danc1988

Overall, it sounds like the outcome of the first cast is mostly in line with what we expected. I am minorly irked that the roles of Anna Tikhomirova and Maria Vinogradova are inverted for tomorrow's matinee but other than that continue to look forward to tomorrow's show, especially since I don't have much familiarity with the Fadeyechev production.

I have a query for those familiar with the Bolshoi's practices with cinema stream in ballet and DVD productions:

The Bolshoi streamed a version of Spartacus very recently in October 2013 with a Lobukhin/Lantratov/Zakharova/Nikulina cast

There are several very high-quality excerpts from this performance on YouTube, however no full-length version that I could find either on YT or on sale

So my question is will this and similar performances from the most recent cinecast make it to DVD, or is it a case of if you miss it, you miss it, like a typical live performance? If it is not expected to go on sale then from whence do YT posters get such high-quality footage?

http://www.emergingpictures.com/2013/09/26/the-bolshoi-ballet-announces-the-cast-of-the-upcoming-live-spartacus-broadcast-in-us-theaters-on-october-20/

One thing I would like to mention, I found that all Odiles, Krysanova, Olga Smirnova and Nikulina did the fouette in a traveling way, going from the back to front of the stage, as Zakharova. I guess the choreographer made this on purpose. At lease, it makes sense to me that Odile is making an offensive and provocative approach.

I have heard that the stage of Bolshoi has a slope, the back is 1 meter higher than the front, which many dancers love and take advantage to make Grand jeté jumping cross down the floor higher and lighter. I don;t know if the David Koch Hall has the same slope-stage. If not, doing the same traveling-down fouette could be challenging for Bolshoi ballerinas.

I heard that Z traveled on Tuesday but she most certainly did not on Thursday. She did a series of singles that were about as stationary as I've ever seen anyone do them. I can't speak to whether ballerinas ever intentionally travel downstage to create the aggressive effect you've described, maybe someone else has insight.

maps, hopefully you'll get to see them next time. Since you mentioned Natalia Bessmertnova, if you can see her dvd (perhaps also on the internet) of Swan Lake, you'll see the lovely 'character dances' by 'ballerinas' rather than character dancers, as in the NYC performances. They are absolutely beautiful.

I found a high quality video of the wonderful Anna Tikhomirova doing the Spanish Dance, which was also my favorite character dance followed by the Mazurka (especially the second theme).

I'll elaborate a little bit on what I previously said in that I very much admire Zakharova, I think she has much fire beneath her cool façade and has dramatic flair extending far beyond her impeccable technique. However Z/Hallberg is at best for me a weak and awkward partnership, while Z/Bolle worked for me, as did Z/Uvarov. I like to think of personalities in terms of the four temperaments, Z is frequently seen as the archetypical "choleric", Osipova the "sanguine", etc. For the men I view Hallberg as "melancholic", while Bolle and Uvarov are "phlegmatic". For me when you try to have a "choleric" woman dance with a "melancholic" man in Swan Lake it just doesn't work, it is disruptive to the delicate balance between the genders in this or any other heteronormative ballet and leaves the audience feeling disoriented and cold. This is why I left Thursday night obviously seeing that Zakharova did phenomenally well but also with an empty feeling. Maybe I am not being PC here but let me be clear I don't think Hallberg is any less of a man just he is poorly paired with Z and better with, say, Osipova. So for me there is not going to be any solution to the chemistry problem that's far more serious than the also serious, but more superficial issues with lifting and the controversial production.

I am sure Don Q especially the Krysanova performance, if anything like the videos, will be fabulous! And after reading all the comments, I'm now really sad that I missed seeing Smirnova/Chudin.

I was not able to get standing room to today's performance after arriving at the theater at around 930AM. Only a handful of people did including a few larger groups (with friends cutting in line to join these groups), and apparently many bought more than one ticket as they stopped selling well before 40 people reached the counter. Despite the later box office open at 1130AM today, people in the front of the line said they were waiting as early as 630AM in the morning. After the standing room sold out, there was a subsequent smaller line for people to wait for cancellations -- I did not try for that but imagine there were none considering there were no late offers for this performance on Craigslist and Stubhub was sold out. To be fair, I was initially surprised to hear the unanimous rave reviews from this board for this cast considering earlier comments had criticized Chudin's acting ability and Smirnova's spotty interpretations but I suppose in the end they emerged as the "dark horse" cast, whether on their own merit or merely in contrast to the relatively choleric/melancholic and older A-cast. Would love to hear anyone's impressions of Krysanova/Hallberg last night or today's matinee after it finishes.

I suppose I should also join in criticizing the festival for its poor management of ticket sales and the information pertaining to the sales. The ADA seats for Swan Lake and Don Q were each released roughly a week before the respective performance dates but no warning or announcement was given. Also because they wouldn't release anything firm regarding standing room until opening day, and nothing official on the web site even afterwards, I saw numerous people waste hours of time in futility today. One shouldn't have to resort to indirect sources such as forums to get important information and exercise brute persistence with some trial-and-error just to attend one of these performances, especially with a company as well-known as the Bolshoi not having been here for 9 years.

Onwards to Don Q.

danc1988,

Are any tickets still on sale, please? How do I get the standing or any other place at this time? Happen to be NYC now and dying to see Bolshoi.

What I know about standing room comes from others' reports on this forum, which is 42 spots available for sale 10AM day-of-performance in-person. I believe otherwise at this point the box-office is completely filled out including late-released ADA seats. StubHub has a smattering of tickets still remaining although most are priced at a significant premium and are generally in sections with a poor view (rows AA and higher rings). Here's the link for that: http://www.stubhub.com/bolshoi-ballet-tickets/

Another idea which worked for me was hawking Craigslist, I was able to get an orchestra aisle seat to the second Zakharova performance from a nice lady who had bought tickets to all the performances in January but did not wish to see the same cast twice.

I can't speak to trying to buy tickets outside the theater right before the performance, it seems like a risky strategy.

Smirnova & Chudin were fantastic tonight.

I forgot to add that the entire audience agreed with this sentiment. Unlike other nights, tonight the hall was filled with "bravos" , there was a standing ovation and many curtain calls. Unlike Zakharova, Smirnova and Chudin acted (towards each other and the audience) with graciousness and humility.

There was a standing ovation Thursday night too, however it was a bit piecemeal especially in the orchestra section, a few people stood, then later on everybody stood up as if unsure whether the performance was deserving of it or not - more of a follow thy neighbor. For me personally I was a bit slower to stand because I was still disoriented from the abrupt ending, struggling to digest it even though I had already seen it described in words here. Also I left before all the curtain calls so can't speak to that.

I take it the sentiment was more spontaneous tonight. In any case if the contrast between performances was truly that significant I might make an effort to try to get standing room for Sunday evening's performance.

The issue of chemistry is a tough one. I'm sure Hallberg has made quite an effort since joining the Bolshoi to assimilate and learn from their traditions, however with the language and cultural differences, and in the case of Zakharova, significant differences in body type and countenance, makes the pairing a difficult one. When I think chemistry, it's usually Osipova/Vasiliev or Cojocaru/Kobborg, but these pairs are also engaged couples in real life which makes a big difference. (Zakharova is currently married to Russian violinist Vadim Repin.) With Zakharova there has always been the issue of being somewhat distant and divaesque, however her dancing taken in its own right I've always found to be masterful, artistic, and breathtaking. Now of course ballet isn't done in a vacuum, but if I look at some of her older La Scala videos paired with Bolle, and though by no means are those productions perfect or definitive, I do come away with the feeling that hey, Zakharova was not just fabulous on her own but also as a partner and as part of a cohesive work.

Still, for me even if last night's performance didn't ooze chemistry or a strong sense of cohesion (certainly not helped by the production), Zakharova's individual brilliance is in my opinion without peer (or with few peers) and has my respect. She just has a unique, radiant, and forceful (detractors might say arrogant) personality and needs a partner with a similar style to make it work. Hallberg comes off more as a humble, nice guy. He also has a much smaller frame -- of course he is going to struggle on the lifts! It was notable that Zakharova skipped the dinner held in Hallberg's recognition after last night's performance.

Glad to hear positive feedback re: Smirnova/Chudin. Although I won't have an opportunity to see any of their SLs, I am very much looking forward to the Krysanova/Chudin Don Q next Wednesday with Smirnova as Queen of the Dryads.

Well, saw the performance tonight (7/17). Overall very happy to have went, just to have seen Zakharova live in her iconic role as Odette/Odile was worth the ticket.

That said, the ending was most certainly atrocious, as someone noted before pretty much an abrupt "bad ending" with the apotheosis theme replaced by the overture. The lack of mime throughout also felt odd.

Other than that my general impression was that Zakharova was technically brilliant albeit a bit aloof, on the other hand Hallberg felt outclassed giving the impression of a kid in a candy shop.

I did enjoy the jester's performance, he was quite acrobatic and added some decent comic relief.

As for the orchestra, passable but nothing special. Maybe I am just used to different versions on CD but in general I felt that it lacked energy tonight, maybe getting better towards the end but it's also hard to mess up the Act IV music

For me I will treasure this one opportunity in a lifetime to see Zakharova live tomorrow, however contentious a performer she may be

A few remaining ADA seats on sale for the 7/23 mat Don Q right now. Lucky to get one of the 4th ring BB seats. Will be camping out by the Koch on Thursday for SL standing room.

Regards

EDIT: managed to secure tickets to the 7/17 swan and the 7/23 mat don q. Regards

Saw Seo/Bolle for the first time tonight. While I thought Seo was fine in Acts 2 and 4 (I would agree with a previous poster that Act 4 is probably her best), her Odile is definitely weak, lacking in seductive energy and struggling with some of the technical parts. Bolle also wasn't perfect but overall still solid