29 replies to this topic

[Catherine]

Hello ladies and gents,
Just wanted to share info about this year's festival in case anyone plans on making the trek to arctic Petersburg.

The festival is going to take place from April 14-24th. The first two nights will be the premiere of Prejlocaj's "Le Parc". Also featured during the festival is a project by Sylvie Guillem (unclear which of her many projects); Viengsay Valdes, who first participated in the festival 2 years ago, will return to dance in "Carmen". (She is dancing it with Ivan Vasiliev in a NYC gala before then, I believe).

That's the latest news.  

The company has/had been granted permission to add Agon and Midsummer Night's Dream to their Balanchine rep, and I was hoping to see at least one of those during the festival but it looks like that may not happen.

I will be there in any case and look forward to seeing any other ballet attendees :-)

[POB_fan]

Do you know by chance who is staging/staged the new Balanchine pieces?

[Natalia]

No news about the Balanchine pieces. Maybe they will materialize for the White nights Festival in June?

In the meantime, the line-up for the Int'l Mariinsky Ballet Festival appears here, as part of the April calendar, still sans casting:

http://www.mariinsky...ar=2011&month=4

Three (3) Le Parcs? This is performed without intermissions. I'm sure that the buffet vendors and old-timers in the audience will not like that.

Also unusual: An All-Chopin Ballets triple bill on the 19th will include a world premiere by Benjamin Millepied for 10 dancers, titled Without. I am wondering if perhaps the pas de deux by Millepied, to be danced by Somova and POB's Alessio Carbone at the March 22 YAGP gala in NY, may be a 'preview' of a section of this work? [Also on the Chopin bill will be Chopiniana and In the Night. Millepied will be in good company.]

[Rosa]

Most of the casting for the festival is now up at the Mariinsky site: http://www.mariinsky...allet_fest_228.

[ksk04]

Wow, Roberta Marquez from the Royal is a little bit out of left field. Kondaurova and Hallberg should be exciting, though pairing Hallberg with those long-limbed beauties sometimes seems to not work out as well as planned. I wonder how the Russian audiences will take to Bouder?

Has Lopatkina ever danced Juliet?


edit: Osmolkina sighting in Chopiniana! Great news  

[Catherine]

ksk04 I thought the same but have never seen Marquez so I dont know. No, Lopatkina has never danced Juliet; it's not in her repertoire, I think mainly due to issues of emploi. I think she would be fantastic in the role myself. She is very tender as Odette and as Medora...i dont think Juliet would be too much of a stretch for her, although many would argue the age is not a match. But she still looks very young on stage.

Natalia I will update if i hear anything about those Balanchine ballets. This is the second time they've "dissappeared"! (will i see you in St P?)
POB_fan, I believe someone had told me who was rehearsing them but I cnanot remember now. I will try to find out onsite next month, and post back here.

[ksk04]

The only thing I can think of regarding Marquez is that it is on Makarova's recommendation (if she even wields that kind of power, though the Mariinsky did just have the performance of Swan Lake in her honor which is what made me think of the connection).  Marquez was a favorite of hers in Brazil and Makarova requested her as a guest for her staging of La Bayadere at the Royal which then translated into her principal contract there.


Every time Lopatkina adds a ballet to her rep, I am so surprised (in a good way!). It's great she has been more open to different kinds of roles in the past few years-thank god for the impending Youtube clips that will give us, who will not be there, a glimpse!

[Natalia]

Rosa, on 23 March 2011 - 03:16 PM, said:

Most of the casting for the festival is now up at the Mariinsky site: http://www.mariinsky...allet_fest_228.

WOW! No full-length ballet for Alina Somova!? It was originally thought that she was to get the Sleeping Beauty with Vogel...but it did not happen...Vogel with Terioshkina! Somova's just up for In the Night, I see, + probably something in the gala. Something's up in Petersburg. Hmmm....

Catherine, I may be reevaluating matters and may go to the Festival after all, especially if it falls within the framework of the World Figure Skating Championships (rumored to be April 25/May 1), which may be awarded tomorrow to Moscow (taking over for the original venue, Tokyo, which cannot do it due to the tragedies). Moscow is one of 7 bidders for the 'Alternate Worlds' but, with the backing of Putin, is said to be the frontrunner. So this would make for a perfect & unexpected vacation mixing ballet & skating! The skating union will announce Worlds venue tomorrow, Friday. Fingers crossed!  (Plus Obraztsova's Swan Lake debut on April 23, in Moscow, falls perfectly into the mix...so I might be in Peter from Sat, 16th through the 22nd and go to Moscow Sat morn, the 23rd for Obraztsova + Worlds week.)  BUT if Worlds are in N. Am.(Colo Springs or Lake Placid in USA or Vancouver in Canada), I'll stay at home. I'm on pins & needles...

[Natalia]

MOSCOW gets World Fig. Skating Championships - April 24/May 1!!!!    (just announced one day earlier than expected)

So Mariinsky Festival may be in my plans, after all.

[bingham]

Natalia, on 24 March 2011 - 05:32 AM, said:

MOSCOW gets World Fig. Skating Championships - April 24/May 1!!!!    (just announced one day earlier than expected)

So Mariinsky Festival may be in my plans, after all.

    Will be looking forward for your M Festival-E O's Swan Lake-World figure skating reports.

[Natalia]

Thanks, bingham. I also see that 'Worlds Week' in Moscow coincides with the world premiere of Ratmansky's new 3-act ballet LOST ILLUSIONS, with 5 performances in 5 consecutive nights, April 24 through 28: http://www.bolshoi.r...=401&act26=info

Just too much excitement happening at once. I'm going to have to find a way to shoehorn one performance of that, too...wait, I cannot break the bank.  

[Natalia]

I see that Lopatkina/Korsuntsev have been replaced by Novikova/Ivanchenko in the April 21 Romeo & Juliet...after the box office sold out. It's the only night of the Festival so far to have sold out. Hmmm.

http://www.mariinsky...11/4/21/1_1900/

Lopatkina is still listed as one of 3 ballerinas in Robbins' In the Night, during the Chopin Triple Bill and she should still be participating in the final gala's divertissements section.

[Catherine]

While I adore Novikova, this is a disappointment -- I was very curious how Lopatkina would be in this role, and as a principal you would think she'd have more than 1 night in the festival.

As you noted, Natalia, it says a lot that hers is the only night to have sold out! That speaks volumes about her popularity in Petersburg.

Very disappointing, and I'm sure we're not the only ones who feel that way. Interested if people will exchange tickets due to the change in casting...

[Cygnet]

Uliana may lead "Diamonds" as compensation for the cancelled Juliet debut.  I don't think she'd appear just once during the annual Festival.  The situation is always fluid at The Blue House.

[Natalia]

There will be a LIVE webcast of the press conference about the Festival via mariinsky.tv this Wednesday, April 13, at 6pm (18:00), St. Petersburg time, or 10am in the morning, Eastern USA. This will be led by A.D. Yuri Fateev & will include Guest Choreographer A. Preljocaj, who is staging his Le Parc for the troupe :

http://www.mariinsky...1/11_228april1/

Guest Choreographer Benjamin Millepied will also hold some sort of conference via Skype to talk about his work, Within, to music of Chopin, created for NYCB in 2008. (One of the leads being rehearsed is Daria Pavlenko.) It's not clear if this will be a separate event or it he will be 'chiming in' during the overall press conference.