305 replies to this topic

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 24 December 2012 - 12:49 AM, said:

Baden-Baden is a rather small spa town in the Black Forest which has a very huge, new Festspielhaus since 1998, Germany’s biggest opera and concert hall with 2500 seats. The audience there is not as experienced as a New York audience. They are rich and have to pay very high ticket prices, as the Festspielhaus is the only German Opera House working without subsidies, but with the exception of some balletomanes who mostly come from Stuttgart or from France, they see rather few ballet performances. Nonetheless they know the Mariinsky Ballet very well because the company has been guesting there since 12 years. Baden-Baden is also a town where many Russians live, so there’s a huge Russian audience there.
The Mariinsky mostly brings the Petipa classics and a gala, but they also show a new or modern piece every season. They always bring some of their top artists, for the last years Lopatkina was there almost every year for a Swan Lake and the gala, this year it’s Vishneva for the gala and Kondaurova for Swan Lake. I’ve seen Asylmuratova, Ruzimatov, Zelensky, Makhalina, Nioradze, Fadeyev, Dumchenko, Pavlenko there over the years.

I saw Le Parc on Friday with Kondaurova and Zverev and was really surprised how fine Preljocaj’s ballet worked with the company – it was a very intense, subtle, tender performance, especially by Kondaurova. No, I did not see the Skorik Swan Lake, sorry.

I think Le Parc is a love-it-or-hate-it ballet, and unfortunately, I hate it!  But I am very glad if you enjoyed it!  At least you were spared the Skorik Swan Lake though!

[Fosca]

Tiara, on 24 December 2012 - 06:36 AM, said:

At least you were spared the Skorik Swan Lake though!

Well I'm not - I'd still like to see for myself how good or bad she is.

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 24 December 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

Tiara, on 24 December 2012 - 06:36 AM, said:

At least you were spared the Skorik Swan Lake though!

Well I'm not - I'd still like to see for myself how good or bad she is.

Well, if you are going to see her - good luck!  I have seen her for myself.   I saw her Lilac Fairy this month in Saint Petersburg, and I can tell you she was not good.  She made a complete mess of her variation, fell off pointe several times, did not get round her pirouettes, and just did not have any fluency at all.  Nowhere was there the warmth, radiance or technique of a true Mariinsky Lilac Fairy.  I am at a complete loss to understand why she would  be chosen for opening Swan Lake in Baden Baden, or Masha.

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 24 December 2012 - 12:49 AM, said:

Baden-Baden is a rather small spa town in the Black Forest which has a very huge, new Festspielhaus since 1998, Germany’s biggest opera and concert hall with 2500 seats. The audience there is not as experienced as a New York audience. They are rich and have to pay very high ticket prices, as the Festspielhaus is the only German Opera House working without subsidies, but with the exception of some balletomanes who mostly come from Stuttgart or from France, they see rather few ballet performances. Nonetheless they know the Mariinsky Ballet very well because the company has been guesting there since 12 years. Baden-Baden is also a town where many Russians live, so there’s a huge Russian audience there.
The Mariinsky mostly brings the Petipa classics and a gala, but they also show a new or modern piece every season. They always bring some of their top artists, for the last years Lopatkina was there almost every year for a Swan Lake and the gala, this year it’s Vishneva for the gala and Kondaurova for Swan Lake. I’ve seen Asylmuratova, Ruzimatov, Zelensky, Makhalina, Nioradze, Fadeyev, Dumchenko, Pavlenko there over the years.

I saw Le Parc on Friday with Kondaurova and Zverev and was really surprised how fine Preljocaj’s ballet worked with the company – it was a very intense, subtle, tender performance, especially by Kondaurova. No, I did not see the Skorik Swan Lake, sorry.

Are you going to Oxana Skorik's Masha debut?  If you are, please write a review on here and let us know how the performance goes.  I do think it is a completely bizarre casting choice and would to hear about it!

[cubanmiamiboy]

Tiara, on 24 December 2012 - 07:11 AM, said:

Fosca, on 24 December 2012 - 07:01 AM, said:

Tiara, on 24 December 2012 - 06:36 AM, said:

At least you were spared the Skorik Swan Lake though!

Well I'm not - I'd still like to see for myself how good or bad she is.

Well, if you are going to see her - good luck!  I have seen her for myself.   I saw her Lilac Fairy this month in Saint Petersburg, and I can tell you she was not good.  She made a complete mess of her variation, fell off pointe several times, did not get round her pirouettes, and just did not have any fluency at all.

Ditto with her Black Swan in Miami a while ago...almost falling on the floor during the fouettes.

[leonid]

Are people saying that this dancer is Exskorikable?

[cubanmiamiboy]

leonid, on 27 December 2012 - 04:09 AM, said:

Are people saying that this dancer is Exskorikable?

[amiaow]

She had very nice audience reviews for her Swan Lake in Baden-Baden and also for Rubies that she performed at the Mariinsky earlier in December. I am yet to find anything about her Nutcracker but it was only a day ago so will wait and see.

[Fosca]

I saw Skorik at the Baden-Baden Gala yesterday, she did Bayadère, Kingdom of the Shades with Korsuntzev. Well – she did not fall over, she executed all the steps correctly (one tiny problem after a pirouette), so I don’t see a reason for your excessive sarcasm, to be honest. I would have spared words like that for Mr. Ivanchenko in the Tchai pas, who danced distressingly and did not even make an effort to smile to cover it.    
But Skorik is a far cry from the famous Mariinsky Nikiyas, you’re right. Hyperextensions and long limbs are not enough for the role, her port de bras is not soft and lyrical, her dancing has no soul, no connection to her partner. I felt that you see clearly that she’s not from Vaganova school, it looks Russian, but not Kirov. Very disappointing, if you’ve seen Lopatkina or Pavlenko.

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 28 December 2012 - 01:21 AM, said:

I saw Skorik at the Baden-Baden Gala yesterday, she did Bayadère, Kingdom of the Shades with Korsuntzev. Well – she did not fall over, she executed all the steps correctly (one tiny problem after a pirouette), so I don’t see a reason for your excessive sarcasm, to be honest. I would have spared words like that for Mr. Ivanchenko in the Tchai pas, who danced distressingly and did not even make an effort to smile to cover it.
But Skorik is a far cry from the famous Mariinsky Nikiyas, you’re right. Hyperextensions and long limbs are not enough for the role, her port de bras is not soft and lyrical, her dancing has no soul, no connection to her partner. I felt that you see clearly that she’s not from Vaganova school, it looks Russian, but not Kirov. Very disappointing, if you’ve seen Lopatkina or Pavlenko.

No - just executing the steps correctly is not enough.  I think you have said it perfectly - hyperextensions and long limbs are not enough.  But apparently Fateyev thinks they are - as this is the only explanation for his continual casting of Oxana Skorik.  Nikiya needs beautiful port de bras, expressive upper body, spirituality, the Mariinsky soul and what a travesty that a ballerina who has none of these attributes is entrusted with this great role.

[Birdsall]

Fosca, on 28 December 2012 - 01:21 AM, said:

I saw Skorik at the Baden-Baden Gala yesterday, she did Bayadère, Kingdom of the Shades with Korsuntzev. Well – she did not fall over, she executed all the steps correctly (one tiny problem after a pirouette), so I don’t see a reason for your excessive sarcasm, to be honest. I would have spared words like that for Mr. Ivanchenko in the Tchai pas, who danced distressingly and did not even make an effort to smile to cover it.
But Skorik is a far cry from the famous Mariinsky Nikiyas, you’re right. Hyperextensions and long limbs are not enough for the role, her port de bras is not soft and lyrical, her dancing has no soul, no connection to her partner. I felt that you see clearly that she’s not from Vaganova school, it looks Russian, but not Kirov. Very disappointing, if you’ve seen Lopatkina or Pavlenko.

Who danced the three shades (solos) in Kingdom of the Shades? I like to know which soloists are being given chances at the Mariinsky. It is fun to hear and see which ones are rising.

[Fosca]

Maria Shirinkia, Nadezhda Gonchar and Daria Vasnetsova.

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 29 December 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

Maria Shirinkia, Nadezhda Gonchar and Daria Vasnetsova.

Gonchar is another soloist who is being given  many roles at the moment, somewhat surprisingly imo.  I like Maria Shirinkina very much.    Vasnetsova is great in adagio work - I imagine that third variation was wonderful.  She really should have been promoted long ago and be dancing principal roles.  I saw her Phrygia in Spartacus recently and her Florine and she was absolutely outstanding in both.  She is a very great actress and a wonderful ballerina.

[Fosca]

They were all in the divertissement before: Shirinkina in Tchai Pas (beautiful, light and soft), Vasnetsova in Pas de quatre as Grisi, Gonchar in Tarantella with Stepin - I've seen that one more sparkling, but it was ok. The only positive surprise of the evening was Timur Askerov in the Grand Pas Classique, I had not seen him before. Maybe there's a small light of hope for the Mariinsky men.

[Tiara]

Fosca, on 29 December 2012 - 05:51 AM, said:

They were all in the divertissement before: Shirinkina in Tchai Pas (beautiful, light and soft), Vasnetsova in Pas de quatre as Grisi, Gonchar in Tarantella with Stepin - I've seen that one more sparkling, but it was ok. The only positive surprise of the evening was Timur Askerov in the Grand Pas Classique, I had not seen him before. Maybe there's a small light of hope for the Mariinsky men.

Please could you give a full cast list as I would like to know who all the leads were?  Who else was in  the pas de quatre?  And who was with Askerov in QPC?  How did Shirinkina do with the very difficult and fast fouette/coupe section towards the end in the Tchai?  Agree Stepin needs someone more sparkling than Gonchar to dance this Tarentella - he was great with Cheprasova (now left) but I would love to see him with either Oksana Marchuk or Nadia Batoeva in it.