The Mariinsky Ballet’s
Gala
Opening Night Benefit
Metropolitan Opera House July 11, 2011
U.S. Premiere of Anna Karenina
with Diana Vishneva
July 27, 2011 - New York, NY:
The White Nights Foundation of America Annual
Benefit, Monday, July 11, 2011, featured the U.S.
premiere of Anna Karenina, performed by
the Mariinsky Ballet, at New York City’s Metropolitan
Opera House.
Diana Vishneva
danced the title role with the orchestra under the baton
of
Valery Gergiev,
the Artistic Director and General
Director of the Mariinsky Theatre. The evening raised
$500,000. The Mariinsky Ballet is part of Lincoln
Center Festival 2011.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
was among the guests at the performance. He began his
remarkable career as a Mariinsky (then called Kirov)
dancer. A dinner, held immediately after the ballet at
the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, included guests Darren
Aronofsky, Maria Bartiromo and Jonathan
Steinberg, Elizabeth de Cuevas, Patrick
Demarchelier, Ann Dexter-Jones, Patricia
Field, Randall Jones, Scott Pelley
(CBS Evening News), Susan and Samuel Lehrman,
Chloe Malle, Richard Move, Yoko Ono,
Cynthia and Leon Polsky, Lucky Roosevelt,
Paula & Leon Root, Matthew Settle (TV’s
Gossip Girl), The Hon. & Mrs. James Symington,
Erika Tarantal (NBC), Elie and Marion Weisel, Lally
Weymouth, Elaine and James Wolfensohn,
Mortimer Zuckerman and many more.
Elit by Stolichnaya
hosted an exclusive afterparty where guests raised their
glasses to the Mariinsky Dancers and Elit's partnership
with the Mariinsky Theatre. The full Mariinsky company
then took to the floor, dancing till long past
midnight. Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei
Prokofiev, flew in from London to dj, courtesy of Elit
by Stolichnaya.
The Gala Chairman is Fredrick Iseman,
and Vice Chairs include: Sid and Mercedes Bass,
Fiorenza Scholey Cohen, Kristina Kovalenko, and Mrs.
George Votis. Among the other guests attending the
evening were choreographer
Alexei Ratmansky, artistic
director
Konstantin Zverev.
A bittersweet note to the evening;
legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya and composer
Rodion Shchedrin, the remarkable husband and wife
team, were to be honored. Plisetskaya originated the
role of
Anna Karenina
and her husband had composed the score.
Just days before the gala it was decided that neither
could attend. Now living in Munich, his doctors advised
him not to travel and Plisetskaya chose to remain at his
side. Not allowed to dance outside of the former Soviet
Republic till 1959, she is widley regarded as the
greatest Russian ballerina of the 20th
century.
The Renova Fort Ross Foundation
generously donated Fort Ross exclusive wines for
the evening’s dinner and gift bags. The Renova Fort Ross
Foundation is a public charitable foundation formed in
2010 by the Renova Group of Companies, a leading Russian
business group, to provide support to California’s Fort
Ross State Park, an important milestone of friendship
between the United States and Russia. The Foundation’s
mission is to promote the preservation and to raise
awareness of California’s Fort Ross State Park.
Glitterbox Lanterns by Georg Baldele for
Swarovski Crystal Palace adorn the center of each
table lending the evening a very special additional
touch of sparkle.
Anna Karenina
is a sweeping two-act ballet that explores the
psychological underpinnings of Leo Tolstoy’s celebrated
novel with his magnificent portrayal of a tormented
woman brought to ruin by the abandonment of her
passionless marriage for a dashing Count Vronsky.
The Mariinsky
Theatre is not only a cherished symbol and
exporter of Russian culture, character and innovation,
and source of national pride, but also an agent for
cultural diplomacy and exchange between our countries.
Its reach and influence are incomparable and it is truly
an honor to have these artists in New York bring us
their world-renowned standard of artistic excellence.
About The White Nights Foundation of
America:
The Foundation was formed in 1999 to
support the activities of the Mariinsky Theatre's
constituent institutions: The Mariinsky Opera, Ballet,
and Orchestra, and the Academy for Young Singers and the
Young Musicians' Orchestra.
The
Foundation’s mission includes a commitment to strengthen
and expand the cultural, educational and business
relationships between Russia and the United States and
to be a positive, apolitical force for peace.
www.wnfa.org