I just read reports of Ekaterina Kondaurova's debut as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake just a couple of nights ago (October 30, 2008).

It appears she had an excellent debut, and Kondaurova's red hair made her performance stand out all the more. I've seen pictures of her debut and Kondaurova is ESPECIALLY striking as Odile. Alas, they next time she dances the role of Odette they need to be more careful with her hairdo because you can visibly tell where they parted her hair, which kind of detracted from what could have been a perfect look.

(EDIT) Here are a couple of pictures of her from this debut performance:

As Odette (during the curtain calls after the performance)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3180/299092...4a9b049d0_o.jpg

As Odile (with Danila Korsuntsev in the background)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3233/299177...c70ee72ab_o.jpg

Thank you for this thread, Sacto. From all Russian-language accounts, this has been a very major debut. Kondaurova is on her way to becoming the top lyrico-dramatic Mariinsky ballerina of her generation. Tereshkina is the bravura dancer par excellence, while Obraztsova is the leading romantic-soubrette ballerina.

I don't suppose you could report a bit about what was being said in the Russian-language accounts...
I'd love to hear more about this debut!

By the way, you can find a full set of images of Kondaurova's debut at this source:

http://mariinsky.livejournal.com/883184.html#cutid1

The page is maintained by a user named "Mad-For-Mariinsky", who is also a moderator on the www.mariinka.org Russian-language forum (and I believe is working for the Mariinsky Theatre itself).