VI Int'l Ballet Festival-Mariinsky

[chiapuris]

Does anyone have any information on the 2006 Festival,

other than its dates of March 16-20?

[Natalia]

Nothing official right now, chiapuris.

[chiapuris]

The dates have just been corrected on the website (for 11 performances):

March 16 through March 26.

[Buddy]

The schedule has just been posted on the Mariinsky site.

http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/playbill?pbmy=200603

[chiapuris]

Thanks, Buddy, for alerting me to the Mariinsky posting.

I'm hoping I can arrange to attend it.

[bart]

I notice there are Gala Peformances for (or by?) Nikolai Tsiskaridze (2/22), Igor Zelensky (2/23) and Farukh Ruzimatov (2/24).

Can anyone describe what a Gala Peformance of this sort is like at the Kirov?

[Buddy]

Can anyone describe what a Gala Peformance of this sort is like at the Kirov?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

bart, I saw the three Galas last year. Each Gala featured the one artist, who will generally perform the lead in all the dances that evening. These dances may vary in style, perhaps to showcase the range of the dancer. For instance Diana Vishneva performed a scene from La Bayadere, Balanchine and Forsythe.

This year the choice of featuring the men including Nikolai Tsiskaridze from the Bolshoi is very intersting. Last year it was Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva and Daria Pavlenko, all Kirov women. This I am guessing is a more normal occurance.

[Buddy]

Thanks, Buddy, for alerting me to the Mariinsky posting.

I'm hoping  I can arrange  to attend it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

chiapuris, so far the cast besides the lead Gala dancers has not been officially announced. As I mentioned on the same topic I started (and am trying to get deleted) before I saw yours, Diana Vishneva has announced on her website her plans to appear also.

Last year tickets were not for sale from the Mariinsky itself on the internet until the end of January, but plenty of good seats were still available. I will try to post when the seating possiblities are announced. With a credit card it is fairly easy to get tickets from the Mariinsky website at perhaps 30% cheaper than using any of the services. I will be glad to explain more if anyone is interested. I hope to be able to attend.

If you click on the Sticky at the top of the Ballet Talk Kirov-Mariinsky Ballet home page "Great Info for Attending The Mariinsky Festival" you can find some very helpful ideas from Natalia.

I was there for six days last year and had a great time.

%%

[Natalia]

I see that the long-awaited premiere of Pierre Lacotte's Ondine (a.k.a. Naiad & the Fisherman) will happen on March 16, the opening night of the Festival. It will be a multi-act, cast-of-hundreds, 19th-C-style reconstruction not unlike Lacotte's Pharaoh's Daughter for the Bolshoi. Like PD, the music is by Pugni.

[chiapuris]

And they will repeat Ondine on the 17th, one assumes with another cast, as with the 2003 Festival when the reconstructed Bayadere was given--opening night with Vishneva and 2nd night with Pavlenko.

Somewhere I read that an American dancer (I won't name her) will appear in Apollo in the Zelensky gala on the 23rd.

Any information on guest artists?

[coda]

"Somewhere I read that an American dancer (I won't name her) will appear in Apollo in the Zelensky gala on the 23rd.

Any information on guest artists?"

Mariinsky Theatre Trust in London officially provided SOME casting for the Festival quite a while ago:

18 March - Mathieu Ganio will dance in Don Q. with Olesya Novikova.

19 March - Alina Cojocaru will dance "The Sleeping Beauty" with Andrian Fadeyev.

22 March - Nikolai Tsiskaridze gala evening. All his partners will be Mariinsky's dancers.

23 March - Igor Zelensky's gala evening. Apollo will be danced with Maria Kowrosky and Diamonds - with Svetlana Zakharova.

24 March - Farukh Ruzimatov's gala evening. The Moor's Pavane will be danced with Charles Jude.

25 March - Lopatkina's partner in Swan Lake will be Jose Martinez.

I have not seen any casting for the International Stars gala evening on the 26 March.

[Natalia]

As reported in the Mariinka website today, the lead casting for Ondine will be as follows:

March 16 (premiere) - Vishneva as Ondine & Kolb as Matteo

March 17 - Obraztsova as Ondine & Sarafanov as Matteo

The ballet will include a couple of scenes (parts of Acts I and III) very reminiscent of Bournonville's 'Napoli' Act III - happy fishermen and their girlfriends, dancing tarantellas and such. The second act will be a classic 'ballet blanc' in the Kingdom of the Naiads, including a Myrthe-like character, Hydrola (sp?) -- Queen of the Naiads. Now there's a name for the ages! I wonder who'll dance Hydrola? A tall Tatyana Amosova type, I would bet.

Perrot's Russian version of 'Ondine/Naiad & the Fisherman,' 1851 or thereabouts, was said to have been the favorite ballet of the Tsar at that time, Nicholas I. A few months after the Petersburg premiere of the full ballet, he 'commanded' a performance of the Kingdom of the Naiads scene on a lake in Peterhof palace. Dancers were transported to the stage in seashell-shaped boats!

That's all I've read so far on the Russian fora. I'm still waiting to hear about the casting of the important second-female-lead role of Giannina, the fiance of Matteo, who loses his 'mind' to Ondine. Hmmm...those Romantic ballets seem to have followed the prescribed formula: nice young lad forgets his village sweetheart in favor of the ethereal femme fatale. [in that scenario, I would almost say that Obraztsova would be a perfect Giannina rather than Ondine but...let's see, Obraztsova is wonderful as La Sylphide, so I'm assuming that Ondine is a femme fatale of the more gentle variety.]

I'll relay more as I read about it in the Russian fora or news outlets &, of course, will report on the two 'premiere' evenings, as I'll be in Petersburg for at least the initial "classical" part of the festival.

- Natalia

[Natalia]

Bits of information on the rest of the festival -

The Sleeping Beauty of March 19 will be the 4hr-15min 'new-old' 1890 version, which will be a special treat. I truly hope that Alina Cojocaru gets to enjoy this experience amidst the 'original' designs, on the very stage where the great work was premiered. Past festivals have played some 'bait-and-switch' -- marketed foreign stars substituted at last moment with local novices -- but I'm banking on Cojocaru really showing up, as she is an established favorite of this festival.

March 20 will be 'dark' but March 21 will be devoted to the premiere of three avant-garde works, including one by Forsythe associate, Noah D. Gelber, who was instrumental in staging last year's Forsythe Quadruple Bill. The three ballets to be premiered are:

* Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (chor. Dmitrievsky/mus. R. Strauss)

* The Overcoat (chor. Gelber/mus. Shostakovich)

* Du Cote de chez Swan (chor. Mironischenko/mus. Desiatnikov)

[Cygnet]

Bits of information on the rest of the festival -

The Sleeping Beauty of March 19 will be the 4hr-15min 'new-old' 1890 version, which will be a special treat. I truly hope that Alina Cojocaru gets to enjoy this experience amidst the 'original' designs, on the very stage where the great work was premiered. Past festivals have played some 'bait-and-switch' -- marketed foreign stars substituted at last moment with local novices -- but I'm banking on Cojocaru really showing up, as she is an established favorite of this festival.

March 20 will be 'dark' but March 21 will be devoted to the premiere of three avant-garde works, including one by Forsythe associate, Noah D. Gelber, who was instrumental in staging last year's Forsythe Quadruple Bill. The three ballets to be premiered are:

* Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (chor. Dmitrievsky/mus. R. Strauss)

* The Overcoat (chor. Gelber/mus. Shostakovich)

* Du Cote de chez Swan (chor. Mironischenko/mus. Desiatnikov)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I certainly hope Alina's casting stays valid too! She'd be absolutely wonderful

in the 1890! As for the "bait and switch" tactics, I pray that doesn't happen. If they feel they must, my wish would be for Zhenya Obratzova: If anyone is Aurora ready it's certainly her. . . But, then again, I just can't help thinking they may slip someone like Somova in at the last minute.

[Natalia]

.......I just can't help thinking they may slip someone like Somova in at the last minute.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You said it -- not I, which doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking exactly the same thing. Same first name as Cojocaru, after all. (wink)

[chiapuris]

Let's just hope that the very thought of Cygnet's "But then again, I just can't help thinking they may just slip someone like..." and Natalia's "Same first name as...."

removes the threat of such a tactic ACTUALLY happening.

Thanks everyone for the useful cast information!

[Mireille]

Would Alina Cojocaru have a website with performances to come posted ?

Mireille... Wishing very hard!

[canbelto]

Johann Kobborg, her partner, has a website. He lists his schedule (which closely follows Alina's of course) and you can also ask him questions in the message board of the section. People ask him for Alina's schedule and whatnot, and he usually responds pretty quickly. It was from his message board that we learned that the Giselles are going to be filmed. He also talks about stuff like where he and Alina went for Christmas (Romania) and how their performances went. It sounds like he and Alina have a great relationship, on and offstage. It's very sweet, and I think it's great of him to keep in touch with his fans that way.

[Natalia]

That's a great idea, canbelto! Actually, I am curious as to why Johann won't be appearing in St Petersburg along with Alina, as they've always done so together in the past. Perhaps he will join her for the final gala? One can only ask.

[chiapuris]

Perhaps he will join her for the final gala? One can only ask.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're right Natalia.

Kobborg's website lists the Mariinsky gala of Mar. 26th on his performing schedule.

[Mireille]

Thank you Canbelto! I posted the questions and will let you know the results...

Mireille

[canbelto]

I also asked him whether the Cinderella telecast would be released on DVD and he posted on his message board that no, it would not be released On the other hand his postings on the message board indicate that the Giselle *will* be released. Let's keep our fingers crossed. You can ask him questions by going here.

[chiapuris]

Would Alina Cojocaru have a website with performances to come posted ?

Mireille, I searched for a Cojocaru website after your suggestion but couldn't find one.

I owe thanks to canbelto for providing Kobborg's site, which was very helpful.

[Mireille]

Got an answer from Johan Kobborg! They still have not decided on what they will be performing at the Gala (he shall post it on his site when they do)... but she is definitely scheduled to perform the Sleeping Beauty

He mentioned having declined due to having another Beauty scheduled in UK shortly after.

Now let's hope the plan does not get changed!

canbelto!

Mireille

[Mireille]

For those who will be attending the Festival, the acrobatic Swan Lake will be shown in St-Petersburg... the same nights as the Tsiskaridze and Zelenski galas:

http://www.aktivist.ru/culture/articles/a20691.asp