Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0014
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
After Nureyev’s defection, the Kirov Ballet opened as scheduled at the Royal Opera House in London, but Osipenko found herself largely under quarantine when she was not on stage. However, she enjoyed ...
More
After Nureyev’s defection, the Kirov Ballet opened as scheduled at the Royal Opera House in London, but Osipenko found herself largely under quarantine when she was not on stage. However, she enjoyed dancing with the young Yuri Soloviev, one of the Kirov’s most remarkable dancers until his suicide in 1977. Osipenko had by now acquired a unique cachet within the company. She “wasn’t a typically standard type of dancer,” Soloviev’s widow recalled. “She was complex … interesting.” Soloviev was “beside himself with excitement that he was going to dance with her.”Less
After Nureyev’s defection, the Kirov Ballet opened as scheduled at the Royal Opera House in London, but Osipenko found herself largely under quarantine when she was not on stage. However, she enjoyed dancing with the young Yuri Soloviev, one of the Kirov’s most remarkable dancers until his suicide in 1977. Osipenko had by now acquired a unique cachet within the company. She “wasn’t a typically standard type of dancer,” Soloviev’s widow recalled. “She was complex … interesting.” Soloviev was “beside himself with excitement that he was going to dance with her.”
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0015
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Osipenko saw the toll of the liberties she had taken in Paris; she was not included when the Kirov made its US debut in September 1961, opening at the Metropolitan Opera and touring the country. This ...
More
Osipenko saw the toll of the liberties she had taken in Paris; she was not included when the Kirov made its US debut in September 1961, opening at the Metropolitan Opera and touring the country. This chapter includes recollections from Inna Zubkovskaya, who danced Swan Lake on the company’s opening night in New York.Less
Osipenko saw the toll of the liberties she had taken in Paris; she was not included when the Kirov made its US debut in September 1961, opening at the Metropolitan Opera and touring the country. This chapter includes recollections from Inna Zubkovskaya, who danced Swan Lake on the company’s opening night in New York.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0023
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Less than a year after Makarova’s defection, Osipenko decided to resign from the Kirov in 1971, yet another step in her career of unorthodox upsets to the Soviet cultural establishment.
Less than a year after Makarova’s defection, Osipenko decided to resign from the Kirov in 1971, yet another step in her career of unorthodox upsets to the Soviet cultural establishment.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0024
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Osipenko and Markovsky joined a small company formed by choreographer Leonid Jacobson, with whom she had worked at the Kirov. It was a significant landmark in Soviet culture, the first dance company ...
More
Osipenko and Markovsky joined a small company formed by choreographer Leonid Jacobson, with whom she had worked at the Kirov. It was a significant landmark in Soviet culture, the first dance company dedicated to the work of a single choreographer.Less
Osipenko and Markovsky joined a small company formed by choreographer Leonid Jacobson, with whom she had worked at the Kirov. It was a significant landmark in Soviet culture, the first dance company dedicated to the work of a single choreographer.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0025
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Six months before Baryhnikov’s defection, he directed his own “Creative Evening” at the Kirov, for which he was allowed to choose the repertory and commission new ballets. Osipenko danced with him in ...
More
Six months before Baryhnikov’s defection, he directed his own “Creative Evening” at the Kirov, for which he was allowed to choose the repertory and commission new ballets. Osipenko danced with him in a new ballet by Mai Murdmaa.Less
Six months before Baryhnikov’s defection, he directed his own “Creative Evening” at the Kirov, for which he was allowed to choose the repertory and commission new ballets. Osipenko danced with him in a new ballet by Mai Murdmaa.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0027
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
After leaving the Kirov, Osipenko made frequent guest appearances at the Maly theater, where in 1975 a gala was held to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of her professional debut. She and ...
More
After leaving the Kirov, Osipenko made frequent guest appearances at the Maly theater, where in 1975 a gala was held to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of her professional debut. She and Markovsky led a strenuous, itinerant life, as freelance dancers in the Soviet Union.Less
After leaving the Kirov, Osipenko made frequent guest appearances at the Maly theater, where in 1975 a gala was held to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of her professional debut. She and Markovsky led a strenuous, itinerant life, as freelance dancers in the Soviet Union.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0028
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Once again, Osipenko was central to a venturesome new project: a company established by thirty-year-old Boris Eifman. Eifman wanted to attract young audiences and acknowledged their interest in ...
More
Once again, Osipenko was central to a venturesome new project: a company established by thirty-year-old Boris Eifman. Eifman wanted to attract young audiences and acknowledged their interest in Western rock music. Together with Markovsky, Osipenko danced an entirely new repertory, including the duet “Two Voices,” performed to Pink Floyd.Less
Once again, Osipenko was central to a venturesome new project: a company established by thirty-year-old Boris Eifman. Eifman wanted to attract young audiences and acknowledged their interest in Western rock music. Together with Markovsky, Osipenko danced an entirely new repertory, including the duet “Two Voices,” performed to Pink Floyd.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
The Introduction introduces Alla Osipenko, reviews her career, her attributes as a dancer in the Kirov Ballet, her position in the vanguard of modern Soviet choreography, her participation in the ...
More
The Introduction introduces Alla Osipenko, reviews her career, her attributes as a dancer in the Kirov Ballet, her position in the vanguard of modern Soviet choreography, her participation in the Soviet cultural exchanges of the Krushchev era, and her outspoken opposition to Soviet authority. The Introduction also discusses author Joel Lobenthal’s relationship with Osipenko, his initial meeting with her to profile her for the quarterly Ballet Review, and his many interviews with her during the years she taught in Hartford in the 1990s.Less
The Introduction introduces Alla Osipenko, reviews her career, her attributes as a dancer in the Kirov Ballet, her position in the vanguard of modern Soviet choreography, her participation in the Soviet cultural exchanges of the Krushchev era, and her outspoken opposition to Soviet authority. The Introduction also discusses author Joel Lobenthal’s relationship with Osipenko, his initial meeting with her to profile her for the quarterly Ballet Review, and his many interviews with her during the years she taught in Hartford in the 1990s.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Returning from her injury, Osipenko made her debut in Swan Lake, a ballet with which she was identified for the next twenty years. This was followed by a breakthrough performance in Boris Fenster’s ...
More
Returning from her injury, Osipenko made her debut in Swan Lake, a ballet with which she was identified for the next twenty years. This was followed by a breakthrough performance in Boris Fenster’s new balletic adaptation of Gogol’s novella Taras Bulba. Also discussed here is her resuming the role of the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, another classic role that she would make her own.Less
Returning from her injury, Osipenko made her debut in Swan Lake, a ballet with which she was identified for the next twenty years. This was followed by a breakthrough performance in Boris Fenster’s new balletic adaptation of Gogol’s novella Taras Bulba. Also discussed here is her resuming the role of the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, another classic role that she would make her own.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Alla Osipenko is one of history’s greatest ballerinas, a courageous rebel who paid the price for speaking truth to the Soviet state. At Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet, Osipenko’s lines, shapes, and ...
More
Alla Osipenko is one of history’s greatest ballerinas, a courageous rebel who paid the price for speaking truth to the Soviet state. At Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet, Osipenko’s lines, shapes, and movement both exemplified the venerable traditions of Russian ballet and projected those traditions into uncharted and experimental realms. Her sharp tongue and candid independence, as well as her almost reckless flouting of Soviet rules for personal and political conduct, soon found her all but quarantined in Russia. An internationally acclaimed ballerina at the height of her career, she had to persist against constant attempts by the Soviet state and the Kirov administration to humble her. Throughout the book, Osipenko talks frankly and freely in a way that few Russians of her generation have allowed themselves to do. The book chronicles her life to the age of eighty-two—a great-grandmother, still outspoken, and still a dynamic participant in the international world of ballet. A cast of characters drawn from all sectors of Soviet and post-perestroika society makes this biography as encyclopedic and encompassing as a great Russian novel.Less
Alla Osipenko is one of history’s greatest ballerinas, a courageous rebel who paid the price for speaking truth to the Soviet state. At Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet, Osipenko’s lines, shapes, and movement both exemplified the venerable traditions of Russian ballet and projected those traditions into uncharted and experimental realms. Her sharp tongue and candid independence, as well as her almost reckless flouting of Soviet rules for personal and political conduct, soon found her all but quarantined in Russia. An internationally acclaimed ballerina at the height of her career, she had to persist against constant attempts by the Soviet state and the Kirov administration to humble her. Throughout the book, Osipenko talks frankly and freely in a way that few Russians of her generation have allowed themselves to do. The book chronicles her life to the age of eighty-two—a great-grandmother, still outspoken, and still a dynamic participant in the international world of ballet. A cast of characters drawn from all sectors of Soviet and post-perestroika society makes this biography as encyclopedic and encompassing as a great Russian novel.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
This chapter begins with a description of Osipenko rehearsing the classic ballet La Bayadère while she was working in Hartford in the 1998. That leads back into her decades of experience with the ...
More
This chapter begins with a description of Osipenko rehearsing the classic ballet La Bayadère while she was working in Hartford in the 1998. That leads back into her decades of experience with the ballet, dating to her student days, when she watched Vaganova rehearse the ballet with Olga Moiseyeva. Within the Kirov, Osipenko established herself in the late 1950s as an artistic iconoclast. “You will do it your own way,” set-and-costume designer Simon Virsiladze told her. She married Anatoly Nisnevich, a young dancer in the company.Less
This chapter begins with a description of Osipenko rehearsing the classic ballet La Bayadère while she was working in Hartford in the 1998. That leads back into her decades of experience with the ballet, dating to her student days, when she watched Vaganova rehearse the ballet with Olga Moiseyeva. Within the Kirov, Osipenko established herself in the late 1950s as an artistic iconoclast. “You will do it your own way,” set-and-costume designer Simon Virsiladze told her. She married Anatoly Nisnevich, a young dancer in the company.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0012
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Liberalization of culture and politics during the Krushchev “thaw” meant a certain relaxation of potential ballet subjects and the possibility of rehabilitation for creative figures who had been ...
More
Liberalization of culture and politics during the Krushchev “thaw” meant a certain relaxation of potential ballet subjects and the possibility of rehabilitation for creative figures who had been marginalized. Accusations of eroticism did not prevent Jacobson’s Rodin trio from reaching the Kirov stage in 1959, three duets inspired by Rodin sculpture. Now at the height of her renown as an avatar of the new Soviet ballet, Osipenko was appointed a delegate to the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the Communist Party youth organization.Less
Liberalization of culture and politics during the Krushchev “thaw” meant a certain relaxation of potential ballet subjects and the possibility of rehabilitation for creative figures who had been marginalized. Accusations of eroticism did not prevent Jacobson’s Rodin trio from reaching the Kirov stage in 1959, three duets inspired by Rodin sculpture. Now at the height of her renown as an avatar of the new Soviet ballet, Osipenko was appointed a delegate to the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the Communist Party youth organization.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0013
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Osipenko was prominent when the Kirov Ballet made its debut in Paris in 1961, but her behavior made Soviet authorities skittish, particularly her affair with French ballet star Atillio Labis. Young ...
More
Osipenko was prominent when the Kirov Ballet made its debut in Paris in 1961, but her behavior made Soviet authorities skittish, particularly her affair with French ballet star Atillio Labis. Young Rudolph Nureyev’s behavior was also alarming. On the closing night of the Paris season Osipenko danced Swan Lake with him. The next day the company was leaving for its London debut when, on the airfield, Nureyev was told he was being sent back to the USSR; instead, he defected on the spot.Less
Osipenko was prominent when the Kirov Ballet made its debut in Paris in 1961, but her behavior made Soviet authorities skittish, particularly her affair with French ballet star Atillio Labis. Young Rudolph Nureyev’s behavior was also alarming. On the closing night of the Paris season Osipenko danced Swan Lake with him. The next day the company was leaving for its London debut when, on the airfield, Nureyev was told he was being sent back to the USSR; instead, he defected on the spot.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0016
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Osipenko divorced Nisnevich after meeting Russian actor Gennady Voropayev.She continued to defy Soviet protocol. Together with a number of her colleagues, she spoke out against the Kirov’s artistic ...
More
Osipenko divorced Nisnevich after meeting Russian actor Gennady Voropayev.She continued to defy Soviet protocol. Together with a number of her colleagues, she spoke out against the Kirov’s artistic direction. However, she was one of the very few to speak in Nureyev’s defense when he was tried for treason in absentia in 1962, and she denied an invitation to join the Communist Party.Less
Osipenko divorced Nisnevich after meeting Russian actor Gennady Voropayev.She continued to defy Soviet protocol. Together with a number of her colleagues, she spoke out against the Kirov’s artistic direction. However, she was one of the very few to speak in Nureyev’s defense when he was tried for treason in absentia in 1962, and she denied an invitation to join the Communist Party.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0017
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Soviet cultural diplomacy continued to bring foreign ballet companies to the USSR. Balanchine’s New York City Ballet visited in 1962 and made a great impression on Osipenko. Her son Ivan Voropayev ...
More
Soviet cultural diplomacy continued to bring foreign ballet companies to the USSR. Balanchine’s New York City Ballet visited in 1962 and made a great impression on Osipenko. Her son Ivan Voropayev was born in 1962. However, Kirov and Soviet authorities now began a concerted effort to clip her wings. Her performances in Leningrad dwindled and she stopped being taken on major tours to the West.Less
Soviet cultural diplomacy continued to bring foreign ballet companies to the USSR. Balanchine’s New York City Ballet visited in 1962 and made a great impression on Osipenko. Her son Ivan Voropayev was born in 1962. However, Kirov and Soviet authorities now began a concerted effort to clip her wings. Her performances in Leningrad dwindled and she stopped being taken on major tours to the West.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0018
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
For the first time since 1961, Osipenko visited the West with the Kirov when it toured Italy in the summer of 1966. Together with colleagues Makarova and Kurgapkina she ventured out freely around ...
More
For the first time since 1961, Osipenko visited the West with the Kirov when it toured Italy in the summer of 1966. Together with colleagues Makarova and Kurgapkina she ventured out freely around Venice, but was not allowed to continue on with the company when it began a London season later that summer. While she was in Italy, Nureyev asked her to defect to the West and dance with him, but that was impossible for her as she would not leave her son in Leningrad.Less
For the first time since 1961, Osipenko visited the West with the Kirov when it toured Italy in the summer of 1966. Together with colleagues Makarova and Kurgapkina she ventured out freely around Venice, but was not allowed to continue on with the company when it began a London season later that summer. While she was in Italy, Nureyev asked her to defect to the West and dance with him, but that was impossible for her as she would not leave her son in Leningrad.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0019
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Divorcing Voropyaev, Osipenko conducted an affair with theater director Georgi Ufeet. Dancing on the Kirov stage was now often a torturous experience for her, given her infrequent scheduling and ...
More
Divorcing Voropyaev, Osipenko conducted an affair with theater director Georgi Ufeet. Dancing on the Kirov stage was now often a torturous experience for her, given her infrequent scheduling and resulting nerves, as well as the Kirov administration’s disparagement. Her coach’s insistence that she return to the demanding role of Gamzatti in La Bayadère was an ordeal, but after seeing this performance in Leningrad, critic Clive Barnes, writing for London’s monthly Dance and Dancers, called her “now probably the grandest of the Kirov ballerinas.”Less
Divorcing Voropyaev, Osipenko conducted an affair with theater director Georgi Ufeet. Dancing on the Kirov stage was now often a torturous experience for her, given her infrequent scheduling and resulting nerves, as well as the Kirov administration’s disparagement. Her coach’s insistence that she return to the demanding role of Gamzatti in La Bayadère was an ordeal, but after seeing this performance in Leningrad, critic Clive Barnes, writing for London’s monthly Dance and Dancers, called her “now probably the grandest of the Kirov ballerinas.”
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0020
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
John Markovsky, a young dancer from Perm, was studying in Leningrad when his teacher asked Osipenko to rehearse repertory with him. She fell in love with him and married him, and together they ...
More
John Markovsky, a young dancer from Perm, was studying in Leningrad when his teacher asked Osipenko to rehearse repertory with him. She fell in love with him and married him, and together they created one of the most celebrated partnerships in Soviet ballet. But their married life together was far from peaceful.Less
John Markovsky, a young dancer from Perm, was studying in Leningrad when his teacher asked Osipenko to rehearse repertory with him. She fell in love with him and married him, and together they created one of the most celebrated partnerships in Soviet ballet. But their married life together was far from peaceful.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0021
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
The Maly theater in Leninigrad was the city’s second ballet company, directed by Osipenko’s ex-Kirov colleague Igor Belsky. It was allowed by the authorities a bit more leeway to experiment. It was ...
More
The Maly theater in Leninigrad was the city’s second ballet company, directed by Osipenko’s ex-Kirov colleague Igor Belsky. It was allowed by the authorities a bit more leeway to experiment. It was here that Osipenko created the role of Cleopatra in a stark new ballet choreographed by Igor Tchernichov, also a former colleague of hers at the Kirov.Less
The Maly theater in Leninigrad was the city’s second ballet company, directed by Osipenko’s ex-Kirov colleague Igor Belsky. It was allowed by the authorities a bit more leeway to experiment. It was here that Osipenko created the role of Cleopatra in a stark new ballet choreographed by Igor Tchernichov, also a former colleague of hers at the Kirov.
Joel Lobenthal
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780190253707
- eISBN:
- 9780190253745
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190253707.003.0022
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Osipenko again danced in London with the Kirov during a six-week season in the summer of 1970. Young Mikhail Baryshnikov was considered a defection risk after his sensational success in London, but ...
More
Osipenko again danced in London with the Kirov during a six-week season in the summer of 1970. Young Mikhail Baryshnikov was considered a defection risk after his sensational success in London, but at the end of the season, it was their Kirov colleague Makarova who defected. Each defection brought pushback by the authorities. Osipenko awaited a new round of reprisals, and they manifested as the Kirov continued its tour to Eastern Europe.Less
Osipenko again danced in London with the Kirov during a six-week season in the summer of 1970. Young Mikhail Baryshnikov was considered a defection risk after his sensational success in London, but at the end of the season, it was their Kirov colleague Makarova who defected. Each defection brought pushback by the authorities. Osipenko awaited a new round of reprisals, and they manifested as the Kirov continued its tour to Eastern Europe.
