Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

Mariinsky Ballet in London August 2009


Recommended Posts

.....There's one "R & J" performance scheduled in June: June 6. If there are no more "R & Js" performed during the White Nights Festival in July, it's high probability, that this will be Somova's D-Day. ....

June 6 will be the very last R&J back home before the London tour, as the Mariinsky website now lists all performances between now and July 31. So either "Ms X" debuts on June 6 or she may be debuting in London, at the start of the tour.

Admirers of Vikharev's reconstructions can take heart that Flora's Awakening will reawaken on June 11. (However, Londoners will still see the 1952 Soviet Beauty, sorry to report.)

p.s. I transfered most of the 'summer happenings news' to a new thread.

Link to comment

Casting has been revised for the London tour -- the revised casts I've put in bold.

Romeo and Juliet:

http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=9642

August 3

Juliet : Somova

Romeo : Shklyarov

August 4

Juliet : Osmolkina

Romeo : Ivanchenko

August 5

Juliette: Tereshkina

Romeo: Matvienko

Auguset 6

Juliet: Obraztsova

Romeo: Kolb

Swan Lake

http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=9651

August 7

Odette/Odile: Lopatkina

Siegfried: Korsuntsev

August 8 (matinee)

Odette/Odile: Kondaurova

Siegfried: Kolb

August 8 (evening)

Odette/Odile: Tereshkina

Siegfried: Ivanchencko

August 10

Odette/Odile: Somova

Siegfried: Matvienko

August 11

Odette/Odile: Osmolkina

Siegfried Vladimir: Shklyarov

Homage to Balanchine

http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=9667

August 12

Serenade

Kondaurova

Ivanchenko

Osmolkina

Vasnetsova

Firsov

Rubies

Somova

Shklyarov

Kondaurova

Symphony in C

Tereshkina

Matvienko

Lopatkina

Korsuntsev

Gonchar

Filip Stepin

Obraztsova

Timofeyev

August 13

Serenade

Tereshkina

Korsuntsev

Golub

Chereshkevitch

Firsov

Rubies

Golub

Matvienko

TBC

Symphony in C

Somova

Korsakov has been removed – no replacement yet

Zuzin

Kondaurova

Ivanchenko

Osmolkina

Shklyarov

Obraztsova has been removed – no replacement yet

TBC

Sleeping Beauty

http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/production.aspx?pid=9660

August 14

Princess Aurora: Obraztsova

Prince Desiré: Kolb

Lilac Fairy: Kondaurova

August 15 (matinee)

Princess Aurora: Tereshkina

Prince Desiré: Vladimir Shklyarov

Lilac Fairy: Vasnetsova

August 15 (evening)

Princess Aurora: Somova

Prince Desiré: Sarafanov

Lilac Fairy: Kondaurova

Link to comment

Thanks, Rosa. Some very nice changes but still the oddity of Ms X getting the opening night Juliet although she has never danced the role and is not scheduled to dance it anywhere between now and August 3. Are the Hochhausers trying to sell Curiosity Tickets, like the side show of a circus?

Link to comment
Thanks, Rosa. Some very nice changes but still the oddity of Ms X getting the opening night Juliet although she has never danced the role and is not scheduled to dance it anywhere between now and August 3. Are the Hochhausers trying to sell Curiosity Tickets, like the side show of a circus?

Just bought a ticket for the Marinsky in London (mid-August). Seeing "Swan Lake."

I've never seen the Marinsky before (although I do see the Royal Ballet at the Opera House at least once a year. Have business in London).

I'm so excited!

Link to comment

Somova made her debut as Juliet yesterday evening at Covent Garden. The first verdict is in from London's Evening Standard.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show...viewId=23727804

Je suis d'accord avec vous, Ms. Frater - in absentia huh.gif. Frater isn't one of the old guard like Clement Crisp; she's one of the dance "liberals" in the UK's critical circles. It has come to this. This was an unnecessary and mis-calculated risk that failed spectacularly. If someone took Yuri Fateev aside, one and one, and said "I told you so," my guess is that it still wouldn't compute. Covent Garden is used to excellent Juliets. Unfortunately, for the Maryinsky Ballet and Volodya Shklyarov, "Juliet" just didn't cut it last night. This was a most inauspicious start for the Covent Garden engagement. There will be more reports to follow as they come in.

Link to comment

Thanks, Cygnet. All I can say about this review is: "OUCH !" Two memorable quotes:

The audience shared the general ennui as the massed Capulets and Montagues twiddled their moustaches and Tybalt (Ilya Kuznetsov) rolled his eyes. It’s impossible to know if they’ve freely chosen pier-end acting, or if they’ve been coached into cartoon baddies. Either way, they convey little of the rivalry and pride at the root of the tragedy.
Alina Somova’s Juliet is a fledgling’s interpretation. The tall blonde is billed as the Mariinsky’s new star, but she shows what happens when you combine runaway technique with undeveloped artistry. With good coaching Somova could tame her freakishly long limbs and almost ghoulish flexibility.

I'm looking forward to hearing from BT'rs who were there. Can it really have been so ... what's the word I'm looking for? ... bizarre?

Link to comment
Thanks, Cygnet. All I can say about this review is: "OUCH !" Two memorable quotes:
The audience shared the general ennui as the massed Capulets and Montagues twiddled their moustaches and Tybalt (Ilya Kuznetsov) rolled his eyes. It’s impossible to know if they’ve freely chosen pier-end acting, or if they’ve been coached into cartoon baddies. Either way, they convey little of the rivalry and pride at the root of the tragedy.
Alina Somova’s Juliet is a fledgling’s interpretation. The tall blonde is billed as the Mariinsky’s new star, but she shows what happens when you combine runaway technique with undeveloped artistry. With good coaching Somova could tame her freakishly long limbs and almost ghoulish flexibility.

I'm looking forward to hearing from BT'rs who were there. Can it really have been so ... what's the word I'm looking for? ... bizarre?

What else is new? When they opened their London season in 1993 with the same ballet (and Ananiashvili was dancing Juliet as guest), they got nothing but bad reviews.

Link to comment
Somova made her debut as Juliet yesterday evening at Covent Garden. The first verdict is in from London's Evening Standard.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show...viewId=23727804

Je suis d'accord avec vous, Ms. Frater - in abstentia :). Frater isn't one of the old guard like Clement Crisp; she's one of the dance "liberals" in the UK's critical circles. It has come to this. This was an unnecessary and mis-calculated risk that failed spectacularly. If someone took Yuri Fateev aside, one and one, and said "I told you so," my guess is that it still wouldn't compute. Covent Garden is used to excellent Juliets. Unfortunately, for the Maryinsky Ballet and Volodya Shklyarov, "Juliet" just didn't cut it last night. This was a most inauspicious start for the Covent Garden engagement. There will be more reports to follow as they come in.

Indeed - first of all, it's risky to open to the London public with R&J anyway, because ROH audiences generally see the McMillan choreography as the "definitive" version and Lavrovsky's R&J probably never will be a hit for that reason.

Somova, I think, has potential but she is not being paced or given boundaries. I get the feeling that Fate'ev thinks she will be an attractive star to the "masses" - that she has modern appeal, gymnastic technique, and it's going to attract the people who are not necessarily long-time ballet fans. I can't see another reason why she would be promoted ahead of Obraztsova or Osmolkina. But if he thought making the "new star"'s debut on the opening night would make a success, he was very mistaken and he didn't research either London audiences or critics properly!

As you said, London is used to great Juliets - the best from foreign companies on tour, in Lavrovsky, Cranko and McMillan's versions; and the best from the RB both in the past and now. I think Juliet is one of the best danced roles by RB at present. Cojocaru, Benjamin, Galeazzi, Nunez, Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb are all great Juliets. As a result, the audiences and critics get very exacting about what they expect in this role. London has seen recently some great debuts of Juliet - by Nunez for example, or Sarah Lamb - by really established artists, and the critics still found faults - what chance did poor Alina Somova stand?!

Link to comment
Cojocaru, Benjamin, Galeazzi, Nunez, Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb are all great Juliets. As a result, the audiences and critics get very exacting about what they expect in this role.

Quite a lot of names, having not seen all of them I cannot guess which one is a mispelled "Rojo"... :)

I'm very happy for Shklyarov success: he is a wonderful dancer and I fell in love :wub: with his dancing (and acting) in a Romeo and Juliet seen a couple of yers ago...

And later I was absolutely charmed by his Alì (with Somova as Medoara and Kozlov - not at ease with the role- as Konrad, the difference of quality was almost disturbing...)

Link to comment
Cojocaru, Benjamin, Galeazzi, Nunez, Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb are all great Juliets. As a result, the audiences and critics get very exacting about what they expect in this role.

Quite a lot of names, having not seen all of them I cannot guess which one is a mispelled "Rojo"... :wub:

I knew I'd forgotten someone - thanks! :)

Although I don't think Juliet is Rojo's best role to be honest, I prefer her in Petipa and so on (the same with Nunez and Cojocaru - Nunez a bit over dramatic in "dramatic roles" and Cojocaru I prefer in Classics and avant garde..)

The point I tried to make is that in the RB, even some of the dancers who are not Company "stars" (for example, Galeazzi and Cuthbertson) are really, really excellent in this role. For example, I think Juliet is Lauren Cuthbertson's best role to date by far. So when you consider that depth of Juliet talent, London audiences do expect great Juliets!

Incidentally, did anyone see Evgenia Obraztsova last night? I wasn't able to be there, but I've heard she's really special in this role.

Link to comment
If we could leave Alina Somova aside for a moment, because c'mon guys we all knew she'd be awful, it's worth noting that in this mornings papers the critics are hailing Vladimir Shklyarov as a star.

Mashinka, the critics are unanimous on both your points. 2009 Moscow IBC Gold Medalist Shklyarov is the new male star :clapping:. It's too bad he couldn't clone himself and dance Juliet as well - then it would've been a triumph. Hindsight is 20/20. What's done can't be undone.

The Times: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle6738737.ece

The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...on-1767250.html

Clement Crisp, Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a10a7cba-8157-11...144feabdc0.html

The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/aug/0...d-juliet-review

The Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre...den-review.html

The Stage: http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.p...omeo-and-juliet

What's On Stage: http://www.whatsonstage.com/reviews/theatr...%26+Juliet.html

I'm also ready for some good news. Any reports from Obraztsova's performance?

For real! Will the real Juliet please stand up?! The good news is she did last night: Obratzova took the stage with Denis Matvienko. The bad news is it wasn't opening night, and it should have been. We know opening night is when the media turns out en masse. Hopefully, some of the critics listed above came back last night to recover from their withdrawals.

Link to comment

Juliet in the Lavrovsky version is even more of a mime role than the MacMillan version. I think it takes a dancer of either considerable dramatic ability or charisma to pull it off. In other words having Somova make her DEBUT in the role on opening night of a major tour wasn't really fair to anyone, Somova included. :clapping:

Link to comment
I don't think the way she's been coached (in the past), cast, or promoted has been very fair to Somova. I think she is a talented lyrical soloist, not a classical ballerina, let alone Ballerina.

I'd agree with that. She could be great as Myrtha for example, or in Balanchine, or Dances at a Gathering. She has talent, no doubt, but she isn't what they are trying to make her be! (I think she's been a victim from the fact that Osipova was such a big hit, and the Mariinsky wanted to have a "teenage ballerina" like the Bolshoi)

Link to comment
Dances at a Gathering

I think she could be lethal in that ballet. :clapping: (and as Myrtha too)

I suspect that Somova was infesting Kirov-Mariinsky schedules much before Osipova came to the attention of a larger audience (here in Milan we had the opportunity to appreciate Natasha stage presence and communicative dancing already in 2003, when she was really young). Somova danced Odette-Odile at Coven Garden in 2005 (during that tour, I saw her live for the first time, awfully throwing her legs here and there in a minor role of la Bayadére), but, for example, London Osipova’s clamorous success as Kitri (Clement Crisp article on the occasion is to remember as much as the show itself) was in 2006.

Returning to Tamara Rojo’s Juliet, I think that she is great in dramatic roles, giving always a clever, personal and natural portrayal of her characters. She is considered by many people, me included of course, and critics one of the best actresses in ballet nowadays. Her casting in the filmed Romeo and Juliet, that made me happy, could maybe not satisfy everybody, anyway for sure is not as odd as some other more recent decisions of Royal Ballet management…

Alina Cojocaru’s last Juliet in 2007-2008 has changed a lot from the first I saw in 2003: the former was absolutely lovely, young and fresh, but the last one is one of most interesting thing I’ve ever seen on stage; a clever and original lecture of the character, that loses nothing in poetry but adds to the tragedy of the two young lovers the modernity of a fight for freedom and independence; she is always referring to God as her only hope and at the end she dies with a smile on her face and a gesture of gratefulness to the sky, turning the climax of the tragedy in a moment of relief and hope in a better future, in another world. I found it amazing and loved it immensely. I could also add that she was able in her second show in La Scala to awaken even Bolle: for the first and so far last time I saw him really present on stage (it was just for five minutes and only in the second of the three shows, but nevertheless it was a sort of unbelievable miracle…).

Link to comment

Breaking news! Hopefully, there are some UK BT'ers who were eyewitnesses and will post. Until then, what a difference 24 hrs. makes! Let's leave the "anti-ballerina" for the real one; the ridiculous for the sublime. Obratzova and Matvienko triumphed in "Romeo & Juliet" last night! It's criminal that she, with either Matvienko or Shklyarov, didn't open the season Monday night. Well done and congratulations to Obratzova and Matvienko! Here's David Bellan's review in the Oxford Times:

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/45304...__Covent_Gardn/

NOW LET THE GAMES BEGIN! :clapping: :blush: :blink:

Link to comment
It's criminal that she, with either Matvienko or Shklyarov, didn't open the season Monday night.

Maybe the choice of the opening cast was done by somebody willing to finally get rid of the “anti-ballerina”.

The awful critics were more than predictable and Somova was sent naked in front of the firing squad. One could say “poor girl”, being piteous… I’m not: at the end of the day she is a strong reason to prevent me to travel to watch the Mariinsky (a friend had her instead of Lopatkina in Swan Lake and is still there crying and screaming…).

The real criminal thing is to waste Shklyarov talent and artistry in such a partnership (my secret dream is to have him leaving from St. Petersburg to be engaged by the Royal Ballet: that would help to resolve another big problem)

Link to comment
at the end of the day she is a strong reason to prevent me to travel to watch the Mariinsky (a friend had her instead of Lopatkina in Swan Lake and is still there crying and screaming…).

I'd like to co-sign that. Let's face it the Kirov is notorious for changing casts at the last minute and last year I backed off from Baden Baden for that reason. To replace Lopatkina with Somova is a real slap in the face, a gratuitous insult to the paying audience.

The real criminal thing is to waste Shklyarov talent and artistry in such a partnership

I agree, but to be fair he dances with the others too and is particularly wonderful with Obratzova and Osmolkina; however any male dancer of quality is wasted opposite Somova. I am a huge fan of Igor Kolb and and consequently went to a Somova performance to see him. Needless to say the best things about the partnership were his solos!

Link to comment
Maybe the choice of the opening cast was done by somebody willing to finally get rid of the "anti-ballerina."

That's a plausible conspiracy theory. Do we have the Hochhausers to "thank" for underscoring Fateev's protogee to open and close the season - and lead most of the programs in between? Do we have the producers to thank for this :)? If so, their plan is working. In a perverse way we owe the Hochhausers a debt of gratitude for speeding up the inevitable.

Link to comment
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...