...

Yes, I would agree, Andre...The inspiring performances are the ones that come to mind first for me, too. By the way, I have seen back attitude for these stylized saut de chats in Aurora's opening variation more than using a straight leg back leg. I like the slight attitude. I just felt compelled to say something about Sizova, who was regarded by many as ahead of her time technically...She was pretty amazing...fedora, I have really enjoyed viewing the clips. Thank You!

Gina, hello!

Wait. Stop. Rewind. You *saw* Soloviev dance in _San Francisco_? (where was I?? ) Would you care to share details on his dancing? Although I know there *are* many people who saw him dance, I had no idea you were one of them! I would be interested in your memories of that night. He has become a fascination of mine, of late. If you're game, we can open a separate thread on him...

Hi Catherine! I still have the souvenir book and program. It was Sunday Matinee November 8, 1964 at the San Francisco Opera House. I was 13 years old...but already a very serious ballet student and dancer and I knew what I was looking at! During this run in SF, Sizova and Soloviev were all the rage. They were the crown jewels of the bright, young, new generation of Kirov dancers; and they were generating great excitement. I also saw Makarova dance Giselle Act 2 pas de deux on this program and remember being pretty impressed. She was also becoming a favorite with the audiences. On this particular visit of the Kirov, Soloviev made a tremendous impression upon me. In "Le Corsaire", he floated very high in the air with huge ballonne coupled with power, great smoothness and finesse. He had that similar kind of sex appeal and charisma in the role that we all associate with Nureyev. Teenage hearts were pounding, I can tell you! Technically, he was a very suberb dancer and artist. He and Sizova brought the house down! During that run, I also saw him dance "Bluebird" in the full-length "Sleeping Beauty". He is one of the best I have ever seen in the role. It was a long time ago and I was young, but I still remember his huge batterie, his outstanding turning ability, and his gorgeous bird-like port de bras. Here is an excerpt from the souvenir book on "Le Corsaire" Pas de Deux:

"When Alla Sizova and Yuri Soloviev performed this pas de deux during the first Kirov American season at the Metropolitan Opera in 1961, it created a sensation. The performance literally was stopped. John Martin, reviewing in the New York Times, said: "You kept saying to yourself that it simply could not be true. It was incredible." Walter Terry, the New York Herald Tribune critic, reported; "One would have thought that an American audience was determined to make its own first stars overnight. And the audience was right for two, separately and together performed miracles of dance action."

In that same season, I saw Sizova and Soloviev* in Le Corsaire and Cinderella, and they were marvelous. Sizova's jetes a la seconde soared. Sizova, by the way, was featured on the cover of the recording of Cinderella that my family had. I also saw Soloviev as the Bluebird. He had very fast, strong batterie. As for Makarova, I only saw her as one of the stepsisters in Cinderella. The reigning queen, however, seemed to be Kolpakova. On the Kirov's next tour, I got the very clear impression at my ballet school that she was the one we were expected to admire most.

Gina, do you remember the incredibly long ticket lines for the Kirov (and Bolshoi and Royal Ballet) performances?

*The transliteration of his name is misleading: the vowel in his last name is ё, which is pronounced (more or less) "yo".

...

Hello, djb and thanks, fedora... Yes, Kolpakova was definitely the reigning ballerina...And, I really admired her, too. I do remember those LONG ticket lines! I was wondering, how do spell Soloviev's name in Russian? I have a pair of blue canvas shoes that I have always secretly hoped belonged to Soloviev. My then 11-year-old brother Tony, who was performing as a "Grasshopper" in the Kirov's "Cinderella" during this run, pinched them from a box in the wardrobe department area under the Opera House stage.

Judging by how his name was pronounced (by a Russian) in Backstage at the Kirov, my guess is that it's something like Соловёв. I don't know how much help that would be if the signature is in script, though.

In some recent references to Soloviev originating in other countries, I've seen his name transliterated as "Solovyov".

Oh My God! I have his shoes! His Bluebird shoes! The writing on the sole looks something like "Corobas" but in script. Thanks, djb!

I don't know about that last 2 letters, but the first 5 seem right. The script л can look the way many people write r.

Oh. My. God!

If those are his shoes, Gina, I'll be in SF in early June, and I have to see them!!!

DJB, you're right about the 'e' with the umlat over it -- that's the "yo" vowel in Russian, so if that pronunciation is correct then the Russian spelling would use that e. (but you already knew that!) Only, orthographically it needs to have a softsign before the E: Юрий Соловьев.

How annoying though! Whenever you see it in English press, it's "iev or yev".. which is a completely inaccurate transliteration. Having not seen the Russian spelling that often (I just dont come across his name in writing that much) I wasnt even aware of the mis-spelling in English until now. That means most Americans pronounce it incorrectly (surprise surprise)...

By the way, try doing a web search on him. Precious little comes up. Wonder why...

Update on the shoes...I just showed them to my friend and director of our ballet school who was a principal dancer for the Kirov and the Maly. She said that the name on the sole is definitely Soloviev. I've been meaning to show them to her ever since they recently resurfaced after years spent in a box in storage...

Gina, did your friend from the Kirov say whether his name ends with "yev" or "yov"? I know I heard it pronounced "yov" in a Russian documentary, and I've seen it transliterated as "Solovyov" in European articles, but it bothers me that I don't see it written with the "yo" letter in Russian articles online. Or maybe they just don't bother.

I'll ask her, djb...It didn't come up that she said his name in our conversation. I said "yev" when we were speaking, and she didn't correct me. She did correct my pronunciation of "Sizova", though. She said Sizova...I had pronounced the accent on the first syllable. She liked seeing the shoes...Sorry, fedora, if we've gotten a bit off topic...But I've so enjoyed solving the mystery of my shoes! Are there any clips of Soloviev?

(djb - my two cents? they just dont bother...)