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Mariinsky Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, London 2014


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I used the term “dramatic power” in my reference to Viktoria Tereshkina in my previous post. I feel more comfortable calling it ‘commitment and accomplishment.’


 


Aileen, I tend to see a wonderful ‘naturalness’ in many dancers from England. I see it in Xander Parish and I first felt it in Alina Cojocaru, who although not from England, was hailed from the beginning for the naturalness of everything that she did. This may have been part of the reason that the Royal Ballet was instantly smitten by her, and perhaps her by it. In regard to ‘coldness’ in some other dancers, what I’ve at times seen referred to as coldness, I’ve thought of as being sublime.


 


Oxana Skorik, for me, displays a quiet but compelling inner poetry. I wonder how others will perceive this?


Edited by Buddy
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I was at last Tuesday's performance of Romeo and Juliet and it was one of the best performances of any ballet I have ever seen. I have seen a lot of productions of Romeo and Juliet in my time including English National's, Scottish Ballet's and Ballet Cymru's in the last 15 months. I also know the Royal Ballet's well having seen Fonteyn and Seymour in the title role as well as several performances by successive generations of principals since the 1960s. In my humble, provincial eyes this production by the Mariinsky towered over all others. 

 

Here is an extract from an article I wrote elsewhere:

 

"I had expected a lot from this show. I had come to see Xander Parish whom I had last seen at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School gala in York on my silver wedding anniversary 7 years ago ..........  Even though he and his sister were very young they impressed me with their athleticism and grace  Xander Parish displayed those same qualities yesterday. That alone would have been enough to justify a 440 mile round trip at the height of summer with the motorways in a mess but there were two others who stood out.

First, Viktoria Tereshkina who danced Juliet. Even more than Parish, she was the star of the show. I was bowled over by her from her first few playful steps with her nurse. She is a powerful dancer with considerable elevation which she demonstrated frequently but she is also an accomplished actress projecting sensitivity and vulnerability. The crucial part of any production of Romeo and Juliet takes place in Juliet's bedroom. First, there is the newly weds' pas de deux. This is the most beautiful part of the ballet and it is on that sequence that the whole work hangs.  Parish and Tereshkina were magnificent. After Romeo leaves her parents enter with Paris in tow with news that she is to marry Paris. So many emotions are unleashed in this poor young woman which she has to project in dance.  Again, Tereshkina excelled. For the last 40 years Seymour had been my Juliet. From now on it will be Tereshkina

The other dancer who impressed me greatly was Kimin Kim. He danced Mercutio. He has a beautifully expressive face conveying every type of feeling. He interpreted the role brilliantly with boyish swagger as he provokes Tybalt (also danced well by Kamil Yangurazov). The sword fight with Tybalt was one of the most exciting and realistic I have ever seen on stage.  "It's as if they are fighting with real swords" whispered my daughter manquée. Though we all knew how this fight would end how our hopes soared when Romeo seemed to separate the swordsmen and how they were dashed after Tybalt's sword punctured Mercutio's body. I could barely restrain a tear as Kim staggered around the stage rising, slumping, getting up again and eventually falling. This is one of the great death scenes in ballet. It stings Romeo into action overcoming temporarily even his love for Juliet. How we clapped and cheered as Kim took his curtain call at the end of Act II so relieved by the assurance that he was indeed alive.

There were sterling performances by Elena Bazhenova as Lady Capulet, Valeria Karpina as the nurse, Yuri Smekalov as Paris and Andrei Yakovlev who danced Friar Lawrence and Lord Montague. The whole company danced well but the cast is so long that it would be impossible to do justice to them all.  The Martiinsky's orchestra conducted by Boris Gruzin played magnificently.

I need to say a few words about the sets and costumes. These were credited to Pyotr Williams whose biography in itself. Intrigued by the Welsh surname and Russian forename and found that he was the son of an American scientist who had become a Russian citizen in 1896. The very time that so many Russians were emigrating to the United States. Somehow this son of an American émigré survived Stalin's purges when so many other artists perished.  The sets we saw on Tuesday must be reproductions of Williams's sets for the original 1940 performance. They were impressive particularly the opening scene of Verona with an estuary in the background, the Capulets' balcony and the burial ground. An interesting feature was the use of a second gold curtain which was no doubt intended to simulate the historic stage of the Mariinsky theatre."

 

This is one of the occasions when I really wish London was not so far away and I had more leisure for I would love to have seen the rest of the Mariinsky's season. But I think I will have picked one of their best shows.

Edited by terpsichore
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Sorry but DSCH?  Never was much good at FLAs (4 letter acronyms).

Linda, from the programme notes it seems that DSCH stands for D(mitri) SCH(ostakovich), the German spelling of the composer's name. Perhaps the significance will become apparent when we see the piece ...

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Two reviews that may be useful re Concerto DSCH

 

Alastair Macaulay on the premiere in 2008:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/arts/dance/31here.html

 

Laura Cappelle saw Le Scala Ballet dancing it in 2012. Laura compares to MacMillan's Concerto, which uses the same music:

http://dancetabs.com/2012/05/la-scala-ballet-marguerite-and-armand-concerto-dsch-milan/

 

 

Mariinsky open their Swan Lake run tonight - looking forward to seeing Stepanova and Parish tomorrow.

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Linda, from the programme notes it seems that DSCH stands for D(mitri) SCH(ostakovich), the German spelling of the composer's name. Perhaps the significance will become apparent when we see the piece ...

Isn't it about the musical notes? Didn't Shostakovitch use the notes d-es-c-h, his initials, somewhere in his concerto? Something like that...

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Linda, from the programme notes it seems that DSCH stands for D(mitri) SCH(ostakovich), the German spelling of the composer's name. Perhaps the significance will become apparent when we see the piece ...

 

 

Isn't it about the musical notes? Didn't Shostakovitch use the notes d-es-c-h, his initials, somewhere in his concerto? Something like that...

 

 

 

 

Thanks for this, Angela.  I only skimmed the programme notes for this ballet so didn't understand why the choreographer had used the composer's initials as the title for his piece.  Now I know!

Thank you all for the information.

 

linda

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My ticket was only £10, Alison so yes, the programme is expensive in comparison but I thought they might have cost more!I have to have one though........I could open my own programme shop, LOL

Susan

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I remember the Russian tourists programmes being not much more than the RB ones - but much thicker (and less ads at that). There seemed a lot more info on each ballet (or even info on that season's rep) than the current relatively slim volume. Or have i got my rosie tints on again....

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was at the Xander Parish performance.  We sat in the Amphi and whilst we had an uninterrupted view, without opera glasses I couldn't see the expressions.   Maybe it was because I was sitting so far from the stage, but I didn't really get involved in it and Romo and Juliet is my absolute favourite ballet.  I've performed in it myself and I never tire of it.  However, I have to say that I found the choreography very uninspired and the whole production had an outdated feel. Too many sweeping Spring Water arabesques leading to a run and grand jete en tournant (entrelace) Even the "cushion dance" didn't live up to its gorgeous music.  I remember going to the Opera House Exhibition in London,donkeys years ago, and watching the filmed extract of Fonteyn and Nureyev in the Balcony p de d over and over again - this balcony duet really didn't move me however fantastic the dancing was.  Xander and Tereshkina are very talented and beautiful dancers, but the chemistry didn't seem to be there.  And I don't like curtain calls between acts - it spoils the dramatic continuity for me.

 

I have to say that I was more thrilled at being back in the "Garden" after so long, than at seeing the ballet, which was a shame, because I was very excited that we managed to get tickets.  I personally don't think that there is an opera house in the world that can compare with Covent Garden - it is just perfect.  Even though I do miss that vast mirror that used to be at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the exquisite Crush Bar and up from the foyer, now that they have opened up the adjacent hall.  And what have they done with "Madame's" bust?

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Maybe it was because I was sitting so far from the stage, but I didn't really get involved in it and Romo and Juliet is my absolute favourite ballet.  I've performed in it myself and I never tire of it.  However, I have to say that I found the choreography very uninspired and the whole production had an outdated feel. 

 

But wouldn't your favourite ballet depend on the production, rather than just blanket coverage of all R&Js?  I know mine would: I've seen productions I've hated as well as those I've loved.

 

I'm definitely with you on those blasted inter-act curtain calls, though :)

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Yes of course you're right - it does depend on the choreography, but because I adore the music and the story line, I haven't actually hated any version so far (I do steer clear of wierd modern interpretations though, which I know in advance that I would hate!).  I saw an interesting version in Budapest for example, which was very different, but which I still really enjoyed and of course I've seen Macmillan, Cranko and Ashton's versions, with MacMillan coming out top. My first Romeo was actually the Bolshoi version with Ulanova, but I was a little girl when I saw it and didn't have the perception to critique it and anyway, whatever Ulanova danced became special!

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