179. Christmas ballet at the Mariinsky
After attending performances of Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and Giselle at the Alexandrinsky, Michailovsky, and Mariinsky Theaters, respectively, I thought it would be fun to see one more ballet before I departed St. Petersburg (better than attending an opera that is four hours long, anyway, which was my other option). The playbill at the Mariinsky Theater - the most iconic venue in the city - included several performances of The Nutcracker in late December, and this was just what I was looking for: a production with Russian music, choreography, and dancing (many others in the repertoire feature music by composers from other countries). I've seen this ballet a handful of times before in the United States, and I am a fan of Tchaikovsky's score, especially the music from Act Two - even if it is overplayed on radio and television during the holiday season in the United States. This production featured dancers from the Vaganova Academy of Russian ballet, which I've written about here and here.
Typically, I prefer to sit in the balcony when I go to the theater. This performance was almost entirely sold out by early December, but there were several good seats still available in the "stalls" (as the floor level seating is named at the Mariinsky). Although more expensive than most seats in any of the balcony levels, I found the view to be a bit worse than I'm used to with several heads occasionally blocking my view of the dancers. My favorite theater seats are located in the front row of any of the middle balcony levels, which have an unobstructed view of the stage.
The pictures I've posted of the dancers at the Michailovsky and Mariinsky Theaters were exclusively taken after the production ended, when the curtain rose again for the applause. I realize that is not entirely clear with some of the shots, but rest assured, I was not one of the handful of obnoxious people who ignored the strict "no photographs / no video" rule at all of the theaters. It was acceptable to take pictures (and dozens of people did it at each production) as the dancers basked in their acclaim.
This was the third ballet performance I attended in a ten-day period in December, and this helped me learn what my threshold is: I probably should have stopped at two, or at least spaced them out more. It didn't help that the production of Giselle the weekend prior was so outstanding, and that the younger dancers from the Vaganova Academy in this production were not at the level of the dancers with the Mariinsky Ballet Company (few are, of course). Still, this was an excellent way to feel the holiday spirit and to enjoy one last world-class production in Russia's cultural capital.
Typically, I prefer to sit in the balcony when I go to the theater. This performance was almost entirely sold out by early December, but there were several good seats still available in the "stalls" (as the floor level seating is named at the Mariinsky). Although more expensive than most seats in any of the balcony levels, I found the view to be a bit worse than I'm used to with several heads occasionally blocking my view of the dancers. My favorite theater seats are located in the front row of any of the middle balcony levels, which have an unobstructed view of the stage.
The pictures I've posted of the dancers at the Michailovsky and Mariinsky Theaters were exclusively taken after the production ended, when the curtain rose again for the applause. I realize that is not entirely clear with some of the shots, but rest assured, I was not one of the handful of obnoxious people who ignored the strict "no photographs / no video" rule at all of the theaters. It was acceptable to take pictures (and dozens of people did it at each production) as the dancers basked in their acclaim.
This was the third ballet performance I attended in a ten-day period in December, and this helped me learn what my threshold is: I probably should have stopped at two, or at least spaced them out more. It didn't help that the production of Giselle the weekend prior was so outstanding, and that the younger dancers from the Vaganova Academy in this production were not at the level of the dancers with the Mariinsky Ballet Company (few are, of course). Still, this was an excellent way to feel the holiday spirit and to enjoy one last world-class production in Russia's cultural capital.
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