Exactly: and for that reason I've bought only standing places for the London season as they are easier to off load/take a loss if a cast change puts Somova centre stage.



Really? I've received nothing so far. I went to Covent Garden on Saturday and searched the brochure rack in vain as I'd hoped to pick up a flyer to send to a Kirov fan in France, either they have run out or they haven't been printed yet.

Cassandra, I was referring to the brochure that details the Mariinsky's Washington DC, season in January 2010. That's what I meant by "Kennedy Center"...not the London season in August '09. Washington, DC, is already being "Assaulted with Somova" nine months before the run.

I am curious (as I truly don't know the answer to this) about just how much say or pull the impresario has. If it comes down to, for example, a debate, between the MT and the impresario, and one party wants ballerina X and the other wants ballerina Y, for opening night, who wins? Further, would an impresario have enough power to say "I dont want this ballerina on this tour"? I would presume the one with the cash (the impresario) wins in a touring situation in terms of casting preferences, but has no control over who is brought on tour (or kept away). Unfortunately.

I truly hope that the producers and Fateev pay very close attention to what they're doing, otherwise opening night will be a quiet riot.


190 degrees. She's the only Aurora in the company who gets away with these egregious mistakes. And this is just one ballet in which she repeatedly commits seppuku. There may be two explanations for this problem. Is it deliberate? Or is it (gasp!), that she just can't help herself; and it can't be corrected? Either way, is this merit? Is this "growth?" No. After six years of "professional" paces in this role, and the other few in her repertory, (few - for a Principal Dancer), this is ridiculous.

If Netrebko or Flemming repeatedly hit flat notes during arias, in every performance, would opera companies and audiences sit still for that? Would they be Divas? Would they have careers? I don't think so. This is what Fateev and his predecessor have subjected ballet audiences too with Somova. Her "entrance" and Act 1 variation are impossible as well. Why? Because Aurora is the most academic role in the repertory. Weak pointes, flexnastics, zero port de bras, emphatic bent wrists and fingers, turned-in feet, over-portruding chin, and histrionics destroy it. From Act 1 to Act 3 the outrages compound themselves, and rapidly slalom downhill to the very last bar of the Apotheose.

Catherine, historically changes have been made at the impresario's/audience's request. It is widely accepted that the out of favour Rudolf Nureyev was included on that fateful tour to Paris in 1961 to replace Konstantine Sergeyev because it was feared that he and his wife Dudinskaya would be considered too old by the Parisian audience.

When that same tour reached London a petition from the audience meant that Yuri Soloviev, who had caused a sensation at Covent Garden, replaced the scheduled dancer as the Bluebird on the last night of the season. So you see there are precedents even if those events happened getting on for fifty years ago.

Could something like this happen today? The answer is that I'm not sure as the current London audience is probably less knowledgeable about ballet than in the past, but I live in hope.

Natasha, I meant Washington had managed a brochure about a forthcoming Kirov tour whereas London has not, sorry if I didn't make myself clear.

Considering the glowing reviews Somova got in America the last time she danced here, I'm not surprised she's all over the Kennedy Center brochure. American ballet audiences are so subject to the spectacular and are in general so uneducated about true classicism that Somova is considered a "great" talent.

We are so stupid.

LMC, I believe that ONE -- una, une, adna -- critic, based in San Francisco, gave AS a positive review.

As for photos, the Mariinsky press office submits what it wants to the theaters and impresarios. So it's been a "Somova Fest" for quite some time, including the cover of the April '08 NYCityCenter tour, where AS most definitely got mediocre to awful reviews from both the in-print and on-line critics.

Catherine, the presenter of the recent string of autumn tours to the US, Danielian, most definitely requested certain dancers, with Vishneva their prized prima. [They produced her coffee-table book, after all.] Vishneva most definitely had a hand in advising her impresario in who else to include and, similarly, who should be kept out. One particularly glorious, beloved young ballerina was kept out of all recent Danielian tours (both the NYC and other US tours) but had a chance to shine at the Kennedy Center, where others call the shots. Coincidence?

Miracles DO come true! Let's feast our eyes on the just-announced casting for SHURALE:

June 28
Siumbike - Yevgenia Obraztsova
Ali-Batir - Mikhail Lobukhin
Shurale - Leonid Sarafanov

June 29
Siumbike - Yekaterina Osmolkina
Ali-Batir - Denis Matvienko
Shurale - to be announced

I am delightfully shocked to say that I was dead wrong about AS being cast as Siumbike. (ha-ha...curtain hasn't gone up yet but...) I was correct in predicting Matvienko and Sarafanov. Hopefully, Islom Baimuratov will be the 2nd Shurale.

Both Obraztsova and Osmolkina should be fab as Siumbike - both petite and classical but with plenty of balon. Ideal role for both ballerinas. Common sense continues to prevail of late at the Mariinsky.

This is excellent news Congratulations to Obratzova and Osmolkina

NN I think you're right, as Islam is listed on the web site. If i can provide confirmation mid-June, I will.

Well, now all previously-announced casts for Shurale have been replaced by "to be determined," perhaps paving the way for my most dreaded prediction to come true?

I just read on another site that the new casting for Shurale will be:

28 June 2009:

Evgenia Obraztsova, Igor Kolb, Denis Matvienko

29 June 2009:

Ekaterina Osmolkina, Alexander Sergeyev, Mikhail Lobukhin

Crossing my fingers on this one!

Meanwhile, tomorrow is the reappearance of Jerome Robbins' "In the Night". I'll be reviewing it for Dance Europe (btw, for anyone interested, my review with Ratmansky is in this month's issue; available to order online (single issues) at www.danceeurope.net). But will post impressions here this weekend.

Today I was in the costume "factory" of the MT -- Golub and Obraztsova were being fitted for Shourale costumes (the former dancing a Spanish section that Chenchikova formerly danced). So I can at least confirm Evgenia's planned participation in the premiere(s) for Shourale. Next week will report back with more updates.

I am wracked with jealousy. I would LOVE to spend some time the the Maryinsky costume shop.

Well we have some great news. Aside from a

STELLAR

performance of "In the Night" on Thursday, and one of the best all-round performances of "Jewels" last night (to an OVERLY sold out house -- yes, Lopatkina was dancing in "Diamonds", which explains it), the gala set for the 26th has a very interesting cast.

First off, Tkachenko will open with the variation from "Laurencia", which I have not seen done here in the past five years of my residency in St P.
(Among other divertissements will be Talisman and Ober.)

Secondly,"In the Night" will be reprised again in full, this time with Lopatkina as one of the couples. It should prove to be a delecatable evening.

Plans for Shourale continue as ...well, as planned.