Dear Friends:
I had the pleasure of seeing the Kirov Ballet perform just this past year in their home venue, the historic Mariinsky Theatre in Russia, and I'm thrilled to be able to bring these amazing artists — truly one of the world's greatest ballet companies! — in one of their signature productions to Zellerbach Hall. Given that prior to our presentation of this world-famous company two seasons ago, they had not been seen here in over 12 years, I'm reminded how perfectly this event fulfills one of our primary missions here at Cal Performances: to give our audiences the opportunity to experience artists and productions that would not otherwise be seen in the greater Bay Area.
As a final note, it seems the start of our season has been dominated by some remarkable dance events in the past weeks, but I wanted to call your attention to four truly great recital events to look forward to in the coming months as well: the Cal Performances debut of up-and-coming baritone Christopher Maltman; a recital of works by Haydn and Beethoven by the eminent Hungarian pianist András Schiff; an appearance by dazzling young violinist Hilary Hahn; and what is sure to be an unforgettable afternoon with Swedish superstar mezzo soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. I hope to see you at one of these exciting performances coming up in the months ahead. And next up on our From the Director email series, we'll talk a little bit more about the three exciting theater events coming to Cal Performances stages this fall.
Sincerely, |
Our celebration is really in full swing here at Cal Performances this week as we prepare to host our biggest Centennial Season event of the season so far: the Kirov Ballet & Orchestra's spectacular production of The Sleeping Beauty.
Rarely seen in the United States, the Kirov's 1952 version of this classic story ballet features ballet giant Marius Petipa's original choreography as revised by Konstantin Sergeyev and lavish sets and costumes by Simon Virsaladze. Of course in addition to its sumptuous look and feel, The Sleeping Beauty is equally beloved for its great musical score. Along with Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the romantic and sweeping sounds of Tchaikovsky's music for this ballet is considered part of a incomparable trio of masterpieces written for the dance stage by this peerless Russian composer. You'll actually have a chance to experience all three of these great works of music (and dance!) this season at Cal Performances when 
In addition to the grandeur of the production and superb performance by the Kirov's wonderful orchestra, this engagement will also give us the opportunity to marvel at the individual artistry of some of the biggest stars of Russian ballet, including the great prima ballerina Diana Vishneva, dancing opposite two other Kirov stars, Igor Zelensky and Igor Kolb, and Uliana Lopatkina in the role of the Lilac Fairy. And as an extra treat for ballet lovers, we're very pleased to also give you an opportunity to catch a glimpse of some of the stars of tomorrow as 26 children from the Ballet School of another great, world renowned company — Helgi Tomasson's San Francisco Ballet — join the Kirov dancers onstage as part of the production.
For more information on the 
