mnacenani

14 minutes ago, MadameP said:

ALyona Kovalyova will debut as Mireille de Poitiers in Flames of Paris on 14th December.  Her partner will be Jacopo Tissi.

No chance to see this FoP but maybe the Don Kixot. I would much rather see this great Petipa classic, Smirnova, Kovalyova and Rodkin should be great.

15 minutes ago, Buddy said:

Thanks, Mnacenani and Fleurdelis, for your thoughts and for keeping us posted on her performance schedule and what's she's currently doing

Actually, instead of asking other members to help out I should myself be clicking on the following link every couple of days to keep track of her casting : https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/persons/ballet/3306/

20 minutes ago, Fleurdelis said:

At the Bolshoi the closest I can see to that is Stepanova, who is, however, of smaller height.

I have yet to form a definitive opinion on Stepanova but found her recent Myrtha at the Bolshoy very convincing. And yes - Alyona might become a very good Giselle, you do have a point here !  Re Myrtha :  saw Masha Allash a couple of times over the last couple of years and thought she was a convincing Myrtha, and she is not very tall either.

40 minutes ago, Fleurdelis said:

Even her height, which one would think would give her an advantage here, was of no help. 

Is height really an advantage to become Myrtha ? Imho without perfect, excellent characterisation physical outlook and perfect technique will not convince the viewer. Members are probably sick of my writing again and again that excellent characterisation is required for all three main roles of Giselle, but isn't it really ??  Even my beloved Zaharova is not a good Giselle, and can't visualise her as Myrtha either. (Top secret - for your eyes only !!  My wife after seeing a recent video of Svetlana as Giselle quipped that she is nowadays looking more like the mother of Albrecht than his heart throb ..... mauvaise langue !!)

Sun 17th Kretova-Vasiliev / Tue 19th Krysanova-Chudin / Wed 20th Smirnova-Rodkin ....... boy, wouldn't I love to see all of them ...... sigh !  It's so annoying that Bolshoy posts the casting two weeks in advance while tix have sold out three months in advance. Look up the full casting for these evenings there are other goodies !!

https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/912/roles/#20171217190000

4 minutes ago, Fleurdelis said:

I am sorry, but I could not bring myself to be convinced by a Myrtha with Alyona's angelic baby face, as hard as she might have tried to look stern and powerful

Wow - a fellow member who actually is a Maskvich/Maskvichka !  Очень приятно познакомиться !!  I suspect you may be right but I would have loved to see her live myself to be able to judge. I would greatly appreciate it if you and any other members can drop me a line if/when Alyona is cast for any role. I try to keep track but two or more pairs of eyes are much better than one. Yesterday casting was posted for the December run of Don Kixot and Alyona will be Dryads' Queen vs Kitri of Smirnova on Wed 20th : https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/912/roles/#20171220190000

On 11/30/2017 at 5:17 PM, kbarber said:

Perhaps you should read Hallberg's book.

I will, it's on the way. Am curious about what he has to say about his Bolshoy experience.

10 hours ago, variated said:

I would highly recommend her Sylvia and advise that you sit close enough to fully appreciate her range of facial expressions

Glad that "variated" posted his/her impressions first. I flew in to see Osipova, not Sylvia per se, though seeing a ballet I knew little about was the bonus. This year I was able to see Natasha as Vetsera, Giselle and Sylvia and I don't think I would be making a special trip again to see her as Vetsera or Sylvia. Don't have much to write, the music maybe is more sophisticated, more "symphonic" than Coppelia, with prominent use of brasswinds and "leitmotif" (Wagner influence ?) but after a week or two most people including myself will probably only be able to recall from memory the "pizzicato". Coppelia has considerably more memorable tunes, imho. Am not qualified to comment on the choreo and don't know "Ashton style", am more interested in "Petipa style", and I thought Ashton may have been quite fond of Petipa - would I be making things up if I said I detected references to Raymonda, Corsaire and most obviously to Sleeping Beauty ??

It was an enjoyable evening and seeing Osipova is always so nice, but I would like to catch her somewhere as Juliet this season or next. For me the 3rd act PdD was the high point of the ballet, Sylvia will not be one of my "top five" ballets ..... that Tchaikovsky said he would not have composed Swan Lake if he had heard Sylvia first is hard to believe ..... he must have been seriously depressed at the time. As a composition Swan Lake steamrollers Sylvia flat .... "nolo contendere" !

PS : Hanna Weibye of Artsdesk has posted her review. Ashton cognoscenti should read the last para where she is quite critical of the CdB :  http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/sylvia-royal-ballet-review-ashton-rarity-makes-delicious-evening

14 minutes ago, Mashinka said:

I thought the story line was very clear and not so very dissimilar to Daphnis and Chloe, it's an excellent ballerina role, I'm seeing Osipova later in the run and I've a feeling the role will suit her.

If you give me a couple of hours I will let you know! 

Hello from TK1985 over Karlovy Vary . Hope to see Sylvia this evening if I am not refused entry by UK Immigration at Heathrow. Wanted to see Osipova who at my last check was not posted as injured at rehearsal yesterday or something. Sylvia is not a ballet I am too familiar with : watched the dvd of the 2005 staging with Bussell-Bolle ....... not something unmissable is it ??  For some reason I tend to group this in my mind with Balanchine's "Midsummer Night's Dream" but MND has imho infinitely better music, choreo and STORY !!  No or weak story = weak drama, be it comedy or tragedy, and for me (excuse me folks !) no ballet !! See you later .....

Saw Hallberg only on Mezzo Bolshoy telecasts of Sleeping Beauty and Marco Spada. After his very long absence was surprised when he was cast to partner Osipova in Royal Ballet Giselle next March. Have booked but am keeping my fingers crossed :  that's two injury-prone dancers cast together

13 hours ago, CharlieH said:

You cannot go wrong with Bessmertnova; she defied her age

Bessmertnova was Grigarovich's wife wasn't she ??

One for you Buddy - Laura Cappelle just posted this !  Methinks Pointe will sell extra copies this month 

http://www.pointemagazine.com/community/lauracappelle

3 hours ago, ABT Fan said:

I especially want to see the Grigorovich version.

The European sat/cable channel Mezzo shows the current Bolshoy Grigarovich Romeo&Juliet from time to time, don't know whether Mezzo is available across the pond. Imho another me-too adaptation which fails to better the original (which I find insuperable) and falls short by a mile.

59 minutes ago, sandik said:

Looking forward to seeing what Ratmansky has done with this material.

You'll be shocked ......

7 hours ago, Drew said:

when I saw it in Washington D.C. with the Bolshoi (they were still dancing it then) Lavrosky's complex social layering seemed to me to "fill in" the music in a way that seemed less empty--and less dull-- than other versions that closely follow the Prokoviev/Lavrosky template..

Whaddyaexpect ?? There is only one original, the joint pinnacle of drama, ballet and modern composition. All the rest are me-too imitations cashing in by the unwarranted use of the "trademark". If you would like to see the original again here it is in HD danced by the incomparable Vishnyova and Shklyarov : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYhT2AsdprI

2 minutes ago, ABT Fan said:

That is such a critical point in the drama though

This is not the only scene R has made a hash of imho - in my report on the premiere I wrote about the priest dancing a PdT with R&J - I couldn't believe it ! Evidently R and some of his fans think Romeo&Juliet is "light entertainment", a "spectacle" !

3 minutes ago, Helene said:

Prokofiev's score should never be abridged, adapted, or changed.

I wholeheartedly agree with this part of your comments - it is sacrosanct, should be untouchable

7 minutes ago, variated said:

How are you “vindicated” by an interview that says he used the whole score but for “fragments”?

I know this score by heart, I wrote in my report that the music for Act 1 seemed to be cut, and here Ratmansky confirms that it was cut. "Maybe some unessential fragments" is a defensive statement - it was noticeable, at least by myself.

There is a recent interview with Ratmansky in the Bolshoy programme book for his Romeo&Juliet staging which premiered past week. I have scanned it to jpg and posted via Flickr for the benefit of any members who might be interested. Btw :  my suspicion that the music of Act 1 had been cut has been vindicated. In addition the crash-bang accelerated finale certainly makes me suspect that "overtime " was a major factor in Ratmansky's disrespectful treatment of the drama, disgusting. Maybe he should avoid staging Shakespeare in countries where theatre managements have to kow-tow to trade unions (!)

1 hour ago, MadameP said:

I certainly hope Obraztsova's Juliet is shown.  For me, she is far more lyrical and expressive a dancer than Krysanova, who I always find rather hard, as in her Medora performance - but then we all like different.  

As you know firm casting was posted only within the last 24 hours up to which time I was hoping to see Obraz. at the premiere. After the event I came away soo happy to have seen Katya Krys. who imho put on a magnificient dramatic performance. Wish you had also seen it - you would have been as surprised as I was.

33 minutes ago, Quinten said:

Both she and Kaptsova are seriously underutilized, which is a mystery and a great waste

Last season it was a mystery to me too where Genya had gone since I did not see her cast for anything. I found out later that she was expecting a baby (twins ?). She reappeared at the Dance Open closing gala in Piter last April and danced the Satanilla PdD with Lapatin - wasn't good and got polite applause only, didn't show up at the party afterwards. At Bolshoy one could very well drop down in the pecking order when he/she drops out for a whole season due to Vaziev seeming keen to develop the new talent - just think of the dancers recently placed on contract, my beloved Alexandrova and Kaptsova included.

4 hours ago, Drew said:

Krysanova's fan base doesn't strike me as any more "rabid" than the fan base of any other major Russian ballerina

Boy ..... you dare to criticize another Bolshoy prima promoted to principal last season and you have had it ..... better run and hide ! 

Stash has become a principal, she really shone in the Corsaire Pas des Esclaves I saw last month.

Looked for a possible webcast (via VPN) today in vain, as I suspected they probably do simulcasts of live cinecasts only. Hate "modern" choreo but wanted to see Katya in a different role soon after her (imho) magnificient Juliet.