mnacenani

Total new choreo by a young choreographer who appeared at the curtain calls. I took it as a tribute to Balanchine, wasn't bad but imho too long for what it is, a la "Alice in Wonderland"

I am certain Buddy will post a detailed review of tonight's "Petipa 200 Gala" so I would just like to post a few words re my take on this evening. I bought my ticket before the program was announced and when it was posted it was something of a letdown for me - I was expecting something bigger, also taking into account the unheard-of price for Piter of R15K for best seats. OK, the program being what it was a train of thought can be extracted : Petipa (SB) inspired Balanchine, thus M.N. Dream, Balanchine (Jewels) inspired Keikhel, thus The Seasons - presented in reverse order - Big Deal ! The funny thing is this was supposed to be the Petipa Gala but the third act of SB which concluded the evening was SEVERELY cut compared to what I saw on Friday 9th evening : tonight only the White Cat-Puss in Boots and the Florine-Bluebird sequences were danced - NO Red Riding Hood and Wolf, no Cinderella-Fortune and no Cannibal chasing Tom Thumb&Bros !! The broadcaster Mezzo must have imposed a duration limit I thought, otherwise it just didn't make sense, not to me. I have often heard that Gergiev doesn't pay attention to the stage action to pace the music and tonight I witnessed it in unmistakeable fashion : at the start of the act the PdQ etc of the Fairies were conducted at such a faster tempo compared with Friday that I was waiting to see which of the dancers was going to slip up - none did. Keikhel's The Seasons was a take on Jewels I thought, with costumes changing colour with changing seasons, and at almost an hour much too long for what it is, should be cut to 30 mins. The "wedding" scene of Midsummer Night's Dream is my least favourite bit of this work - the story for anyone who cares about it is in the previous scenes. Did Petipa choreograph anything without a story ?? Serious question - I would like to learn.

If you tell me how you are able to receive Kultura I will respond in kind

Moscow Times interview re the limited edition album "The Bolshoi" https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/the-eternal-allure-of-the-bolshoi-ballet-60718

I thought something was missing - one of my favourite, most memorable melodies. Could not be certain as I might have momentarily dozed off or something, but I think you are referring to what I missed !

Yes, we were in seats 12-13 ..... how could I have known ?? Small world !

I was also at this matinee. I enjoyed the performance, first time I saw Vorontsova live. I found both the characterisations and the dancing very good, and the "video scenery" was imo very interesting - first time I have seen such extensive and effective use of video special fx, we'll be probably seeing more of this in other venues quite soon. Lots of small kids, some well under the minimum age 6 at this matinee - good to see that the Russians will uphold this great art form and tradition for the foreseeable future. However, my companion (who is a very knowledgeable "avid ballet-goer" and blogger) huffed and puffed, saying she was so bored during the second (ballroom) act that she almost dozed off, and gave it a "D" overall - there you go !

Dear Drew : as a "nouveau" in ballet I will leave the appraisal of the ups and downs to MadameP and Buddy which they can do infinitely better than me. Last evening I had the same feeling of "incredulity" that I had when I first set foot in Russia, in the Bolshoy on a day trip on Friday 23rd January 2015, a memorable day for me - I could hardly believe it that I was there. And last evening I could again hardly believe that after seeing the standard Mariinka SB many times on Mezzo and reading about Vikharev's recons and the reactions to it and the moving panorama that used to be at the old Mariinka, I was finally able to see Vikharev's SB at its original setting, with the moving panorama, with the orchestra pit rising and me hearing the "violin concerto" from close up. It was almost an emotional experience for this "nouveau" ! Now Aksana Skorik : much of the negative publicity about Aksana I take with a pinch of salt. Mind you : Aksana was highly regarded by none lesser a ballet person than Ismene Brown, no "nouveau" !! Last evening my amateur eye saw nothing to complain about re her execution. Could not help noticing that there is only a "reluctant" mention of Vikharev on the last page of the programme as member of the "1999 revival team" !

I am not going to let Buddy and MadameP steal all of the limelight ..... Я тоже в Петербурге !!

Just in case some members may not know or remember the story : https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/Tonya-Harding-Nancy-Kerrigan-True-Story-44103595

https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill/petipa

Taking characterisation and dancing style together I will opt for Kretova. By this time it's no secret that I have rather unrefined tastes !

(between you and me : I decided to book the first performance, thinking the second would carry a higher risk of cast change due to injury. Thrice bitten infinitely shy ! )

If I may be allowed to express an opinion : I think I am getting Vaziev's frequency, and his mark is 100/100 in my book for his management of this HUGE company. Imho Urin made a masterstroke in bringing over Vaziev after the events of 2013. If I remember correctly Vaziev suddenly cast Shreiner as Kitri on the spot during London tour of 2016. He cast "CdB dancer" Kavalyova as Odette/Odile last September. After Kryuchkov offered Vaziev a demo of his "Zloy Geniy" during rehearsal he was cast for this role (I saw him and he was excellent). For yesterday's livecast Shreiner and Tsvirko were cast - what an excellent and effective way of telling his company "airtime is not exclusive to Zaharova-Rodkin and Krysanova-Lantratov, I am willing to put anyone on the air as long as I am convinced she/he is up to the job". I am sure it will work wonders for motivation - Shreiner must be over the moon !

When Giezendanner appeared as Swanilda in 2000 or 2001 (with Mathieu Ganio as Frantz) we thought she was destined for stardom. For quite some years we were tracking her but our expectations were dashed. Since getting hooked on Russian classical ballet I don't care tuppence re what goes on at POB and have cancelled my membership.

again the English translation of "La Precaution Inutile" (original title of work)

"FLAMES OF PARIS" VIDEO NOW ONLINE FREE-TO-WEB TILL MONDAY PM ONLY !! Link below : http://media.bolshoi.ru/play/#/vod/play/370

Saw this in March 2016 when it was performed at the Bolshoy as part of the "Zalataya Maska" festival. As usual tix were not sold by Bolshoy but by ZM and I could not get a ticket online, so I referred the matter to the concierge team, asking for a ticket for "FMG". They called ZM and were told there is no FMG being performed ! It later transpired that in Russia FMG is called "Tshetnaya Predostorojnost" ...... a direct translation of "La Precaution Inutile"

Я знаю - у меня есть билет

When casting for this run of Giselle was posted I had written "two injury-prone dancers being cast together exponentially increases the chance of disappointment" or something to that effect, which some members had taken exception to. At the time I was alluding to my experience with Osipova, but there you are. Don't get me wrong : I am happy to have seen Hallberg live, even if for one act only.

As of today it seems there has been a radical change in online tix sale procedure : one has to enter his/her name and passport number following which a booking confirmation only is emailed and one has to personally collect the actual tickets IN PERSON from a Bolshoy ticket sale counter, presenting the passport entered in the system and the credit card used in the booking ! I just got tix for the "Ballet Artists' Galas" on 25-26 April and this is what I found ..... no etix emailed to you as before, you have to go and collect and possibly stand in line ...... what a hassle !!

Wonder whether you saw my report on Osipova's LoL : to my amateur eye her performance was not atrocious but it wasn't something unmissable. However I was told opinion on balletfriends.ru was split 50-50. Would I make a day trip again to see Natasha as Mehmene Banu ?? Highly unlikely. Yana Salenko : have seen her live in Berlin a couple of times. Good solid dancer but not a showstopper like Osipova. I will be looking for Staatsballett castings for next season once Daniil Simkin joins them : I thought I saw genuine chemistry between Yana and Daniil in more than one gala video I saw on YT and posted on the forum. I an very hopeful re this pairing if it happens.

When I saw an insert sticking out from the castsheet I almost had a heart attack : if Osipova was "indisposed" this would have been the 4th time in as many years that I would have travelled in vain - luckily this wasn't the case this time. However, the evening wasn't lacking in shocking cast change : when Kevin O'Hare appeared in front of the curtain with mike in hand just before Act 2 was due to start it was quite obvious that we were in for unwelcome news : that Hallberg had been injured during the first act and had danced on despite it but would be unable to do the second act. Matthew Ball who had been cast with Naghdi for this run of Giselle had been found at home (standby duty ?) and brought in to partner Osipova for the second act. What a disappointment, a letdown it must have been for Hallberg. This was the first time I saw Hallberg live, knew him from the Mezzo satcasts of SB and Marco Spada from the Bolshoi. Seeing him live, albeit for the first act only, was a revelation : elegant, excellent dancer with excellent characterisation which depicted both regal aloofness and convincing remorse - no wonder Bolshoy took him on - heads on match for their finest. So unlucky to have suffered something like this so early in his comeback. Who needs a description of Osipova ?? A gift of God to the art of ballet : technique, characterisation, and that extra edge of "quality" : I mean, there are balances and then there are "Osipova balances" - rock solid whatever the duration, freezing time and motion. Had last seen her as Giselle with Polunin in Munich last October, once again superlative in one of her signature roles and had paired sooo well with Hallberg - hope he is not seriously injured and will be able to do his other dates. Matthew Ball : first saw his name when casting for the new production of Swan Lake was posted. Imho has great potential, has great presence, an air of Polunin at times. Tech wise has room for improvement : the second act entrechats started well but petered out too soon - once you have seen Polunin do it difficult to accept something less, but how many of them are there ?? Ball in my view has great potential and will probably be declared an "Etoile" sometime during the SL run. Claire Calvert as Myrtha was imho OK but not "spellbinding". I will probably draw the ire of our British members by saying this, but so was the RB CdB. I mean, at the Bolshoy these white scenes are done to such perfection that after one sees them a few times it becomes difficult to fall for anything less. Witness to what I would like to believe ? Possible, but I don't think so. Will post a picture, sorry for the bad quality, best of what I took tonight.

Have never been able to get Kultura in Istanbul - satcast footprint does not cover Istanbul, and webcast has detected and defeated every VPN I have tried. Would be grateful if any members can suggest what to try.