NAOTMAA

Unfortunately as Tim Scholl said as long as Gregiev is sill in change with yes men, like Yuri Fateyev, around things will only continue to decline. Their the ones who let all the "older generation haters" have their way. And the ones who stop any chance of progress. He told me he has more faith in the people at the Bolshoi. They're more liberal and open minded (as much as one can be in Russia) then those in charge at the Mariinsky.

Believe me if it were the reconstruction I would have not hesitated a second to shell out the $75-80 it cost to get a copy shipped to the US. I bought a region free DVD player just for occasions like that Although I didn't get that one since as you said there are other filmed versions in region 1 much cheaper with more iconic Aurora's. I don't mind the Sergeev version as it does have it's moments. The 2006 Royal ballet, which is closer to Petipa, is very good too. But after seeing the reconstruction I've come to the opinion that regardless of what versions claim to be more "authentic and true" they're all still missing something. Extra little things, or big things in some cases, make it something completely different in spirit and meaning. I still hold a little hope that one of the two performances next week will be filmed but I'm ready to accept they won't.

How wonderful! I've only seen a really bad quality version of it on youtube with Obraztsova and Shklyarov and it still looked beautiful. It will be great to see all the magic in HD! Hopefully a worldwide DVD/Blu-ray release of the gala is in the cards as well. I remember a Sergeev Sleeping Beauty performance aired on Mezzo TV in 2015, with Somova and Shklyarov as Aurora and Desire, but the DVD was a Japanese only special release. I believe a few others were the same. Hopefully this one, considering the occasion, won't be the same.

I hope I'm wrong but I have a sad feeling in my gut that tells me no Gergiev conducting equals no filming The casting of the Tereshkina/Shklyarov performance, with Kondaurova as Lilac and Kolb as Carabosse, on the 8th, seems to have been made with filming in mind so who knows. When do people usually find out if a performance is being filmed or not? I feel like with a week to go we would have already found out. They performed it this ballet 10 years and then dropped it without ever releasing a DVD/Blu-ray (other popular ballets still performed have one!). Now with it being revived for the bicentennial (and likely to be dropped again once its over) this will be the very last chance of capturing the whole ballet on celluloid. I really hope they don't throw the chance away otherwise I'd assume their personal hatred for it clouds their judgement. But as I'm sure you know in the "Sacred Stage" documentary they have parts of the Prologue and Rose Adagio (with Zhanna Ayupova) professionally filmed. They also have the whole vision scene (with Zhanna and Anton Korsakov) as a DVD bonus. I've always wondered if that whole performance was actually filmed, for the documentary producers to pick and choose clips with permission, and its now lying somewhere in the Mariinsky vaults gathering dust.