Moderator's note: This thread combines the earlier thread for the Kirov in OC and the Kirov in Boston. BT-ers should feel free to post any news regarding any of the four venues, as well as news about the tour in general in this spot. We'll open a thread for tour reviews next month.


Good news:

Kirov Ballet and Orchestra
Swan Lake

Following their triumphant 2003 Boston appearance, The Kirov Ballet returns for their only east coast engagement to showcase their incomparable production of Swan Lake. With Tchaikovsky's masterpiece score, and Marius Petipa's and Lev Ivanov's classic original choreography, Swan Lake is one of The Kirov Ballet's signature works.

November 9-12 | The Wang Theatre

http://www.celebrityseries.org/06_07_home.htm

Thanks, Dale. That is right after their appearances in Ottawa and Chicago. All links on For Ballet Lovers Only

Wow Kirov coming to Chicago with their Swan Lake. Let's hope Lopatkina, Vishneva, and Pavlenko all show up.

Lopatkina perhaps, for the opening night. After that, don't be surprised to see Somova, Gumerova, another Somova, then Vostrotina, and finally a third Somova. The usual pattern.

Natalia you're depressing me and I'm trying to think positive because this is definitely a road trip I will make! At least it could be someone like Tereshkina! Or Bolshakova! Knock on wood ...

I'm hoping for Lopatkina and also hoping that they'll repeat the leading cast twice. They have done that recently with Pavlenko scheduled twice in Giselle at the Ken Center and the Vishneva/Lopatkina cast of Sleeping Beauty performed twice at every venue on that tour. I have 2 nephews in the Chicago area who've never been to the ballet so I may make a weekend trip, but there's no way I can go from Wed - Sunday. I have so overspent my budget this year that I might wind up just taking the bus to Boston for a Sunday matinee & coming right back home Sunday night. We'll see...

nysusan,

Do you mean last Fall's MT Sleeping Beauty tour in La, Bay Area, and Detroit?

Even though they announced Vishneva for Detroit, she said repeatedly on her web site that she would do the 2 California locations, but not Detroit; she had another committment.

So for particular dancers (especially ones without web sites), you have to watch very closely.

I was toying with going to Detroit, really for Vishneva, when it was clear that she wasn't going I gave up the idea.

Richard

Yes Richard, that's the tour I was talking about and of course you're right about Vishneva. I went to the LA performances and I'd forgotten that they'd advertised her as appearing in all 3 cities even though she kept saying that she wasn't going to dance in Detroit. Well, I'll still keep my fingers crossed & hope to catch Lopatkina on a Sunday matinee. It's just too inconvenient (and too costly) to travel for a mid week opening night this time. Actually what I may do is head out to Chicago to see them over the weekend with my nephews and just pick up a last minute ticket for Boston if Lopatkina winds up only dancing the opening nights. That's if she makes the trip at all!

Susan

IMO, the Boston casting is, to put it mildly, very disturbing. I think it's interesting that Mlles. Somova,
Gumerova and Vostrotina are all in Madame Vazieva's stable of proteges - and that crew is below standard. Obviously, there's some lofty strategic plan going on with the casting policies; and what that is exactly, I can't put my finger on. I've given up trying to figure it out. If this holds, the only P.D. cast as Odette/Odile will be Lopatkina. IMO, this is no way to treat international audiences. If I book for the East it will be the Royal at Kennedy.

Cygnet, no casting for this engagement has been announced yet. We were speculating.

Just checking here ... the "Boston casting" is still speculative, is it not? And if the actual casting is posted somewhere, is it also posted for Chicago?

Indeed, we are still guessing but those were the Odette/Odiles in recent London & Paris tours. Maybe Boston & Chicago will top London & Paris?

Maybe the Kirov will shock us and present the worthiest-possible lineup: Lopatkina, Vishneva & Pavlenko alternating evenings; Tereshkina at a matinee. That's it - that's all. Who wants to place bets on that happening? Going once - going twice?

Since this is multiple choice, I predict the management will pick the London/Paris lineup - in the same order.

In Paris we got : Lopatkina for the opening night, then Somova and Bolshakova.
I saw Bolshakova while Lopatkina had been announced (on a matinee), and I so regretted it that I would recommend booking for the opening night if you can make it... Although promising, she's indeed below standard, and I was much happier when I saw the POB do the ballet a couple of months later. ;)

Some bits off news from Vishneva's site. Evidently the tour will include Ottawa as well as Boston and Chicago.

Per Vishneva's performance schedule she lists "Oct 24 Swan Lake Chicago Boston, Ottawa, Mariinsky"
Surely not all three on the same date.

She also list Costa Mesa, Oct 2 R&J, Swan Lake, Mariinsky.

Obviously this is all a bit sketchy.

But she seems to be very good about updating the performance schedule on her site so I guess for us here in the US and Canada, the thing to do is wait and see.

Richard

In Orange County's (Costa Mesa) season announcement release, the Kirov blurb stated that casting was to include "Diana Vishneva, Uliana Lopatkina, Andrian Fateev, Elena Vostrotina, Olga Esina, Alina Somova, Olesia Novikova and Natalia Sologub" - and that was for the Romeo & Juliet and Swan Lake run. Looks like, from schedules elsewhere, that Costa Mesa is the first stop on the tour so this might indicate who is initially scheduled to travel with the tour.

Of cousre we all know this can change, and there is no indication anywhere else in the release who is dancing what, but hopefully this means that if Lopatkina is traveling, she will get at least one Swan Lake.

I was really impressed with Olga Esina as Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, so I'd love to see her in Boston.

According to Diana Vishneva's site:

Dale, sorry to report that Yesina is no longer with the Kirov. She's in Bordeaux, France, now.

Found more casting details in a new press release for the Orange County engagement... no specific dates, but at least all the ballerinas are named - it'll be a cast change at each performance. This will surely be wreaking havoc on my wallet!

Relevant portions, excerpted from the release:

For performances Oct 17-19 (R&J) - "The cast of Romeo and Juliet will include Diana Vishneva, Irina Golub, Yevgenia Obraztsova, Andrian Fadeev and Igor Kolb."

For performances Oct 20-22 (Swan Lake) - "The cast of Swan Lake will feature Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Victoria Tereshkina, Alina Somova, Igor Zelensky, Danila Korsuntsev, Igor Kolb and Andrian Fadeev."

That's 7 distinct pairings. Now to wait and see when specifically they will be cast!

http://www.ocpac.org/about/PressDetail.asp...ssReleaseID=516

Diana Vishneva's site lists her dates as the 17th and 22nd.

GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!!!!

I'm taking a weekend trip to Chicago so hopefully I'll catch Lopatkina and Tereshkina in Swan Lake, but I sure am jealous of you getting to see Obraztsova in R&J.

Can't wait to hear your impressions...

Susan

Ardani Artists has listed provisional casting for the entire North American tour on their website. There is a discrepancy between one of the dates Vishneva has listed on her website (her website says she's dancing in Boston on 11/12, Ardani & Pavlenko's website both give that performance to Pavlenko and list Vishneva for 11/10). Here's the link:

http://www.ardani.com/mariinskybtouring.htm

Hooray! It's nice to have full casting.

But Pavlenko is skipping California again!! She ditched (at the last minute), the Hollywood-Orange County Bayadere/Jewels tour in 2002, mysteriously disappeared for the LA Sleeping Beauty tour in 2004, and now she's not doing the OC leg of the run. The rest of you are very lucky to see her Swan Lake.

But not that I'm complaining about the rest of the casts...

It would be great that dancers, be they principals of the Mariinsky, were able to choose when and where to perform before their numerous admirers. Regret it or not but this is still not the case.
I understand your disappointment, art076, but could you please keep in mind that Pavlenko hasn't "ditched" or "skipped" anything. And disappearing in a mysterious matter from preliminary cast lists isn't really her forte either.
If she is not appearing again in California, than that's entirely due to the decision of her director and/or the tour impresario.
Enjoy the Mariinsky!

Sorry - should have chosen my words more carefully. I didn't mean to imply that she herself left the shows, but wanted to illustrate how her name suddenly came off the cast lists each time she was scheduled to appear here. For the 2003 Bayadere/Jewels performances, she chose at the last minute to guest with The Royal Ballet in London as a replacement for an injured Darcey Bussell.

Again, art076, Pavlenko herself didn't chose at the last minute to guest with The Royal Ballet in London. The management of the Royal Ballet invited her to replace another guest who turned out to be unavailable. It's once more a reminder of how unreliable these preliminary casts are. It's not the dancers doing. Of course, as you'll understand, such an invitation was an offer she couldn't possibly refuse...

Thanks for the link.

I can now book my trip to SoCal knowing who I'm likely to see

For those of you who have not gotten tickets for Swan Lake yet, I would do so soon.
My visit today to the OCPAC ticket office showed that most orchestra and first tier tickets were sold for all performances. There were only a handful of scattered seats on the sides, and not many of those. I didn't check availability for 2nd tier or above. But it looks like sales are extremely strong.

Ardani Artists has updated the casting here:

http://www.ardani.com/mariinskybtouring.htm

Vishneva's website had listed her for the 11/12 matinee in Boston but it has been changed and now agrees with the Ardani site which lists Pavlenko for that performance and Vishneva for the 11/10 Friday night performance.

Let's pretend I can get tickets to any Chicago performance -- but can afford to see at most two. Which casting should I go for, and why?

Vishneva/Fadeev
Pavlenko/Zelensky
Lopatkina/Korsuntsev
Tereshkina/Kolb
Somova/Zelensky
Pavlenko/Sarafanov

Try everything to see Uliana Lopatkina: she IS the Swan!!!

And, to my taste, try more than everything to avoid Somova...

Geier has it right.

Lopatkina offers the epitome of Mariinsky's aesthetic of purity in classical dance.

Somova, a coryphee (the upper rank of the corps de ballet),
is being promoted by the Mariinsky powers-that- be as principal dancer potential.

Many people, including me, scratch their heads over this. But they may be right. Who knows?

The other lead choices between these two offer many many riches.

For me the future is Pavlenko.

I agree 100% - Lopatkina & Pavlenko. If you could go to 3 I would add Vishneva, but in this company she would not be in my top 2. I haven’t seen Lopatkina in Swan Lake but I’ve seen her in other things and she is a wonderful and unique ballerina. With her steely technique, long lines, exotic face and classical purity I can understand why people speak of her as the Odette of her generation.

I have seen Pavlenko’s Swan Lake & it is the most moving I’ve seen since Makarova’s. Her interpretation is very traditional. She is small, with classical proportions and a very fluid quality of movement. If you like the sad, hopeless variety of Odette you will love her. I’m a little nervous about seeing her partnered by Sarafanov, but her performance with Zelensky is not open to the public. If for some reason you are able to get tickets to that one - GO. Sarafanov is a great soloist, but not the world’s best partner. Zelensky is not that young anymore, but he is still wonderful.

Vishneva is an extraordinary dancer, I would go see her in anything. She is always fascinating but Swan Lake is not her best role so if you have to choose 2 I’d go with Lopatkina & Pavlenko. Since I am only going to Chicago for the weekend I didn't have the option of seeing Vishneva on opening night. I got tickets for Fri night , Sat night & Sunday mat before the casting was announced. If it holds I’m going catch Somova’s performance in addition to Lopatkina & Pavlenko. I’ve only seen Somova once, and tend to agree with the consensus that she’s too green and too obsessed with hyperextentions. Still, I’m kind of curious to see if she tames it down for Swan Lake or spends the whole night scratching her ear with her foot

I am so excited! My ticket for Uliana's Oct 20 O/O at the O.C. Perf. Arts Center has arrived! I've seen Pavlenko and she's absolutely awesome! I've never seen Uliana and I want to compare two great ballerinas in the same role!

Some trivia: This will be the first time since 1986 that the Maryinsky will bring the Sergeyev "Swan Lake" back to L.A. They brought Vinogradov's re-dux in 1992 and it was, well . . . it was. That's the most diplomatic way I can describe that production. And yes, I agree: By all means avoid A. Somova.

I am excited too, cygnet! My series night is for Romeo and Juliet but I was able to get a ticket for Saturday eve. with Somova (I am just too curious about all the hubbub!) and with Vishniva on Sunday matinee. I love Uliana and yet I have seen her recently in other ballets, so opted to open myself to other artists and take advantage of this visit!

How do I find out the casting for the Ottawa show??? I've great seats for "Swan Lake" and my dancer son will be attending and is interested in the cast.

OK - just read the entire thread, found the named link and discovered that Vishneva and Fadeev will be performing Sat at 8PM. Thanks!

I've seen Lopatkina in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Bayadierka (to name just three roles), and she has been spectacular (except for one off-night of Sleeping Beauty that she was upstaged by Vishneva).

This go around I'll get to see Vishneva only... at the O.C. in both Romeo & Juliet & Swan Lake.

Look forward to the performances and will post my comments.

I'll be there Sunday afternoon as well... look forward to reading your impressions and how they compare with mine

Now I *really* want to see her in Swan Lake... I've seen her before in smaller roles (including 'Leningrad Symphony' this Spring in St. Petersburg) and liked her very much.

...too bad she won't be dancing in O.C.

I'm so bad at this. I'll be at the Kirov performances in Orange County Tues., Thurs., Fri., and Sat. nights. If other Ballet Talk members are going to be there perhaps we could meet. I don't know where, or how we'll distinguish ourselves. If interested PM me.

Giannina

Interesting observations, but is 1,70 m small?

It's a bit less than 5 and a half feet. Relatively speaking, how "small" is that?

Giannina....I will be there with single ticket on Sat. evening....sitting in orchestra front.
We should meet up! I am so curioius about this cast.....would be fun to chat with you.
I have to remember that it is a 7:30 curtain! Name a location.......at intermission or before performance?

I'll be there Tuesday evening (tomorrow !).

I'll PM you about meeting up.

Is the PM feature currently disabled?

I've tried to PM you but it seems unavailable to me :confused:

...oops, nevermind. Perhaps I needed to hit 10 posts before PMing...

Funny, she's always looked small to me. Perhaps it's more a mater of perception, body type and size relative to others. Vishneva may not be much taller than Pavlenko but to me Vishneva reads tall onstage, and Pavlenko reads small. Also, I find Pavlenko's proportions more symmetrical than many of the Mariinsky's current ballerinas - Lopatkina, Vishneva and Somova all have long legs relative to their torsos which I think makes them look taller. I guess you also have to think about who they are onstage with - the first time I saw Pavlenko was in Swan Lake with Zelensky, then in "In the Middle" with Kondurova where she looked really tiny, and then with Kolb in Giselle. I'm sure she'll look big next to Sarafanov :-)

Performances begin to night in Orange County! :-)

I've arrived late to this thread after being mind blogglingly busy at work...

But if any BalletTalkers are there, it'd be great to say 'hello' at intermission. A good spot for meetings has always seemed to be on Level 1 (not the very bottom level, but one up - I don't remember exactly what OCPAC calls this level), across from the main concession area, next to the big television monitor. It's a spacious area, and fairly central. Does that sound good to anyone?

Going to tonight's performance (Vishneva), as well as definitely going to Friday (Lopatikina), Saturday afternoon (Tereshkina) and Sunday afternoon (Vishneva). And maybe more R&J's if I end up liking today's!

Too bad I didn't get to see your post until after the performance...

But I will be back in SoCal for Sunday's performance, so perhaps we'll get to meet then.

If any other BTers are planning on being there, please feel free to PM me so we can figure out a way to meet.

I have an extra ticket for tonights performance of Romeo and Julliet....any one interested? Complimentary, ofcourse! These are my seasaon tkts......in Row J orchestra center. Who ever PMs me first.....I will check my email often.....

FREE TICKET for Wednesday Kirov Romeo and Juliet!