Press Release

PUBLIC BOOKING OPENS FOR
KIROV OPERA & BALLET SEASON AT
THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2005

Box Office: 020 7304 4000
Online booking: www.royaloperahouse.org

(Season dates: July 18 – August 6, 2005
Presenter: Victor Hochhauser)

Public booking opens on Tuesday, April 26 for the greatly-anticipated three-week season by the Kirov Opera and Ballet companies (July 18 – August 6, 2005) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden presented by Victor Hochhauser.

The Kirov Ballet (July 18 – 30)

Uliana Lopatkina, acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest ballerinas, opens the Kirov Ballet’s two-week season (July 18 – 30) in the role of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. The company shows its forward-looking face with a sensational programme of William Forsythe ballets and a Balanchine triple-bill which it brings to London for the first time.. Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Petipa’s La Bayadère complete the repertoire.

The Kirov Opera (August 1 – 6)

The great Russian maestro Valery Gergiev will conduct the Kirov Opera in all seven performances of the Kirov Opera’s visit to Covent Garden
(August 1 – 6). His artistic leadership of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre and its two resident companies – the Kirov Opera and the Kirov Ballet – has made it into one of the world’s leading lyric theatres.

The Kirov Opera’s repertoire includes the most famous of all Russian operas, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, as well as his ‘National music drama’ Khovanshchina and Puccini’s Turandot.

Further information: www.victorhochhauser.co.uk

Here's the latest press release Although we will not be covering the opera performances here on CriticalDance, for completeness, we give the details of all the performances here:




THE KIROV OPERA AND BALLET
Artistic & General Director:
VALERY GERGIEV

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN

Monday, July 18 – Saturday, August 6, 2005

- Ballet highlights include the return of Uliana Lopatkina in Swan Lake, all-Forsythe programme and a new Balanchine triple-bill.

- Valery Gergiev conducts seven performances of The Kirov Opera, including Boris Godunov , Khovanshchina and Turandot


The acclaimed Kirov Opera and Ballet companies return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for a three-week season (July 18 – August 6, 2005) presented by Victor Hochhauser.

THE KIROV BALLET (July 18 – 30)

Uliana Lopatkina, acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest ballerinas, opens the Kirov Ballet’s two-week season (July 18 – 30) in the role with which she has become most closely associated - that of Odette-Odile in Swan Lake.

The company shows its forward-looking face with a sensational programme of William Forsythe ballets – Steptext, The Vertiginous Thrill Of Exactitude In The Middle Somewhat Elevated and Approximate Sonata - and a Balanchine triple-bill comprising La Valse and The Prodigal Son and Ballet Imperial. Both Kirov programmes will be seen London for the first time.

Two of the most cherished ballets in the Kirov’s repertoire, Lavrovsky’s Romeo and Juliet and Petipa’s La Bayadère, in the much-loved 1941 production, complete the repertoire.

The Kirov’s three reigning prima ballerinas, Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva and Daria Pavlenko appear throughout the season, together with the company’s finest male principals – Igor Zelensky, Igor Kolb, Daniel Korsuntsev and the young Leonid Sarafanov, who made such an impact during the Kirov Ballet’s last visit to London in 2003. There are also opportunities for many gifted newcomers to make their mark with London audiences, including Viktoria Tereshkina, Evgenia Obraztsova, Alexandra Iosifidi, Mikhail Lobukhin and Vladimir Shishov.

THE KIROV OPERA (August 1 – 6)

The great Russian maestro Valery Gergiev will conduct the Kirov Opera in all seven performances during the Kirov Opera’s visit to Covent Garden
(August 1 – 6). His artistic leadership of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre and its two resident companies – the Kirov Opera and the Kirov Ballet – has made it into one of the world’s leading lyric theatres.

The Kirov, with its superlative ensemble of soloists, its wonderful chorus and world-renowned resident orchestra, will be seen at the Royal Opera House in three towering operatic masterpieces from the company’s vast repertoire: Mussorgsky’s two great historical operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina and Puccini’s late masterwork, Turandot.

Boris Godounov, perhaps the greatest of Russian operas, opens the Kirov Opera’s season at Covent Garden on August 1, and is here presented in Mussorgsky’s 1869 original musical version, in a powerful production first performed in 2002.

The great Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina heads a glittering cast in the role of Marfa in Khovanschina. When The Kirov Opera brought its esteemed production of Mussorgsky’s so-called ‘National Music Drama’ to London in 2000, audiences and critics alike were mesmerised by its sheer spectacle, the breathtaking beauty of its painted sets, the full-throated vigour of its chorus and, of course, the splendour of the Kirov Orchestra’s playing under Valery Gergiev.

The sensational Russian tenor Vladimir Galuzin returns to one of his most celebrated roles at Calaf in Turandot. With its glorious melodies and exotic colour, Puccini’s last opera - the mythical tale of the beautiful, cold-hearted Princess Turandot – is a celebration of the ultimate triumph of love and compassion.

Public booking is open:


Box Office: 020 7304 4000
Online booking: www.royaloperahouse.org
Further information: www.victorhochhauser.co.uk


PROGRAMME


The Kirov Ballet
18 July Mon 7.30 Swan Lake
19 July Tue 7.30 Swan Lake
20 July Wed 2.00, 7.30 Swan Lake
21 July Thu 7.30 Swan Lake
22 July Fri 7.30 Romeo & Juliet
23 July Sat 2.00, 7.30 Romeo & Juliet
24 July Sun 2.00, 7.30 Forsythe

25 July Mon 7.30 Romeo & Juliet
26 July Tue 7.30 Balanchine
27 July Wed 7.30 Balanchine
28 July Thu 7.30 La Bayadère
29 July Fri 2.00, 7.30 La Bayadère
30 July Sat 2.00, 7.30 La Bayadère

The Kirov Opera
1 August Mon 7.30 Boris Godunov
2 August Tue 7.30 Boris Godunov
3 August Wed 6.00 Khovanshchina
4 August Thu 7.30 Turandot
5 August Fri 6.00 Khovanshchina
6 August Sat 1.00 Turandot
7.30 Boris Godunov

Here are the casting details that we've all been waiting for.

Comments, anyone?

Kirov Ballet Casting (as at June 19)
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Week 1
18 July Mon Swan Lake Lopatkina - Korsuntsev


19 July Tues Swan Lake Viktoria Tereshkina-Igor Kolb

20 July Wed (m) Swan Lake Yulia Bolshakova – Evgeny Ivanchenko
20 July Wed (e) Swan Lake Alina Somova – Daniil Korsuntsev

21 July Thurs Swan Lake Elena Vostrotina – Igor Zelensky

22 July Fri Romeo and Juliet Diana Vishneva – Andrian Fadeyev

23 July Sat (m) Romeo and Juliet Irina Golub – Ilya Kuznetsov
23 July Sat (e) Romeo and Juliet Evgenya Obraztsova – Igor Kolb

24 July Sun (m) Forsythe programme

1. Steptext Diana Vishneva – Igor Kolb – Andrei
Merkuriev – Maksim Khrebtov

2. Approximate Sonata – Evgenya Obtaztsova – Andrei Ivanov ,
Serebryakova – Pukhachev
Ekaterina Petina – Anton Pimonov
Viktoria Tereshkina – Maksim Zuzin

3. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
Olesya Novikova - Tatyana Tkachenko – Ekaterina Osmolkina
Leonid Sarafanov - Shklyarov Vladimir

4. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated - Daria Pavlenko

24 July Sun (e) Forsythe programme

1.Steptext – Daria Pavlenko – Mikhail Lobukhin – Artem Yachmennikov – Andrei Ivanov

2. Approximate Sonata – Evgenya Obtaztsova – Andrey Ivanov ,
Serebryakova – Pukhachev
Ekaterina Petina – Anton Pimonov
Viktoria Tereshkina – Maksim Zuzin

3. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
Olesya Novikova - Tatyana Tkachenko – Ekaterina Osmolkina
Leonid Sarafanov - Andrian Fadeyev

4. In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated – Irina Golub

Week 2.

25 July Mon Romeo and Juliet Natalya Sologub – Andrey Merkuriev

26 July Tues Balanchine Programme

La Valse - Uliana Lopatkina – Vladimir Shishov
The Prodigal Son – Andrey Merkuriev – Daria Pavlenko
Ballet Imperial - Diana Vishneva – Igor Zelensky


27 July Wed Balanchine

La Valse - Daria Pavlenko – Andrey Merkuriev
Prodigal Son – Mikhail Lobukhin – Ekaterina Kondaurova
Ballet Imperial - Viktoria Tereshkina – Igor Kolb

28 July Thurs Bayadere
Diana Vishneva – Leonid Sarafanov – Ekaterina Osmolkina

29 July Fri Bayadere
Daria Pavlenko - Andrian Fadeyev – Tatyana Tkachenko

29 July Fri Bayadere
Viktoria Tereshkina – Anton Korsakov – Irina Golub

30 July Sat Bayadere
Diana Vishneva – Igor Zelensky – Ekaterina Osmolkina

30 July Sat Bayadere
Uliana Lopatkina – Danila Korsuntsev – Viktoria Tereshkina


Subject to change

Down Memory Lane with Russian Ballet:

Five great Russian ballerinas
From The Daily Telegraph


Anna Pavlova (1881-1931, St Petersburg Ballet)

Galina Ulanova (1910-1998, Kirov and Bolshoi)

Maya Plisetskaya (b 1925, Bolshoi)

Natalia Makarova (b 1940, Kirov)

Altynai Asylmuratova (b 1961, Kirov)

click for more

So who says so?

No author given for this list, which incidentally I couldn't find in today's Telegraph when I looked.

I know these lists are arbitrary, but....

Although no one would quibble about Pavlova and Ulanova, it's worth remembering that Plisetskaya habitually received bad reviews in the UK.

I wouldn't have thought that Makarova with her lack of musicality would have made a list of greats and charming though Asylmuratova undoubtedly was, her technique let her down on occasion.

How can any list of Russian greats ignore Maximova? And where are Dudinskaya, Komleva, Sizova. Not to mention the legendary Shelest who, I'm told might have been the greatest of the lot.

My point is these lists are meaningless unless far more comprehensive.

Here's a message from a dedicated Kirov lover with a terrific idea:


Dear Fellow Ballet Comrades,

This email is simply to make you all aware that the collection for the end of season flower throw for the Kirov Ballet summer season is now officially open!! All donations should be given to either myself or Rachel Holland who will also be collecting as usual.

Your £1 coins and £20 notes (!) will be gratefully received and all donations large and very small will be welcome, to ensure that we continue our tradition of the last night flower throw for the kirov company that we have offered every season for many years.

Please give generously, and let us know if you want to "gift aid" your donation so that we can claim a further 28p in every pound towards the flower throw from the Government!!!

Thanks as ever,

Kind Regards

Simon Clark
Senior Account Manager - Kirov Ballet Flower Throw!


Here's Simon's e-mail address:

Simon.Clark@wwp.co.uk

La Bayadere casting for the next four perfromances:

July 29 (mat)
Tereshkina (N), Anton Korsakov (S), Golub (G)

July 29 (eve)
Vishneva (Nikiya); Fadeyev (Solor); Ekaterina Osmolkina (Gamzatti)

30 July matinee
Nikiya, Viktoria Tereshkina; Solor, Daniil Korsuntsev; Gamzatti, Ekaterina Osmolkina

30 July evening
Nikiya, Uliana Lopatkina; Solor, Igor Zelensky; Gamzatti, Tatiana Tkachenko

An insight into the difficulties involved in bringing the Kirov to London.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jh ... tleft.html

Kirov Season in London 2005
By Jann Parry in The Observer


In its last week at the Royal Opera House, the Kirov brought a Balanchine curiosity, La Valse, with the same danse macabre theme. Innocent young things are sucked into a sulphurous society on the verge of self-destruction; the purest of them, Uliana Lopatkina, ethereal in white, becomes Death's chosen consort.

The Kirov has been reclaiming Balanchine as an exiled offshoot of the Mariinsky Ballet, whose heart remained in Russia even as he forged a bolder, speedier technique for American dancers. His 1941 Ballet Imperial has recently entered the Kirov repertoire, retaining its regal title (as it does in the Royal Ballet's production): Americans now know it as Tchaikovsky piano concerto No 2. Balanchine chose to democratise its grandeur in the 1970s by substituting floaty frocks instead of tutus, making light of its formal conventions.

click for more

*********************************


Kirov season Overview
By David Dougill for The Sunday Times


At Covent Garden, the Kirov Ballet gave us another of its big signature works, Romeo and Juliet, in the original 1940 production by Leonid Lavrovsky. This is packed with ensemble numbers and spectacle, framing a passionate, subtle and beautifully danced performance (in the opening cast) by Diana Vishneva and Andrian Fadeyev as the lovers, with the boyish-looking virtuoso Leonid Sarafanov an excellent Mercutio. But compared with our familiar fluent and naturalistic MacMillan staging, the Kirov version looks old-fashioned, blighted by absurdly hammy acting in the mime roles.

click for more