CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS PROGRAM
Th ursday, April , , pm Th ursday, April , , pm Friday, April , , pm Friday, April , , pm Saturday, April , , pm Saturday, April , , pm Sunday, April , , pm Sunday, April , , pm Zellerbach Hall Zellerbach Hall Tchaikovsky Perm Tchaikovsky Perm Ballet & Orchestra Ballet & Orchestra Swan Lake Swan Lake A Ballet in Th ree Acts A Ballet in Th ree Acts Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Production conceived and directed by Natalia Makarova
Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography Natalia Makarova (after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov)
Artistic Director of the Th eatre George Isaakyan
Artistic Director of the Ballet Natalia Akhmarova
Principal Conductor Valery Platonov
Principal Guest Conductor Robert Cole
Additional Choreography Sir Frederick Ashton
Set Design Peter Farmer
Production conceived and directed by Natalia Makarova Costume Design Galina Solovyeva
George Isaakyan, Artistic Director of the Th eatre Production Coordinator Dina Makaroff Natalia Akhmarova, Artistic Director of the Ballet Production Assistant Olga Evreinoff Valery Platonov, Principal Conductor Robert Cole, Principal Guest Conductor Lighting Sergei Martynov Ballet Coaches Th is performance is made possible, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Vodafone-US Foundation. Rimma Shlyamova, Valentina Baikova, Olga Lukina, Olga Salimbaeva Cal Performances thanks our Centennial Season Sponsor, Wells Fargo. Ballet Manager Vitaly Dubrovin
4 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 5 CAST SYNOPSIS
Odette/Odile Elena Kulagina (April ) frightened, Odette tells the Prince the story of her Natalia Moiseeva (April , , ) plight. Th e spell that keeps them swans by day and maidens at night can only be broken if a man who Prince Siegfried Sergei Mershin (April , , ) has never loved before swears eternal fi delity to Alexey Tyukov (April ) her. From the moment of their meeting, Siegfried knows that he was right to believe in the existence Benno Sergei Mershin (April ) of a perfect love. Never before has he given his Alexey Tyukov (April , , ) heart to anyone, but without hesitation he off ers it to Odette. As dawn approaches, the Sorcerer Rothbart Igor Soloviev exerts his power, and Odette is forced away from Siegfried’s arms. Siegfried realizes his fate is now Th e Queen Mother Galina Dubrovina entwined with hers.
Master of Ceremonies Vitaly Dubrovin Act Th e guests are arriving for the formal ball to Pas de Trois celebrate Prince Siegfried’s coming of age. Th e Yara Araptanova, Natalia Makina, Alexey Tyukov (April , , ) Queen Mother enters and is disturbed to fi nd that Ekaterina Guschina, Irina Rybkina, Sergei Mershin (April ) Act Siegfried is not there. Soon, he arrives, but he is It is the eve of Prince Siegfried’s coming-of-age preoccupied by his thoughts. Th ree Knights pres- Four Cygnets party. His companions, led by Benno, are prepar- ent the prospective fi ancées to the court. Courte- Victoria Ananyan, Elena Levina, Irina Rybkina, Ekaterina Tarasova ing their own celebration for him. Th e Prince ar- ously, Siegfried dances with each of them, but his rives and is soon enjoying himself with his friends. hear is now pledged to Odette and, despite his Th ree Big Swans Th e festivities are unexpectedly interrupted by Yara Araptanova, Ekaterina Guschina, Yulia Manjeles mother’s insistence, he refuses to choose. the arrival of the Queen Mother. She takes her Suddenly, an unknown Knight appears, the Spanish Dance son aside, insisting that the time has now come evil Sorcerer in disguise, accompanied by the rav- Tatiana Kolchanova, Elena Kulichkova, Artem Pozdeev, Arthur Shesterikov when he must assume the responsibilities of the ishing and devious Odile. Siegfried is mesmerized kingdom. She presents him with the emblem that by her striking resemblance to his beloved Odette. Hungarian Dance is the symbol of his kingship. As King, one of the Odile enchants and beguiles him. Any doubts that Maria Gorbunova, Elena Khamzina, Anastasia Kostyuk, Alexei Lysenko, Ekaterina Mosienko, fi rst matters he must consider is that of his mar- Siegfried may have about Odile’s identity are dis- Konstantin Olyunin, Anna Poistogova, Ilya Shitov, Roman Tarkhanov, Maksim Temnikov riage. Siegfried pleads with her, but the Queen re- pensed with. Siegfried becomes convinced that she minds him that he is obligated to choose a fi ancée is Odette and declares that he has chosen her to be Neapolitan Dance at the ball. His mother’s words weigh heavily on his bride. Th e Knight intervenes, demanding that Victoria Ananyan, Ivan Poroshin, Albina Rangulova, Daria Sosnina, his soul. He is saddened that he will lose his free- Prince Siegfried swear an oath of fi delity to Odile. Roman Tarkhanov, Nadezhda Vasilkova, Svetlana Zakhlebina dom and that he has not yet met someone who He willingly does so. Before the Prince’s eyes, a vi- would touch his heart. sion of the inconsolable Odette appears. He real- Mazurka As twilight sets in, the Prince remains preoccu- izes that he has been deceived. Triumphant, the Elena Levina, Lyudmila Manjeles, Irina Markova, Elena Morozova, pied with his thoughts. Benno sees a fl ight of swans evil Sorcerer and Odile disappear. Grief-stricken, Andrei Popov, Evgeny Rogov, Igor Starovalov, Mikhail Timashev and urges Siegfried to go hunting in hope that the Siegfried runs to the lakeside. diversion will dispel his melancholic mood. Sieg- Brides fried goes off into the woods and Benno follows, Act Yara Araptanova, Ekaterina Guschina, Natalia Makina, but their paths diverge. Nighttime. A deep sadness has descended on Yulia Manjeles, Irina Rybkina, Ekaterina Tarasova Wandering alone deep in the forest, Siegfried the lake of swans. Th ey are now doomed by the discovers a mysterious moonlit lake. Unbeknownst spell to remain swans forever. Rushing through Knights to him, this is the domain of the evil Sorcerer who the frightening storm created by the evil Sorcerer, Evgeny Konobeev, Vitaly Poleshchuk, Igor Starovatov, Alexandr Volkov has cast a spell on young maidens, turning them Siegfried searches for Odette to beg her forgive- into swans. Siegfried prepares to shoot as he sees ness. Odette forgives him, but she knows that Sarabande a swan gliding across the lake. To his astonish- nothing can be changed. Death is their only salva- Ksenia Barbashova, Konstantin Bolshukhin, Tatyana Bolshukhina, Vladimir Dorofeev, ment, when the swan reaches the shore she is sud- tion. Th e waves of the lake unite the lovers forever. Yulia Gogoleva, Elena Khamzina, Elena Kobeleva, Evgeny Konobeev, Sergei Kreker, denly transformed. Her beauty overwhelms the Th e power of the evil Sorcerer is destroyed. Daria Levenkova, Nikolai Mityashin, Ekaterina Panchenko, Oleg Posokhin Prince. She is Odette, Queen of the Swans, who In a vision, Odette and Siegfried approach an has been enchanted by the evil Sorcerer. Although ideal and eternal love.
6 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 7 PROGRAM NOTES ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in May breakable psychological depression. Ten days , in the town of Kamsko-Votkinsk in after conducting the fi rst performance of the central Russia. After working for a time as a new work, he drank—perhaps not acciden- clerk in the Ministry of Justice, he began full- tally—a glass of contaminated river water and time musical study at the age of , when the died of cholera on November , . great pianist Anton Rubenstein established a local conservatory. Two years later, he became Natalia Makarova (choreographer) began her a teacher of harmony at a new conservatory in career in her native Leningrad, entering the Moscow, a position he held for years. Vaganova School at the age of , where she By , he had attained eminence as the was placed in a special experimental class con- composer of a variety of beautiful music. Dur- densing the nine-year program into six. After ing this period, despite being psychologically graduating, she joined the Kirov Ballet, rap- unsuited for it, he married a former conser- idly rising to the rank of Ballerina. She came vatory student named Antonina Miliukova, a to international prominence when she danced neurotic girl who is said to have forced Tchai- Giselle, which became one of her signature kovsky into the union by threatening suicide roles, with the Kirov in London. She won the if he refused her. So desperate was the young Gold Medal in Varna in . composer to extricate himself from the “rash On September , , while on tour in act” (his brother Modest’s term for the alli- London with the Kirov Ballet, Ms. Makarova ance) that, after a few weeks of marriage, he requested asylum in Britain. Soon thereafter, attempted to contract a fatal case of pneumo- she began her career with American Ballet nia by standing for several hours in the frigid Th eatre, making her debut with the com- Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is a mas- a philosophical parable. But in all these versions Moscow River. Instead, he suff ered a nervous pany in Giselle. She danced American Ballet terpiece of world classical choreography. Of all it remained a drama, purely lyrical and spiritual, breakdown and another brother, Anatol, took Th eatre’s vast repertory, working extensive- ballets, it is the best known and most popular. exciting us as a real event. Its secret is not only in the perfection of the It is this classical version of the undying bal- him to Switzerland to recover. ly with Antony Tudor (Dark Elegies, Lilac great composer’s music, but also in that extraor- let that has come to us, telling of an eternal story Meanwhile, a more welcome infl uence Garden, Pillar of Fire, Romeo and Juliet), dinarily deep, poetic thought which it inspires of love, of delusions and hopes, of a belief into entered Tchaikovsky’s life. Nadejda von Meck George Balanchine (Theme and Variations, and powerfully expresses. It is in the psychologi- human beauty, which holds out against falsehood was a middle-aged, wealthy widow with as Apollo), Jerome Robbins and Glen Tetley. cal essence of the ballet with its complex heroes’ and evil. burning a passion for the composer’s music Ms. Makarova’s association with the Royal characters, whose fate we are following with great Th e Perm Ballet’s present, fully staged produc- as the unfortunate Antonina had for the man Ballet began in ; her repertoire with that interest. tion of Swan Lake is choreographed and directed himself. In , the generous, if eccentric company includes Swan Lake, Giselle, Th e Tchaikovsky’s great ballet was fi rst staged at by Natalia Makarova, the superstar of the legend- Mme. von Meck bestowed , roubles a Sleeping Beauty, Manon, Song of the Earth, A the Bolshoi Th eatre in . Th ose interested in ary Kirov Ballet and renowned companies of the year on Tchaikovsky, enabling him to leave Month in the Country, Concerto, Dances at a the history of ballet will know that the premiere West, who for many years thrilled the world as the conservatory and devote all of his time to Gathering, Serenade, Les Biches and Kenneth failed, and that its failure was not very surprising, the preeminent Odette/Odile. Now she has given composition. MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. as the talented composer had left most of the bal- Perm her own version of Tchaikovsky’s tale of im- Tchaikovsky insisted on one condition, Ms. Makarova has appeared as guest artist let traditions of his time far behind. In fact, the mortal love. great work became worthy of its stage life only however: they must never meet, but commu- with major ballet companies worldwide. Her after its creator’s death, symbolizing the contra- nicate by correspondence only. His patroness repertory includes Onegin (for which she dictions in Russian art at that time. Note: When Natalia Makarova staged her produc- readily assented, and it was an agreement they won the Evening Standard Award in ); Swan Lake was fi rst staged at the Perm Th eatre tion of Swan Lake for the London Festival Ballet kept for years. La Bayadère; Th e Firebird; Don Quixote; in . Having been re-staged there more than in 1988, Sir Frederick Ashton was by her side. He Th e period of subsidy by Mme. von Meck Coppélia; La Fille Mal Gardée; Notre Dame times, it has become a highlight of the theatre’s was present during Ms. Makarova’s rehearsals of the was abundantly productive for Tchaikovsky. de Paris; Carmen; Proust; Le Jeune Homme repertoire. It is therefore not by chance that the Final Act, giving her an entirely free hand to use his Among many other works, he completed the et la Mort; John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet; Perm Ballet performed Swan Lake at the Bregenz choreography as she thought fi t and to make emenda- ballet Sleeping Beauty and the opera Eugene Raymonda; and La Sylphide. Among the Festival in Austria years ago to inaugurate the tions that seemed necessary for her conception of the Onegin, his fourth and fi fth symphonies and ballets and pas de deux created especially for Company’s fi rst Western tour. ballet. He trusted her fully and was happy with the Th e Nutcracker. In St. Petersburg in , Makarova are Robbins’s Other Dances; Sir At diff erent periods of its existence, the ballet changes that she made. In Ms. Makarova’s current Tchaikovsky fi nished his sixth symphony, Frederick Ashton’s Le Rossignol; a MacMillan Swan Lake has been presented to the audience as production, Ashton’s choreography includes the Waltz the Pathétique, during a period of almost un- Pas de Deux; Neumeier’s Epilogue; Tetley’s a fairytale or a fantastic poem, a realistic novel or in Act 1, Scene 1, and a portion of the Final Act.
8 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 9 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Contradance; Petit’s Blue Angel; Bejart’s invited back to perform in the Soviet Union. Mr. Farmer has collaborated with Robert Th e school entered a new phase upon Mephisto; and Gaad’s Miraculous Mandarin. She returned to her native Leningrad, where Cohan and Robert North on numerous pro- the arrival of the outstanding ballet teachers In , Ms. Makarova staged the fi rst she danced with the Kirov Ballet on the stage ductions for London Contemporary Dance Ludmila Sakharova, its present artistic full-length production of La Bayadère for where she began her career. A documentary Th eatre. Th ese include Cohan’s Stages, No- director, Yuly Plakht and Galina Kuznetsova, American Ballet Th eatre, making it the fi rst of her historic visit, Makarova Returns, was Man’s Land, Sky, Consolations of the Rising who represent a new breed of Russian ballet company in the West to perform the work. shown on BBC television. Moon, Stone Garden, In Memory, Metamor- stars, trained in the classical pattern, but who Her production of La Bayadère is now in the In , she made her debut as a dramatic phoses, Crescendo, North’s Meeting, Parting and bring together musicality, theatrical passion repertoire of companies around the world, actress in the Chichester Festival production Troy Game. and superb technical skill. including the Royal Ballet; La Scala Ballet; of Tovarich, which transferred to the West He designed Anna Karenina for the Ballet Former graduates and dancers of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires: Neumeier’s End. She returned to Russia in in de Santiago and the Norwegian Ballet; La Perm Ballet School, whose names are known Hamburg Ballet; and the Australian Ballet. the play Two for the Seesaw, performing in Traviata for London City Ballet; Cinderella the world over, include Galina Ragozina- Ms. Makarova has also staged Giselle for the Moscow and St. Petersburg. In , she for the Cincinnati Ballet; Giselle for the Star Panova, Lyubov Kunakova, Galina Shlyapina, Royal Swedish Ballet. Among her other pro- starred in the Chichester Festival production Dancers Ballet Foundation in Tokyo; Coppélia Nadezhda Pavlova (who went on to become ductions are Paquita for American Ballet Th e- of George Bernard Shaw’s play Misalliance. for the Portuguese National Ballet and the a prima ballerina with the Bolshoi Th eatre), atre, National Ballet of Canada, the Korean Ms. Makarova most recent appearance Inoue Ballet Foundation in Tokyo; and Th e Olga Tchenchikova, Marat Daukayev and Ballet and San Francisco Ballet; Th e Sleeping on stage was in Noel Coward’s play Blithe Nutcracker for Pittsburgh Ballet. He designed various Mariinsky stars. Beauty for the Royal Ballet; and Swan Lake Spirit in England, where she played the role Kenneth MacMillan’s Winter Dreams for the Today, a new generation of artists, such for London Festival Ballet, Teatro Municipal of Elvira. Ms. Makarova continues to stage Royal Ballet and Manon for the Australian, as Elena Kulagina (the Company’s prima in Rio de Janeiro and, in , for the Perm classical ballets throughout the world. Vienna and Houston ballets. In , Mr. ballerina and People’s Artist of Russia), Ballet. Farmer designed Peter Darrell’s Tales of Natalia Moiseeva, Yulia Mashkina and Vitaly Her television work includes the four-part Peter Farmer (set designer) has designed for Hoff mann for the Hong Kong Ballet and Les Poleschuk, have distinguished themselves in Ballerina series, which she wrote and presented most of the major ballet companies in the Sylphides and Coppélia for the Birmingham national and international ballet competitions for the BBC; Assoluta and Th e Leningrad world, including seven ballets for the Royal Royal Ballet, returning to Birmingham in and festivals and have won international Legend (BBC); In a Class of Her Own (Channel Ballet, nine for London Festival Ballet, for to design Ashton’s Birthday Off ering. fame. ); and Natasha (Th ames Television). She has London Contemporary Dance Th eatre, He also designed the full-length Butterfl y for With dancers, including one People’s also been fi lmed performing in Swan Lake, for the Houston Ballet, six for London City the Australian Ballet and Swan Lake for the Artist, three Honored Artists of Russia Giselle, Romeo and Juliet and La Bayadère. Ballet, fi ve for Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet and English National Ballet at the Royal Albert amd four winners of major international Ms. Makarova wrote and presented the BBC works for the Royal Danish Ballet, American Hall in London. competitions, the Company’ is dedicated to documentary St. Petersburg to Tashkent for the Ballet Th eatre, the Rome and Cologne Great Railway Journeys series. opera houses, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Royal establishing and maintaining a solid tradition Ms. Makarova’s A Dance Autobiography Winnipeg Ballet, New London Ballet, Ballet Th e Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Th eater of superior Russian classical dance. was published by Knopf in . In , she Rambert, Th e Scottish Ballet, Northern of Perm is one of Russia’s most distinguished Th e Company’s varied repertoire high- recorded narrations of Th e Snow Queen, Prince Ballet Th eatre, the Dutch National Ballet, the artistic companies. Its ballet company became lights ballet’s most treasured classics, original Ivan and the Frog Princess and Th e Firebird for Washington Ballet and Chicago City Ballet. a permanent institution in the mid-s. works and new works of respected choreog- Delos Records, each of which received the His work includes designs for Th e Sleeping A performance of Giselle opened the raphers like Ben Stevenson, and the latest co- American Library Association Award. She has Beauty for the Munich Opera House; Anna Company’s fi rst ballet season on February , production of Concert Barocco, a gift of the also received the Dance Magazine Award for Karenina and Th e Th ree Musketeers for the . Since then, the theater has produced a Balanchine Fund to Perm Ballet. her distinguished career. Australian Ballet; Giselle in Texas and Rio de growing number of classical and contemporary Some of Company’s soloists work with She made her Broadway musical comedy Janeiro; Swan Lake for the Royal Winnipeg works, with an emphasis on the operas and ballet companies in Boston, Philadelphia, debut in On Your Toes, winning numerous and Hong Kong ballets and, most recently, ballets of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. New Jersey, Amsterdam, Switzerland and awards, including the Tony Award as Best for the Perm Ballet; Th e Great Gatsby for Th e magic of Ulanova, Dudinskaya, elsewhere. Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award, Pittsburgh Ballet Th eatre; Th e Nutcracker Sergeyev, Vecheslova and other Kirov artists Th e Company is now known far beyond Outer Critics Circle Award, Th eatre World for Cincinnati Ballet Company; La Sylphide profoundly infl uenced the appearance of the Russia’s borders. Numerous foreign tours and Award, Astaire Award and the Stanislavsky for the Teatro Municipal Rio de Janeiro; A nation’s third-in-importance ballet company, appearances at international arts festivals in Award. In , she starred in the West End Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Hirofumi which shares the standards and the style of the Vienna, Bregenz, Spoleto, Seget, Dubrovnik, production of On Your Toes, for which she Inoue Ballet de Chambre in Tokyo; and famous Kirov school. Th e Ballet Company is Servantino in Mexico and others have brought won the Laurence Olivier Award. Balanchine’s Th eme and Variations and unique in that it draws all of its dancers from fame and success to the Tchaikovsky Ballet. On February , , after years’ Divertimento No. for Sadler’s Wells (now its own school, which is the most prestigious absence, she was the fi rst artistic exile to be Birmingham) Royal Ballet. training institution for ballet in Russia.
10 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 11 ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS
George Isaakyan (artistic He is the director of numerous important from to , where she performed Music Center and with Hans Swarowsky in director of the theatre) is a cultural projects, the most recent the renowned lead roles in productions of such renowned Europe. native of Yerevan, Armenian Diaghilev Festival and the bearer of a lot of choreographers as John Cranko, George Mr. Cole has served as Director of Cal Republic. He studied at the national and international prizes and awards Balanchine, August Bournonville, Michael Performances at the University of California Moscow State Institute of among which is the highest in Russian culture Gordon, Bruce Marks, Ben Stevenson and at Berkeley since . He is also General Th eatre Arts, graduating State Premium of the Russian Federation others. She appeared in all the major classical Director of the Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, from the department of received by him for his grand project Pushkin ballets as well. an international festival of early music, which music theatre in . in Opera. Natalia Akhmarova returned to her home he founded in . Prior to his appointment After a brief period As a director of vast scope, Mr. Isaakyan Perm Ballet Company in to become a in Berkeley, Mr. Cole was Director of several with the Yerevan State is keen on and inspired by the original works répétiteur. In , she was appointed Head performing arts centers in New York. Conservatoire, he joined the Perm State rarely performed both in Russia and abroad. of the Company, bringing educational, artistic Mr. Cole was previously Associate Con- Th eatre of Opera and Ballet as an Opera His recent creation feature a brand new and personal experiences to her position, her ductor of the Buff alo Philharmonic Orchestra Director in , a position he held until production of Lolita, based on Nabokov’s main goal being to nurture and structure a and was Music Director and Executive Direc- , when he was appointed Artistic novel, to the music by the contemporary superb ballet company. tor of the Ballet Society of Los Angeles. He Director. composer Rodion Shchedrin. has recently appeared as conductor with Mark Mr. Isaakyan assumed artistic director- After graduating from Morris Dance Group at Sadler’s Wells in Lon- ship of the Perm Opera and Ballet Th eatre in Natalia Akhmarova the Ural State Conser- don, the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New . He has distinguished himself as a high- (artistic director of the vatory in , Valery York and in Berkeley. He has also conducted ly effi cient artistic leader and an imaginative ballet) was born in Platonov (principal concerts for the Lake Tahoe Summer Music creator of a great variety of productions (more Roslavl, in the Smo- conductor) began his Festival in Lake Tahoe and, in January , than ) which highlight the wide repertoire lensk region of Russia. career at the Perm Op- was named the Principal Guest Conductor of of his home company in Perm. Mr. Isaaky- She began her ballet era and Ballet, where he the Perm Opera and Ballet Th eater. an presented his renowned productions of training at Perm Bal- co-staged Ivan Susanin, In , Mr. Cole was named a Chevalier Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, winner of two Na- let School in War and Peace, Th e Fire of the Order of Arts and Letters by the tional Golden Masque Awards in , at the and graduated in Angel, Khovanshchina and others. He has guest Government of France. Riga Opera House in ; Tchaikovsky’s with a fi rst-class conducted in major opera houses all over the Pigue Dame, which was awarded the Golden honors degree. former Soviet Union. After Elena Kulagina Masque for scenography in and was in- With the Perm Ballet Company, which He has also conducted ballet performances (prima ballerina) gradu- vited on tour in Germany and Switzerland she was invited to join that same year, she has in Germany, the Czech Republic, the United ated from the Perm Ballet in and ; Verdi’s Rigoletto (); danced leading roles in all the major classical States, Ireland and Switzerland. In , he School in and joined Britten’s Noye’s Fludde (); Mascagni’s ballets, including Th e Nutcracker, Don Quixote became principal conductor of the Bashkiria the Perm Ballet Company Cavalleria Rusticana (); and, among the and Th e Sleeping Beauty. She has extended State Opera and Ballet Th eatre. Th ere, he the same year, the young most recent, the fi rst Russian performances of her repertoire by expressive performance of staged and conducted Carmen, Th e Barber of dancer immediately occu- Massenet’s Cléopâtre. His career has taken him contemporary choreography in Vasiliev’s Seville, La Bohème, Faust, several operas based pied the leading position. to major opera houses all over Russia, includ- Anyuta (Anyuta), Salimbaev’s Th e Seven on the national Bashkir folklore, as well as Since then, she has danced a vide range of ing the Mariinsky Th eatre in St. Petersburg, Beauties (Aisha) and Boyarchikov’s Romeo and some ballet scores. roles including Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. where he directed Borodin’s Prince Igor for Juliet (Juliet). In , he re-joined the Perm State Aurora in Th e Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Kitri the Kirov Opera Festival, a production that Ms. Akhmarova has distinguished herself Opera and Ballet Th eatre to assume the post in Don Quixote, Raymonda, Juliet in Romeo was presented at Metropolitan Opera in New in several ballet competitions, including of principal conductor. and Juliet, Phrygia in Spartacus, Masha in Th e York in the spring of ; the Moscow Heli- the Moscow International competition in Nutcracker and others. con Opera, where he gave the world premiere , where she was a bronze medallist; at a Robert Cole (prin- Ms. Kulagina’s delicate classical approach of Skryabin’s Keistut i Birut; Minsk, Belarus competition held in Peru in , she won a cipal guest conductor) and emotional sophistication is well illustrated with La Bohème; and the Latvian National gold medal. is a graduate of the by her dancing in the ballets Chopiniana and Opera in Riga, Latvia, where he directed Die Ms. Akhmarova also received tremendous University of South- George Balanchine’s Th eme and Variations, Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. critical acclaim as an active, creative member ern California School among others. Mr. Isaakyan has been invited to stage of the joint company Stars of the Russian of Music and stud- To her portrayal of Juliet in Nikolai his productions in numerous opera houses Ballet while touring South Korea, France, ied conducting with Boyarchikov’s production of Romeo and Juliet overseas, including Madama Butterfl y at India, Japan and the United States. Richard Lert in Cali- Ms. Kulagina brings a particularly youthful Opera Ireland, Dublin, and Don Carlo at Her dancing career has taken her to the fornia, with Leonard and romantic quality and a musical sensitivity Sakai City Opera, Osaka, Japan. United States to work with Boston Ballet Bernstein and Leon Barzin at the Tanglewood to Prokofi ev’s rich, symphonic score.
12 CAL PERFORMANCES CAL PERFORMANCES 13 ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Academically fi ne technique, romantic Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, grace and feminine charm characterize her Giselle, Anyuta, Don Quixote and La Sylphide. dancing in La Sylphide. Th e works with which Ms. Moiseeva Th e Company’s prima has danced on is perhaps most closely associated are Th e many world stages. She won an honorary Cavalry’s Halt, Th e Sleeping Beauty and Th e award for “Best Ballerina of Ireland in – Nutcracker, in which she dances the principal among the touring companies.” She has roles. been awarded the two highest national titles: Ms. Moiseeva’s second prize at the Ara- Honored Artist and People’s Artist of Russia. besk- competition of young Russian ballet dancers affi rmed the promising dancer’s talent. One of the most gifted Her duet with Vitaly Poleshchuk won a spe- graduates of the Perm Ballet cial Ekaterina Maksimova-Vladimir Vasiliev School, Vitaly Poleshchuk Award for “Best Duet” at the Arabesk- (principal) joined the Perm competition. In , she won a silver medal Ballet Company in . at the competition in Nagoya, Japan. In , His exceptional physical she received the distinguished title, Honored and professional gifts have Artist of Russia. enabled him to perform the full range of classical repertoire, including Th e Nutcracker, On graduation from the Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Romeo Perm Ballet School in and Juliet, Giselle, Th e Sleeping Beauty and La , Yulia Mashkina Sylphide. (principal) was appointed Particular exactness in mastering the a principal in the Com- roles and creative search have extended his pany. A gifted, promising repertoire range by expressive performing of ballerina with good profes- contemporary works: Anyuta and Tsar Boris, sional endowments, Ms. Mashkina has won as well as works by George Balanchine and admirers through her leading roles in Swan others. Lake, Th e Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Raymonda, Mr. Poleshchuk was a prize-winner in Chopiniana, Don Quixote, La Sylphide, Peer the Arabesk- competition. Th e duo of Gynt and others. She is also adept at perform- Natalia Moiseeva (Mr. Poleshchuk’s wife) ing contemporary choreography. She has good and Mr. Poleshchuk won a special Ekaterina academic training, demonstrating psychologi- Maksimova-Vladimir Vasiliev Award for cal interpretations of the characters. “Best Duet” at the Arabesk- competition. Ms. Mashkina has participated in several He was a silver medallist at the international ballet competitions: the national compe- competition in Nagoya, Japan, in . tition in Perm in ; Arabesk-, where she In , was awarded the title of Honored was the runner-up and won the love of the au- Artist of Russia. dience; Nagoya, Japan, in , where she was A graduate of the Perm a bronze medallist; and Arabesk-, where she Ballet School, Natalia was awarded a special prize for the best perfor- Moiseeva (principal) has mance of a choreographed work. danced on the stage of the Perm Opera and Ballet Th eatre since . Her good looks, fi ne technical skills and familiarity with the musical and dramatic methods of contem- porary choreography have enabled the young ballerina to perform the solo roles in Th e
14 CAL PERFORMANCES