken part in any major premieres in years....not since the Neumeier 3ple bill -- specifically, in Sound of Empty Pages -- a while back, right? She takes part in only Mariinsky premieres of short gala bits of newish choreography (Rose Malade or Trois Gymnopedies)...with the applause lasting twice or three times as long as the ballet.

[canbelto]

Nothing against Uliana Lopatkina, but does she have like a quota of one gala per year at each festival?  

[Natalia]

It seems like it, canbelto...and another gala at each White Nights Festival?     Seriously, though, it appears that way because EVERY Lopatkina performance at one of these festivals has the air of a gala. In fact, I think that the only prior gala for Lopatkina at a Mariinsky Festival was in 2005 -- the year when they did a gala for each of the three leading ballerinas (Vishneva, Pavlenko, Lopatkina). Then there was another Gala for Lopatkina that very year, during the summer White Nights Festival. After 2005, I believe that a Lopatkina Gala was held in Tokyo, during the Kirov's 2006 tour of Japan.

But you are right - it really DOES seem as if every year has a Lopatkina Gala. Hey, she is a lovely, great ballerina in adagio. She is a name in the Russian pop culture, transcending the arts. I say -- let's give her a gala each month. She deserves it!

I am very curious as to why this lone Lopatkina Gala at the upcoming festival. Why this - why now?  I have a hunch - a crazy, unfounded hunch - that some big announcement may be made during the upcoming gala regarding a possible new permanent position in the company for the ballerina? Yuri Fateev is just the Interim Artistic Director, after all (as per the playbill during the recent California tour, if not the Mariinsky website). Just a dumb hunch...

[canbelto]

The big question is: will she actually dance something new, or will it be the same showpieces (Rose Malade, Dying Swan) that she's been doing for ages?

[Marc Haegeman]

That's the privilege of being prima ballerina. It could have been a Somova gala each year. Count your blessings.

[Natalia]

Marc Haegeman, on Dec 30 2008, 02:00 PM, said:

That's the privilege of being prima ballerina. It could have been a Somova gala each year. Count your blessings.

Not too loudly, Marc. March 16 is still an "open date."  

[Sacto1654]

Natalia, on Dec 30 2008, 10:11 AM, said:

But you are right - it really DOES seem as if every year has a Lopatkina Gala. Hey, she is a lovely, great ballerina in adagio. She is a name in the Russian pop culture, transcending the arts. I say -- let's give her a gala each month. She deserves it!

Wasn't there an article in ballet.co.uk about three years ago that described Ulyana Lopatkina as the "Soul of Russia," whatever that means? Right now, if she were to do the title role in Raymonda again the tickets for that performance will sell out in no time flat.

Which does remind me--I saw online pictures of Lopatkina's recent Odette/Odile performance. Beautiful as ever, but she seems to have a much more "mature" look than before--must be the fact she's not wearing a wig like it was from the 1990's performances or the April 2006 performance that's now available on DVD.

I for one would love to see Lopatkina do something special for the Festival, though. A performance of Raymonda with her in the title role on 16 March 2009 would make a lot of sense, so she'll have four days' rest before performing in her own gala on the 20th.

[Natalia]

As normally happens, the schedule for the upcoming Mariinsky Festival is being altered somewhat. I received this latest update from an independent ticket broker in St. Petersburg which is usually quite realible.This has yet to be verified with the MT; however, as a service to get the word out to interested parties, here it is. Note:  no casting given, except for the obvious (Vishneva & Lopatkina events).

Ninth INTERNATIONAL MARIINSKY BALLET FESTIVAL
March 14 - 22, 2009

(subject to change - as of 1-22-09)


14 MARCH - “Little Hunched-back Horse” (premiere) , 1st cast
music Rodion Schedrin
choreography Alexey Ratmansky

15 March - “Little Hunched-back Horse” repeat, 2nd cast

16 March - Diana Vishneva's 'Beauty in Motion' program

17 March - “Don-Quixote” (according to the first post, this will feature Bouder/Sarafanov)

18 March - “Swan Lake”  (according to first post, this will feature Tereshkina/Hallberg)

19 March - Uliana Lopatkina Gala  (no longer “Sleeping Beauty” on this night - no SB, in fact)

20 March - La Bayadere, 1940s version (in place of Uliana Lopatkina Gala - moved up to the 19th; perhaps this Bayadere will feature the stars of the originally-announced Sleeping Beauty, Novikova/Ganio?)

21 March - Giselle  (in place of a 2nd "Don-Quixote" that was to have been with Vishneva/Gomes)

22 March ALL STARS BALLET GALA

For those attending the Festival, you may want to consider also attending one of several performances of 'Le Corsaire' that will be going on at the Mikhailovsky (ex Maly-Moussorgsky) Theater. This is a brand-new version, rather than the complete Peter Gusev version that had been in the repertoire of the Maly troupe since the 1950s.

- Natalia Nabatova

[Natalia]

Yet another update, this time from the Mariinsky website. Athough it is not complete. here is what they cite:

Ninth INTERNATIONAL MARIINSKY BALLET FESTIVAL
March 14 - 22, 2009

(subject to change - as of 1-28-09)


14 MARCH - LITTLE HUMPBACKED HORSE  (premiere) , 1st cast
music Rodion Schedrin
choreography Alexey Ratmansky
CONDUCTOR:  VALERY GERGIEV

15 March (TYPO ON MARIINSKY SITE: a 2nd perf on MAR 14) - LITTLE HUMPBACKED HORSE repeat, 2nd cast

16 March - ??????  [balletandopera.com cite Diana Vishneva's BEAUTY IN MOTION program for this day; not mentioned on Vishneva's own site, so I would not bank on this]

17 March - DON QUIXOTE (according to the first post, this will feature Bouder/Sarafanov)

18 March - SWAN LAKE (according to first post, this will feature Tereshkina/Hallberg but it has been reported Tereshkina/Ganio on Russian fan board)

19 March - ULIANAN LOPATKINA GALA

20 March  [ANOTHER TYPO on Mariinsky web, which has Bayadere on the 18th, same as the Swan Lake] -  BAYADERE, 1940s version

21 March - ????? although balletandopera.com report GISELLE (in place of a 2nd "Don-Quixote" that was to have been with Vishneva/Gomes)

22 March - ?????  although balletandopera.com report  ALL STARS BALLET GALA