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The highlight was seeing again Petipa’s “Le Reveil de Flore” (“The Reawakening of Flora”), the latest reconstruction project by Sergei Vikharev, whose reconstructions of two Petipa classics for the Kirov - "The Sleeping Beauty" and "La Bayadere" - had been much acclaimed. Created in 1894 to mark the wedding of Princess Ksenia Alexandrovna, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II, the ballet celebrates the love of Flora, the goddess of flowers, and Zephyr, the god of the west wind. This reconstruction of "Flora" is most worthwhile, as this Petipa ballet had not been performed for over a century until its revival in the Mariinsky Theatre in April on the opening night of the Mariinsky Festival. It is a much more significant and distinguished reconstruction than Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of “Le Corsaire” for the Bolshoi last summer.

“Flora” is reborn thanks to Vikharev’s meticulous research of the original choreographic notations and the beautiful rococo costumes and sets. It is a gem of a ballet, comprising 45 minutes of joyful pure dance which is a glorious celebration of divine harmony and order. Toward the end of the ballet there is a spectacular procession of mythical figures including nymphs, satyrs, and fauns beautifully framed by garlands and maypoles, as well as a carriage led by a real white goat. A dazzling apotheosis climaxes the ballet as in Petipa’s “The Sleeping Beauty”.

Evgenia Obraztsova was exquisite as Flora. Her dancing was fresh and pure with a sweet radiance. She was graceful in the several pas de deux, and luminous in her many solos. Vladimir Shklyarov was her perfect partner as Zephyr, dancing with an effortless ease and lightness. His jumps were high and airy. In one of his solos, the jumps recall the choreography for the Blue Bird in “The Sleeping Beauty”.
 

The other gods and goddesses were less strongly cast this time. The expressive solo for Diana in the beginning of the ballet was danced by Maria Shirinkina, who didn’t make as much impact as Svetlana Ivanova in the premiere. Xenia Ostreikovskaya in the premiere was also better as Aurora than Yana Selina this time. However Sergei Kononenko impressed as Aquilon. And the six Vaganova students were as usual a delight.

Balanchine’s early masterpiece“Apollo”, also included in this triple-bill programme, was not as well danced. Evgeny Ivanchenko was rather bland in this great male role. I miss Andrian Fadeyev, the best Apollo in the Kirov, who only danced this ballet recently in the Mariinsky Festival this year. Terpsichore was danced by Sofia Gumerova, who was quite decent if not particularly outstanding.

Fortunately “Etudes” had a wonderful cast and ended the evening on a high note. The last time I saw the Kirov in this ballet was during its 2003 Covent Garden season, when the lead roles were danced by Andrian Fadeyev, Leonid Sarafanov, and Svetlana Zakharova. This time Alina Somova was no less glittering in the ballerina role, with her formidable technique. Her fouette turns and manege of grands jetes were impeccable. This is the best performance I’ve seen from Somova so far, as this ballet suits her perfectly. Vladimir Shklyarov was brilliant in his technical bravura. His multiple pirouettes in both directions as well as his powerful high jumps were most spectacular. Shklyarov is definitely the Kirov’s next male star after Sarafanov.
 

Less polished was Andrei Ivanov in the second male soloist role. In this particular performance Ivanov didn’t partner Somova in the Sylphide pas de deux in the beginning of the ballet, and it was Denis Firsov who was her partner. The whole company was in top form in this glorious performance. Ekaterina Kondaurova stood out among the demi-soloists.

Two nights earlier there was a newsworthy performance, when Diana Vishneva made her debut as the Queen Mekhmeneh Bahnu in Grigorovich’s 1961 ballet “The Legend of Love”. I had only seen this Grigorovich ballet once two years ago with Irma Nioradze in the same role. I found Grigorovich’s broad-stroked choreography in this ballet dated, though there is no denying its dramatic power especially in the big ensemble scenes.

Vishneva was splendid as the Queen, and was most convincing and powerful in her acting. She was strongly partnered by Mikhail Lobukhin as Ferkhad. As Mekhmeneh’s sister and love rival Shyrin, Ekaterina Osmolkina was at her most expressive.

Earlier that week I was also glad to see Pierre Lacotte’s “Ondine” again after its premiere in the 2006 Mariinsky Festival. The ballet is more dramatically coherent tihs year. Lacotte’s Bournonvillean-style choreography is outstanding; the solos and pas de deux show off perfectly Evgenia Obraztsova and Leonid Sarafanov. The choreography for the corps de ballet is felicitous. This Lacotte work is more satisfying than his earlier ballet “The Pharaoh’s Daughter” for the Bolshoi.
 

Obraztsova and Sarafanov have grown in the leading roles since last year. Obraztsova’s dancing was ravishing and graceful. Sarafanov was magnificent in his solos full of jumps. They were warm and melting in the various pas de deux. As the Queen of the Sea, Viktoria Tereshkina sparkled in her technical fireworks. Irina Golub and Yana Selina impressed in their solos as the two leading naiads.

I look forward to returning to the Mariinsky Theatre during the next Mariinsky Festival.