nysusan

Obrastzova's April 23 O/O debut is sold out.

http://www.stanmus.c...l?Month=2011-04

http://www.ticketlan...?id=3619&view=1

Yes, I noticed that when I tried to book.

Maybe a hotel concierge can find alternatives?

Oh no - what torture to be in town and not be able to see Obraztsova's debut. I'm sure you'll find a way. Do they sell returns on the day of the performance?

Subscribers can exchange tickets and I'll definitely be at the box office tomorrow to exchange most of mine!!!

There are ticket prices further down on the press release:

Tickets: $225, 125, 95, 80, 50, 40, 30, 20

Time to raid the piggy bank

Shklyarov's promotion is such great news! I can't tell you if there was any announcement after the last performance because I didn't stick around for the curtain calls. I was a bit concerned about making my flight home so I rushed out the minute the curtain came down. Of course, my flight was delayed 2 yrs and ultimately canceled, so I got to spend the night at an airport hotel. Yuck!!!

So glad to hear that it wasn't Timofeev in the pdt. I just took a look at some online photos and I think it was Timofeev who danced on Sat night and was my favorite. I think it was Stepin on Thurs night and Sun mat, but can't tell for sure if it was him or Parish. Whoever it was, he was fine, it was only the Sat matinee soloist who was below par. Saturday night's Jester (Alexey Nedviga) was also very good, really just about at Popov's level - which is amazing.

I could go on and on about the corps, as Natalia said, especially the swan corps. This was undoubtedly the best run I've seen and it was great to see dancers like Vasnetsova and Nikitina come into their own. The 4 cygnets were perfect each time, and the 4 big swans were gorgeous. I adore Shirinkina, Martynyuk and Cheprasova and can't wait to see how Brileva develops, she's certainly a swan queen in the making.

As wonderful as everyone was, I missed Yana Selina. I think this is the 1st time I've seen the Kirov without her!

All 3 of the O/O Sigfried pairs I saw were great. Ivenchenko was the weakest of the men and while an uninspiring soloist he has an elegant, stretched line and gave Kondaurova all the support she needed. Korsuntsev seemed much more animated and involved than I remember him, but Terioshkina & Shklyarov had the best chemistry - by far. He is such a beautiful dancer, I love his soft, plush landings and he has wonderful form and elevation. Terioshkina was a heartbreaking Odette - so soulful with almost Makarova - like plastique while her Odile absolutely reveled in her seduction of poor Siegfried. Of course she killed the fouettees, starting with a triple then alternating single - single double as did Kondaurova. BTW - I said that Lopatkina did all singles. Not true - she started with a triple then followed with all singles.

This was such a fabulous run of Swan Lakes, I love the the production, the corps was wonderful and every performance was great.

Just a quick note to add that Kondaurova's Swan Lake at the Sat mat was wonderful. She was a much softer, more pliant Odette than I expected her to be. Very sorrowful with a distinct sense of yearning (for freedom, for love?). She may be as tall as Lopatkina but her plastique, phrasing etc was completely different. Her line, of course, was breathtaking. I remember specifically one of the first times she went into that classic arabesque with her head and arms thrown back - the way she opened up her chest, reached back with that supple spine and unfurled her leg was magnificent.

I've seen Shirinkina in the pas de trois at each performance with either Cheprasova or Martynyuk - no Kasenkova so far (one more to go this afternoon - with Tershkina and Schklyarov). They were all wonderful! I don't know any of the male dancers who were cast for the pdt so its impossible to say if there were casting changes. They were all fine with the Tomifeev (sat mat) a little weaker than the rest, fudging his landings just a bit and almost falling out of the pose at the end of his variation - but these were minor slips, they were all more than good. The Sat night casting listed Alexander Perish who was my favourite - could that have been the british dancer Xander Parish?

The national dances in act 4 were all fabulous. There was one dancer in the Polish dance that I really loved but alas I couldn't identify her from the program. She is a small, maybe sightly older brunette and I'm pretty sure that she also impressed me in the Mazurka from the 3rd act of Raymonda in NY a few years ago. She had such a spark you couldn't take your eyes off of her.

The corps was fabulous, absolutely fantastic. This has been a great weekend and there's still one performance to go!

Yay, a computer in my hotel lobby! But I'm typing standing up so this will be brief.

What a magnificent performance of Swan Lake tonight. It starts with Lopatkina. This is the second time I've seen her O/O. The first time was before her dvd came out and I was so overwhelmed by her exquisite plastique and the beauty of her every movement that I couldn't really take in the totality of her performance.

This time was different - I was very moved by her performance. I can't believe that people have described her O/O as being cold or remote or studied - though perhaps her interpretation has changed over the years. Tonight she was so tragic, so in love with Korsuntsev's Siegfried. It was a wonderful performance. And Korsuntsev was great, too. Perhaps he isn't the world's most exciting dancer but he has solid technique, the most elegant lines you can imagine and he is all a ballerina could want in a partner

The corps was flawless - moving, even breathing like one organism. The whole company was in top form. There was an unannounced substitution in the Prince's Friends pas de trois. Maria Shirinkina danced, I think she replaced Kasenkova but if so Cheprasova is blonder and thinner than I remember. Both of the pdt dancers were lovely and Shirinkina really stood out in small corphee roles in the white acts.

I'll post something after I return, most likely on Monday. Hopefully nysusan and any other BalletTalkers attending might also be posting impressions. (hint-hint)

I'm not bringing a laptop with me so unless my hotel has a computer for their guests to use you won't see anything from me until I'm back in NY

Well, I'm now 'all set' with a great ticket to see the Divine Kondaurova's Odette/Odile on Saturday afternoon.

As am I! I didn't plan to spend 3 days in Toronto or to see 4 Swan Lakes but I really can't complain about a Lopatkina-Kondaurova-Lopatkina-Tereshkina weekend!

Sometimes change is good!

....

Natalia, please let us know about Somova's performance after, I'd be all ears.

Sure thing. I'll probably post on Monday, after I get back to DC. I've promised my husband to NOT take the laptop...but we ARE taking our skates, to try-out the amazing Rideau Canal, the world's longest frozen skateway. [The ice is supposed to be in good condition, according to the website! It's 7.8 km long! http://www.ottawatou...-canal-skateway ] Canal begins next to our hotel (Lord Elgin), which is next to the theater. Hopefully I won't injure myself before performances, either tomorrow afternoon or Sunday morning.

p.s. - Yes, we know that the skates have to go with the checked luggage. That's the only reason why I won't be doing carry-on.

Natalia, you're going to have a such great time! My husband (another hockey nut) and I skated the canal a few years ago with another couple. It was freezing - the coldest I've ever been - but so much fun!!! Have a great time and let me know if you decide to go to Toronto, I'll be there for Fri & Sat nights and the Sun matinee. There's been no casting posted on the Sony Center site so we can only hope the Ardani casting holds for SL...

Despite the official silence I've continued to hear rumors swirling about a possible Mariinsky Ballet visit to NYC this summer. Finally, some official word from the Mariinsky via their Twitter feed. It seems that a 1 week visit in July is still planned, but not yet confirmed. Here's the link: http://www.formsprin...ign=shareanswer

The season is almost over, it sped by like a whirlwind and I don't know how it can possibly be almost over already. I saw so many wonderful performances but have just been too busy to post.

Sara Mearns' Swan Lake is just as miraculous as Macaulay indicates. To be sure, if she was dancing it in a more traditional company, in a truly classical production I still would have found it thrilling, but probably would have thought it was out of place. It's a very non-traditional interpretation - wild and almost veering out of control at times but riveting and utterly devastating.

I have to say I don't always agree with Macaulay but this time I think he described her performance very well. The contrast between that creamy phrasing & deep backbends and then her lightning fast turns, and striking, stabbing arabesques revealed the complexity of Odette's dilemma perfectly. And her dancing often veered just this side of out of control, which was possible due to J. Angle's secure partnering.

I also saw the Suozzi/Mearns Prodigal. It was a very good outing for Suozzi, but again - Mearns dominated. She was a very seductive, sinister Siren. Not a cool, detached reading as we often see at NYCB, she was very much the scheming seducer.

Natalia - so sorry we missed you this weekend - YID and I got there early on Sunday but still didn't see you. Next time.

Just briefly - Diana's act 1 on Sunday did not seem underpowered at all to me, she danced full out and was wonderful. She has toned down the wildness the past few times I've seen her to the point where she now presents a fairly traditional Giselle (not a bad thing IMO). Her hops on point were so delicate, her pique turns furiously fast. She was shy in Act 1 but not too shy, she was actually very girlish and very infatuated with Fadeyev's Albrecht. In Act 2 she was a wraith, though I wouldn't have called her presence stern. Loving, but no longer of this world. I thought this was the best Giselle I've seen from her since that unbelievable outing with Malakhov at ABT 4-5 years ago. Tereshkina & Lopatkina were both great, but the Vishneva/Fadeyev pairing was the one that truly broke my heart.

I thought Tereshkina/ Shklarov were very, very good and I loved Vicky's second act - very ghostly with amazing technique and line - but her 1st act characterization was of the really painfully shy variety and I found it a bit much.

Lopatkina was the big question mark for me, I wondered how she would pull off the 1st act. Her dancing is always gorgeous, she is one of those ballerinas whose every move is perfection and I actually sometimes find that a bit distracting. I thought her 1st act was lovely - she was a sweet,demure Giselle but not particularly shy. She was a relatively normal girl who had a weak heart. Strangely enough her 2nd act didn't really move me. Every move had a gorgeous flow to it but she seemed too real, too flesh and blood - I didn't get the feeling that she was a spirit.

It was wonderful to finally see Shirinkina in the PPD with Shklyarov on Sunday. What a beautiful little doll of a dancer. However I must agree that Martinyuk was my favorite of the 3 women who danced the PPD.

Finally - Natalia - after the show at one point I found myself about a foot away from the ballerina who danced Myrtha. People were whispering Iosofidi but they were mostly speaking Russian so I'm not sure if they knew her or were just surmising it was her. She was very tall with chin length black hair, slightly strong features and she did look a bit on the older side. I've only seen Iosofidi once before so I really don't know if it was her.

And...wishing my favorite, Dasha Pavlenko a speedy, full recovery, can't wait for her to reclaim her old roles and start touring again!!!

In response to Elizaveta, same first name as Cheprasova, who danced Friday night peasant pas de deux, it is easy to distinguish between Dasha Vasnetsova and Oksana Skorik. Dasha is the beautiful girl, who enters first on the audience's right side and stands on the left side and does the second solo. Oksana is not the beautiful one who enters on the left side and stands on the right side and does the first solo.

WOW. Having just gotten back from the Sat matinee performance I have to say that Oksana Skorik looked rtaher beautiful, although Vasnetsova's dancing certainly had a lighter, more delicate sheen to it. Skorik has darker hair and lighter skin and she did dance the first solo.

The program indicated that Anastasia Petushkova was dancing Myrtha but it sure looked like Kondaurova to me. Who ever it was, she was beautiful.

Tereshkina & Shklyarov were wonderful, her dancing is so pure and he showed beautiful elevation, perfect line and great acting skills. They were both particularly good in the second act where she was spectral & wraithlike.

Lopatkina & Chistyakova's names were in the hotel roster ;-))

Thats what I was hoping to hear!!!!

See you at the Kennedy Head pre-show

Thanks for the report, YID!

I would LOVE to see Shirinkina's Peasant PPD so hopefully the switch was just for one night. Who was Martinyuk's partner?

Very excited about seeing Shklyarov in Sergeev's variation and still crossing my fingers that Lopatkina shows up for Sat night.

I'll be there for both performances on Sat & the Sun matinee. See you and Natalia there!

Thanks for all the reviews, it sounds like ABT has a hit on their hands and I'm so glad to hear that. I loved Bright Stream when the Bolshoi did it at the Met a few years ago but was a little worried that ABT might take too broad an approach - as Ambonnay said - there's a fine line between comedy and farce and sometimes I feel that ABT comes down on the wrong side of that line so I'm glad that isn't the case here!

Looking forward to their NYC performances this spring.

Wasn't Murphy supposed to do Theme with Halberg on the 1st night? It's now Y. Kajiya. Maybe I'm wrong.

Yes, it was supposed to be Murphy. I am very disappointed that I won't see Gillian (bought my ticket for that casting), though I have never seen Kajiya dance so this will be a good opportunity to see her in T&V.

Kajiya had better plan to bring her "A game" for T&V. It's one of the most difficult Balanchine ballets in the rep. Casting Kajiya (one of the shortest dancers at ABT) wtih Hallberg (one of the tallest) will certainly look interesting. Easy lifting for David, for a change. I'd be interested in hearing how Kajiya does in this ballet. I have been underwhelmed by many of her performances of technically demanding principal roles in the past. Hopefully she has improved. Since she is getting the opening night, I guess I will be reading about it in the press.

I'm pretty sure that I saw Kajiya in T&V in NY a couple of seasons ago. I remember because I was distinctly unimpressed. I don't know why they keep putting her into these technically challenging roles. She's not a spectacular technician and IMO she doesn't project that secure "I can do anything" attitude of a Bouder, a Weese or a Murphy. She's a talented dancer but I see her as more of a lyrical type who's miscast in things like T&V, Ballo or the Don Q pdd.

It's a shame that they pulled Murphy, she does a world class T&V and looks wonderful with Hallberg. After her Hererra is my favorite of the ABT women in T&V. Frankly the only DC cast that looks interesting to me is the Lane/Cornejo cast. Last time I saw the two of them they were both wonderful individually but Cornejo was still having major problems with the partnering which really turned me off.

On the other hand - I'd love to see those "Lilac Gardens"!

Look on the bright side. Now out-of-town folks who were planning to spend two nights in DC in order to be able to see Terioshkina on Friday night can save money, now needing a hotel only on Saturday night. Of course, 'they' can still pull a switcheroo and stick folks with Somova on Saturday night, but that would be way too cruel.

I've been on the losing end of too many Mariinsky switcharoos and I relay feel badly for people who booked Friday night for Terioshkina. But since I didn't I'm going to try to take something good away from this change. Had tickets for Sat nite (Lopatkina/Korsuntsev/Kondaurova) and Sunday matinee (Vishneva/Fadeyev/Iosifidi) and just bought tkts for the Sat matinee. I'm hoping against hope that this casting holds but even if it doesn't - 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

I understand that on January 10 NYCB will begin posting the casting for the winter season. I do know that Joaquin de Luz will dance in the principal role of The Prodigal Son for the January 22 evening performance as part of Mr. B's birthday celebration.

Anyone else have any insights to share on winter season casting?

Bouder posted her first week schedule on twitter & facebook - dancing with De Luz in Valse Fantasie opening night, then Thursday Jan 20 in Concerto DSCH & Saturday evening Jan 22- Stars and Stripes with Veyette

http://www.facebook....139894626040602

And I can't imagine Sallie Wilson in Hot Chocolate!

Catherine, Thanks so much for your insight into the inner workings of the Mariinsky! Good to hear that Pavlenko's back and working her way back into the repertory.

Meanwhile, casting for the Canadian tour has been posted on the Ardani site and guess who's opening their run of Swan Lake? You guessed it, Ms. Somova.

Alina Somova , Denis Matvienko (3/1)

Victoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Schklyarov (3/2)

Uliana Lopatkina, Danila Korsuntsev (3/3)

Yekaterina Kondaurova ,Yevgeny Ivanchenko (3/4)

Anastasia Kolegova Andrian Fadeev (3/5, mat)

Alina Somova ,Vladimir Schklyarov (3/ 5, eve)

Uliana Lopatkina Danila Korsuntsev (3/6)

Here's the Bayadere casting:

Nikia, a bayadère

Diana Vishneva (24, 27)

Victoria Tereshkina (25)

Yekaterina Kondaurova (26, mat)

Uliana Lopatkina (26, eve)

Alina Somova (27, mat)

Gamzatti, his daughter

Anastasia Matvienko (24, 26, 27, eve)

Anastasia Kolegova (25, 26, mat, 27, mat)

Solor, a rich warrior

Andrian Fadeev (24, 27)

Denis Matvienko (25)

Yevgeny Ivanchenko (26, mat)

Danila Korsuntsev (26, eve)

Vladimir Schklyarov (27, mat)

Here's the link:

http://www.ardani.com/tours-mariinsky.php

I went to the first preview with Part & Gomes and was disappointed in just about every way possible.

There were some highlights - I especially liked the first act sets, the kitchen scene was delightful, the young Clara I saw was charming and the little mouse pretty much stole the show.

I thought the first act pdd for the Princess & Prince (Part/Gomes) was lovely and came at a very opportune time – I did not enjoy the Watz of the Snowflakes and was starting to have a bad feeling about the production. The sight of Part & Gomes in those gorgeus costumes really picked things up. I liked the way young Clara/Nutcraker shadowed the movements of their idealized grownup selves and the way you could still see their youthful personalities in the grown up couple. Ratmansky (or Part) combined playfulness and radiant joy in the variation however Part was a tiny bit shaky in some of the pirouettes.

One of the big failings of this production for me is that the 1^st act party scene just didn't look like much fun. The kids were whiny petulant brats and the adults were not well characterized. This was not a warm & fuzzy recollection of Christmases past or an idealization of the family Christmases you wished you'd had – this was a party I would have avoided at all costs.

I disliked the 2nd act costumes almost without exception but what I disliked most about this production is that Ratmansky's choreography for the 2 big waltzes seemed to fight the music, especially the Waltz of the Flowers. The Bumblebees probably sounded like a good idea but I found their choreography to be much too forceful for the delicate strains of music that weave in and out of the waltz.

I really didn't like any of the 2nd act "sweets" variations though I think Tea was the best of the lot and was performed very well. I hated the way Ratmansky characterized the Sugar Plum Fairy. She looked matronly and not very magical. I enjoyed Part and Gomes in the 2nd act pdd but I didn't think their individual variations flattered either of them - especially not Gomes. He is my favorite danseur and I think this is the first time I've watched him and thought that he didn't look good in something. Can't figure out how Ratmansky accomplished that.

I'm going to let this production settle in and try one more performance next year but for now, I need a NYCB antidote asap!

and Alexander Kurkov is partnering Lopatkina.

The female dancers as identified in the video blurb are Somova, Lopatkina, Osmolkina, Goncharova. However, I think jsmu is right that the third movement may be Vishneva instead. I think the fourth movement may be Maya Dumchenko.

We may be talking about a different video but I've watched that Russian TV Bizet a dozen times and the one I've seen is Noradze, Lopatkina, Vishneva, Ayupova. I don't know any of the danseurs

I just saw this today and agree with Colleen - creepy is exactly how I'd describe it. Not really scary, not much of a psychological thriller, but claustrophobic and creepy. I do think that the line between what was supposed to be real and what was in Nina's mind was intentionally blurred. We were seeing everything from her perspective and she was one sick chick. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.

On a positive note - the theater was packed, enthusiastic and mostly under 30. I heard a couple of people saying that they'd never been to an actual ballet so maybe this will drum up some business. Especially here in NY where ABT & NYCB are both doing Swan Lake in 2011.

I've heard that Tereshkina got very good reports from Russian audience. I've seen only photos:

http://0ika.livejour...com/148541.html

She reminds me of Mezentseva here.

She is indeed wonderful and a "can-do" dancer. It's just that her face is more 'queenly' -- with strong angular features -- than sweet ingenue, which is of importance to many in the audience. Terioshkina is perfect in every way for Mirtha, as was Lopatkina back in the 90s. There's more to it than being able to do the steps. Vishneva and Obraztsova are the two Mariinsky ballerinas who have it all - perfect 'ingenue' faces and physiques for Giselle, lovely technique, strong acting, musicality.

I might add that the best Giselles I've seen are able to transform themselves from shy ingenue to a more mature, otherworldly ghost in Act 2. I wish Daria Pavlenko was coming along, but didn't she just have a baby? Maybe she doesn't want to tour to the U.S. because of her young family.

If only Pavlenko was coming either to DC or to Toronto in March, but that would be a miracle.

Don't count Tereshkina out just because she's not a natural Giselle. She didn't strike me as a natural Kitri either, but she was wonderful in DON Q. She is a very intelligent artist as well as being a great technician, I'm betting she'll be a heartbreaking Giselle. The only pity is that we won't get her Myrtha anymore, hers was the best I've ever seen.