Well!!!! This has knocked me sideways as I had no prior information about this at all.

A well illustrated double page article in today's Independent drops the bombshell that the Kirov is dancing in London this summer after all - at the same time as the Bolshoi

This is an unprecedented event as far as I can remember and will leave the London ballet fans with something of a dilemma; which to see - presuming they can afford both.

Here's the story:-

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/thea ... 351533.ece

As you say, Cassandra - Well!

That is a turn up for the books. Not sure who is bringing the Kirov and in the past the Coli was very expensive for visiting companies.

There certainly are advantages to be performing at the Coli: the sightlines are MUCH better than the Royal Opera House and with 2700 seats (as opposed to 2200 at the ROH), sell-outs are less common. The unfamiliar ballets on show will probably mean that there will be room for all.

I've already changed my flight back to the UK to see the Bolshoi's new rep and hopefully the dates for the Kirov will also fit it. If anyone sees a schedule, please let us know.

Well, indeed!!

The London tour will include a premiere of the Kirov's version of "The Golden Age", currently being choreographed for the company by an up-and-coming, young choreographer. Once his name is made public I will post it here . (Previous plans had been for Igor Markov to work on the project but that has changed).

I don't like the sound of that, Catherine. Something must be amiss if they're switching horses so close to the beginning of the race.

Pehaps they should ask the Bolshoi for a loan of the Grigorovitch version which I've always considered great fun and is popular in London.

Vishneva or Pavlenko could dance Rita

Kolb or Shcherbakov would be Boris

Khrebtov or Baimuradov as Yashka

Tereshkina or Golub as Yashka's Moll (sorry can't remember her name).

If the company dances Legend of Love and Stone Flower theres no reason why they shouldn't dance this too.

Not a bad idea Cassandra. I think though that Grigorovich has the rights to that ballet -- not sure. I know there are some of his that the Bolshoi does perform, others they do not, some that his own company now performs... they did dance (his company from Krasnoyarsk that is) Golden Age here two summers ago when I interviewed him. It wasnt the same without Irek and Natalya, but it was the first I had seen the ballet live. It really is a Soviet staple worth seeing. I agree that it would be wonderful to see the Kirov in the Grigorovich version as well -- but it sounds like we'll get the "new one" instead... should be interesting in any case.

Noah Gelber, formerly of the Forsythe comapany will now choreograph The Golden Age.

Tom Service interviews Maestro Gergiev in the G2 section of today's Guardian together with photos of VG in rehearsal in his most manic mode.

Gergiev brushes aside the idea of any competition between his company and the Bolshoi when they go head to head in London this summer. An interesting article but what you read between the lines is interesting too.

Here is the link:

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/critic/feature/0,,1775845,00.html

A great shame they don't include the photos in the on-line versions.

In the above mentioned interview V.Gergiev said:

"It's no surprise the Bolshoi comes. But they don't do Shostakovich. Everyone who is interested in Shostakovich comes to us."

I am surprised that Maestro is not well informed. The Bolshoi will do Shostakovich in London. His ballet “The Bright Stream” will be shown at Covent Garden on 10 and 11 August. In fact, the Bolshoi at the moment has two other full-length ballets by Shostakovich in its repertoire: “The Golden Age” and “The Bolt”.

The interviewer for some reason stated that Gergiev “has single-handedly built up the Mariinsky Theatre over the past 18 years.”
I read similar statements in the past and think them being grossly inaccurate. Do the people who write this remember the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet tours of Britain in 1987 and 1988?
The Opera productions of “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades” and “Boris Godunov” under Yuri Temirkanov were absolutely outstanding, in fact, unforgettable. The Choir under Alexander Murin was second to none. There is no need even to mention what impact the Mariinsky Ballet made then. Those two remarkable, first-class companies were handed over to Maestro Gergiev in that particular year of 1988. Therefore, I would like to hear from Mr. Tom Service why in his opinion the Mariinsky Theatre was “single-handedly built up” by Gergiev?

I totally agree with you Coda. Yuri Termirkanov "laid the ground work" so to speak, before he assumed leadership of the (then) Leningrad Philharmonic. Also, IMO, the Maryinsky Ballet (circa 1988) was superior in all areas - and all ranks, as opposed to what it is in 2006.

The Bolshoi is coming back into it's own, after several hard years. With all due respect to Mr. Service and Maestro Gergiev, no man is an island. Even though time is money, and competition is healthy and stiff at the box office, it's not very nice to "discuss" another theatre's merits, de-merits or repetory in the media. Discuss the merits & de-merits of your own theatre's repertory. To my knowledge, I've never read or come across any Manager or Director of the Bolshoi Theatre delivering a backhanded "slap" at the Maryinsky.

Gergiev's main concern is the opera company of course and he has certainly raised its profile in recent years, not least because he is such an indefatigable self-publicist. The quality was there before of course and for me Yuri Temirkhanov remains the colossus of Russian music of the past twenty plus years.

Cygne's comments regarding the Kirov Ballet are all too true I'm afraid, and I wonder how far standards are going to drop before the situation changes. The Bolshoi Ballet is really on a roll if the recent performances of the UK tour are anything to go by, right now they're capable of dancing the Kirov into the ground.

Accompanied by a picture of Yuliana Lopatkina in Leningrad Symphony, the Financial Times ponders the implications of the Kirov vs. Bolshoi summer seasons.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3dfc504e-0c43-11db-86c7-0000779e2340.html

The ENO box office has sent me a letter stating that the performance on 26th July has now been cancelled for 'technical reasons'.

It goes on to say that: “......The Golden Age......is a large and complicated production involving a large cast. It has become clear that more technical and preparation time will be required for its performances in the London Coliseum than was originally envisaged”.

Unfortunately the middle performance of the Triple Bill being cancelled is the second cast, which should have been as follows:

Leningrad Symphony: Pavlenko/Kolb/Zubkovsky
The Young Lady and the Hooligan: Golub/Kuznetsov
The Bedbug: Dubrovina/Serebryakova/Ivanov/Naumov

Having seen Daria Pavlenko dance Leningrad Symphony a couple of years ago, I'm bitterly disappointed that she won't be dancing the role in London this time around. We will also miss seeing Ilya Kuznetsov in the role of the Hooligan, an interpretation that has been highly praised by our St Petersburg correspondent, Catherine Pawlick.

I have to say that I'm surprised that it is the middle performance that is being ditched to allow more rehearsal time for the Golden Age; I would have thought the last performance would have been the logical candidate for cancellation. A cynical friend has suggested to me that poor ticket sales might actually be behind this decision; he may have a point.

The remaining performances of the Triple Bill are as follows:

Leningrad Symphony: 25/27 July Lopatkina/Shishov/Zubkovsky
The Young Lady and the Hooligan: 25/27 July Vishneva/Zelensky
The Bedbug: 25/27 July Osmolkina/Serebryakova/Ivanov/Naumov

Wow.

I would venture to say that more rehearsal time in general is needed, and they don't necessarily have to do it in London. But the reality is that the sets were shipped there after the premiere here, so it's not something they can "practice on" until they get to London. I would agree with your point about ticket sales as well Cassandra. Mr. Gelber is re-choreographing some sections of the ballet upon request, so what you see will be different from what I saw here.

I gather then that Pavlenko won't be in London (or wont be dancing there) at all? Interesting as she's one of the Golden Age casts. I assume then that you also will be treated to the Golub/Lobukhin pair for that premiere performance.

I have a hard time imagining Vishneva as the Young Lady in Hooligan. I think Pavlenko would be the ideal candidate, or Sukhoroukova, and it is a shame if London won't see either of those casts. Vishneva has a hard time with the innocent/feminine roles and is more suited to stronger, bravura roles or personas (ie Kitri, Rubies, etc). The contrast in "Hooligan" between the soft, shy (but never coy) Young Lady and the stronger/rough and tumble Hooligan is key to that ballet.