Marc Haegeman

Many thanks, Viviane, we began to think you missed the Eurostar The ending of Sacre was indeed sort of an anticlimax, also because Makhalina fell dead like Basilio in the 3rd Act of Don Q. Otherwise, she made quite a strong impression, if most of all by just standing still. Just want to add that the high-kicking legs in Serenade are definitely a Mariinsky trademark and you won't see anything like this in other companies. But to my mind the piece suffered most from the sluggish conducting from Mikhail Agrest (faring a lot better in Sacre). You went to see Bayadère as well, I believe?

Hi CavalierScott, you will find some info about the Vegas stint, on: http://www.vegas.com/events/event-007530.html Hope you will share your impressions about this performance! Anyone looking for information about the Mariinsky tours will find it useful to check out the links on: http://www.kirov.com/ or http://users.skynet.be/ballet-lovers/Burning3.html

That's correct, Brendan. Although I didn't see it, the previous season, in 2001, the Opera of Rome showed a triple bill called "Nijinsky ritrovato" with 'Jeux', 'Rite of Spring' and 'Till', all as reconstructed by the Hodson-Archer duo. (Just a detail but Scheherazade is a reconstruction from Andris, not Maris Liepa.)

One wonders what the Mariinsky is trying to prove by bringing ballets to London which they are still learning. Yesterday evening was first night of "Contrasts", an unnecessarily heavy program grouping Serenade, Nijinsky's Rite of Spring (as staged by Hodson and Archer), and Lander's Etudes (as staged by Josette Amiel). Serenade was OK, but not by any means the most interesting performance I saw of this ballet. It all looked dull, flat and lifeless. Watching the two remaining ballets was however painful, because even if it is obvious how hard the corps is trying to pull them off, they can't conceal they are underrehearsed and at this moment totally overstretched. Moreover, combining such two vastly different ballets in one evening isn't exactly a stroke of genius in programming either, and if one really needs to have them in one evening, why not rather end with Rite of Spring? We had some thrilling orchestral playing for Rite, which I feel is not really matched by this colorful, but in fact rather dramatically tame staging of the ballet. The soloists looked generally more at ease and I thought Yulia Makhalina was excellent in Rite, while light-footed Leonid Sarafanov looked a treat in Etudes. (I don't doubt Andrian Fadeyev, as the second male lead, can do a lot better if he wasn't that exhausted.) It must be a matter of coaching here, but even Svetlana Zakharova proved she can stick to the style of a ballet. I am sure you'll have a good time with Le Corsaire, Kate. At least this is a ballet they are supposed to know .

Thanks, Kate. Glad you caught this one performance of Bayaderka. The "King with the dancing eyebrows" as you mentioned, is Petr Stasiunas the Raja, who has indeed the habit of miming a lot with his eyebrows. The reason why they don't have the Golden Idol dancing in this 1900 revival is because it was added in the Soviet period, in the late 1940s by Zubkovsky. You can however see him being carried on the stage, as a real statue, in the 2nd Act.

Yesterday evening we had the final of the four Bayaderes. London audiences seem to have warmed for this production and on several occasions I overheard regrets that only four performances were shown this time. (We could have done with a little less Swan Lakes). Last night had exactly the same cast as the opening performance (Pavlenko-Fadeyev-Tarassova), but looked even more inspired. The company in general seemed better attuned, while Daria Pavlenko, now fully recovered from her illness at the beginning of the tour, was absolutely stunning. The Shades Act was a moment of true (and rare) balletic grace - ample, eloquent, beautiful, and finally utterly moving. None of the technical exhibitionism of the previous day, none of the outsized, hyperflex shapes either, but pure, simple and solid classical dancing. Elvira Tarassova as Gamzatti was on top form as well and demonstrated some great dancing in the final act. Every second of the long ovations was fully deserved. The company is now preparing the next program which starts on Monday, bearing the imponderable title "Contrasts": Serenade, Rite of Spring, and Etudes. After several cast changes it is now Yulia Makhalina, flewn in from St. Petersburg (and who danced the premiere), who will perform Rite.

It was like watching a different ballet last night, with Svetlana Zakhaova and Leonid Sarafanov taking the lead on the second night of La Bayadere. The towering physicality of Zakharova fits awkwardly within the frame of the new-old production. Her unfolding, sky-scraping legs keep unfolding long after the musical accents and if Pavlenko clearly looked first of the Shades, Zakharova resembled an alien visitor not familiar with the language of the corps. What I found most disconcerting is however that her technical virtuosity (impressive it may be when taken on its own) is totally unrelated to the drama unfolding before our eyes, worse it is even happening in spite of the drama. Leonid Sarafanov, the next Kiev wunderkid in line, was in many senses marvelous to see. His boyishly frail appearance, his sweepingly romantic gestures mirrored the broadness and often impetuousness of his dancing, but even so, he hardly ever managed to get out of the shadow of his Nikiya, who was just too big for him. Yet, he is a talent to look out for. I much admired Viktoria Tereshkina as Gamzatti, haughty, tough as nails and looking even more fomidable than Tarassova.

Good to have you back, Viviane . Hope you'll let us know what you think of this performance!

London was finally introduced to Sergei Vikharev's reconstruction of Petipa's 1900 Bayadere. It couldn't have wished for a better first viewing than with yesterday's opening night cast, led by Daria Pavlenko, Andrian Fadeyev and Elvira Tarassova. Pavlenko, who was dancing her first performance on this tour, is currently by far the most complete Nikiya of this company, and is - as was proven again last night - with her stylistic approach and dramatic gifts the best suited ballerina for the new-old production. There is no gratuitous brilliance, there are no cheap tricks, and neither does she knock you out with flashes of technical bravura (although the Shades Act showed some truly magnificent dancing), yet by the quality of her plastique alone she reveals more of the drama, appearing real and true, than anyone I can think of in this company. As somebody remarked during the performance: "Hey, this is a Kirov ballerina!" Elvira Tarassova is one of the most convincing Gamzatti's as well. Strongly danced (even up to the final bits of this long ballet), passionate and headstrong, giving the character a formidable appearance. The mime duel between the two rival lovers, ending with Nikiya's attack with the knife, had all the theatricality and white hot dramatic intensity one could hope for. Andrian Fadeyev is an attractive Solor, reserved, yet honest and sincere. He conveyed the doubt and guilt with subtility, and I haven't seen the pantomime scene between Solor and Gamzatti preceding the Shades Act looking so convincing as here. His dancing was generally outstanding. The ensemble proved quite on top of it (after Les Noces the previous evening that looked even clearer), magic was in the air during the appearance of the Shades, and there were outstanding contributions from Rakhmanova, Baimuradov and Scherbakov in the Indian dance, from Vasyukevich in the manu dance, and from Zhelonkina as the 2nd shade soloist, the only one of the three who danced her variation totally well. The Covent Garden audience received the new-old production with enthousiasm, although as noticed everywhere some gave up after the 3rd Act, and the old-fashioned sides of the production produced quite a few giggles. There were no marked differences with previous viewings; the entrance of the Balineselike girls in the 2nd Act was kept although their dance was omitted.

The "Homage to Diaghilev" triple bill with Chopiniana, Les Noces, and Scheherazade is a rather heavy evening, but I'm still not sure whether this is caused by the ballets or rather the variable quality of the dancing. There was a lot going wrong on Wednesday night, first of all because maestro Mikhail Agrest seemed to attempt his utmost to kill the fun: with his sluggish tempi and playing mostly to himself he sabotaged a good part of the evening. Chopiniana was something like 3 cherries and a lemon. While featherlight Irina Zhelonkina may be Fokine's dream of the sylph, Daria Sukhorukova definitely is his nightmare. A bigger contrast is hardly imaginable. Where Zhelonkina is all polished plastique, ideally catching the nocturnal atmosphere of the piece, Sukhorukova is earthbound, hard and angular. Igor Kolb's romantically impetuous poet was an excellent match for Zhelonkina, while Janna Selina was a rewarding prelude girl. Les Noces, the first of the 3 new ballets the Kirov is bringing to London, looked like an open rehearsal with a totally miscast Alexandra Josifidi as the Bride, resembling a swan in Russian peasant outfit. The ensemble couldn't disguise it is still learning the work, and there is clearly a lot of work to do here. Scheherazade was another disappointment with a miscast Danila Korsuntsev as prince Siegfried in harem trousers. His jumps were impressive as such, but the duet with Tatiana Tkachenko had about as much passion and sensuality as a Victorian tea party. Tkachenko didn't have much to say in this role either. Today, La Bayadere starts. Opening night performance will be danced by Daria Pavlenko and Andrian Fadeyev.

Hard to choose for you, Scuffite, but I would take the evening performance, as the closing nights of the Kirov seasons always have something special - but I hope you will still find any tickets; they are really selling well and the final performances will definitely sell out (if they haven't already). I much enjoyed the final Swan Lake (of the first run) led by Natalia Sologub and Igor Kolb. Sologub was especially interesting as Odile, with a superbly danced variation, in fact very classical, happily avoiding all tricks and excesses found with other dancers. I found her Odette dramatically more uneven and at times there was some hardness in her delivery, but she is definitely a Swan to look out for in the future. The magic of the Pavlenko-Kolb partnership wasn't repeated, but let's say there were a lot of interesting ideas, as in the final scene of the White Act (something which couldn't be said of the previous night with Gumerova and Korsuntsev) and with some more rehearsing the adages can turn out a lot better than they did last night. Kolb was excellent again, even though his character was less complete and consistent than with Pavlenko. It's funny that they really didn't succeed all that well in Corsaire this time. It used to be one of their most entertaining night's out - not so long ago.

Things clearly fell into place on the opening night's Swan Lake, led by superstar couple Svetlana Zakharova and Igor Zelensky. The corps showed impeccable lines and the whole ensemble breathed an air of authority. The pas de trois highlighted some great dancing, mainly thanks to light-footed Irina Zhelonkina and Anton Korsakov. I haven't seen that many Swan Lakes from the Kirov where the prince has the edge over his Odette-Odile, but in this case I felt he had. Igor Zelensky, slimmer and with a much more attractive haircut, in one of his most inspired moments, made the most ravishing of princes, beautifully danced and above all moving with a great feel for dramatic detail, disproving the often heard criticism that prince Siegfried in K. Sergeyev's version is nothing but a cardboard character. He might be in the hands of many dancers, but not this night with Zelensky. He partnered with loving care and attentiveness, and that he skipped the lifts really seemed unimportant when there was so much else happening. Zelensky definitely sparked Zakharova off and the duets had a sincerity and warmth not often seen with her. It wasn't the emotionalism we had with Pavlenko and Kolb (Zakharova's dramatic range is far too limited for that), but on the whole it was a highly satisfying partnership. On her own there was the usual weird phrasing and accentuation, with a tendency to over-emphasize positions instead of showing the flow of the movement, particularly noticeable in the variations. Although in a lesser degree than in some of her other roles (like Le Corsaire) Zakharova's dancing has far too many of the "Wow!" moments of technical bravura, and an overall view seems to be absent. Dramatic or emotional climaxes are only tentative, and even look shy, as in the final scene of the White act, where in spite that Zelensky's pulled out all the stops, she slipped into the wings without much fuss. The second night's Swan Lake was by comparison a non-event, because of the leading couple Sofia Gumerova and Danila Korsuntsev, adequate, but utterly dull.

As part of the annual Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam, on September 7 there are performances of the Prodigal Son, and fragments from Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet by members of the Mariinsky Ballet. http://www.gergievfestival.nl/2003/html/pr...amma/7sept.html

If the Kirov way with Le Corsaire is still highly enjoyable in general, the performance I saw on Wednesday night at Covent Garden couldn't make me forget performances from previous seasons, led by Asylmuratova, Terekhova, Chenchikova, Nioradze or Makhalina. It was precisely the leading lady who left much to be desired. Sofia Gumerova was a lacklustre Medora. She had some moments of grace in the final act, but most of what came before was painfully insignificant. The effort it took her to get through the pas de trois was far too obvious, the steps were delivered without any authority, let alone imagination, while in the market scene she got completely drowned by the surroundings. Most of all her character is totally uninteresting and I kept wondering why on earth these guys ever came back to save her from the harem. Veteran Elvira Tarassova cut a much more interesting Gulnara, danced strongly, even though, there were moments she simplified the choreography in the pas d'Esclave. The men were on the whole satisfying: Shishov made a solid, well-danced Conrad and if only he could create a rapport with his Medora, his character could become interesting. Igor Kolb may lack the exotic quality for Ali, but he danced with panache, commitment, and joy. Andrian Fadeyev was an excellent Lankedem, and even if he cannot dispell memories of Zaklinsky or Zavialov in the role, his character was alive and witty. Above all he danced superbly in the pas d'Esclave. Islom Baimuradov was by far the best Birbanto I have ever seen. There was a time when the three odaliques in the 3rd Act were girls of exactly the same heighth, yet now this doesn't seem to matter anymore, with Sukhorukova towering over Gonchar and Tkachenko. None of them was really interesting, but Sukhorukova hurling herself about was properly appalling. They all seemed to dance pretty much on their own, attacking the variations as competition numbers and talking while they were performing. There were fine supporting roles from Ponomarev as the lusty pasha, from Rassadina and Rakhmanova in the character dances. Corps de ballet dancing was fair and maestro Boris Gruzin provided excellent support.

Not that it will surprise anybody, but there are already some important cast changes for the first two programs. Ilya Kuznetsov is not in London for the moment. Daria Pavlenko is indisposed and there is only a small chance she will dance at all on this tour. For her scheduled Swan Lake on July 25 she is replaced by Sofia Gumerova.

With the season opening in Covent Garden today, it's time to bump this thread up. We're all waiting for your reports!

“Ballerina” as used by Makarova (as far as I remember she is talking about Ludmilla Kovaleva, who is among others the teacher of one Diana Vishneva) was applied to those female leads who had that something more in artistry and worth than the reliable soloists, whom moreover only occasionally forayed into “ballerina” territory (Odette-Odile, Giselle, Aurora, Raymonda etc). Actually, the title “ballerina” was in use already in pre-Soviet times, when the Mariinsky applied an elaborate hierarchy (comparable to the one now on www.mariinsky.ru.), each related to a certain salary. They can indeed be compared to our “principals”, or in Paris the “étoiles”.

The 4th edition of the International Ballet Festival at the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg will run March 2-March 14, 2004. More details nearer to the time.

I can't leave this topic without spending a few words on the final Kirov-Mariinsky performance in Graz: Swan Lake on July 14th as danced by Daria Pavlenko and Igor Kolb. For me this was the crowning achievement of the whole week, dwarfing everything which preceded it, and frankly I can’t remember seeing anything coming near in overall feeling of satisfaction in the last years of Kirov watching. Pavlenko was truly amazing and a performance like this proves she is one of the greatest Kirov ballerinas of this moment: a beauty of plastique, a sensitivity of style, a profundity and sincerity of emotion, an intelligence of approach, a musicality which showed you the score in movement, it was a performance which had it all (and a lot more), keeping me on the edge of my seat all the way through. It’s hard to say which Swan looked best, Odette or Odile: they were so sharply different, they looked like two different dancers, yet both equally convincing. What linked them was the spontaneity, the natural flow of movement, the complete absence of tricks and fake glitter, and something which became really rare, the joy of dancing. Pavlenko was ideally matched by an equally inspired Igor Kolb, cutting a living and breathing Siegfried, partnering well and complementing his ballerina in her joy of dancing. There was a formidable Ilya Kuznetsov (about the only one in the company who manages to make Rothbart look a serious character), an outstanding, very classical pas de trois with Natalia Sologub, Yulia Kassenkova and Vassily Scherbakov, a fast-turning jester rom Andrei Ivanov, and some great national dances as only the Mariinsky can perform them. It had the packed opera house in rapture. I don’t think I’m too harsh on Baranov, coda. I have heard all these ballerinas rave about his partnering abilities, too. Fine for them, but not enough for us in my opinion. There is more to male dancing than being a reliable support for the ballerina.

That's right, they went to Bolzano (which I didn't see), and Tsiskaridze performed in Graz again, the evening of his return: just a short rehearsal with Nioradze a few hours before curtain up and there he went again. Their performance was enjoyable as the first, but it were Sofia Gumerova and Igor Kolb who were the winning couple in Diamonds. A very lyrical take on Diamonds with a surprisingly inspired Gumerova and a Kolb all polished gallantry and virile grace. Emeralds was led by Ayupova and Baranov; always great to have Ayupova, yet Baranov is a bore. This Emeralds presented us also one of the new child-protegees, Daria Sukhorukova, tall, spindly, crooked arms, indifferent face, jerkily moving, in short: shocking. Her sicilienne was at best an unprepared school performance. Having her in Chopiniana as is announced for London must be any balletomane's nightmare. It's a fact that most of the dancers here are already extremely tired and wonder how they will survive the London tour till August 9th. After Graz, part of the group flies to Ravenna and then from Italy directly onwards to London.

Tsiskaridze already danced Rubies here on July 10 with Nioradze and Pavlenko. Let's say his performance was not as unbridled and extravagant as we saw him earlier with the Kirov in 2001, maybe because here in Graz he was limited by the smaller stage, or maybe his ballerinas were a better match, whatever. It was a good fun performance, with some great interplay with Nioradze. And having Pavlenko as the second ballerina is not such a bad deal either. Also, a rewarding performance of Svetlana Zakharova and Danila Korsuntsev in Diamonds that same night. The adagio was well done (not minding the usual eccentricities of course), although to my mind she still lacked the grandeur and majesty to pull off the polonaise.

On July 11th we had a sweeping performance of Lavrovsky's Romeo and Juliet, led by Zhanna Ayupova and Andrian Fadeyev. Ayupova has always been one of the better Mariinsky Juliet's in recent times and in spite of her age she remains dramatically totally credible, developing the character with ease and without any hint of mannerisms. The beauty of her line, the simplicity of her dancing looked ideal for Lavrovsky's heroine. Yet it was Fadeyev who probably made the strongest impression, with his beautifully polished dancing and convincing rapport with Ayupova. It was definitely one of his best performances I have seen him dance. Colourful Ilya Kuznetsov was as usual completely over the top as Tybalt, while Islom Baimuradov cut a convincing Benvolio and Vladimir Shishov gave Paris nobility and grandeur. Only Vassily Sherbakov as Mercutio was something of a letdown, not really catching the funny, carefree side of the character. The whole ballet, including the music emphatically brought by Alexander Titov, had a sense of freshness and energy which had the Graz audience (the theatre was again fully packed) enthralled from start to end. The Kirov season in Graz which has been a notable success, with virtually every evening sold out, is finishing with one more performance of Jewels tonight and Swan Lake on Monday. Jewels is brightened up by the presence of guest star Nikolai Tsiskaridze in Rubies.

The Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet returned to Graz, Austria for 2 weeks of pure balletic joy. (Hats off for the ultra smooth and professional organisation by Rieder Promotions). On July 9th we had a remarkable debut when 19-year old Olesya Novikova replaced the indisposed Ekaterina Osmolkina as Kitri in Don Quixote. Plucked out of the corps Novikova showed great promise under extra difficult circumstances. Pretty, well-proportioned and with dancing that has speed as well as dynamics, Novikova is a name to look out for. She was partnered by Farukh Ruzimatov, who wasn't always a great help, but charmed nonetheless by his mature and virile stage presence. With the company in good spirits, some outstanding secondary roles (classy Islom Baimuradov as Espada, soubrette Evgenia Obraztsova as Amor, grand Natalia Sologub as Queen of the Dryads) and an inspired Mariinsky Orchestra under Boris Gruzin, this Don Q was fun from beginning to end. More goodies to come...

Duchâble is one the great French pianists of today and a supreme interpreter of Liszt and Chopin, among others.... yet this sounds like April Fool's Day.

Yes, of course, they only performed it while Fadeyechev was artistic director. One of the many "artistic differences" between the general AD of the Bolshoi Theatre and the AD of the ballet company, I suppose? And how many ballets will they bring in with which Ratmansky has nothing to do? As for the dancers, I'm afraid they have been losing a lot more more than that already.