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LHH is the ultimate Ratmansky "El Cheapo" production!!! The scenery fits into a duffle bag, which may explain why it was selected for touring to the Kennedy Center next winter. The music is ugly (dissonant)...nothing like the Pugni score. Many of the costumes are bizarre/creepy (the gypsies' mumus, bald undersea creatures, Elvis horses). To think that the Mariinsky had the great traditional LHH by Petipa et al to the melodic Pugni score - the favorite ballet of Tsar Nicholas II ...but instead we get this due to Gergiev's obsession with Schedrin.

On the positive side, selected costumes, such as the Tsar-Maiden's dress, are pretty. Most importantly, much of the movement is wonderful. Shame that so much of it is cloaked in ugliness. (The designs for Ratmansky's Golden Cockerell are much, much better. ABT fans are in for a treat!)

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LHH is the ultimate Ratmansky "El Cheapo" production!!! The scenery fits into a duffle bag, which may explain why it was selected for touring to the Kennedy Center next winter. The music is ugly (dissonant)...nothing like the Pugni score. Many of the costumes are bizarre/creepy (the gypsies' mumus, bald undersea creatures, Elvis horses). To think that the Mariinsky had the great traditional LHH by Petipa et al to the melodic Pugni score - the favorite ballet of Tsar Nicholas II ...but instead we get this due to Gergiev's obsession with Schedrin.

Could not agree more. If only MT would revive the traditional LHBH. And while we are on the subject of Gergiev's obsession with Shchedrin and Ratmansky - Anna Karenina .... truly dire music, truly horrible ballet. Honestly I consider both Anna K and LHBH horse a total waste of scheduling for Mariinsky. They have so many wonderful ballets that they could revive or show more often - case in point is The Awakening of Flora, which I saw last year at MT - a beautiful ballet with great choreography and it is virtually never performed.

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Ok...so I'm all set up. I have Swan Lake, Jewels, La Sylphide, LHBH and Anna Karenina. I also bought Nozze de Figaro and Macbeth. In Moscow I tried to get Giselle but it was sold out. Instead I got Iolanta, which I would love to see in its historic original conception-(didn't care too much for the MET's production...). Yaaay!!!! :yahoo:

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For food do not miss Palkin where you can have sturgeon served to you by a waiter who cuts it up after it is cooked, so you know it is the real deal. You are presented with the head and the spine of the fish. The Grand Hotel Europe has the Caviar Bar where you can order caviar and vodka pairings (no saltiness in their caviar just wonderful popping bubbles in your mouth) and the hotel also has L'Europe with an amazing art nouveau interior and a Beef Stroganoff recipe that comes directly from the Stroganoff family. However, one night I had one of the multi-course "tourist" dinnners that had one amazing Russian plate after another each one looking like a gourmet creation delivered to me along with some Russian wine. Absolutely amazing restaurant! These restaurants are truly unforgettable. Till the day I die I will remember my experiences at these places.

Slightly more normally priced places that are outstanding are Terrassa (incredible high view near the Kazan Catherdral and a very fashionable crowd) and down on the street level near that is Mamaliga (Georgian cuisine).

I have to honestly say I was not all that impressed with the "cheap" Russian restaurants. But Russia's expensive restaurants top most restaurants I have been to in the States.

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If you can't afford to dine out at expensive restaurants all the time, I highly recommend the chain of Stolevaya cafeteria type restaurants. There are literally dozens, maybe over 100, in St Petersburg, including one practically next door to MT2 and several on Nevsky Prospect. These offer a good selection of soups, salads, hot and cold Russian food, blini, bread, pelmeni, cakes and so on. The food is freshly made, good quality and amazing value for money (and you don't have to wait for it to be cooked.) Well worth trying. For top end restauants, I highly recommend Percorso, the Italian restaurant voted best restaurant in SPb in (I think) 2014, overlooking St Isaacs cathedral, inside the Four Seasons Lion Palace hotel - beautiful decor, very friendly waiters and delicious menu (including a truffle menu when I was there.) I hope you have a wonderful time!

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Puling out some of my programs of the Festival now, and here comes the performance of "Jewels"

For some reason I got confused when buying the tickets, thinking that it was going to be Lopatkina dancing in "Diamonds", but this was not to be. I got instead Tereshkina partnered by Askerov, and they danced it beautifully. I was there with an old friend who had never seen the ballet before, and got very excited with "Rubies"-(my least favorite section of the triptych), while I am all about the Tchaikovsky section. Emeralds' leads were Osmolkina in the Verdi role partnered by Maxim Zyuzin, Their rendition was very dreamy-(the orchestra sounds really luxurious at the Mariinsky II). Rubies was danced by Renata Shakirova and Philipp Stepin-(whom I would see later on partnering Cojocaru in La Sylphide). I have heard others noting the differences perceived in the way Russians dance this section compared to dancers more used to the Balanchine repertoire and style. I couldn't really detect any faults. All the jazziness and energy and power walking and everything else was there. As I say...it is my least favorite part of the ballet-(I always find Stravinsky very hard to digest)-but even so I still can appreciate the allure of an epoch...the whole Balanchine/Karinska/Stravinsky/60's allure, and it made me remember the very illuminating pre performance talks Villella gave before his staging for MCB. The "tall girl" was danced by Zlata Yalinich.

And then comes Diamonds, and I FEEL about this music, as I ADORE the Polish Symphony, particularly its third mvt-(the pdd in the ballet). Oh, was it beautiful. It is probably up there in my upper three top favorite Balanchines, right along-(and sometimes after...depending on who dances it)-T&V and Symphony in C. As I said, the leads were Tereshkina partnered by veteran Askerov, who really made her shine through the whole ballet. This is a pdd that I enjoy tremendously, and I often play the music in my car. A little anecdote. When I started working as a new grad nurse, and during the training phase, I had to start driving to the hospital very early morning...still dark outside-(I am now a nigh shift nurse). So I was very nervous on my way to the hospital and I used to play the Polish Symphony over and over in my CD player...and I did so during the whole time I trained, so I associate this music with a soothing, almost healing property in my life. Now..back to the ballet. I had a weak moment during the pdd. There are certain "moments" in life in which given factors convey, almost mysteriously, to create a magic feeling, and that was it...it happened during the pdd. Watching this gorgeous suple Russian dancers costumed in Karinska's exquisite designs paying such great tribute to the grand imperial Russian ballet right in the beloved city of Tchaikovsky and Balanchine during the time of its unique white nights and next to my dear friend was really a dream come through. Oh yes...Cubanmiamiboy even got a bit tearful... :happy:

"Diamonds" is definitely BALLET at its grandest.

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"Diamonds" is definitely BALLET at its grandest.

It was fun to read your impressions, Cubanmiamiboy. When I first saw Jewels, I responded most to Rubies, and the Diamonds finale (like you, I love the "Polish" symphony), but Emeralds grew on me with each viewing.

It's good to hear that the Russian dancers are growing into Jewels.We expect them to be able to handle Diamonds, but Rubies is very much borrowing from another dance and music culture, so it has been less successful in Russia. There have been some really weird "interpretations" of the Rubies roles in the past, and Balanchine's insistence on choreographing challenging steps for the Corps too proved to be too much for some of the Russian dancers - the movements were just too alien. But the latest young generation has had less difficulty with the movements. And these days, they are seeing Forsythe, McGregor, etc. ballets along with everything else.

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It was fun to read your impressions, Cubanmiamiboy.

My pleasure.

Let's move to the performance of Anna Karenina, which I also saw at Mariinsky II. Leads were Koundarova, with Konstantin Zverev as Vronsly and Islom Baimuradov as Karenin. Even with Big Red as the heroine, this product couldn't really arouse my interest. This is another dramballet in the best Soviet tradition....one long-(and most of the times boring)- succession of adagios that can't really convey the allure of Tolstoy's rich masterpiece. The ballet has an ample use of video projections-(the work of Wendall Harrington)- as backdrops, and the costume designs, by Mikael Melbye are nice but that's about it. Anna Karenina is a very complex story that goes beyond the mere Anna/Vronsky/Karenin triangle. It has been years since I read the novel, but I seem to remember a more complex array of characters and sub stories. Trying to make a distillation here in order to present some dancing is a faux pas, although it has its innovative moments, like the segment taking place at the racecourse, in which the all male corps mimic the group of animals. Shchedrin's score is the best example of "anti musique-dansante".

After dozing up a bit, I woke up for the suicide scene, and that was it.

I don't think I would try to go see it again.

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My pleasure.

Let's move to the performance of Anna Karenina, which I also saw at Mariinsky II. Leads were Koundarova, with Konstantin Zverev as Vronsly and Islom Baimuradov as Karenin. Even with Big Red as the heroine, this product couldn't really arouse my interest.

I love Big Red, but agree that Anna Karenina hasn't been done well - it's too complex a story as is. Perhaps it requires a Yuri Possokhov-style treatment (as he attempted with Hero of Our Time). A poetic evocation of the time and characters could work, but any attempt to recount the novel through dance seems like a bridge too far. Something along the lines of Balanchine's Davidsbündlertänze would be safer, but an audience thirsty for plot-lines and characterizations would most likely be disappointed. Seems like an obvious subject for John Neumeier.

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I don't really like Ratmansky's Anna Karenina either. I find Ratmansky much more inventive when he is choreographing comical scenes or group (corps) scenes but his love duets bore me.

And Cristian is right. The novel includes philosophical and social thought as well as technological and social progress (and whether it is progress).....women's situations in society.....conserve vs. liberal....basically it is a microcosm of the whole world and you can see communism approaching as imperial Russia was no longer quite working in the modern age. All written and discussed so the reader sees many sides to every issue. The novel could almost be named Konstantin Levin just as well as Anna Karenina because it is devoted just as much to his life as it is to Anna Karenina. But most movie versions and now this ballet focuses on the tragic love story because it would take a ballet as long as Wagner's Ring Cycle to tell the whole thing!!! The chapter in which Anna jumps between cars of a train to kill herself are written in her voice and you literally "watch" as she's literally losing her mind. I interpret it to mean she was a "modern" woman and society was still finding its way figuring out life as the ongoing behemoth of "progress" rolls forward (train motif)....I do think Tolstoy might have thought societal "progress" makes for unhappy people but he writes with thoughtfulness about the people on both sides of the spectrum which is why the novel is incredible!

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Meant to add that Levin is practically non-existent in the ballet. He is a very minor character whereas the book could just as easily been named after him!!!!! But many movie versions have done the same to his character because the "scandalous" love story is what everyone remembers.

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The characters in the ballet were chosen because they have a chance of being an interesting ballet, which I don't think Ratmansky accomplished in his first major ballet. The other characters in the book make good novel.

Or, as Balanchine said, there are no mother-in-law in ballet.

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:speechless-smiley-003::speechless-smiley-003:

My pleasure.

Let's move to the performance of Anna Karenina, which I also saw at Mariinsky II. Leads were Koundarova, with Konstantin Zverev as Vronsly and Islom Baimuradov as Karenin. Even with Big Red as the heroine, this product couldn't really arouse my interest. This is another dramballet in the best Soviet tradition....one long-(and most of the times boring)- succession of adagios that can't really convey the allure of Tolstoy's rich masterpiece. The ballet has an ample use of video projections-(the work of Wendall Harrington)- as backdrops, and the costume designs, by Mikael Melbye are nice but that's about it. Anna Karenina is a very complex story that goes beyond the mere Anna/Vronsky/Karenin triangle. It has been years since I read the novel, but I seem to remember a more complex array of characters and sub stories. Trying to make a distillation here in order to present some dancing is a faux pas, although it has its innovative moments, like the segment taking place at the racecourse, in which the all male corps mimic the group of animals. Shchedrin's score is the best example of "anti musique-dansante".

After dozing up a bit, I woke up for the suicide scene, and that was it.

I don't think I would try to go see it again.

Honestly, I think sleeping through it was your best option. This ballet is DIRE - and I love Anna Karenina as a novel, but this ballet is a total waste of ballet scheduling space. And as for the "music" - DREADFUL... I think you were extremely kind in your review! :speechless-smiley-003:

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Well, it has been quite a while since the last time I posted, but I still feel I need to write a little note regarding one of the most beautiful performances I have EVER witnessed.  It took place during the Festival.  The ballet was La Sylphide, danced by a marvelous Alina Cojocaru as The Sylph and superbly partnered by Philipp Stepin as James.

First of all, big applause to the producers of this luxurious production.  The sets are designed by Vycheslav Okunev, and the costume designs are by Irina Press.  

And now...first things first.  The divine Alina.  I just couldn't get enough of her performance.  She was PERFECTION, from the way she embodied the Bournonville technique with its graceful épaulement, small clean beats, and bouncy jumps all ending in perfect fifth position to the perfect portray she does of the Romantic era ballerina.  She REALLY is a Sylph to die for....the quintessential Sylphide...tiny, fragile-looking, playful and cheeky-faced. So light..so ethereal, with her beautiful limbs-(and despite her VERY visible bunions)- she seemed to float on air.  This is the point on a ballerina's career that I REALLY enjoy watching.  The late 30's, early 40's, and that's why I really mourn the recent departure of the ABT older leading ladies.  I really feel there's a big room for this women to really sparkle with artistry and knowledge of the art form at this stage.  

As I said, we had Philipp Stepin as James, Stepin was also really nice to watch dancing Bournonville. He showed a strong and exciting technique, and his feet were beautifully showed in all the speedy footwork and batterie of the Danish school, while his kilt swirled as he made high double turns to land perfectly. He was convincing too in his acting, in his complete fascination of the supernatural Cojocaru and his desire to catch her.

Madge was a character acting class masterly given by Igor Kolb.  He supremely EMBODIED the old witch, and his performance received a big applause.

My mother LOVED the ballet.  It was her first time seeing it and she couldn't get enough of it.  When the Sylph sisters took her dead body to the air she was crying!  The Mariinsky production is DEFINITELY a luxurious one.

Gurn was danced by Dmitry Pykhachov and Effie by Tatiana Tkachenko, both rather plain.

 

But again...there was Miss Cojocaru on the stage...one of the VERY FEW brilliant artists of this generation...BRAVA!!!!.:clapping:

 

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9 hours ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

This is the point on a ballerina's career that I REALLY enjoy watching.  The late 30's, early 40's, and that's why I really mourn the recent departure of the ABT older leading ladies.  I really feel there's a big room for this women to really sparkle with artistry and knowledge of the art form at this stage.  

 

 

 

 

I agree -- I'm always interested in seeing dancers when they've gotten to the place where they're making informed decisions about what they're doing.  It's where the coaching (and the elements of history that come along with it) merges with the individual and their place in the development of the art form. 

 

(and always glad to hear what you're thinking, even if it's after the fact)

Edited by sandik
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