Russian Companies

In Commemoration of Ekaterina Maximova

“Fragments of One Biography”
Bolshoi Ballet and Guests
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 01, 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Fragments of One Biography” staged by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.FetisovaOn February 1st, the Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina, Ekaterina Maximova (1939-2009), would have celebrated her 85th birthday. A phenomenally successful (and multi-decorated) artist, Maximova’s fame reached far beyond Russia’s borders. After retiring from the stage of the Bolshoi in 1988, she continued to dance with other Russian and international companies—and sometimes even returned home to the Bolshoi. From 1990 on, Maximova worked as a coach, teacher, and member of several arts councils and committees. Every five years, Maximova’s husband, Vladimir Vasiliev, stages a gala at the Bolshoi in honor of his late wife. I was able to watch this year’s event on video.

2. V.Vasiliev, “Fragments of One Biography” staged by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova3. E.Maximova (Kitri) and ensemble, “Don Quixote”, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / V. Pchelkin 4. V.Vasiliev (Nutcracker Prince), E.Maximova (Marie), and ensemble, “The Nutcracker” by Y.Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 1966 © Bolshoi Ballet / V. PchelkinVasiliev, a renowned former principal dancer of the Bolshoi and the company’s director from 1995 to 2000, has also been productive as a choreographer. Several samples of his ballets were shown at the gala. Much to the audience’s appreciation, for the first time, Vasiliev included film footage and archive photos of Maximova’s performances and private life, which testified to her dazzling talent and vibrant personality. The clips he chose depicted her in the very same roles that were subsequently performed live at the gala, allowing comparisons between her and today’s ballerinas. They left no doubt that Maximova’s performances should be considered a standard. Although forty years or so have passed, her style and technique still looked fresh and modern. Most striking, though, was her captivating charisma. How impressive must she have been alive and in person!

7. V.Vasiliev (Spartacus) and E.Maximova (Phrygia), “Spartacus” by Y.Grigorovich, Boslhoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / G. Soloviev6. E.Maximova (Katerina) and V.Vasiliev (Danila), “The Stone Flower” by Y.Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / E. Umnov 5. E.Maximova as Giselle, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / E. UmnovUsually, guest dancers from different theaters join the Bolshoi company for this event. This time, they came from two Russian companies. Amanda Gomez and Mikhail Timaev from the Tatar State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre performed a scene from Vasiliev’s Fragments of a Biography. Gomez, a graduate of the Bolshoi’s ballet school in Brazil, seemed slightly tense as she stepped onto the Bolshoi’s historical stage, but moments later, she started to flirt cheerfully with the audience. In contrast to her light-hearted solo, her pas de deux with Timaev featured serious affection.
8. E.Sergeenkova (Giselle) and K.Efimov (Albrecht), “Giselle” by J.Perrot, J.Coralli, and M.Petipa (revised by Y.Grigorovich), Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova 9. E.Sergeenkova (Giselle) and K.Efimov (Albrecht), “Giselle” by J.Perrot, J.Coralli, and M.Petipa (revised by Y.Grigorovich), Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.FetisovaSt. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Ballet sent to Moscow Renata Shakirova and Kimin Kim who contributed a pas de deux from Don Quixote. Both danced impeccably, but while Kim’s Basilio was a paragon of dash and charm, Shakirova’s Kitri was as calculating as Odile. She threw herself into smug poses and rattled off the choreography as if competing with a high-speed sewing machine.

Kitri was one of seven of Maximova’s iconic roles that the students of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography called to mind in their opening Entre. Another one was that of Giselle. Maximova’s mad scene on celluloid was continued by Eva Sergeenkova and Klim Efimov who performed a pas de deux from Act II. Compliments to them for conjuring up the Wilis’ ghostly realm from nothing.
11. A.Ovcharenko (Nutcracker Prince) and E.Sevenard (Marie), “The Nutcracker” by Y.Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova10. E.Sevenard (Marie) and A.Ovcharenko (Nutcracker Prince), “The Nutcracker” by Y.Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.FetisovaOf Maximova’s Marie (from The Nutcracker), we watched a scene from the final in which the young Marie happily reunites with her Nutcracker doll. The pas de deux that Eleonora Sevenard (Marie) and Artem Ovcharenko (Nutcracker Prince) performed (Yuri Grigorovich’s version) rewound the plot to the couple’s journey toward the top of the Christmas tree. The journey’s climax was reached when the assembled courtly escort lifted both simultaneously from within their midst. I haven’t seen Ovcharenko for quite some time and was happy to find him in peak form. He nailed his pirouettes with the elegance of a pro and evinced a mind-boggling spring in his step.

12. I.Tsvirko (Phillipe), “The Flames of Paris” by V.Vainonen, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova13. M.Shrayner (Jeanne) and I.Tsvirko (Phillipe), “The Flames of Paris” by V.Vainonen, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.FetisovaI also admired Igor Tsvirko’s daredevil Philippe in The Flames of Paris. If I were to describe the series of intricate jumps that he delivered as “terrific,” it would be an understatement. The eyes of Margarita Shrayner’s rebellious Jeanne radiated the same triumph as Maximova’s as she sat on Philippe’s shoulder.
Dmitry Smilevsky, who I recently watched in La Fille du Pharaon, danced the leading role this time in two excerpts of Vasiliev’s version of Leonid Lavrovsky’s latest major work, Paganini. His performance was a treat. Initially absorbed in a tender pas de deux with his muse (Elizaveta Kokoreva), a strike of genius later sparked an almost aggressive determination in him. Paganini was a legend, and Smilevsky also has what it takes to become one.
Paganini is set to music by Rachmaninoff, as is Elegy—a pas de deux by Vasiliev, which he and Maximova danced multiple times. Its many nuances of melancholy require sensitivity, whereas the many challenging lifts call for expert technique. Anna Nikulina and Egor Gerashchenko demonstrated both.

15. V.Lopatkin (Modest Alexeyevich), “Anyuta” by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova14. A.Stashkevich (Anyuta) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.FetisovaIt’s always a gift to watch Vladislav Lantratov dance, and I consider it especially lucky that he appeared twice. He was the linchpin of five ballerinas’ Waltz Fantasy and the main character in Ballad, a poignant duet by Vasiliev set to music by Chopin. Ballad depicts the desperation of a man (Vladislav Lantratov) after having lost a beloved woman (Elizaveta Kokoreva): how he first hesitantly, then full of joy, recalls her and relives their mutual fondness and trust and how he tries to squeeze all that was precious between them into that fleeting moment of reminiscence. When he finally had to acknowledge that she was gone, he seemed to accuse the entire world of this loss.

16. A.Stashkevich (Anyuta) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova17. M.Lobukhin (Pyotr Leontievich) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova The gala concluded with an excerpt of Vasiliev’s bittersweet Anyuta, led by Anastasia Stashkevich in the title role alongside Vyacheslav Lopatkin as Anyuta’s husband, Modest Alexeyevich. Originally, Vasiliev was meant to appear as Anyuta’s father, Pyotr Leontievich. However, he suffered a serious injury backstage during the performance and had to be taken to hospital. Mikhail Lobukhin replaced him on short notice.

18. Ensemble, “Fragments of One Biography” staged by V.Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova

Links: Website of the Bolshoi Theatre
“Fragments of One Biography” – Ekaterina Maximova (video)
Photos: 1. Ensemble,Fragments of One Biography” staged by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
2. Vladimir Vasiliev,Fragments of One Biography” staged by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
3. Ekaterina Maximova (Kitri) and ensemble, “Don Quixote”, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / V. Pchelkin
4. Vladimir Vasiliev (Nutcracker Prince), Ekaterina Maximova (Marie), and ensemble, “The Nutcracker” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 1966 © Bolshoi Ballet / V. Pchelkin
5. Ekterina Maximova as Giselle, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / E. Umnov
6. Ekaterina Maximova (Katerina) and Vladimir Vasiliev (Danila), “The Stone Flower” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / E. Umnov
7. Vladimir Vasiliev (Spartacus) and Ekaterina Maximova (Phrygia), “Spartacus” by Yuri Grigorovich, Boslhoi Ballet © Bolshoi Ballet / G. Soloviev
8. Eva Sergeenkova (Giselle) and Klim Efimov (Albrecht), “Giselle” by Jules Perrot, Jean Coralli, and Marius Petipa (revised by Yuri Grigorovich), Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
9. Eva Sergeenkova (Giselle) and Klim Efimov (Albrecht), “Giselle” by Jules Perrot, Jean Coralli, and Marius Petipa (revised by Yuri Grigorovich), Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
10. Eleonora Sevenard (Marie) and Artem Ovcharenko (Nutcracker Prince), “The Nutcracker” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
11. Artem Ovcharenko (Nutcracker Prince) and Eleonora Sevenard (Marie), “The Nutcracker” by Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
12. Igor Tsvirko (Phillipe), “The Flames of Paris” by Vasily Vainonen, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
13. Margarita Shrayner (Jeanne) and Igor Tsvirko (Phillipe), “The Flames of Paris” by Vasily Vainonen, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
14. Anastasia Stashkevich (Anyuta) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
15. Vyacheslav Lopatkin (Modest Alexeyevich), “Anyuta” by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
16. Anastasia Stashkevich (Anyuta) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
17. Mikhail Lobukhin (Pyotr Leontievich) and ensemble, “Anyuta” by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
18. Ensemble, “Fragments of One Biography” staged by Vladimir Vasiliev, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / Elena Fetisova
Editing: Kayla Kauffman

Love, Faith, and the Inevitability of Karma

“Land of Faith – Bargujin Tukum”
Ballet of the Buryat Academic Ballet and Opera Theatre
Buryat Academic Ballet and Opera Theatre
Ulan-Ude, Russia
February 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. M.Ovcharov and ensemble, “Land of Faith - Bargujin Tukum” by N.Dmitrievsky, Ballet of the Buryat Academic Ballet and Opera Theatre 2023 © N.Dmitrievsky Roughly 4000 miles separate Moscow from the Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East. Two-thirds along this stretch towards the east lies Ulan-Ude, the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia. Its population amounted to 436,000 last year. Lake Baikal is about 100 miles north of Ulan-Ude; the border with Mongolia to the south is 130 miles or so away.
Last year, the Republic celebrated the centenary of the foundation of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic—currently known as Buryatia (which is still an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation). On this occasion, the Buryat National Ballet and Opera Theatre commissioned the Moscow-based contemporary choreographer, Nikita Dmitrievsky, to create a new ballet. His Land of Faith – Bargujin Tukum premiered last May and will return to the schedule later this year. During a tour to Moscow last December, it was shown at the Stanislavsky Theatre. I was able to watch a video of the premiere. (more…)

A Grand Spectacle

“La Fille du Pharaon”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
February 16, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. M.Mishina (Ramze), E.Kokoreva (Aspicia), and ensemble; “La Fille du Pharaon” by P.Lacotte, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / D.Yusupov The Bolshoi Ballet’s La Fille du Pharaon is about an Egyptian pipe dream—and it felt like a dream indeed. I was already impressed in 2019 when I watched it for the first time. Five years later, the cultural landscape has changed so much that its magnificence seems surreal. It highlights the extent to which the paths of Western and Russian cultures have diverged. While European culture finds itself on shaky grounds, the Bolshoi stands firm as a rock. The critics who argue that Pierre Lacotte’s recreation of Marius Petipa’s La Fille du Pharaon (1862) is like unearthing a dusty ballet mummy are wrong. True, the piece’s libretto (which is based on Theophile Gautier’s 1857 Le Roman de la Momie and was edited by Lacotte) is flimsy. Hearty drags on an opium pipe transport a traveling Englishman and his servant to the pyramids during the reign of a mighty pharaoh. This pharaoh has a daughter who instantly falls in love with the Englishman. After some adventurous trouble (including the dispatch of a lion, a last-minute escape, a nearly murderous assault, a suicide attempt, and the hero’s near execution), the lovers are happily united. But – alas! Upon awakening, (more…)

How to Warm an Audience

Don Quixote”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia

February 15, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. A.Limenko (Kitri) and ensemble, “Don Quixote” by R.Nureyev, Stanislavsky Ballet 2024 © K.Zhitkova Moscow’s ballet audience is well-versed and demanding. The crowd that filled the Stanislavsky Theatre last Thursday to watch Don Quixote gave the quirky Don Quixote (Nikita Kirillov) and his gluttonous squire, Sancho Panza (Konstantin Semenov), a friendly but reserved welcome. The company’s former artistic director, Laurent Hilaire, added the production to the repertoire in 2019, and Hilaire’s successor, Maxim Sevagin, has kept it since 2022. As a former etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet who danced under Rudolf Nureyev’s directorate, Hilaire chose to introduce the Russian audience to Nureyev’s version of Don Quixote. Its set and costume design replicates Nicholas Georgiadis’s originals for the Paris Opera premiere.

Back at the bustling market square, the exuberance of the Spanish youth gradually spread through the rows. The legs of the toreadors sliced the air like knife edges; their leader, Espada (Evgeny Zhukov), missed no chance to parade his oomph; the sultry show of Olga Sizykh’s street dancer heated the air so much that the men began to brawl over the women – but the arrival of Don Quixote (on top of his armored old nag Rocinante) chilled passions. (more…)

Reassuring

“Chopiniana”/“Grand Pas from the Ballet Paquita
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
February 14, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

 1. A.Denisova, “Chopiniana” by M.Fokine, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Ballet / D.Yusupov The musicians of the Bolshoi Orchestra are on their toes. After acknowledging the welcoming applause, conductor, Pavel Klinichev, raised his baton in the same instant that he turned around to face them. The vigorous bars that he prompted belonged to a Polonaise by Chopin. It opened Mikhail Fokine’s romantic Chopiniana (1908), which the Bolshoi Ballet revived in November 2022. It’s the first part of a double bill the second piece of which – the Grand Pas from Petipa’s Paquita – has been a landmark of classical dance since its creation in 1881.

There’s no need to discuss how Fokine’s choreography was performed. The Bolshoi is a guarantor of sublime performances. Indeed, the unity of the corps was nothing less than staggering; every step was measured yet effortless like an outpouring of natural decency. Perfect proportions soothed the eye. As the leading sylphs, Anastasia Stashkevich, Elizaveta Kruteleva, and Anastasia Denisova paid great attention to detail, adding the right tinge of buoyancy, melancholy, or playfulness to their solos. Vyacheslav Lopatin’s poet combined sensitivity and decisiveness. His clean and – at times mighty – jumps earned applause. Alyona Pikalova’s set design – an arch of gnarled treetops opening onto a sunny water meadow – invited the mind to dream.
I’ve watched several companies dance Chopiniana, but no performance was as complete as the Bolshoi’s. Perhaps due to experiencing messy times in my home country of Germany (and in the West in general), the refined order and serenity of Chopiniana felt especially comforting. It seemed like the epitome of civilization. (more…)

Style Over Substance

Modanse”
Svetlana Zakharova Evening

Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
October 31, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. S.Zakharova, “Come un respiro” by M.Bigonzetti; Svetlana Zakharova Evening, MuzArts 2023 © A.Stepanov The title “Modanse” sounds like an à la mode ballet – classy, extravagant, and fashionable. It belongs to a double bill featuring the Bolshoi Ballet’s prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova. The external production includes dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet’s roster, and since 2019 has guested regularly on the Bolshoi Theatre’s stage and abroad.

As a seasoned artist, Zakharova must have an instinct about what suits her on stage. Hence I’m flabbergasted that she has kept Mauro Bigonzetti’s “Come un respiro” (“Like a Breath”) in the program. The 2009 creation, of which Zakharova acquired a reworked version, is ill-suited to make her and her co-dancers (among them Anastasia Stashkevich, Ana Turazashvili, Mikhail Lobukhin, Vyacheslav Lopatin, and Denis Savin) look good. Moreover, its succession of bland solos, pas de deux, and group dances fails to excite. (more…)

Trickling

Through the Looking-Glass”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia

October 29, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. V.Mukhanova (adult Alice), G.Bosai (Black Queen), and ensemble; “Through the Looking-Glass” by K.Semenov, Stanislavsky Ballet 2023 © MAMT This April, the Stanislavsky Ballet premiered a new piece by one of Russia’s up-and-coming choreographers – Konstantin Semenov, who happens to be a dancer from within their own ranks. Semenov, winner of the 2015 competition for young choreographers of the festival for contemporary dance Context. Diana Vishneva, so far mainly created dance miniatures. His recent work “Through the Looking-Glass” is his first full-fledged, seventy-minute one-acter. Still a small-scale production, it was shown on the theater’s small stage, where the audience sits in intimate proximity to the dancers.
“Through the Looking-Glass” is based on Lewis Carroll’s 1871 eponymous novel, the sequel of his “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865). Again, young Alice enters a rhyme-ridden fantasy world, but this time through a mirror rather than a rabbit hole. Everything in this world is reversed, including written text, the meaning of words, and time (which runs counter-clockwise). (more…)

Fiendishly Fine

“Master and Margarita”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
October 29, 2023 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. A.Ovcharenko (Master) and E.Krysanova (Margarita), “Master and Margarita” by E.Clug, Bolshoi Ballet 2023 © Bolshoi Ballet / Batyr Anadurdiev I was skeptical whether Edward Clug was the right choice to tackle Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita”. A Russian choreographer seemed better equipped to adapt this landmark of Soviet literature for the ballet stage than a Romanian-born working in Maribor, Slovenia. Two years after its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre, I was able to watch Clug’s “Master and Margarita” – and my reservations were proven thoroughly wrong. It’s a fabulous blend of entertainment and food for thought, brimful of metaphors and allusions. Yuri Possokhov, Clug’s Russian colleague, currently preparing a new piece for the Bolshoi, is full of appreciation for “Master and Margarita” as well. I met him at another performance where he told me that Clug understands the Russian soul perfectly well.

Interestingly, Clug, together with Christian Spuck (then artistic director of Zurich Ballet) intended to stage “Master and Margarita” in Zurich in 2015, but their plan was thwarted when the theater’s research revealed that ticket sales would be uncertain because the Zurich audience wasn’t familiar with Bulgakov’s novel. Destiny brought the Bolshoi Ballet’s artistic director Makhar Vaziev to the scene who decided to stage the piece in Moscow.

A lifetime could be spent exploring Bulgakov’s political and social satire and the biblical questions raised by the novel. In short “The Master and Margarita” (published only after Bulgakov’s death in 1940, first in an edited serial form in 1966/67 and uncensored in 1973) intertwines two plots: (1) the mayhem caused by the Satan (alias Professor Woland) and his entourage when visiting Moscow in the 1930s, and (2) the trial of Jesus of Nazareth in Jerusalem during Pontius Pilate’s governance. The connecting link is the Master, a Muscovite author (and Bulgakov’s alter ego) whose latest manuscript tells the Jerusalem plot. Margarita is the woman who loves him and – unlike Moscow’s critics – his work. (more…)

Sorting Out

“Catharsis Dante”
Russian State Ballet of Siberia
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
June 30, 2023 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. G.Botenkov (Sisyphus) and ensemble, “Catharsis Dante” by N.Dmitrievsky, Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre 2023 © Y.Raskova This April, the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre scored a double victory at Russia’s Golden Mask Awards. Their reconstruction of “Catherine ou la fille du bandit” won the prize for the best ballet production and the best female part. I was curious about the company’s repertoire, but failed because of the distance. Krasnoyarsk is in Siberia, around 2400 miles east of Moscow. Luckily, Nikita Dmitrievsky helped me out. His ballet “Catharsis Dante” received its world premiere at the Krasnoyarsk Ballet this June and Dmitrievsky sent me a recording without much ado.

His name is well-known in Russia, where he realizes the majority of his dance projects, but he also worked in the Netherlands, UK, Israel, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Finland. An allrounder, Dmitrievsky is choreographer, artistic director, producer, filmmaker, lighting designer, and teacher in one. Costume design doesn’t seem to be on his spectrum and in the case of “Catharsis Dante” is by Inna Zaitseva. (more…)

Prix Benois Laureates 2023

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 21, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

Yesterday evening, this year’s laureates of the Prix Benois were announced on the Historic Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.

1. J.Ryu, C.Kerche, and Q.Yunting, Prix Benois de la Danse, Bolshoi Theatre 2023 © Bolshoi Theatre / B.Annadurdyev2. M.Kang, Prix Benois de la Danse, Bolshoi Theatre 2023 © Bolshoi Theatre / B.AnnadurdyevQiu Yunting (National Ballet of China) and Misun Kang (Universal Ballet, South Korea) share the prize for the best female dancer. Yunting was nominated for her performance of Tatiana in John Cranko’s “Onegin”, Kang for her interpretation of the Widow in Bingxian Liu’s “Mirinaegil”. Hugo Marchand (Paris Opera Ballet) was awarded the prize for the best male dancer. He didn’t attend the ceremony. Vyacheslav Samodurov won the prize for the best choreography for “Dancemania” – a creation for the Bolshoi Ballet.

Mikhail Lavrovsky, People’s Artist of the USSR, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. (more…)

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2023

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
June 17, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

Eleven dancers from five nations are nominated for this year’s Prix Benois. Of the six women and five men, one dances in South-Korea, four in Russia, and two each in China, France, and Kazakhstan. This Tuesday the laureates will be announced in an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview on the nominees:
1. M.Elchibayeva, Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre after Abay © Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre after Abay 2. M.Elchibayeva, Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre after Abay © Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre after AbayMalika Elchibayeva, leading soloist of the Kazakh National Opera and Ballet Theatre after Abay in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is nominated for her performance as Queen Shamkhat in “Frescoes” by Zaurbek Raibayev. Gulzhan Tutkibayeva, artistic director of the company, describes Elchibayeva as having “an outstanding appearance, beautiful texture, a professional school, and acting skills. For 5 years in the theater, Elchibayeva has performed almost all the leading parts of the ballet repertoire. In the role of the Queen Shamkhat she is organic, expressive, and managed to fully convey the idea of the ballet master Raibaev.” (more…)

Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2023

Prix Benois de la Danse
Li Jun / Maša Kolar / Wayne McGregor / Vyacheslav Samodurov
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
June 15, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

On June 20th, the Bolshoi Theatre hosts the annual Prix Benois ceremony, followed by a gala on June 21st. Prizes will be awarded for the best choreographer, and the best female and male dancers. Mikhail Lavrovsky will be honored for his lifetime achievement.

Four choreographers are competing this year:
1. “Where to Pour All My Love?” by L.Jun, National Ballet of China © National Ballet of China 2. “Where to Pour All My Love?” by L.Jun, National Ballet of China © National Ballet of ChinaLi Jun, dancer-choreographer of the National Ballet of China, is nominated for “Where to Pour All My Love?”, a twenty-minute piece set to music by Zhao Jiping. It premiered at the company’s 12th ballet workshop in April 2022. Jun’s source of inspiration was the Chinese multi-episode TV drama “Da Zhai Men” (Grand Mansion Gate) which traces the history of a Beijing-based family from the late Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) to World War II. “Where to Pour All My Love?” focuses on Bai Yuting – one member of this family – whose love for Peking Opera gets out of control. (more…)

Mighty

“Ivan the Terrible”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 06, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. E.Obraztsova (Anastasia) and I.Vasiliev (Ivan the Terrible), “Ivan the Terrible” by Y.Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet 2023 © Bolshoi Ballet / D.Yusupov For Yuri Grigorovich’s “Ivan the Terrible” at the Bolshoi Ballet I needed some preparation. The biography by the late Ruslan Skrynnikov (1931 – 2009), a research professor at St. Petersburg State University and a leading historian of early modern Russia, seemed useful. Although it was instructive, the reading was tedious. Skrynnikov is a painstaking sociopolitical analyst, an expert in imparting the cruelty of medieval life, but I learned little about the person Ivan the Terrible (1530 – 1584). Interestingly, his nickname terrible results from a misleading translation of the actual epithet Грозный (grozny) which – according the Russian lexicographer Vladimir Dal (1801 – 1872) – can be translated as “courageous, magnificent, magisterial and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience”. A “tsar who managed to keep everything under control” – that’s how ballet legend Ivan Vasiliev (who’s regularly performed the role) describes Ivan the Terrible in an interview (subtitled in English and very much worth seeing), adding that “when you bear responsibility for such a huge country, you cannot lose control.” (more…)

The Very Essence

Swan Lake”
Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre
Moscow, Russia

June 05, 2023

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. M.Drodzdova (Odile) and V.Tedeev (Prince Siegfried), “Swan Lake” by V.Burmeister and L.Ivanov, Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre 1974 © Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre 2. M.Drodzdova (Odette), “Swan Lake” by V.Burmeister and L.Ivanov, Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre © Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre 3. O.Kardash, K.Ryzhkova, M.Drodzdova, and K.Shevtsova; “Swan Lake” by V.Burmeister and L.Ivanov, Ballet of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre 2023 © Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre When I arrived at the Stanislavsky Theatre’s royal blue auditorium for Vladimir Burmeister’s 1953 version of “Swan Lake” I had no clue what was awaiting me. No one had told me that this performance wasn’t a regular one, but dedicated to Margarita Drodzdova, People’s Artist of the USSR, who spent almost her entire career at the Stanislavsky Ballet. A leading ballerina, many roles were tailored especially to her. After her farewell from the stage in 1987, Drodzdova continued to work as a teacher, passing her knowledge to future generations of dancers.

On the occasion of Drodzdova’s 75th birthday on May 7th, the Stanislavsky Ballet honored her with a special “Swan Lake” that featured three of her coachees in the roles of Odette and Odile. (more…)

Invincible

“The Flames of Paris”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre (New Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 04, 2023 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2023 by Ilona Landgraf

1. E.Kokoreva (Jeanne), V.Lantratov (Philippe), and ensemble; “The Flames of Paris” by V.Vainonen, Bolshoi Ballet 2023 © Bolshoi Ballet / E.Fetisova “A highly unlikely work” – commented the late Clement Crisp in his Financial Times review about “The Flames of Paris”, which the Bolshoi Ballet performed at the Royal Opera House as part of their 2016 London tour. He argued that the dramatic scheme was papery and the chief roles were predictable.
I checked myself, watching the 85th performance of the latest production at the Bolshoi Ballet’s home base in Moscow.

“The Flames of Paris”, first staged in 1932 at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad (today’s Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg) is about how French revolutionaries turned politics and society upside down. Its rousing score by Boris Asafiev draws on music by Lully and Rameau, including the Marseillaise, and climaxes in the powerful revolutionary song “Ça ira”. In 2008, the Bolshoi Ballet’s then artistic director Alexey Ratmansky restored and revised Vasily Vainonen’s original choreography. Nikolai Volkov’s and Vladimir Dmitriev’s libretto, initially spanning four acts, was condensed to two acts. It tells the story of the revolutionaries’ march to Paris and their storming of the Bastille in July 1789. Oblivious to the people’s fury, the monarchy and its representatives continue to debauch in festivities (including a court ballet) at Versailles, but eventually apprehend the looming danger. Puppets of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette are already mangled by the crowd, soon to seize the palace. (more…)