NO7

Unfortunately, the gala performance on May 30 is not opened to the public, unless you get the invitation from the president Putin! Room rates during the celebration of 300 years in St Petersburg are outrageous. Bilbo, you may try www.lodgingspb.com for cheaper rate in mini hotels or apartments.

Jeannie. I have put the link for you in Ballet.co.uk. http://www.danze.co.uk/dcforum/news/1657.html But....I think it wasn't a good idea to do so. Sorry!

Whenever Tsiskaridze appears on stage, he always steals the show. It's interesting that even Vishneva was overshadowed by him. (I saw them danced in the 3rd movement of Balanchine's Symphony in C). And he made an ultra-supple Golden Slave with Nioradze. His dancing was stunning and seductive. Errrr...probably even more than Zobiede's! :eek:

Dear Katharine, I really like what you called "Ruzimatovisms"! Looking at Kolb's repertoires in the past two years, I guess Kirov may want him to be Ruzimatov's successor! And perhaps Fadeyev will be Zelensky's!?! (Actually, Kolb has danced Bayadere in October not December in Paris.) And yes, Jeannie and vrsfanatic, Kuznetsov is still a first soloist. No promotion, unfortunately:(

I'm curious, Jeannie. It seems to me that there are so many 'Artist of Russia' award types. Recently, if my mem. serves, Nioradze received one of them too. And have fun throughout the 3rd Mariinsky Ballet Festival!

I just admire Vishneva so much. That's why I can't help putting this link: http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_03/fe...ew_vishneva.htm

I've just received the updated programme of the White Nights Festival from the Mariinsky's marketing manager. Surely, it's subject to change. Tickets are not on sale until May. 11th International Festival “Stars of the White Nights” dedicated to the 300TH Anniversary of St Petersburg May 5 – August 5, 2003 Artistic Director: Valery Gergiev Monday, May 5 & Tuesday, May 6 Prokofiev WAR AND PEACE With Anna Netrebko, Gegam Grigorian and Vladimir Moroz Conducted by Valery Gergiev Wednesday, May 7 at 20:00 ORCHESTRA OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE Rimsky Korsakov Sheherezade Glazunov Violin Concerto Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 Soloist: Vadim Repin Conducted by Valery Gergiev Thursday, May 8 WORLD ORCHESTRA FOR PEACE Mendelssohn Overture and Scherzo - Midsummer Night’s Dream Strauss Don Juan Prokofiev Ode to the End of War, Op. 105 Stravinsky Petrushka (1911) Conducted by Valery Gergiev Friday, May 9 BALLETS BY SHOSTAKOVICH * The Young Girl and the Hooligan Klop (The Bedbug) Leningrad Symphony Saturday, May 10 Petipa/Tchaikovsky 13:00 & 19:00 SWAN LAKE * Sunday, May 11 Tchaikovsky 12:00 EUGENE ONEGIN ** 20:00: FOKINE TRIPLE BILL Chopiniana, Sheherezade, Firebird Tuesday, May 13 Rimsky Korsakov LEGEND OF THE INVISIBLE CITY OF KITEZH** Wednesday, May 14 BALLET GALA * Honoring Olga Moiseeva SMALL HALL PHILHARMONIC SINFONIETTA CRACOVIA Penderecki Sinfonietta for Strings Mozart Piano Concerto in A, KV 488 Beethoven Symphony No. 3 Soloist: Christoph Eschenbach Conducted by John Axelrod Thursday, May 15 Petipa/Tchaikovsky SWAN LAKE Friday, May 16 Petit/Bizet, Balanchine/Stravinsky, Balanchine/Prokofiev CARMEN, APOLLO, PRODIGAL SON * Sunday, May 18 at 15:00 Monday, May 19 at 19:00 CENTRAL BALLET OF CHINA RAISE THE RED LANTERN Director: Zhang Yimou 21:00 ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Mahler Symphony No. 3 Soloist: Zlata Bulycheva Conductor: Zubin Mehta Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre Tuesday, May 20 Petipa/Prokofiev LA BAYADÈRE * Wednesday, May 21 Ratmansky/Prokofiev CINDERELLA * SMOLNY CLOISTER ORCHESTRE DES CHAMPS-ELYSÉES Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 Conducted by Philippe Herreweghe Thursday, May 22 Petipa/Adam LE CORSAIRE SMOLNY CLOISTER ZAGREB PHILHARMONIC Parać: Symphony Šulek: Concerto for Cello Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 Soloist: Monika Leskovar Conductor: Dmitri Liss Friday, May 23 Musorgsky 18.00 KHOVANSHCHINA ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev Saturday, May 24 Verdi 20.00 MACBETH ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev SMOLNY CLOISTER COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT 15.00 Bach: Mass in b minor Conducted by Philippe Herreweghe Sunday, May 25 16:00 ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS OF THE MARIINSKY Mahler: Symphony No. 2 Anna Netrebko (soprano), Olga Borodina (mezzo soprano) Conducted by Valery Gergiev Petipa/Tchaikovsky 20:00 SWAN LAKE Monday, May 26 From the Archives of the Mariinsky: HISTORIC BALLETS  KALININGRAD (Koenigsberg) Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky Tchaikovsky 1812 Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre Conducted by Valery Gergiev Tuesday, May 27 Tchaikovsky THE QUEEN OF SPADES ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev Wednesday, May 28 Palace Square TRIBUTE TO ST. PETERSBURG Petipa “Shadows” from La Bayadere Fokine Polovtsian Act Balanchine Symphony in C Ballet, Chorus, Orchestra and Soloists of the Mariinsky Conducted by Valery Gergiev Thursday, May 29 GREAT PHILHARMONIC HALL MET ORCHESTRA Mahler Symphony No.1 Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique Conducted by James Levine Friday, May 30 ‘300 YEARS of ST PETERSBURG’ GALA with Olga Borodina, Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Uliana Lopatkina, Anna Netrebko, Diana Vishneva, Svetlana Zakharova, Farukh Ruzimatov, Igor Zelensky and others Conducted by Valery Gergiev Saturday, May 31 14:00 MET ORCHESTRA Wagner Meistersinger overture Brahms Double Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello Berlioz La mort de Cleopatre Ravel Bolero Soloists: Olga Borodina (mezzo soprano) David Chan (violin), Rafael Figueroa (cello) Conducted by James Levine Sunday, June 1 Lavrovsky/Prokofiev 12:30 ROMEO AND JULIET * 20:00 ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS OF THE MARIINSKY Tchaikovsky Fantasy Overture Romeo and Juliet Berlioz Excerpts from Romeo and Julia Conducted by Valery Gergiev Monday, June 2 11:30 VAGANOVA ACADEMY Graduation Concert Verdi TRAVIATA ** Anna Netrebko, Oleg Balashov, Vasily Gereello Conducted by Valery Gergiev Tuesday, June 3 Petipa/Adam GISELLE * Wednesday, June 4 Rubinstein THE DEMON ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev Thursday, June 5 Petipa/Minkus DON QUIXOTE * Friday, June 6 Rimsky Korsakov THE GOLDEN COCKEROL ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev Saturday, June 7 12:30 JEWELS * 20:00 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Berlioz Requiem Conducted by Valery Gergiev Sunday, June 8 13:00 ROTTERDAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Mahler Symphony No. 6 Conducted by Valery Gergiev 18:00 PARSIFAL Conducted by Christoph Eschenbach Monday, June 9 13:00 VAGANOVA ACADEMY Graduation Concert 20:00 TRIBUTE TO STRAVINSKY Oedipus Rex, Les Noces, Rite of Spring Conducted by Valery Gergiev Tuesday, June 10 Petipa/Adam 18:00 GISELLE * 21:00 LAHTI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sibelius Pohola’s Daughter Aho Symphony No. 9 Sibelius Symphony No. 5 Soloist: Christian Lindberg Conductor: Osmo Vänskä VYBORG CASTLE Verdi AIDA Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda Wednesday, June 11 VYBORG CASTLE SWEDISH RADIO ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS LAHTI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Verdi Requiem Conducted by Valery Gergiev MARIINSKY THEATRE 11:30 VAGANOVA ACADEMY Graduation Concert 19:00 JEWELS * Thursday, June 12 SWEDISH RADIO ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Brahms Requiem Conducted by Manfred Honeck COMMEDIA Rimsky Korsakov GOLDEN COCKEROL ** June 13, 14, 16 & 18 Wagner DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN (new production) Cast includes: Vladimir Vaneev, Viktor Chernomortsev, Olga Sergeeva, Gary Rideout Conducted by Valery Gergiev Friday, June 13 22:00 SMOLNY CLOISTER SWEDISH RADIO CHORUS Saturday, June 14 14:00 ORCHESTRA OF THE NATIONS Conducted by Justus Frantz Sunday, June 15 19:00 MARIINSKY YOUNG PHILHARMONIC Mahler Symphony No. 5 Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda 23:00 MIDNIGHT CONCERT IN THE MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA OF THE NATIONS Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Conducted by Valery Gergiev 15:00 SMOLNY CLOISTER Gubaidulina Easter Oratorium and St. John’s Passion Semi staged Co-production with the Rotterdam Philharmonic – Gergiev Festival Tuesday, June 17 Glinka LIFE FOR THE TSAR (in concert) Conducted by Valery Gergiev Thursday, June 19 MELBOURNE SYMPHONY Kancheli Fingerprints Mahler Symphony No. 4 Soloist: Anna Netrebko Friday, June 20 Musorgsky BORIS GODUNOV ** Conducted by Valery Gergiev Smolny Cloister MELBOURNE SYMPHONY Sibelius Violin Concerto Lentz Guyuhmgan Strauss Tod und Verklärung Conductor: Markus Stenz Saturday, June 21 17:00 ORCHESTRA OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE Salonen Sleepless (Russian Premiere) Shostakovitch Piano Concerto No. 1 Stravinsky Rite of Springs Soloist: Alexander Toradze Conducted by Esa Pekka Salonen Petipa/Tchaikovsky 20:00 SWAN LAKE * Sunday, June 22 14.00 BAMBERGER SYMPHONIKER Ligeti Horn concerto Mahler Symphony No. 5 Soloist: Marie Luise Neunecker Conducted by Jonathan Nott Petipa/Tchaikovsky* SLEEPING BEAUTY Monday, June 23 ORCHESTRA OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE Wagner Siegfried Idyll Pfitzner Violin Concerto Mahler Symphony No. 9 Soloist: Rainer Kuechel Conducted by Valery Gergiev Tuesday, June 24 IVANGOROD FORTRESS 13:00: A CAPELLA CONCERT Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre Russian Church Music 18:00: CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE, CHORUS AND ORCHESTRA OF THE ESTONIAN STATE OPERA, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Conducted by Valery Gergiev 22:00: PRINCE IGOR (staged performance) MARIINSKY THEATRE BALLET GALA STARS OF THE PARIS OPERA BALLET Wednesday, June 25 NARVI 13:00: A CAPELLA CONCERT Chorus of the Estonian State Opera 21:00: OPERA GALA MARIINSKY THEATRE Simonov/Slonimsky Libretto and design by Mikhail Chemiakin 18:00 PRINCESS PIRLIPAT (Worthiness Punished)* Simonov/ Tchaikovsky Design by Mikhail Chemiakin 22:00 THE NUTCRACKER  Thursday, June 26 ORCHESTRA and CHORUS OF THE MARIINSKY Berlioz La Damnation de Faust Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda Friday, June 27 TRIBUTE TO STRAVINSKY Oedipus Rex, Les Noces, Rite of Spring Opera and Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre Conducted by Valery Gergiev Saturday, June 28 VIENNA PHILHARMONIC (matinee) Conducted by Valery Gergiev MARIINSKY ‘WHITE NIGHTS’ BALL Sunday, June 29 15:00: Small Philharmonic Hall VIENNA STREICHSOLISTEN Bach Double Concerto for 2 violins and strngs, and basso continuo Staar Metamorphosis of a Labyrinth (world premiere) Mozart J. Strauss Soloists: Manfred Honeck, Sergei Levitin (Bach) Renee Staar (Staar) WHITE NIGHTS’ PREMIERE Tchaikovsky THE ENCHANTRESS Vaneev, Sergeeva, Savova, Chernomortsev Conducted by Valery Gergiev Monday, June 30 16:00 ORCHESTRA OF THE MARIINSKY Kancheli “Uarzon” (Beloved) Russian Premiere Raskatov “Path”, Concerto for Viola – Russian Premiere Sibelius Violin Concerto Soloists: Yuri Bashmet (viola), Dmitri Kavakos (violin) Puccini/Le Moli 20:00 IL TRITTICO TABARRO, SUOR ANGELICA, GIANNI SCHICCHI Conducted by Gianandrea Noseda Tuesday, July 1 BILBAO ORKESTRA SINFONIKOA Arriaga Overture "Los esclavos felices" Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Ravel Excerpts from Suite No. 1 & 2 "Daphnis et Chloé" Soloist : Pepe Romero Conductor: Juanjo Mena Wednesday, July 2 MOSCOW SOLOISTS Conducted by Yuri Bashmet July 8 – 13 HAMBURG BALLET July 18 – 28 THE ROYAL BALLET, Covent Garden Thursday, July 18 Friday, July 19 Ashton Scenes de Ballet McMillan Marguerite and Arnaud McMillan Song of the Earth Sunday, July 20 (14:00 & 19:00) Sunday, July 27 Monday, July 28 McMillan Romeo and Juliet Tuesday, July 22 Wednesday, July 23 Saturday, July 26 (14:00 & 19:00) Anthony Dowell Swan Lake Thursday, July 24 Friday, July 25 Weldon Tryst Ashton Month in the Country McMillan Gloria July 30 – August 5 NEW YORK CITY BALLET Wednesday, July 30 ALL BALANCHINE Serenade, Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C Conducted by Valery Gergiev Friday, August 1 ALL ROBBINS Interplay, Dances at a Gathering, Glass Pieces Saturday, August 2 12:00 ALL BALANCHINE 19:00 ALL ROOBINS Sunday, August 3 ALL BALANCHINE Monday, August 4 MIXED PROGRAM Tuesday, August 5 MIXED PROGRAM Balanchine Agon Balanchine Concerto Barocco Martins Hallelujah Junction Balanchine Western Symphony * = Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre (Kirov Ballet) ** = Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre (Kirov Opera) Unless otherwise stated, all performances start at 19:00 in the Mariinsky Theatre Programme correct at time of printing but may be subject to change

It seems Zakharova enjoys guesting in Japan indeed. After La muse de Ballet, she will dance La Bayadere with Igor Zelensky and the New National Ballet Theatre in Feb 21 and 23. here is the link: http://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english/index3_s.html

Before the 3rd mariinsky Ballet Festival kicks off next month in St Petersburg, some Kirov principals will be guesting in Tokyo from 1st-16th Feb. at Orchard Hall. 1,2,12 Feb Le Corsaire--Farouk Ruzimatov with various dancing partners such as Irina Perren, Oskana Shestakova 14-16 Feb Raymonda--Yulia Makhalina (&Mark Peretokin) Le Corsaire--Svetlana Zakharova/Andrian Fadeyev Don Quixote--Denis Matvienko (& Elena Filipjeva) La Sylphide--Ilya Kuznetsov(&Natalia Ledovskaya) Tchaikovsky pdd--Diana Vishneva/Igor Kolb Giselle--Farouk Ruzimatov (&Evelyn Hart)

Having seen only a few performances in this year. But I'm so sure I picked the right ones! It definitely must be the Kirov's new production of La Bayadere, with the interpretations of Vishneva, Zakharova, Fadeyev and Kolb. Also the performance by Acosta and Nunez in Don Quixote. It's a great fun!

Too bad, I couldn't be in Hong Kong to see Kirov's Giselle. Thanks a lot for keeping me updated, Kevin. And I look forward to seeing the performance of Sarafanov in the near future. Hope to see him in Kirov's north UK tour next year.

I was told that the Kirov will visit Mexico City next summer with Manon and Romeo & Juliet. And Los Angeles, USA is also in their tour plan.

Jeannie, 'the girls in yellow saris' did appear on stage last month at Theatre du Chatelet. They were in the Procession, but didn't dance at all. Considering their costumes, it seems they were an eleventh-century relief of heavenly angels at the Angkor Wat in Cambodia coming to life! Not Thai or Balinese, I think.

A good few critics claimed that Kirov men are not as outstanding as the women. I wonder if they are also considered weaker than the male in other companies. Strange that Igor Zelensky was once claimed 'probably best of the world'. Currently the young male principals, like Kolb, Fadeyev, Korsuntsev, are in the forefront. I think they're good, they're elegant, they have wonderful techniques, etc. But if I compare them with more mature dancers, like Hilaire, Cope, Merru, Bolle, it must be something that the Kirov young principals have less. Could this be because of their age?

Giselle chooses to kill herself, while Nikiya chooses to kill her rival. Of course, the Ghost of a nice submissive girl and the Ghost of (sort of) an aggressive girl act differently.;)

Apologise for my late response, Alexandra. I couldn't write anything that I hadn't seen it. The synopsis for act IV goes like this: "During the ceremony, the Ghost of Nikiya followsSolor, ceaselessly reminding him of his vow. A basket of flowers is offered to gamzetti, who, horrified, remembers the murder of her rival, whose Ghost now appears before her. Frightened, Gamzetti takes refuge in the arms of her father, who orders the ceremony to be carried out faster. But a terrible storm and an earthquake swallow up the guests beneath the temple, thus making the Bayadere's curse come true. The Ghost of Nikiya then appears above the ruins of the temple, reaffirming her ethernal love for Solor" I was particularly intrigued by the word 'the Bayadere's curse'. This sounds like the curse was made by Nikiya(?). If this hypothesis is correct, Nikiya is not definitely just a haplessly sweet girl. Throughout Act III and IV, Nikiya behaved herself as if a psychopathic ex-lover. I didn't feel any sympathy for her.

Perhaps this is not good news for you, Naoko. I heard that Lopatkina has no plan to return to dance in near future. She still enjoys raising her baby girl and it's not likely that she will join the Kirov tour to UK next spring.

Yes, Viviane, the orchestra was powerful indeed. it's the only thing we agree upon!;) I was there to see the third cast as well. Pavlenko made passionate Nikiya but lacked a magnetic personality as an actress. Speaking of her dancing, although displaying a pure classical style, I wish she could have had softer arm movements. I was a bit disappointed with Samodurov, a sombre Solor. He lost his sense of orientation for a while during executing his big circle in Grand Pas act III. And he landed just an inch away from one of the Shade's tutu. But overall he displayed incredible techniques that neither Kolb nor Fadeyev did. After seeing the three cast, I think all interpretations are just valid. But still one question arises. What should the true character of Nikiya be? To my understanding, Nikiya is sort of a girl 'stay away from my man, or die'. That's why I like Vishneva's interpretation in particular, despite admiring Zakharova much better. Vishneva's Nikiya wasn't just an innocent girl but dignified and calamitious. Overall, I enjoyed three performances every minute except the 'danse des fleurs de lotus' in act IV. Would it be a bit out of context of La Bayadre? It's like I was haunted by the Sleeping Beauty and Le Corsaire endlessly.

One reason that I like to watch different cast is to see different interpretations. Vishneva in the first night was more convincing as Nikiya than Zakharova. Her dancing had both pride and remorse. Zakharova on the other hand created pitiful Nikiya that reminded me of Odette in Swan Lake. But the audience went nuts for her. Fadeyev has gained some weights and this sometime affected his movement onstage. He made elegant Solor and showed more technical brilliance than Kolb who danced in the second night. Kolb displayed extraordinary leaps and smooth rapport with Zakharova. The pair made me feel as if they were real lovers. This hardly happened in Vishneva and Fadeyev's duets. Different from Fadeyev's, Kolb's Solor was rather cool and heroic. Paris has seen two wonderful Gamzatti from Kirov. Although the overall character of Tarassova was too sweet for the role, her acting was second to none. Ekatarina Osmolkina in the second night was ..woww..a wicked beauty with brilliant technique. Truly a new born star! I felt strange with some set design. It's that Buddha image in act I. Religiously, the Buddha has nothing to do with Hindu temples where the celebration of fire takes place.. This will be like placing the Holy Jesus in the mosque, I think. Each interval took ages. I even thought of walking back to my hotel and take a nap. Thanks heaven that in the second performance time was shortened from 3 hrs 55minutes to 3hrs 30min. But it's still long. Not sure if adding act IV is worthwhile. The climax of the story (definitely not the collapsing of the palace's columns) has passed and act IV is only to lenghten the plot. But if we won't take it seriously, this new LaBayadere is a beautiful production. Three stars! I also noticed that there were some Kirov fans from London. At least a gentleman whoworks at the Royal Opera House's boxoffice was there.

I wonder when Estelle will kindly post her comments on Fokine programme;) While waiting, I find myself in Paris and was so happy to see the performance of La Bayadere last night at theatre du Chatelet. Vishneva stole the hearts of the audience. She's absolutely fantaaaastic, just as her Solor, Andrian Fadeyev. I've got two more performances to see. Will write more.

I just recieved the updated casting for La Bayedere in Paris. 28 Oct Zakharova/Fadeyev/Tarasova 29 Oct Vishneva/Kolb/Osmolkina 30 Oct Pavlenko/Samodurov/Tarasova 31 Oct Gumerova/Sarafanov/Golub

Kevin, Maximova is now a chief ballet master of Kremlin Ballet Theatre. And unfortunately I didn't get to see Napoleon Bonaparte.

There are many threads about Cinderella in ‘Discovering Ballet’. Then I’m not sure if I put this in the right place because it was my first time seeing this ballet and first time seeing this company! Anyway, here I am. I was told that, among four ballets to perform in the Bangkok 4th International festival of Dance and Music, Cinderella by Kremlin Ballet Theatre is a must-see programme. So I went to prove it myself last Saturday and found that the performance gave me mixed feelings. Under the directorship of Andrey Petrov, National Artist of Russia, Kremlin Ballet Theatre has staged Cinderella since 1991, to a score by Prokofiev. Choreographed by Vladimir Vasyliev, this comic ballet emphasises mime rather than virtuoso dance. It’s short, precise, and brimming with hilarious moments. With a combination of pastel-coloured scenery and white lace, the dancers stood out for their brightly coloured yet elegant costumes designed by Gerard Pippard (Nina Ricci). Sets and costumes seemed right (not to mention a big slice of orange on Cinderella’s stepmother and sisters’ heads!), but it was the corp de ballet that disturbed me. They obviously lacked uniformity. The female principal was not on a high that night. Natalia Balaknicheva (graduated from Perm) had no depth as Cinderella, although displayed a pure classical style. She smiled the same way in every situation. In her solo with a shawl (which was torn into two pieces by her sisters), Balaknicheva used her ‘magic’ to piece them together. I must say it was this trick that intrigued the audience much more than her dancing. Outstanding soloists were surprisingly the male. Loudest applause went to Ilya Osynovsky as a witty stepmother. He could dance on pointe and absolutely stole the spotlight. Konstantin Matveev as the Prince looked as if he is Igor Zelensky’s identical twin. Tall, blond, and powerful. He projected his character in every onstage moment. When he was distressed by the absence of Cinderella, he looked anxious and upset. And when he saw the stepmother forced her feet into the slipper, he was standing faint! There were some scene reminding me of La Bayedere, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote. How? I’d never imagined before that I’d see the Prince in Cinderella took hookah! Was he Solor? But there was a reason. The Prince took it to calm himself down when he was madly searching for Cinderella and this, as a result, brought him a vision of his beloved one in white dress, then followed by Spanish and Arabian Dances! And after the Prince and Cinderella re-joined at the end of Act 2, there was a one-handed lift. Sound familiar? After a 20-minute interval passed, the curtain rose for Act 2, all the dancers were in the same position as they were in Act 1 before the curtain down. I think I’ve never seen any company has done that before. Kremlin Ballet Theatre also performed Napoleon Bonaparte, set to the score by Tikhon Khrennikov, choreographed by Andrey Petrov. There are 20 scenes in total.

Thanks for pointing this out, Kevin. As usual, Kirov never reveals the programme well in advance, unlike other companies. And I thought I would see Lopatkina and Zelensky in the cast list this season. Hope they won't take leave for another year!

I'd call it radical. It always matters to me if the new designs, instead of balancing the old and the new, destroy historic character of the city. Call me conservative. I'm usually (and strongly) against the idea of importing foreign architects to design urban architecture. They know very little about the spirit of place. I call those who can harmoniously integrate modern design into the old fabric of the city great architects. Well, in this case, E.O.Moss is not the one to blame, I think. Perhaps the Kirov management could reconsider the design. Unless they only want to create a building that attracts million of tourists to come to see it (but not ballet and opera perhaps!).