July,2 , 2014. Issue No. 34

July 12 - July 27 - the Bolshoi Theatre guest performances in New York Historic Stage - Boris Godunov New Stage - rehearsal day Maria Alexandrova as Kitri, Vladislav Lantratov as Basilio. Stephanie Berger Alexey Loparevich as Don Quixote and Alexander Petukhov as Sancho Panza in the Bolshoi ballet "Don Quixote" at Lincoln Center, New York. Photo: Stephanie Berger The Bolshoi Theatre guest performances in New York Newsletter

- Absolutely. That's about the size of it. I remember that when I was preparing to play this role some years ago, I read many different interpretations of this role, and the preparation took a long time. As a result, I was lucky to perform it more than once on dif ferent stages in Russia and abroad, taking part in different performances. I accordingly have different approaches, but the main thing is always the point that Gryaznoy is a hero who found the strength to repent and act for the sake of love. Actually, oprichnina is a special notion in the Russian history, and oprichniks were violent by definition and followed the instructions of Ivan the Terrible. But his repentance in the fourth act shows that Gryaznoy was not the worst man ever. - As I said before, we have a wonderful troupe. The unique Bolshoi performer Agunda Kulaeva, youth troupe representatives Olga Kulchinskaya and Bogdan V olkov, and I cannot pass over in silence the unique bass of Vladimir Motorin, with whom I have the honor to play both in this performance and in many others, and there are also Marat Gali, Olga Tsibulko, Elena Novak, Irina Rubtsova. There was the tremendous sound of the orchestra and the choir, everything really was on the highest level, and for that we actually got such a grateful response from audience and press. - To tell the truth, for me an entry is always nerve-wracking wherever it happens. And I would even say that if I do not worry, something goes wrong. I start thinking up why my body does not react to going on stage, and it slightly gets on my nerves. But, thank God, there were practically no such situations. I worry all the time, there is an adrenaline release. /…/ - Having come back from New York, I already had time to practice the Bolshoi repertory performance "La Traviata", an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Now we will have a short holiday, and from the beginning of the season in September, right up to the end of the year there will be many interesting events, which I will share with you in future. . - I want it very much, it is really important for me. And in the coming season of 2014- 2015 I will do my best to conduct a concert in Baku.

Analysis of articles, published on July 23 The Financial Times reviews the first night of Don Quixote in New York positively writing that they hope the Bolshoi Ballet will survive to dance this ballet another 1000 times. "Danced by the Bolshoi, 'Don Quixote' is a reminder that 'same old' sometimes means forever young "and giving it four stars out of five rating. "The Petipa-Gorsky Don Quixote is a vital reminder that "same old" sometimes means forever young. The work's Alexander Gorsky elements, in particular, radiate forward to one-time Bolshoi head Alexei Ratmansky, who shares the early 20th-century choreographer's genius for transforming a corps into a modern chorus, flashing with disorderly, detailed life. The Bolshoi has danced Don Quixote a thousand times; may the company, recently subject to incomprehensible tragedy, survive to perform it a thousand more". The New York Times reviews the Bolshoi Ballet's Don Quixote at Lincoln Centre positively writing "Everything here is wall-to-wall cliché, but oh! the Bolshoi makes it joyously heroic. These dancers make huge claims upon life itself; their vitality is extraordinary." And "Though "Don Quixote" isn't by a long way the best thing the Bolshoi does, it's the best thing it's bringing us this time; and nobody else does it half so well. It helps us fall back in love with the Bolshoi. This is still one of the world's great ballet companies". New York Times writes about the Bolshoi Ballet soloists in Swan Lake saying "Sergei Filin (who brought Ms. Obraztsova and Mr. Hallberg to the Bolshoi around the same time), and we begin to sense the boldness of Mr. Filin's imagination for the troupe when we watch these artists at their best". The Wall Street Journal reviews all casts of Swan Lake writing about the Bolshoi Ballet's dancers "Even in roles that might not offer rich challenges, these dancers can still soar with their own individual power." And about Olga Smirnova "In the more than four decades I've been watching "Swan Lake," I've not seen so clear and compelling a visual contrast between the roles of Odette and Odile as that which Ms. Smirnova's expressive face managed to convey. Her dancing as the black-clad, devious Odile, especially during the demanding Black Swan pas de deux, failed to reach all its climactic moments; but the beauty of her dancing was never in doubt". In a separate article the Wall Street Journal writes about Kristina Kretova who will make her New York debut in Don Quixote. The critic interviews Kretova about her work. Kretova says "Within the Bolshoi, I look up to principle Svetlana Zakharova, especially in "Swan Lake. For Russians, the way she takes the stage is the ideal Swan". The New York Observer publishes a Q&A with David Hallberg about his life and work with the Bolshoi Ballet. Hallberg says "With Bolshoi technique, the movements are quite large, the jumps are big, and I'm a tall dancer, so I've learned to use my height more, to elongate my moves, jumps and positions. I'm physically using my body more to my advantage". On Bolshoi of ficial web-pages in the social networks we published the video about the Bolshoi guest performances in New York: "Bolshoi Theatre in New York". .youtube.com/watch?v=Kji6W1kE-Lk&feature=youtu.be The performances of the Russian major ballet company adorned the famous Lincoln Center Festival. There are performances from 11 theatres of the world, from Japan to Canada, in the festival programme. But the tickets for Bolshoi ballets were sold out first. Elena Meshcheryakova came to the dress rehearsal of "Swan Lake". W e also tell about the summer theatre festival that will present the audience four Bolshoi ballets: Bolshoi Ballet in the cinema: Summer Season 2014 The summer theatre festival will present four Bolshoi ballet performances to the audience.

One of the most well-known romantic ballets, "La Sylphide" with music by Herman LГёvenskiold, choreographed by August Bournonville and directed by Johan Kobborg, will be featured in Russia for the first time. The main roles will be danced by Ekaterina Krysanova (the Sylph) and Vyacheslav Lopatin (James) on July 29th. Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet July, 25 2014 Newsletter

July, 25 2014