Russia
Bavouzet, Philharmonia Orchestra, Salonen, Royal Albert HallSaturday, 21 August 2010
From Russian “avant-garde constructivism” to Estonian minimalism via a jazz-inspired French concerto and the defiant originality of Scriabin – last night’s Prom from Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra had a lot of ground to cover. I... Read more... |
My Summer Reading: Ballerina Tamara RojoThursday, 19 August 2010
In the first of a short summer series in which artists and performers tell theartsdesk about what they're reading, ballerina Tamara Rojo talks about the books she's taken with her on holiday, and what she's enjoyed reading. We run short... Read more... |
Lugansky, Russian National Orchestra, Boreyko, Royal Albert HallThursday, 19 August 2010
Russians can often get away with murder in concert. It's so ingrained within our Western psyche to believe that the Slav has culture, musicality, an innate aesthetic sensitivity pouring out of every toe that you could get a Russian to do the chicken... Read more... |
SaltWednesday, 18 August 2010
With no Bonds or Bournes on the immediate horizon, no more Bauer with the end of 24, and the future of the Mission: Impossible series reportedly hanging in the balance, there appears to be an opening for a new secret agent franchise. It remains to... Read more... |
Fischer, LPO, Jurowski, Royal Albert HallMonday, 16 August 2010
How did they do it? This was another Prom which looked almost too much on paper but worked hair-raisingly well in practice. It was a Vladimir Jurowski special: whizzing, clamorous demons versus introspective reveries, church bells bringing one... Read more... |
Eugene Onegin, Bolshoi Opera, Royal Opera HouseFriday, 13 August 2010
Nobody knows any real happiness, and human kindness is rarely to be found, in Dmitri Tcherniakov's Bolshoi production of Tchaikovsky's "lyric scenes" - the most disciplined and real piece of operatic teamwork I've seen ever to come from the Russian... Read more... |
Don Quixote, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Opera HouseSaturday, 07 August 2010
There is a moment when you see dancers at their absolute peak that notches a bit of history in your memory - you never forget when you see it happen. In my area of contemporary choreography you can’t measure it in those terms but you can with... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Impresarios Victor and Lilian Hochhauser, Part 1Saturday, 31 July 2010
When the words "commercial" and "art" come together - as they do with the Bolshoi season currently at the Royal Opera House - odds are the glue between them is a three-word phrase "Victor Hochhauser presents". Victor and Lilian Hochhauser are the... Read more... |
Confirmation: Nacho Duato to lead St Petersburg ballet companyWednesday, 28 July 2010Confirmation today of the astonishing news from Russia - Nacho Duato will indeed become the new director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, St Petersburg’s second company, from the New Year. The Spanish contemporary choreographer will be the first... Read more... |
Photo Gallery: Bolshoi Ballet class by Charlotte MacMillanTuesday, 27 July 2010
Charlotte MacMillan took these exclusive pictures last week of the Bolshoi corps de ballet in class. The pictures brought back memories of his training to English National Ballet's Kirov-trained principal dancer Dmitri Gruzdyev, as he prepares to... Read more... |
Serenade & Giselle, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Opera HouseMonday, 26 July 2010
We’re getting used to expecting the extraordinary from Natalia Osipova - and then getting some more. With her impish face and farouche capriciousness, with a spring like a high-jumper and shoulders like a swimmer, she is without doubt the most... Read more... |
Coppélia, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Opera HouseThursday, 22 July 2010
Coppélia is the name of the doll in the ballet-comedy - not that of the heroine, who is a bad pixie named Swanilda, a girl of youthful capriciousness but a heart of gold. What you hope for when you go to see this usually rather quaint 19th-century... Read more... |
