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Kirov Ballet,'Steptext', St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre by Baletoman |
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As posted on our Postings pages... Here are some of my impressions from the Mariinsky festival. Sorry for the length, but there were so many interesting performances that I can't avoid writing about them. Forsythe. The Company performed 3 ballets: Steptext, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and In the Middle Somewhat Elevated. All ballets are classic, on pointes, with minimal costumes and almost no decoration, accompanied by recorded music. The choreography is abstract and seemed very difficult - it demands strong technique and exactness.
1. Steptext I saw 2 casts: Natalia Sologub, Andrey Merkuriev, Fiodor Murashov and Andrey Ivanov (7/03) and Diana Vishneva, Igor Kolb, Mikhail Lobukhin and Maxim Khrebtov (gala 14/03). All danced very well. I liked both casts with a little bit more preference to the second which I found a little bit more exact and corresponding. Though Sologub looked better in that costume - she has more prolonged lines than Vishneva. And in particular I was impressed by Kolb.
2. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
3. In the Middle Somewhat Elevated
As a whole, I liked the ballets the company acquired. They have some interesting choreography which is graphic, dynamic, with many duets, supports and poses, interesting group graphics. In particular, I was impressed by one moment when the music was dying down, while the dancers were dancing from the centre to the curtains in all directions by means of fouette movements, which brilliantly corresponded to the fading character of the music. Though the choreography is abstract, it has its mood. It is quite sharp, not romantic. A typical Forsythe girl in these ballets is quite aggressive and self-confident, a guy is neither a noble gentleman nor romantic or knight, but either a sexless showing off character or a modern man treating his self-confident girl equally. But the most important and pleasant to me was that the Mariinsky dancers were so good at this difficult choreography: exact, musical, technical, super plastic and beautiful. My first and main impression from Forsythe's ballets was how gorgeous the dancers are!
Jose Martinez had to dance Prince Siegfried, but he did not come. I did not miss him at all because the whole performance was very successful. Korsuntsev was nice and Uliana Lopatkina was outstanding! It is useless to describe her dancing. I'll just say that she was great every moment, very precise, with many nuances, musical and beautiful! Wonderful fouettes in the 3 scene (taking in consideration her injured leg), followed by an ovation! Korsuntsev was an admirable Siegfried this time with brilliant noiseless jetes in his variation in 3 scene. Though during the performance the audience did not give him the reception he deserved. I felt pity! He deserved much better reaction! He is a wonderful dancer and a reliable partner! They did not applaud even on his entrance in 1 scene! Awful, terribly impolite and against traditions of meeting the principals! As if the public had only consisted of tourists!!! Even Ilya Kuznetsov (von Rothbart) was met by applauses in 2 scene! Kuznetsov captured the audience by his expressiveness and jumps. Andrey Ivanov (Jester) was a virtuoso as always. Pas de trois in 1 scene was well danced by Irina Zhelonkina, Irina Golub and Vassily Shcherbakov. Though I would not say that any of them impressed me much. Moreover, I wish they had had more coordination - Vassily's jumps are higher and longer. I think he has to be more reserved and to show off less in this pas de trois, as it requires harmony among the three dancers. Cygnets -Obraztsova, Svetlana Ivanova, Yana Selina, Elena Vasiukovich - good. Big swans: Viktoria Terioshkina, Yana Serebriakova, Yekaterina Kondaurova, Alina Somova - it may have been better if there was more coordination. Two swans: Gonchar and Sukhorukova - I can't understand the choice of the management as both girls seem to have not very plastic arms. The Spanish dance was brilliantly danced by Ti Yen Ru, Natalia Tsyplakova, Islom Baimuradov and Andrey Yakovlev (1st). Neapolitan dance: Obraztsova, Khrebtov. Hungarian dance: Polina Rassadina, Artiom Yachmennikov. Mazurka: Rakhmanova, Iosifidi, Kondaurova, Papava, Igor Nikitin, Fiodor Lopukhov, Kulaev, Dmirtri Sharapov.
A special pleasure was to hear the orchestra under the baton of Boris Gruzin. And, of course, to see gorgeous costumes by Galina Soloviova and my favourite decorations by Igor Ivanov.
Irina Zhelonkina was light, precise and classic! I always like to see her dancing. I like more and more Yana Selina - a very beautiful and admirable dance; moreover, she seems to have good technique and artistry. Ivanchenko was a nice poet and not as heavy as always. But I liked Kolb more - he is lighter and more precise. Igor has his interpretation of the role: his Poet is mesmerised by the Sylphs, every time they escape from him he seems to wake up and jerkily or passionately tries to catch them again not to let them go. I think not all can agree with such passion in Poet, but at the same time Igor's Poet seems more live and romantic, which I liked.
Wonderful performance! First of all, due to Mikhail Lobukhin, a handsome and expressive blond dancer with beautiful body and strong technique! He brilliantly danced and acted, especially I liked the last part - very dramatic! He impressed me immensely! Yulia Makhalina was powerful and fatal Siren. The whole company did very well!
Another pleasant performance! The company is dancing it better now, but still, it needs more time, I think. One can still see that the dancers have difficulties with movements and the order. Iosifidi was very good in the last part (I liked her more than Makhalina), but the pose in which the Chosen girl stays frozen from fear for a long period before starting her dance seemed to me a little bit different from what it had to be. It had to be more precise and to transform the terror the Chosen girl feels. This time the impression was diluted. A special pleasure was to listen to the genius music played by the orchestra. Unfortunately, the audience was reserved in reception of this ballet.
The performance was a disappointment due to lack in coordination in the corps! They have to rehearse it again and again! It is a shame to dance this genius ballet in this way! No wonder the public did not give it a warm reception.
Andrian Fadeev was handsome, exact, technical and classical. Sarafanov looked fresher and a little bit lighter, though not as classical as Andrian. Terioshkina danced strongly for debut. I liked her. Though there were mistakes. The corps lacked a little bit in coordination (the girls) in the beginning, but by the end all were impressing. Tatiana Tkachenko was noticeable by her technique and confidence. Yana Serebriakova had some problems with tours. But overall, I admire how the Mariinsky dance this ballet. It is a great chance for them to show off their technique and beauty of lines and poses. And it is such joy for the audience!!!
I was very glad that I attended the performance. In my view, the duet Roberto Bolle- Natalia Sologub brilliantly worked out!!! Bolle was noble, accurate, strong and reliable. During supports, every time Natalia was passed from hands of the Mariinsky dancers to his hands I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that now she was safe. Natalia was charming, touching and very attentive to the partner. But what I liked the most was the last scene of the ballet. Natalia was brilliant!!! Fantastic! And Roberto acted very touching! Bravo! They received many bravos at the end! Another revelation to me was Tatiana Tkachenko as Lescaut's Mistress whose attractive dances were seductive and full of charm but never vulgar! Maxim Khrebtov was very convincing as Lescaut. What a funny duet he had with Tatiana when Lescaut is drunk! Great! As far as I noticed Lescaut is the most dancing character. And Maxim succeeded in all. Another dancer who stood out was Anton Lukovkin who was the leader of beggars. His dancing in the first scene was light and fresh. The corps needed rehearsing - there was lack in coordination. The performance as a whole and the lead dancers were very warmly received. I liked how attentive Natalia and Roberto were to each other. One could see that they liked dancing with each other and that they were very glad that the performance received such a good reaction. I must say I would like to see Roberto Bolle dancing with the Mariinsky once again. Though his technique is different and he is not so light, but he is handsome, tall, strong, reliable, with accurate technique and nice manners. I hope that his successful performance and love by the public will promote another invitation to the Mariinsky.
It is the most fundamental of all ballets. Gorgeous decorations and costumes, genius music, great choreography, promising cast... Wonderful performance! Diana Vishneva was from top to toe the Princess. I liked her interpretation. I think it corresponds to the sense of the ballet. She was the most shining and beautiful princess of all princesses in the world. Her appearance on the stage was an event. She was impeccable! Her every variation was accompanied by bravos. Massimo Murru appeared only in the 3 Act and had not danced until the end of the Act 4. Actually, we did not see much of his dancing as he really danced only in the final pdd. There he was nice and accurate, but not particularly impressive. May be, because he did not have any chance to impress. The style of the final pdd does no allow much showing off. Therefore, it is easier to speak about Murru's interpretation of the role of Desire. I would say that he was not very insisting to see Aurora as his wife. He was too reserved may be. I would like to see more love and persistence in Desire when the Lilac Fairy introduced Aurora to him. During the 3 Act it seemed as if it had been only a happy coincidence that this prince, not another one came to the forest. But the sense is that the Prince deserved Aurora because he was subtle enough to listen to his intuition, sincere in his love to Aurora when he saw her, brave and persistent enough to be able to come to the sleeping forest and loving to be able to understand that his kiss will break the spells. Murru was too reserved and formal. Daria Pavlenko was a very nice Lilac Fairy, but in my opinion she needs to add a little bit more power to her character. I would like to see Lopatkina in this role. All other fairies were nice, but I would like to see more temperament in every character. Korsakov was a nice and classic Bluebird. Though I expected more lightness from his jumps. Irina Zhelonkina's Florine was classic and delicate, but Irina does not often give the I also found that her arms in variation audience a chance to see her smile... were not enough plastic. Overall, I had expected more from this pair - bigger amplitude of dance and more temperament. Apart from Vishneva, the biggest joy was brought by White Cat - Yana Selina and Cat - Anton Lukovkin! There were many children among the audience. Selina was so charming, tender and skittish and her duet with Anton was so funny that children started laughing. This enthusiastic children's laugh caused laugh in adults. So, the character dance ended with lots of smiles and bravos! As far as dancing is concerned, all danced strongly and very coordinated. The peasants waltz was brilliant! Overall, the level of dance was very high. I did not notice anything wrong. All soloists were very strong. The costumes and decorations are unique! They impress. But this brightness and chic totally correspond to the sense of the ballet - it must be full of bright colours, joy and happiness. I am so happy they restored the ballet (as well as La Bayadere)! A treasure was the musical interval when the floor on which the orchestra is situated came up and we could listen to the violin solo accompanied by the orchestra. A wonderful and very inspiring ballet!
For me it was the most joyous ballet of the festival. First of all, there were two characters that were absolutely fantastically danced and acted! It was something incredible! I mean Andrey Merkuriev's Espada and Leonid Sarafanov's Basil! Two great dancers! It was the first time I had seen Merkuriev's Espada. It was something so thrilling! Gorgeous jumps, nuances, passionate temperament! Brilliant! I was told that Merkuriev is famous for this role. For me it was a revelation. There was a long break due to non stopping ovation. I had seen Leonid Sarafanov before, but every time he lacked either in the stage presence or nuances or accuracy or partnering skills. This time he was sparkling and expressive, accurate in everything and a very attentive partner. He made much progress. I wish him all the best! The brilliant Merkuriev's dance was supported by a young and very promising dancer with whom I fell in love during the Festival - Tatiana Tkachenko - Street dancer. She has very strong technique and is very artistic. I also liked Paloma Herrera - Kitri. She worried but always tried to do her best and sparkle the audience, for which I am very grateful to her. How sparkling she was in the first Act! In the second act, the classic scene of Don Quixote's dream, she lost "the competition". The Mariinsky dancers won and got better reaction from the public. Natalia Sologub was especially good as the Queen of Dryads. A tiny Obraztsova seemed admirable as Amur. The last pdd was brilliantly done by Paloma and Leonid. They made a good duet. The public were impressed by Paloma's double fouette. The corps and other soloists danced superbly! Another performance that I can't avoid mentioning was Gypsy dance, especially Baimuradov's dancing. Bravo! There were many other lovely moments: Sancho Pansa - Anton Lukovkin and how he was tortured at the beginning by street people, wonderful funny Garmash - Semenov, a real white horse and a donkey on the stage, gorgeous decorations of a forest in autumn for the scene of dream, children's theatre... There is so much taste in the ballet! So many nice mis en scene's. So much nice humour. But it is never rude! As a whole, I was totally absorbed by the performance but the dance of Merkuriev and Sarafanov will stay in my memory as some of the best moments of ballet.
Though I like this version of the Bayadere more that the Soviet one, I did not like this performance. Pavlenko's dance did not come out well, in my opinion, - she was too sharp and technically inaccurate and not plastic. Though there were very nice moments during the first Act and during the dance with a basket of flowers. Moreover, the duet between her and Stiefel did not work out at all. It was too obvious. I think the dancers felt relief when they were dancing alone. I could not understand why Pavlenko's partner was Stiefel and vice a versa why the management put Pavlenko as a partner to Stiefel. They looked so different. She seemed massive near him. Being short legged, he seemed even smaller near Pavlenko. He had obvious problems with partnering Daria. Naturally, she was nervous about this. But anyway, I don't think it was Dasha's day. The public felt this and the reception was too reserved. I did not like Stiefel either. He was totally spineless and non-expressive Solor, not masculine, not musical and seemed running after ballerina to be at the right place on time. But it is my own opinion because the public's reception was very warm. He captured the audience by his noiseless and high jumps. But I found them too short and short legged. His interpretation was too simplified, the dancing being not very nuanced. But he succeeded in throwing back his head and making expressive movements in the beginning and the end of his variations as other usually do in Le Corsaire. Their duet with Tarassova worked better. The scene when two ladies argue whom Solor loves lacked in dramatism, in my opinion. Overall, the ballet seemed dead this time. Galina Rakhmanova and Islom Baimuradov brought life to the ballet during their Indian dance solos. Obraztsova and two Vaganova girls danced the dance of Manu very lovely. The best classic dance came from three shades and, especially, the quartet of soloists in pas d'action. But the audience consisting, perhaps, two thirds of foreign tourists did not even cry out a bravo to them. But the girls were superb, in my opinion! Bravo! The corps worked quite well, but not brilliantly. The conductor was Sinkevich.
2. Wedding procession Danced by dancers of the Yakobson's theatre "Choreographic miniatures". A short (approx. 10 min) non-classic, dramatic ballet miniature, full of humour, interesting plastic dancing (not difficult, but needs precise characterisation, posing and plasticity) and witty observations expressed in dance, interesting duets and group pictures, good decoration and nice costumes. I found it very original. The audience, being very generous in applauding this evening, reacted reservedly. But the ballet is really unusual and non classical. The dancers performed it very well. There was a quartet of musicians on the stage playing Jewish tunes very well.
3. Divertissement
b) Pdd from Le Quattro Stagioni, L'estate (Summer) (?/Vivaldi): Roberto Bolle and Greta Hodkinson. c) Stiefel and a Kirov lady (I could not see who it was) danced something American. I am afraid I don't remember the name. Something from Harrison: "...Without you". I found it boring. I did not listen to the words of the song and could not understand the meaning of his movements and his rolling on the floor and hugging the lady. The public definitely liked Stiefel.
d) An abstract from La Petite Mort (Kilian/Mozart?): Aurelie Dupont and Manuel Legris.
e) A duet from In the Middle Somewhat Elevated (Forsythe/ electronic soul): Uliana Lopatkina, Vladimir Shishov.
f) Pdd from Excelsior (Manzotti/?): Roberto Bolle and Greta Hodkinson. All dancers came out at the end and received many bravos and applauses, especially Sarafanov-Herrera, Bolle-Hodkinson and of course, the longest ovation for the Prima ballerina who proved again that she is unsurpassed!
4. Etudes I hope all Grand Opera fans will forgive me but I found that Fadeev looked better: exact movements, accentuated gestures, enthusiasm, beautiful jumps, lightness. The corps looked well, much in unison. But this time the girls worked better than guys (one of them even slipped and fell). I had another chance to observe with admiration fine lines and polished technique of the Mariinsky dancers.
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