alexL

Yes- I just noticed that the website doesn't show the second intermission in the timeline...

I too wish that they'll do just one but I think they need that second intermission due to the corps' costume, hair, makeup change and set change. (I think the corp presented in the second act show up again in the third) The orchestra will have to play for at least 10 minutes.

wow- Met Opera has launched a new website today! They have updated many things- overall, it's more visual than the old website.

One of the positives is that now they list more detailed run time information about each performances (when act 1 starts, when and how long intermission is, etc).

The biggest problem with this website is that each page takes forever to load due to the heavy scripting and backdrop images.

Kochetkova was lovely. Her turns and spins are exceptional -- particularly the long sequence at the end of the shades scene, from upstage left to downstage right. But I just can't get as excited about a tiny little dancer as I can about a tall, voluptuous one (like Veronika). Sarah Lane in Sleeping Beauty was hard enough for me -- I loved her dancing, and it was reasonably okay that she looked like a young girl in comparison to virtually everyone else onstage. But for Nikiya? I need LEGS! Kochetkova's back is extremely flexible, though. (I'm talking almost a 90-degree angle right in the middle of her back!) But again, in comparison to everyone else onstage, she looked like a young girl. This was especially the case in the betrothal scene, where her costume didn't do her any favors.

I agree with you on this. Although I loved both Cojocaru and Kochetkova, I can't help but to think of last year's Vishneva, Smirnova, and Tereshkina. I'd say Cojocaru had more presence than Kochetkova due to her height (still quite short for this role imo). Maria is technically amazing but she's just not right for this role.

I think if I ever see a performance where Hee doesn't make a noticeable mistake I'll fall off my chair!

I agree. I saw her in 3 Swan Lake performances last year alone (because she was substituting for Murphy and Cojocaru) and it was a disappointing experience.

I think I liked her better when she was dancing Hungarian princess in Swan Lake or a shade in Labayadere as a soloist. I think she's a good actress but because of her mistakes I can't really concentrate on her acting anymore.

IMO, the reason the partnering with Seo looked so labored was because Seo doesn't lift herself up. She's just like a sack of potatoes. If you're like that no one, not even Marcelo, is going to make partnering look good. And Kim is not the strongest partner in the world. But still, I think the problem was mainly with Seo.

Thanks to Marcelo, there wasn't any major mistake during the 3rd act pas de deux when Seo substituted for Murphy last year. It's just that her variation had many technical issues- she also stumbled slightly at the end of the coda.... Other than that, I thought the pas de deux itself was quite good. Marcelo didn't look too labored.

Kim is still very young (13 years younger than Gomes) so hopefully he improves on his partnering skill in future!

Actually though Sarafanov is very slight he is not short. Back when he was at the Mariinsky he partnered Tereshkina, Somova and even Vishneva. They can't POSSIBLY give Seo another performance so if Cojocaru or Kochetkova can't do another one they'd probably have to develop a new Nikyia. I'd love to see Stella but my money would be on Murphy or Boylston - and I'd prefer either to Kochetkova

I didn't realize that Vishneva is taller than Somova and Tereshkina- she was quite short in person (and I was wearing flats). I thought she's about the same height as Osipova.

Anyway, I'd love to see Stella dancing Nikiya but not sure whether that'll happen. Boylston/Sarafanov/Abrera works but then Stella will have to dance two Gamzatti in one day!

I agree with everyone in regards to Osipova's in the second act. I thought she was trying not to show off her athleticism when she toured with Mikhailovsky last year but she's back to her old self.

I enjoyed and appreciated her performance regardless. Her portrayal is so different from everyone in ABT and I liked it,especially after seeing 6 ABT Giselles in a row!

Part looked stunned and she almost took one step forward when Natalia fell. I also saw tears in her eyes. I couldn't see the fall clearly due to my angle (far left corner) but I'm glad I couldn't. No one wants to see such a nasty fall. It's a shame because she was phenomenal yesterday night.

I think Alina Cojocaru comes close. As someone has said before, she's one of the most spiritual Giselle I've seen. But that's just my opinion!

I kind of expected Kimin to be promoted soon since Mariinsky's been promoting him in the tours lately.

I am however surprised that Askerov has been promoted ahead of Sergeyev and Zverev. They both are better partners and actors than Askerov. What about Yermakov? He's charismatic and capable of partnering with the very tall principals in Mariinsky.

Sorry to sound bitter but I really wanted Sergeyev to be promoted this time. Congrats to both dancers though.

I'm guessing the crowd will skew towards business casual. I imagine it will be similar to the Frick's Wednesday evening lecture crowd, which consists mostly of people who have come directly from work. It's a mix of suits and business casual, with some casual-casual, as well. I'm not sure this is of much help, but I wouldn't worry too much of getting super dressed up.

Thank you for your advice! I'm relieved now

Question: should I dress up for these salon events? I've never attended these events held in the Frick so I don't know... I know this question may sound stupid but I don't want to be embarrassed because of my attire!

I'm a newbie on this forum but I have my list!

Best:

Seeing Bolshoi's DonQ and Spartacus and their corp in Swan Lake

Mikhailovsky's Flames of Paris, Seeing Lebedev and Soboleva in Giselle

Tereshkina and Shklyarov in La Bayadere

Vishneva and Gomes' Manon

Worst:

Seeing Seo Hee's Swan Lake 3 times in a week! This happened because she replaced so many injured principals! (Gillian Murphy and Alina Cojocaru) No offense to her dancing. I just wanted to see Murphy's Odile so badly.

Sarah Lane not getting promoted... but she'll be dancing Aurora in next season so I'm happy about that

Kennedy Center casting is up, which might give some clues about the TBA Swan Lake and also who is 100% coming on tour:

https://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=BPBSG

Thanks for the update! So Jan 22nd casting could be Somova/Kim! I will be seeing that one for sure.

Sad thing is Novikova is probably not coming...

I was at the Novembr 16th matinee and thought Vasiliev was absolutely sensational. The part of Phillipe is a perfect role for him. I sat in Row J (orchestra section) and didn't notice any huffing or puffing and all his landings were just fine. He was very light on his feet. And his technique was just as good as the last time I saw him - which was in ABT's Le Corsaire (as Conrad) in June of 2013. When I saw Giselle on November 12th (the matinee) I noticed a few heavy landings - particularly Ivan Zaytsev who danced the peasant pas de deux. Also Zaytsev's leaps lacked elevation. I didn't see him in Flames so maybe he was having an off day on Wednesday. I have been going to ballets for over 30 years and fortunately have seen many sensational performers and I think Vasiliev was fantastic. Maybe other Ballet Talkers with the same opinion will post.

Hi Colleen - I too have been going to the ballet for about 30 years, and I agree with all of your comments. I was at the Mikhailovsky performances you mentioned as well as ABT’s Le Corsaire with Vasiliev as Conrad. The last time I saw Vasiliev dance was this year in ABT’s Don Q and his technique continues to be every bit as good as the first time I saw him dance. I thought he was spectacular at the November 16^th matinee, down to the two curtain calls when he jumped out in a split leap.

I saw that Le Corsaire performance too! I believe the casting was Osipova/Vasiliev/Simkin (as Ali) There was a partnering mistake at the end of Act III's pas de deux but other than that it was close to perfection. Normally Ali overshadows Conrad but not in this case! I admit that Vasiliev's form was cleaner back than but he still has those amazing jumps and stage presence. I'm looking forward to seeing him and Natalia in DonQ this weekend!

At first, I was wondering why they didn't bring SL to this tour then realized that Osipova has never danced Odette/Odile with Mikhailovsky yet.

Osipova danced two performances of Swan lake at the Mikhailovsky three years ago. She had a big public success, but many bad critics. She had it scheduled for this September with Hallberg. When he cancelled all his engagements, Osipova cancelled her performance of Swan lake.

Oh I didn't know she danced O/O with Mikhailovsky before... (I'm still a newbie to this company)

In their website SL isn't listed as her repertoire- I guess those bad critics are the reason.

And thanks for the link! Hopefully they perform Swan Lake in their next visit.

I saw Flames of Paris today afternoon and it was great! Great in a "Don Quixote" way... which is a compliment!

Perren performs many leading roles. In winter 2014–2015, the Mikhailovsky Theatre goes on tour to Japan.

Le Corsaire

Jan. 08 Ekaterina Borchenko, Farukh Ruzimatov and Leonid Sarafanov

Jan. 09 Irina Perren, Farukh Ruzimatov and Victor Lebedev

Swan Lake

Jan. 10 Ekaterina Borchenko and Denis Matvienko

Jan. 11 Angelina Vorontsova and Leonid Sarafanov

Jan. 12 Irina Perren and Victor Lebedev

Jan. 13 Ekaterina Borchenko and Victor Lebedev

Ah... I'm so jealous of the fans in Japan! I'm dying to see Borchenko/Lebedev Swan Lake

At first, I was wondering why they didn't bring SL to this tour then realized that Osipova has never danced Odette/Odile with Mikhailovsky yet.

Hopefully this tour was profitable enough for Mikhailovsky to come back!

I actually registered for this website to say how wonderful Victor Lebedev was in today's performance. From his graceful port de bras one could easily tell that he's a Vaganova trained dancer. He was technically very clean as well... perfect balances with a high releve and well controlled turns... I couldn't fine any flaws. Also he dances with the music! Every movement was in sync with the orchestra- including during his 32+something entrechat six (I lost the count in the middle). I'm looking forward to see him in DonQ next week! I encourage everyone to get the ticket asap cause there were many people in the audience asking when he'll be performing next

Soboleva is the youngest Giselle I've seen in a live performance. You can tell that she's not as experienced or charismatic as Osipova yet but her acting felt more... pure and innocent. Excuse my poor description- I don't know how to put this in fine language.

I thought their chemistry was strong and it got better and better as the ballet went on. In Act 2 Soboleva really looked weightless in Lebedev's arms. It's surprising cause he's so slender and she's quite tall (when Soboleva is en point she's about the same height as Lebedev). They jump together and land together. Is it possible for ABT to invite them as guest dancers? I want to see more from them.

I apologize if my review looks too unorganized. I'm still gathering my thoughts about this wonderful performance!