Bella Figura » leonid sarafanov

November 3, 2010

Review: A Russian Humpbacked Horse in Paris

Laura @ 23:01 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: alexei ratmansky, alina somova, financial times, leonid sarafanov, mariinsky ballet, maya plisetskaya, rodion shchedrin, yuri smelakov —

The Little Humpbacked Horse
Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky
Mariinsky Ballet
Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
November 1, 2010

Much has been made of ballet’s supposed fossilisation since the passing of the great choreographers of the past century, but Alexei Ratmansky, the former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, keeps proving the naysayers wrong. He left Moscow in 2009 to focus on choreography, and a few months into his new freelance career, he paused in St Petersburg to create one of his most delightful narrative ballets to date: The Little Humpbacked Horse.

The title refers to a much-loved Russian tale about a peculiar horse and his young master, Ivan. The latter falls in love with the beautiful Tsar-Maiden, and together they outwit a foolish Tsar who has set his mind on marrying her. Several choreographers tried their hand at the story in the 19th century, but in 1955 Rodion Shchedrin composed a new score, expressive and colourful, for his wife, the Bolshoi’s legendary Maya Plisetskaya. (…)

» Read the full review in the Financial Times

Yuri Smelakov as the conniving Chamberlain (left) in The Little Humpbacked Horse © Natasha Razina

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January 11, 2010

Review: Robbins, Balanchine and more in Baden-Baden – Mariinsky Gala 2009

Laura @ 16:56 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: balanchine, denis matvienko, ekaterina kondaurova, evgenia obraztsova, jerome robbins, leonid sarafanov, mariinsky ballet, ulyana lopatkina, viktoria tereshkina, vladimir shklyarov —

Mariinsky Gala
Divertissement / In the Night / Theme & Variations
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
28 December 2009

Careful with galas: their fragile mish-mash of styles and performers shouldn’t be upset by too many novelties, and yet they have to be varied enough from year to year to keep the audience coming. The Mariinsky has found a formula in Baden-Baden, and it’s sticking to it: two one-act ballets, a divertissement full of sure hits, and the same array of star dancers on stage, from Ulyana Lopatkina to the company’s latest recruit, Denis Matvienko. Jerome Robbins’s In the Night and Balanchine’s Theme and Variations provided the needed contrast this Christmas, while the mandatory string of pas de deux, brightened up by humorous touches, opened the performance.

Starting an evening off with Auber’s Grand Pas in front of a cold audience certainly is a thankless task. Evgenia Obraztsova (replacing Alina Somova) and Maxim Zyuzin presented us with a rarity – a classically pure Grand Pas Classique. Obraztsova is a strange choice for this piece, all softness and refinement when the Mariinsky Orchestra’s take on Rossini seemed to call for whiz-bang technique and conquering demeanor. She has developed the authority to pull it through, with extremely assured fouettés in the coda, but the many details of her dancing seem lost in this pure gala piece. She and Zyuzin, who handled the virtuoso parts well, still brought welcome harmony to this Grand Pas Classique, their extensions mercifully in line, confident and beautifully Russian. (…)

» Read the full review in Ballet.co Magazine

» Ballet.co Gallery of the Gala (photos © Natasha Razina & Marcus Gernsbeck)

Program

I – Divertissement
Grand Pas Classique - Evgenia Obraztsova, Maxim Zyuzin
La Vivandière (Markitenka) pas de six - Elena Evseeva, Filip Stepin + Evgenia Dolmatova, Anna Lavrinenko, Yulianna Chereshkevitch, Oxsana Skoryk
Scheherazade Adagio – Ekaterina Kondaurova, Yevgeny Ivanchenko
Tarantella (Balanchine) – Nadezhda Gonchar, Leonid Sarafanov
Spuck’s Grand Pas de Deux – Ulyana Lopatkina, Danila Korsuntsev
Don Quixote pas de deux – Anastasia & Denis Matvienko + Variation: Yana Selina

II – In The Night (Jerome Robbins)
Anastasia & Denis Matvienko
Ekaterina Kondaurova, Yevgeny Ivanchenko
Ulyana Lopatkina, Danila Korsuntsev

III – Theme & Variations (Balanchine)
Viktoria Tereshkina, Vladimir Shklyarov
Yana Selina, Anna Lavrinenko, Valerya Martinyuk, Maria Shirinkina
Konstantin Zverev, Fyodor Murashov, Alexei Nedviga, Alexei Timofeyev

Ulyana Lopatkina & Danila Korsuntsev in Spuck's Grand Pas de Deux © Marcus Gernsbeck

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January 5, 2010

Review: La Sylphide, a Danish stranger from Petersburg in Baden-Baden

Laura @ 16:56 —
Filed under: English,Reviews/critiques — Tags: bournonville, evgenia obraztsova, leonid sarafanov, mariinsky ballet —

La Sylphide
Mariinsky Ballet
Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
27 December 2009

One of the true delights of the Mariinsky Ballet’s annual tours to Baden-Baden lies in the repertoire they bring, which, apart from the mandatory Swan Lakes and Nutcrackers, regularly includes ballets never seen on tour. A Mariinsky La Sylphide is a curiosity, a confidential pleasure confined to Saint-Petersburg and usually performed at home while most of the company is on tour – this reversal of the situation, along with the luxury casting of Evgenia Obraztsova and Leonid Sarafanov, generated an excitement that has been missing from seasons plagued by safe programming.

Mind you, the Mariinsky Ballet has never been the finest exponent of Bournonville, and it showed again in a few awkward scenes. Vyacheslav Okunev’s designs make the first act look outdated – the bleak mansion and ill-assorted costumes might well be one of the reasons James so longs to go and live in a pretty forest full of elegant Sylphs. The corps de ballet and the demi-soloists also showed some uneasiness, including Xenia Romashova as Effie’s friend, slightly cramped in her character solo, and Soslan Kulaev, much too tall and properly over-the-top as Gurn (ah, his “I-saw-it-with-the-ping-pong-balls-I-call-my-eyes” mime). The Mariinsky’s acting style and expansive dancing simply don’t fit into this first act, but their hybrid encounter with a master, whether it be Balanchine or Bournonville, is a fascinating sight in its own right.

» Read the full review in Ballet.co Magazine

Evgenia Obraztsova and Leonid Sarafanov in La Sylphide © Natascha Rezina

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December 25, 2009

A Mariinsky Christmas!

Laura @ 15:16 —
Filed under: English,Français,News,Other — Tags: evgenia obraztsova, leonid sarafanov, mariinsky ballet, viktoria tereshkina, vladimir shklyarov —

The Mariinsky Ballet is already in Baden-Baden for their traditional Christmas tour at the Festspielhaus, and here are a few official photos from the scheduled La Sylphide and Gala as seasonal greetings. Merry Christmas everyone!

Joyeux Noël à tous – une fin d’année célébrée par le Mariinsky, comme le veut la tradition, par une tournée à Baden-Baden. Photos de La Sylphide et du Gala à venir en guise de calendrier de l’Avent tardif!