55 replies to this topic

[Angelique]

Did you notice the dropped / flung tambourine?

Poor girl
Stanislavsky, although not in the same league as Mariinsky or the Bolshoi, has come a long way. Not sure if I would go out of my way if Stanislavsky comes for a visit. For Mikhailovsky, on the other hand, I certainly would.

[Buddy]

I'm with you, Jayne -- i see Kirkland and Hepburn in her -- they all three made me want to protect them, as if they were real to me and I TO THEM.... yes, of course, "that way madness lies,' but that is in fact the way artists affect me, as if they were not only in my world but making my world for me.... Obrasztova is one of those performers that God makes you care about.... I don't really believe in God, but I don't know any other way of saying it...

Well written, Paul.

The truth is the truth, after all.

I just got back from the Mariinsky Festival and I have the exact same feelings -- Big Time !

Maybe, it's Spring.

Cheers.

[Marc Haegeman]

Some photos of Obraztsova's debut in "Swan Lake" with the Stanislavsky Ballet in Moscow, April 23, 2011.
Obraztsova in Swan Lake

[Rosa]

How lovely Obraztsova looks in those photos. Thank you, Marc!

[FireDancer]

My internet connection is messing with me and I can't see the videos yet. However, the photos made me realize she wears fake arches. I don't know if I knew that. Looking forward to seeing the vids!

[carbro]

However, the photos made me realize she wears fake arches.

You'll see this briefly but clearly in the first video, just before she inserts her arch-enhanced foot into a pointe shoe. I hope you've been able to view the videos by now.

The carriage of Obraztsova's head is so like Kirkland's, but the eyes, the EYES! Eerily Gelseyesque!

[canbelto]

Well I'm happy that this happened if only because I'm getting tired of the idea that only a certain type of dancer can dance O/O. Tall, incredibly thin, long-limbed, with "queenly" features. I was watching the 1968 video with Yelena Yeteyeva the other day and despite the cheesy special effects and horrific cuts, you could tell that back then at the Mariinsky, one didn't have to look like Uliana Lopatkina to get a shot at O/O. Now that aesthetic is so engrained at the Mariinsky it's depressing.

[cubanmiamiboy]

The carriage of Obraztsova's head is so like Kirkland's, but the eyes, the EYES! Eerily Gelseyesque!

I knew I was on the right track about the Kirkland's similarities...!

[cantdance]

I hope these are ok to post. From Photographer Postoenko and on her website.
http://www.evgeniaob...photos/swan.jpg
http://dancenet.s3.a....415eo_orig.jpg

[elena]

I really wish there were clips of her Odette. Beautiful pics cantdance!

[Cygnet]

Thank you Marc, not only for your beautiful pics, but for your eyewitness account of Yevgenia's debut summed up in these two sentences:

One of the most remarkable ballerinas of the Mariinsky Ballet, so far Obraztsova has been denied the much coveted role of Odette-Odile by her home company. Seeing her perform at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre on 23 April 2011 made that refusal look utterly pointless.

Indeed. The Mariinsky management's stance is moot now.

However, re this role, things may change for Obraztsova. None other than Olesya Novikova will be making her debut as O/O at the Mariinsky Theatre on June 18, 2011.

http://www.mariinsky...11/6/18/1_1900/

Novikova has danced the role in bits and pieces for appreciation galas before, (such as the Odile pdd for the late Kurgapkina's final gala at the Mariinsky), and recently, in full-length with Zelensky's Novosibirsk company last July in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Novikova is also "short" and essentially a soubrette (like Yevgenia), compared to the Blue House Swan Queen Aesthetic that's currently in favor. Oxana Skoryk (recently promoted coryphee) will be the next exponent of that aesthetic, with her debut coming up on May 14, with a "quick," (well, by the Mariinsky's standards), follow-up performance on June 26.

Novikova's coach is Olga Moiseyeva, who also trained Galina Mezentseva, Altynai Asylmuratova, Yulia Makhalina and at the very beginning of her career, Uliana Lopatkina. However, unlike Yevgenia, Olesya (and the ballerinas just listed) have danced "Raymonda" at the Mariinsky Theatre. Raymonda is also one of the roles which Yevgenia has had to outsource. With Olesya's imminent debut on the home stage, Yevgenia is still 0 for 2 at home for these two ballets. Olesya and Evgenia both graduated in the Class of 2002 in M. Vasilieva's class. Ekaterina Osmolkina and Diana Vishneva each waited a decade for the privilege of a Mariinsky O/O debut. Now, it will be very interesting to see how long they'll take to give Yevgenia Obrastzova permission for her's.

[Angelique]

Olesya Novikova is an exquisite and fine tuned dancer, most deserved of the role. Not sure who Genichka is.

[sakura]

I guess Novikova dancing O/ O is a move in the right direction. But I had seen her perform live twice and wasn't blown away by her stage presence both times....doesn't mean I don't like her dancing but just that I think she has good, solid technique but no "it"/ star factor IMO. I'd seen the MT perform live numerous times in recent years, I agree that the casting requirement for tall O/ O has gotten out of hand, this seems to be a quaintly new, Russian tradition.

[YID]

Not sure who Genichka is.

It might be a demunitive nick name for Evgenia (full name). Genya/Zhenya, then Genechka, Genichka?

[Angelique]

Not sure who Genichka is.

It might be a demunitive nick name for Evgenia (full name). Genya/Zhenya, then Genechka, Genichka?

Thank you, YID. Cygnet took pains to clarify the issue by replacing references to Genechka with Evgenia. Obraztsova is undoubtedly the darling of balletomanes (at least a group of them), while Novikova's exquisite beauty and polished technique immensely appeal to regular theatre goers. She is also well respected and much liked by her peers. From what I have seen of Olesya's Raymonda, I am mostly impressed. O-O, of course, is another animal altogether.

I also don’t see why Evgenia shouldn’t continue her apparently successful engagement with Stanislavky Theatre in Moscow. After all, Mariinsky is not the only professional company in the world, although, granted, very prestigious. If an artist feels that his or her talent is showcased to better advantage in theatre A, why should he or she be compelled to perform a certain role in theatre B? True art is not about prestige after all.