Cherilyn Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Here's my thoughts about my first time seeing Mariinsky Ballet live. I went in without any judgement or concrete expectations and left looking forward to seeing them again in the fall when they will perform Paquita 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Thanks so much for your insightful review! I really enjoyed reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherilyn Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 53 minutes ago, Sim said: Thanks so much for your insightful review! I really enjoyed reading it. You're welcome! And thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Paquita? Lucky you! We never get anything like that when they tour to the UK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 2 hours ago, alison said: Paquita? Lucky you! We never get anything like that when they tour to the UK. We did - 2 years ago! I remember the variations danced by Ekaterina Kondaurova and May Negahisa as being especially wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeauxArts Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Well, Capybara, we had one Act only: some might say the best of it. The company are taking the full-length version (of which we saw the final act) to Washington. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Lucky you to have seen their Corsaire which is fabulous and (in my opinion) far better than the Bolshoi's. I first saw the Kirov's (as they were then) Corsaire in 1990 at the Birmingham Hippodrome and was just blown away by the colour, athleticism, artistry and spectacle of it. I'd never seen anything like it before and I've loved it ever since. I didn't recover for at least a week! Do they still have the fabulous fountains that no other company has? Sadly the Mariinsky haven't brought it to the UK for nearly 20 years; every visit I've been disappointed. last time I saw it (about 2000/2001) Margaret and Denis Thatcher were in the audience. I keep hoping that next time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 31 minutes ago, BeauxArts said: Well, Capybara, we had one Act only: some might say the best of it. The company are taking the full-length version (of which we saw the final act) to Washington. I know. It was part of a mixed bill and we did indeed have the best of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherilyn Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 11 hours ago, alison said: Paquita? Lucky you! We never get anything like that when they tour to the UK. I can't wait! I've never seen the full-length version of the ballet, just the variations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherilyn Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 6 hours ago, jmhopton said: Lucky you to have seen their Corsaire which is fabulous and (in my opinion) far better than the Bolshoi's. I first saw the Kirov's (as they were then) Corsaire in 1990 at the Birmingham Hippodrome and was just blown away by the colour, athleticism, artistry and spectacle of it. I'd never seen anything like it before and I've loved it ever since. I didn't recover for at least a week! Do they still have the fabulous fountains that no other company has? Sadly the Mariinsky haven't brought it to the UK for nearly 20 years; every visit I've been disappointed. last time I saw it (about 2000/2001) Margaret and Denis Thatcher were in the audience. I keep hoping that next time... Yes, they do you have the fountains...what an unexpected element! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannette Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 (edited) I attended Tuesday night’s opening. While I generally enjoyed the presentation - but preferring ABT’s more faithful version and the Bolshoi’s Tsarist-Era splendor - I was underwhelmed and taken aback by the hyperflexed & brittle (ribs protruding) Maria Khoreva, who stopped just short of landing in the orchestra pit during her 29 or 30 single fouettes...lending new meaning to the designation “The Traveling Ballerina”! Think of a Somova, only more petite. Thank goodness for the mature classical style of Gulnare, Nadezhda Batoeva....overcoming weak partnering by her Lankedem in the Pas d’Esclave (off-kilter partnered pirouettes, one coming to a dead stop). It was left up to Kimin Kim (Ali) to present the fireworks, with Timur Askerov (Conrad) delivering the charisma. The three Odalisques - all from the Vaganova class of 2018 - at least were a bit more tempered than Khoreva in their style, with Maria Bulanova absolutely smashing as the multi-turning 3rd Odalisque. The corps was fine, if not as lazer sharp as I recall in past viewings, starting in 1987. In sum, while it’s always a pleasure to see this company, I’m not quite drinking the Khoreva Kool-Aid. At least not yet. Edited April 12, 2019 by Jeannette Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewCo Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 (edited) I went on Friday and saw mostly the same cast as Jeanette and the Traveling Ballerina though with Zverev rather than Askerov as Conrad. I suspect from what I have read and heard that I also saw a more pulled together performance from almost all the dancers. (Obviously, with opening night out of the way, dancers often settle down--at least that has been my experience when seeing companies on tour.) However, I am just writing here to second Jeannette on Maria Bulanova. She has huge brown eyes that read wonderfully across the footlights and at the moment -- and it is very early days of course -- she performs with more innate stage charisma than Khoreva. Her dancing, too, as the third Odalisque was just terrific. Edited April 14, 2019 by DrewCo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherilyn Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 On 12/04/2019 at 13:38, Jeannette said: Maria Khoreva, who stopped just short of landing in the orchestra pit during her 29 or 30 single fouettes...lending new meaning to the designation “The Traveling Ballerina”! 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assoluta Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 On 12/04/2019 at 10:38, Jeannette said: I attended Tuesday night’s opening. While I generally enjoyed the presentation - but preferring ABT’s more faithful version and the Bolshoi’s Tsarist-Era splendor - I was underwhelmed and taken aback by the hyperflexed & brittle (ribs protruding) Maria Khoreva, who stopped just short of landing in the orchestra pit during her 29 or 30 single fouettes...lending new meaning to the designation “The Traveling Ballerina”! Then, the young lady is in a great company, right with Margot Fonteyn and Natalia Makarova…😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assoluta Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 On 11/04/2019 at 06:22, BeauxArts said: Well, Capybara, we had one Act only: some might say the best of it. The company are taking the full-length version (of which we saw the final act) to Washington. Not even the full act, only the Grand Pas, a veritable mosaic of variations from other ballets. The so "full-length version" you are mentioning has new libretto and new choreography, by the company dancer Yuri Smekalov, it is not a reconstruction of any kind, of the lost original or of the later Petersburg stagings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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