Lots of empty seats were available for the Bolshoi Ballet at La Scala in The Taming of the Shrew. La Bayadère – great; Swan Lake – ooh yes; Giselle – lovely; Taming of the Shrew? – err. Word of mouth did its bit after the opening night, but with just three consecutive performances there wasn’t enough time to have a sold-out notice on the poster, but ‘sold out’ is what it … [Read more...]
Review: Three casts for La Bayadère with the Bolshoi at La Scala
How secretly gratifying it is when wine experts trip up, rating High Street plonk higher than the Premier cru. Ballet music could benefit from unlabelled listening. Minkus is routinely pooh-poohed, yet how many superb, theatrical moments he creates for La Bayadère — sublime, exhilarating, haunting, joyous. If interval chatter isn’t focussed on complaining about the music, it’s … [Read more...]
Photo Album and full casting – Bolshoi dancers in Milan
After an 11-year absence, the Bolshoi Ballet returns to Milan. In 2007, the company came with La Fille du Pharaon and The Bright Stream. From 7 to 13 September they will be at La Scala with La Bayadère in the Grigorovich production, and Jean-Christophe Maillot’s The Taming of the Shrew. Svetlana Zakharova and Denis Rodkin, Olga Smirnova and Semyon Chudin, and Alyona Kovalyova … [Read more...]
Finalists of English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer competition at the London Coliseum in June
On Monday 11 June 2018, English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer competition will be held at the London Coliseum for the first time. Emerging Dancer is a key part of English National Ballet’s commitment to developing and nurturing talent within the company and through this annual event, English National Ballet recognises the excellence of its artists. Six of the … [Read more...]
The world’s cheapest city (and most expensive) for a cultural break
Prague has come up trumps as the place where those planning a cultural city break can save money this autumn, according to the 2017 British Post Office Travel Money Cost of Culture Report. The Czech capital emerges as cheapest in a survey of opera, dance, music concert, gallery and museum prices in 16 cultural cities, with runners-up Warsaw, Budapest and Moscow making it a … [Read more...]