Kirov Ballet, 'The Sleeping Beauty' - Fun with casting

Osmolkina and Sarafanov

Kirov Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
Thursday, October 6, 2005 (Aurora - Ekaterina Osmolkina)
Friday, Ocrober 7, 2005 (Aurora - Alina Somova, debut)

One of the fun things about going back to a ballet for the second or third time is to see the different casting. Major companies like the Kirov usually rotate the principal casts of a ballet, partly so principals can rest a bit between performances, but also to show off the many different dancers in the company.

The LA run of “The Sleeping Beauty” did not get off on the best foot on Wednesday, despite stellar performances from Diana Vishneva and Igor Zelensky. But the production improved overall on Thursday and Friday nights, with changes in the minor roles and a company that looked more comfortable on its ‘LA legs,’ as it were, after traveling from Russia only days before.

Alina Somova debuted in the role of Aurora on Friday evening (first time abroad or at home). Her debut was one of the most anticipated performances of the run among balletomanes, mostly because she has risen to the top so fast. Only 19 years old, she has already danced the major roles in the Kirov repertory, including Odette-Odile in “Swan Lake” (the company even gave her one of the few “Swan Lakes” in London, to show her off) and Medora in “Le Corsaire.” Not everyone has enjoyed her performances. I personally saw her Medora in Washington, DC. She had tremendous stage presence, seeming mature beyond her years, but her extreme flexibility and extensions – as well as her seeming desire to show that she could do those tricks – made her more of a gymnast than a ballerina. So I approached her debut as Aurora with trepidation: high extensions decidedly do not work in this role, and I was anxious to see if she could tone her flamboyance down.

But I ended up being extremely impressed by Somova's Aurora on Friday. What we got in Somova was a wide eyed, dramatically present Aurora that was very well acted and who actually reacted in real time to the other people on stage around her. When she received the bouquet of flowers from Carabosse-in-disguise at the end of Act 1, there was genuine wonder with the gift while she played with it. And there was real shock when she pricked her finger on the needle, and you see her arms and body recoil in fear. I've grown accustomed, at this point, to seeing ballerinas do the recoil in "ballet" mode, that is, everything is still slow and pretty - wavy arms, and the like - when really she should be quite scared. That sense of being scared was there in Somova (without it being unintentional). This dramatic spontaneity comes as somewhat of a shocker after the rather sleepy walk-throughs that the company has been giving this week. Somewhat unfortunate, no? Nevertheless, an accomplished debut.

She did start off a bit shaky on the technical side - understandable as she was probably quite nervous for her debut. It wasn't that she wasn't hitting the marks, they were just a bit rushed and clunky in the beginning. With the Rose Adagio, during her first series of balances (when she trades off between four partners while standing in place), her supporting arm communicated more panic as she quickly and suddenly traded between her partners. But these glitches slowly disappeared as the performance went on. She was lovely as Aurora, and those extreme extensions that characterized (and detracted from) her Medora in DC were barely present. It looks like she consciously toned it down, knowing it would be inappropriate for Aurora.

While Somova lacked the sheer glowing stage presence of Vishneva (who really matches that?), I enjoyed Somova's performance immensely - and in some parts I wondered if I actually liked it more than Vishneva’s interpretation. Somova was awake and excited to be on stage - an infectious energy that jumped into the audience. She was even more convincing as a wide-eyed, bright young girl in some of the dramatic scenes - Vishneva is more of a gracious, commanding woman. And Somova pulled off the Act 1 prick-your-finger-and-fall-asleep scene beter than all three Auroras I saw. So certainly, all in all, a wonderful debut.

Which brings me to Thursday night, with Ekaterina Osmolkina as Aurora. She was pretty, certainly, but nothing special compared to Vishneva or even Somova. She looked more like a porcelain doll up there, but porcelain dolls also tend to not show much emotion. Leonid Sarafanov partnered her reliably enough; there were very few perilous moments in his partnering, which is rather unusual for him. He tends to be a very remarkable and virtuoso dancer on his own, but women in the company run from him in fear because of his unreliability with lifts, etc. Here, his Prince was less a courtly, authoritative one than a man-boy who runs in to discover Aurora like a lost treasure on a boyhood treasure hunt.

On Friday, Uliana Lopatkina replaced the announced Daria Pavlenko as the Lilac Fairy - Lopatkina is always a joy to watch, with an easy, commanding presence. She barely has to flick her wrist to make a statement on stage, and of course her dancing is lovely to watch. Elena Vostrotina danced Lilac on Thursday, and while quite good in her own right, could not match Lopatkina.

Irina Golub danced a wonderful Princess Florina on Thursday night - very light and pretty, with strong technique. Yulia Bolshakova danced another plain Florina on Friday, after having danced at Wednesday's opening. To me, her legs look spidery and freakishly long, so when she does an arabesque or a high extension it looks, well, not human and very distracting.

The children were simply wonderful in all the performances I saw - it's remarkable that in only 2 or so weeks of rehearsal, they look so good and also, surprisingly, look very Russian-trained as well. Many of the girls in the waltz have wonderfully arched feet and excellent turn out in that Russian style, and to know that they were all local children made it all seem even more impressive.